TMoney

Heard the Focal Duo at the SF HF meet yesterday on my rig. My impressions of the Focal Utopia: A real contender for best dynamic headphone. A bit heavy, but otherwise very comfortable to wear. Build quality appeared excellent. Sound was very clear and very detailed. Background noise at the meet was a bit of an issue, but you could tell Utopia is a very technically competent headphone, potentially better on technicalities than the HD800 but would need to evaluate at home to be sure. Not a bass monster and does not compete with planars in that regard. While soundstage is good, does not have the uniquely massive soundstage that is my favorite thing about the HD800. The $4k price is unfortunate. This is a headphone that needs to cost $2k at most for it to be a good value. My impressions of the Focal Elear: The buzz is that Elear sounds somewhat like a HD650 plus. I would agree with that assessment. Should be a must listen for the HD650 fans. As I much prefer the HD600 to the HD650, the slightly tonally dark Elear isn’t a headphone I’d consider buying. Priced at a grand, it is nice to see a step in the right direction on price. Should be $600, but at least its not $1,500. Between Utopia and Elear I lean very strongly towards Utopia.

Heard the Flow yesterday at the SF HF Meet. Got to test it on my own rig and I loved it. My impressions: The real deal, a fabulous headphone. Ether Flow is a stupid name for a headphone. I loved the way it sounded on my rig. Deep, tight bass and great balance overall. This is now the “go to” planar if the Ether wasn’t already. I would need to have a regular Ether side by side to discuss improvements in the new model, but I felt Flow was better balanced high-to-low and sounded a bit more open than its predecessor. This will easily make Tyll’s “wall of fame.” At $1,800 it is clearly positioned to rival the HD800S. I probably still take the 800S (if I had to pick one) as it plays more to my tastes, but loving seeing the Ether get better and better and make that decision harder and harder. There is no way the Audeze LCD-4 can cost $4k when Ether Flow sounded just about as good, is much more comfortable to wear, and costs less than half as much. If Ether Flow was $1,200 I would buy one today, $1,800 feels like a bit of a stretch.

Thanks for sharing, Purk. I'll be doing a similar comparison on my DSHA-4 assuming I can steal a set away from the Mr. Speakers table.

New "Ether-Flow" announced over on HF. http://www.head-fi.org/t/814156/mrspeakers-ether-flow-and-ether-c-flow-inspired-by-electrostatic-headphones#post_12721407 It'll be at the Bay Area HF meet this weekend so I'm looking forward to hearing it. Should be fun to compare it to the new Focal duo and my own HD800S. The open version of the Ether was pretty close to a headphone I'd consider buying. An improved version could be compelling.

Don't let that hold you back. Witcher 3 is a perfect place to jump in. For what its worth I had never played the first or second game either. I ownthe Witcher 2 and have tried to get in to it, but 3 is so much better. I was a bit lost story-wise without playing the first two games, but things started making sense after the first few hours. There are also a number of story primers out there that explain the plot of 1 and 2 to get new players ready for 3.

So good.

Any chance of a Mjolnir Audio version of the mini at some point, @spritzer?

I finished the 2nd Witcher 3 DLC this weekend. I'm just gonna come out and say it. Now that I've played through the complete experience The Witcher 3 is now my favorite game of all time. It is finally time to knock Deus Ex off that pedestal and in to the #2 spot. Witcher 3 has everything I look for in a game. Amazing, "adult" storylines. Phenomenal characters. One of the best looking games on PC, a technical masterpiece. Fun gameplay. The amazing thing is RPGs and games with Fantasy themes usually aren't my type of thing at all. It is a testament to how good W3 is that it is my favorite game regardless. The two DLCs are "must play" if you've enjoyed the base game. 5/5. Duh. -- Also finished off DOOM. What a fun little game. Executing hell-demons to heavy metal puts a smile on my face every time. It looks and runs great on PC. Kudos, ID, for doing such a good job rebooting it. DOOM was the kind of game Steam Sales are made for. I've spend about 11 hours with it and now I'm done. I have zero desire to try its multiplayer, and I'll probably never go back through the campaign again, but that doesn't mean I didn't enjoy my time with it. I very much did. It sure is fun to see these old classics rebooted. I would say the Wolfenstein reboot had the better story but Doom runs better and has the better gameplay of the two. 4/5. Get it on sale and let that chainsaw rip.

Happy retirement, Tim Duncan! Best PF of all time. One of the top 10 players of all time. Best player of his generation (sorry, Kobe).

When they drop down to line 4 I will buy in.

Kerry, if/when you go in to business selling these sign me up as your first customer! That looks great!

You are in Vegas?

I'm actually probably more excited to have him for his defense. Did you see that series he had vs. GSW? His shot wasn't falling but holy moly, he was a monster out there. In particular at the rim. Also, while his shooting percentage might be lower than Barnes, his usage was through the roof. Usage and efficiency are normally inversely related. To hit that % at that volume is insane. -- EDIT: I also think D. Wade did Miami a favor by leaving for Chicago. Look at how detrimental the two year Kobe Bryant retirement tour was for the Lakers. D. Wade just saved Miami the trouble. I'd bet a dollar that Chicago misses the playoffs even with Wade. He is still a nice player, but I'm thankful my team isn't paying him.

Happy Birthday!

It had to be hard being the face of your franchise, and, lets face it, the entire state of Oklahoma. I don't blame the guy for ducking away from that. KD has always seemed a little more shy and introverted than some of the other faces of the sport like an LBJ or Kobe. I also don't doubt the reports that Russ's ultra-intense, alpha, ball-dominant style didn't sit that well with KD. -- On a similar note, Curry takes a lot of shit from some in the media for not being a Type-A Alpha-Male like Kobe or LBJ, but it sure seems like his low-key, inclusive, fun-loving style was a major draw for KD. In the Warriors he goes to a team where the stars truly don't care who gets the credit. -- Gotta hand it to the Warriors. In one move they both gutted their biggest rival in the west and solidified themselves as title contenders for the next 3-5 years.

Happy birthday to the man, the myth, the legend!

Holy shit! KD!!!

Life is good. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

Their acquisition of beats music has turned out so well so far, can't wait to see what they'd do to tidal.

SFO -> JFK on Jet Blue. Heading out to spend the holiday weekend with friends on Long Island. Happy 4th, everyone! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Fight Club 2!?!?!?! Since when is this a thing? Hell yes I will be reading this over the 4th holiday weekend.

The tire shop was able to patch up my tire free of charge. Man, random acts of kindness like that really brighten up the day. Now it is my turn to pay-it-forward.

Flat tire on the way to work today.

Congrats, Iceland/Birgir!