Driftwood

Count me in as well.

Unfortunately I am going to have to pass on the group buy. I am not sure if you were including me in the 7 quoted above.

Assuming I can get the money together in time, I'd be interested in a group buy as well.

I don't know if it is true having not tried it myself, but I read that if you tilt Maggies or Quads, etc. slightly forward, it helps to make the images a little sharper at the expense of some narrowing of the soundstage. Something to try, I guess.

oh, btw, about the red 3.7 shown in the linked article -- the dealer told me that in fact one of the finish options for the aluminum is "fire engine red." Maybe with a cream-colored grille cloth and the right room it could look decent? I'm not really sure. I was told that they originally made it as a one-off for some show but enough dealers requested it that they decided to make it a standard option. Still, I can't see it being a big seller.

Ordered a new sofa, the 98" Kensington from Restoration Hardware:

I had a chance today to audition the 3.7. Seemed to address all the faults I found with the 1.7 and the 3.6. The bass was tighter and fuller than the 1.7, and the ribbon and quasi-ribbon of the 3.7 blend much better than the planar midrange driver of the 3.6. They have a lot more forward and engaging presentation than the 1.7. My wife preferred the slightly laid-back and relaxed presentation of the 1.7, but after listening to the "cross" album by Justice on the 3.7, she agreed that its bass performance really made a big difference.

Thanks everyone for your kind comments. My sympathies to Nate and Mike.

To add to the sad news, my wife and I found out yesterday that her father shot and killed himself. No one knew he had a gun and he was the last person I would have guessed would do such a thing. my wife had talked to him on the phone just a short while before and he gave no indication that anything was amiss. He was talking about how nice the weather had been recently, etc. and then the next thing we know he was gone. I still can't wrap my mind around what happened. He was probably the least selfish person I have ever known, and I have never known anyone to care more about their family.

So, that NPR article says that audiophiles are in search for "the exact replication of an original performance." That hits on something I've been wondering for a while, and that basically is, what am I trying to get out of this hobby? I can buy that being the pursuit of classical music enthusiasts, or people who listen to recording which are primarily capturing an actual performance. Much of the music today, especially popular music, no longer fits this definition, and so what does "the exact replication of an original performance" mean in that context? If that is in fact what being an audiophile is about, I guess that yes, by the trends of the recording industry the audiophile is going to be fighting an uphill battle. Myself, I think I am looking to minimize the harm that is happening, not to replicate the original event. I'm easily distracted by crap like clipping (and there is nothing more frustrating when the recording itself is clipped) and by frequency response abnormalities. I just want that crap to get out of the way so I can enjoy the music.

As a newbie myself, I definitely feel that I need to use a soft touch around here, at least until I'm better known. I definitely appreciate the attitude towards newbies however as I know it is what is keeping this place from turning into yet another place to ask what $50 headphone I should buy without having actually done any research or investigation first. There definitely seems two kinds of people who join though, those that seem to understand this place and those who come on combative and looking for a fight. I think we all know which group you are in, and that you aren't going to last very long here.

Glad you were able to sort it out!

Verizon doesn't have any limits for FiOS.

Well, you are probably right. I'm sure willing to accept that my case may be atypical, as I am pretty careful with the treatment of my headphones, aside from the obvious issue of putting them where the cats would be able to chew on the cable.

I think it might be the cable. I was having a very similar issue with my HD600 using the cardas cable, I sent the cable back to them and they fixed it. I should not however that I thought it was pretty clear it was the cable in my case however as there was visible damage to the cable from my cats having chewed on it. Apparently the cardas warranty covers cat-related damage because I told them what happened and was willing to pay for a repair but they said it was covered and did it for free. Can't complain about that kind of service! Anyway, your results may differ if your cables look fine, but I'd still guess it is the cable, probably the cable connection inside the connector.

I basically have the same setup you describe with the Mac mini, Eyetv and the hdhomerun, supplemented with Netflix. I don't really take advantage of hulu or iTunes for other shows though as I've found I'm less interested in watching TV since I've made the switch. I watch way more movies now though.

Is it just me or does that gizmodo article not actually give any reasons why 24-bit is actually a bad thing? I mean, I understand the argument that it is not needed, but why is it actually a bad thing? Because portable players can't handle 24-bit at the moment, and because the file sizes are bigger? I'm pretty sure apple is going to make sure ipods support 24-bit recordings if they are going to offer them for sale...

I was thinking of building something myself using some 80/20 or similar extruded aluminum and some butcher block, but by the time you figure in the materials cost and add in some niceties to make assembly nicer (like threaded inserts into the butcher block), it didn't seem like all that much of an economy vs. commercial offerings. Eventually I went with the Salamander Synergy system since several people here seemed to be happy with it, and it certainly has higher WAF than what I was planning on putting together myself. Also, while using the extruded aluminum as shelf supports along with butcher block for the shelves makes for a rack that could probably support tons of weight, the thickness adds up quick and a 4 shelf rack would end up being a lot taller than I wanted.

Don't know if this helps, but here is a link to the Sony SCD-XA5400ES Service Manual.

Sure, I'd be interested.

Wendy Carlos - Clockwork Orange

I don't know if "bought" in this context means you actually have it in your possession yet, but if so, is it ported?

Salamander Synergy 40 in Maple/black: Except I bought the perforated steel sides and the heavy duty castors. Thanks to everyone who had mentioned the salamander stuff a while back.

I didn't think fedex delivered on mondays? Unless it is shipped fedex home delivery? If so, it might show up tomorrow...

Geggy Tah - Sacred Cow