Knuckledragger

Where are you finding the HD at that price, Shelly? I've kinda sorta had my eye on one after my my old SoundBridge croaked.

We all know subwoofers make bass. Big subwoofers, like the $799 Epik Empire, can sport massive 15-inch woofers and a Class D 600-watt power amplifier, all packaged in a 22x18x24-cabinet. The Empire's 120-pound weight might be a not-so-subtle indication that it's solidly built. But Eminent Technology's TRW-17 Rotary Woofer ($12,900) doesn't have a cone-type woofer or a box or cabinet. No, the TRW-17 looks like a high-tech fan. And when you turn it on, the fan's blade spins just like a fan, but it's a bona-fide subwoofer. It produces deeper and more powerful bass than any conventional subwoofer I've ever heard. Everybody who hears the TRW-17 is shocked by its power to produce a truly visceral experience. The TRW-17's fluttering blades generate bass frequencies down to 1 hertz (standard $1,000 subs poop out in the 30Hz range, and ultra high-end subs rarely make it below 18Hz.). The Eminent Technology Web site provides more information about how the blades produce bass. The TRW-17 subwoofer is powerful enough to make an entire room throb with bass energy. TRW-17 installations are complex and can easily run to $25,000. For home audio, the TRW-17 is typically mounted in an attic, basement, or side room so the spinning blades are always out of reach of small children and pets. The TRW-17 mounted in a typical installation. (Credit: Eminent Technology) Regular subs can't reproduce the 11Hz fundamental frequency of a helicopter rotor, the low-frequency rumble of wind, or the infrasonic shockwave from an explosion, but the TRW-17 can do all of these things. Very deep bass is as much felt as heard. Eminent Technology claims the TRW-17 is now being used in theme park attractions, concert venues, professional audio applications, and research projects. Read more: World's most amazing subwoofer has no woofer | The Audiophiliac - CNET News World's most amazing subwoofer has no woofer | The Audiophiliac - CNET News That's funny, we're nowhere near April.

"33 years ago I decided to build a big horn system. Constructed in the dorm library over Christmas break, the result was dubbed The Claw, a straight exponential horn 9 feet long with a 42 Hz expansion curve and a 50 sq ft mouth. We mounted a JBL LE15A woofer in the throat and used a JBL 375 compression driver and horn for about 500 Hz on up. No matter where we pointed it, the cops showed up every time. " www.passdiy.com/pdf/KleinHorn.pdf www.passdiy.com/pdf/KleinHorn2.pdf

Canon announced all sorts of crazy shit pre-photokina: EOS 60D: expected, and pretty cool. 9/10ths a 7D for a lot less. EF 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM EF 300mm f/2.8L IS II USM EF 400mm f/2.8L IS II USM Extender EF 1.4x III and Extender EF 2x III: *yawn* EF 8-15mm f/4L Fisheye USM: WAT. My favorite response to this was Mike @ ToP: "because they're Canon, and they can" The 300mm and 400mm F/2.8Ls are replacing models that were introduced in the late 90s. They'll be fantastically well made, boat-anchor heavy, and even more eye-wateringly expensive. The 300mm's MSRP is $7000, the 400mm's is $11,000. I dunno about an L-grade version of the 70-300mm. It's gonna be F/5.6 for most of its zoom range, and with an MSRP of $1500, I wonder who is the intended market for this beast. I am quite sure that no one (No. One.) needs a circular fisheye zoom, especially for $1400, but it's pretty fricken cool that Canon made one. If that weren't enough, Canon announced a new tiny prototype sensor: Canon develops world's largest CMOS sensor, shoots 60fps video in moonlight

Longtruck is looooooooooooooooooong.

Neslon Pass's home stereo:

A stack of Blue Planet Corporation FLACs from juno.co.uk, including two releases which are impossible to find in hardcopy.

I'm not sure. I pulled it off an RSS feed. TinEye's got nothing, either. Sorry.

The EF 1200mm F/5.6L is 36 lbs and comes with its own tripod and massive transport case (I hesitate to call it a "carrying case.") For a variety of reasons, the original tripod is rarely used. It's nearly has heavy as the damn lens, and not terribly easy to adjust. The truth is, 1200mm is not a very useful focal length on full frame, and even less so on a cropped sensor. There's a reason that Canon only sold ten 1200Ls in a dozen years of production (besides the $120,000 asking price). The used used copy B&H had for sale was a pretty slow mover. With the advent of DSLRs shooting video, the 1200L has gained some usability it previously lacked. I saw a pretty good short on Vimeo of a guy filming birds with the 1200L and a 5DII. Birders are about the only people who has much need for such an extreme focal length.

While we're on the subject of wacky world leaders...

(Is it me or has Billy's typing gotten better recently?) Rootin' Tootin' Vladimir Putin

Contains NSFW language.