RudeWolf

Now that's what I call source.

Call me paranoid, but I have little faith in those Chinese valve amps, there is always the part lottery and most likely circuit designs are from the mid thirties. Sure, they will sound "toobey" as hell, but with all the tube (actually the whole circuit is to blame) associated negatives. What about using a balanced Dynahi for such an application? From what I've seen it should have enough power, I'm just unsure if it will cope with such low impedance loads.

^^ Do you like it? I found it rather, erm... boring. Maybe apart from the first track. Then again it could've been just playing on my Zeppelin strings.

Thanks! Btw, did you crank up those 10'000 Days?

A 5D MK1 for Nikon masses, too good to be true. Honestly I doubt if D800/E will replace the D700, seems more like a D3X killer.

If it's of no great secret, could you tell me/us which Audio Nirvana model did you use? Someday I might get the Super 12 or 8 for a DIY project. A fullrange driver would save me from all the crossover tinkering. I'd be glad to hear how the T-amp decision works out as well.

http://www.dpreview.com/news/2012/02/07/Nikon_D800_D800E_launch With these sensors it's Zeiss or gtfo. I just hope that the low-light ability stays at least the same.

One must also keep in mind that even if Spritzer would have had an authentic Woo WES it still wouldn't be the unit Jude heard. Also he was wrong because he said unhappy things.

I'm really not sure how high in bitrate and general technical complexion I would go for a portable device before I hit the spot where external noise and skeletal microphonics become a major factor. Also I'm largely skeptical regarding content distribution via optical storage. It may be just me but distribution via downloading is not only more convenient for the consumer but also produces less waste than all the materials needed to manufacture a CD/DVD and the case. An exception might be video because I'm not sure if many internet providers are able to provide bandwidth needed for streaming FullHD video. Regarding Spritzer's remark about youngsters and vinyl. I'm not sure if at 24 I'm still a youngster but I find vinyl to be more or less as a functional souvenir that I get when I pay my money to a certain artist. They are nice to listen to or to show off to my friends, but my main music storage will always be in high-res digital.

Looks like auto White Balance may be acting up. That is, if you haven't changed anything between the two shots.

It would be nice to tell folks about the "back emf" and how that plays with certain circuits. I don't know, you could throw in high-ish end tube amp as a reference that the LCD's doesn't sound well with them.

Even if Darkstar is the bestest solid state device to ever see the light of day I can't help but to feel that RSA are grossly overcharging for it. Have you listened to any alternatives at that price point? At the end of the day it still is a class AB amp with high wattage and fancy case. Also open the case not that much in there... It somehow eludes me how that can cost 3500$ or whatever they are asking these days. Just keep in mind that there are many alternatives at that price point, even if they can't output 80V P to P.

The saxophone is just a corporate conspiracy to emulate the vibraband sound through a more marketable instrument.

From these I'm currently using the HD-25-II, bought it for 125$ slightly used but quite minty with all accessories. So far I'm rather content about what it does. If one needs portability, rugged build and isolation then it should fit perfectly. On the downside whilst the voicing is quite good the driver is starting to show its age and resolution wise can be bested by much cheaper headphones. Also the HD25-II isn't too hungry for amping but I'd recommend a better-than-laptop quality source because they show noise quite easily. As for the first serious (?) headphone it's a swell choice because it does very little wrong, as far as I'm concerned. I also recently tried out the Superlux HD668b, I think these guys might be on to something there. For open cans the low-end Grado isn't a bad choice either. In any case check out Tyll's recommendations and maybe wait for the new Philips headphones.

Nik Bärtsch's Ronin. Got the Lyria double 180g LP for Christmas from a good friend of mine. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MG9xdcMZvqY&feature=related

I hope that the new Philips line will introduce some changes in the consumer perception and in the way how headphones are priced. I have strong feeling that Sennheiser headphones become a good buy after five or so years after they are introduced. Maybe it worked some time back but now... We might see some new kids on the can scene to challenge them.

What about ginger bread dough? Some recipes tend to come out really hard when baked and I haven't had any problems with ginger breads having mold or anything. I recommend baking it into about 1cm thick blocks and then using powdered sugar glazing paste to glue them together. I'm sure that it wouldn't be hard to bake in any threaded nuts for mounting purposes. Front/back panels can be cut out before baking if you know the swelling rate of the dough, but dremel should work just fine. ...now it's just a matter of time, I guess.

145mm filters? I won't even think about pricing but are good filters available in these sizes?

The last two winters here, in Latvia were really good (natural) as well with lots of snow for three months and temperatures occasionally below -20°C. This winter is a joke. We just had our first major snow and now after three days it's melting off. Instead we are getting very high winds. I guess that we'll save money on heating and road maintenance.

SOPA/PIPA are the last gasps of a dying media distribution paradigm. And the funny thing is that vinyl record sales are constantly growing.

Yep, the D3 is a great cam, the high iso was borderline revolutionary at that time. I almost bought one two years ago for 2 kilobuck, good thing that I listened to reason and ended up getting the D300 for one kilo. Also a swell shooter. Still sometimes wonder about that choice, though. And yeah- the only thing I don't actually like about the 14-24 is the supersize front element, easy to smear/damage. And on that wide end every mark will show up on the pictures. Also filters...

Well, neither of them are bad so to speak. The 35/2 is pretty meh, and the new AF-S 35/1.4 seems a bit overpriced for amateur use. Koreans have a manual Zeiss formula clone for a lot cheaper, might be worth looking into. I guess that there was an old manual 35/1.4 but also wide open it wasn't much to write home about. If you like that length, by all means, go ahead. I find it useful as well but bright 35's are quite big and heavy compared to the fifty and f/2.8 20-28mm fixes. P.S. What's not to like about the fifty? It's the hardest lens to screw up because of the simple optical formula. My AF 50mm f/1.8D works like a charm especially when one considers the price. Haven't looked that hard at f/1.4 fifties, they should reach peak sharpness earlier at the expense of slightly increased distortion. The f/1.2 is for connoisseurs only, especially the Noct.

Concerning Nikon glass there are very few downright bad ones. Just don't buy anything that has the DX designation and you should be okay. Also it's really hard to recommend anything if I don't know what you like to take pictures of. Sure, the (14-24, 24-70, 70-200) f/2.8 combo is a no brainer, but it will be expensive, large and heavy. Instead of 24-70 I could recommend looking for an earlier 28-70 that can be had for cheaper, for telezoom an 80-200 can be a worthy alternative to stabilized 70-200ies. Concerning fixed lenses I'd recommend avoiding the 35mm altogether because all of the versions are mediocre, most of the 50ies are very sharp, the 105mm f/2.5 is very good for portrait/landscape short tele-photography. The bright-ish wide end fixed lens segment is a bit weak for Nikon, I'd recommend using a zoom instead for convenience. The 20mm f/3.5 is a notable exception but it is priced accordingly. Happy hunting!

Damn, that's some nasty conjunctivitis! I get it occasionally on summers because I rarely wear shades, but never that bad so couldn't open my eyes. I did once have some other disease that affects the tear glands so that when I was asleep they glued my eyelids together. Was kinda funny when I had to tear the open. Less funny was using the medicine, those eye drops hurt like hell.

Also this... http://www.sennheiser.com/sennheiser/home_en.nsf/root/private_headphones_mp3_expression-line_505573 Frequency response 16 - 22000 Hz Impedance 18 Ω Sound pressure level (SPL) 120 dB THD, total harmonic distortion < 0.3 % (1 kHz/100 dB) Not sure if I like the color. Also the 18 Ohm driver seems strange, haven't seen 18 Ohms outside IEM's. Maybe I'll just buy the drivers someday.