guzziguy

I agree. But sending it back in for updates seems to be part of the "Xin Phenomenon". It's part of what I don't understand. Any amplifier you have sounds better than any you don't have by definition.

I can't explain it. I can understand neither the Xin nor Storm Audio phenomenon. With Xin, you at least get product, but it seems to be out of date by the time you get it. So you have to ship it back for the update.

Darn, and I thought it was a bargain!

If you can come up with just a few more bucks, there's this! http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?intatube&1202448642

8 regulation hockey pucks. Perfect for Santa Barbara.

Bingo! In all the audio forums in which I've participated, I've seen many people search for the perfect sound by agonizing over minute differences between equipment, by constantly "upgrading" their equipment and by trying all sorts of "magic enhancements". Yet I've found that nothing effects the SQ nearly as much as the SQ of the recording. A badly recorded CD played by the latest APL NWO and comparable equipment will sound worse than a similar but well recorded CD played through a modest, but competent system. In other words, the best upgrade one can do is to buy well recorded software. Unfortunately, it seems to be difficult to find well recorded software of artists we like to listen to. Also, this doesn't mean that I don't think that my eXemplar Denon 2900 isn't the best digital source that I've owned. Of course, this is all my opinion. You can have yours too, even if it's wrong!

Gee, I thought that paying $18 for 8 pucks was high. Actually, it was 8 bucks for the pucks and $10 for shipping and "handling". Thanks for the suggestion though. If the pucks don't work out I'll seriously consider the APCD2 discs.

Yep. First place I looked. I also stopped by Big 5. They at least had hockey sticks and floor hockey pucks, but no regulation hockey pucks. It's not surprising considering that the nearest ice hockey rink is in TO (I think), 60+ miles away. Sports Authority had no hockey equipment at all.

Thanks for the suggestion. The tiles are somewhat irregular so it would be difficult to get a slab to lay on them and not rock. I just ordered 8 hockey pucks. Not surprisingly, it's impossible to find them in Santa Barbara, CA.

I need to find some footers for my speaker stands so that the spikes won't damage a tile floor. I've used quarters in the past but they have problems. Does anybody have a favorite footer that they would like to recommend? If not, I probably will go with the Head Case approved "Hockey Puck footer". Thanks in advance.

Belated happy birthday!

It's ok. He has a hard hat!

Mine was in jest too. Still, it might be interesting to hear what he says.

Who? Me?

Maybe Head-Case should become a sponsor of Head-Fi. Then you would have a link on every page!

My stuff is all back up to normal, except for the PMs of course. I have 47 messages where the latest is 12/2006. Oh well, it's better than nothing.

Happy Birthday!

Of course, "loads of money" is pretty subjective. But if I had loads of money, I'd try to duplicate neilvg's setup. It's the best I've ever heard. It has nothing to do with a Denon AH-D2000 though.

Yep. Mikhail makes such an adapter for Singlepower amps. You'd need to ask him if it would work for your amp.

Happy Thanksgiving to everyone, even if you don't celebrate it!

A Head-Fi member told me about it. So it's his fault that I'm here!

Hi Pete, Whatever happened to the comparo? Did you and David get together? I'd really like to hear both of your thoughts on Matt's latest creation. I had Matt do his magic with my E5. It's the one on his web site. While I was waiting, JP's price get lower and lower and I finally bought his eXemplar too. I figured that I'd do a shoot out and the winner would go into my headphone system and the "loser" would replace the Ah Tjoeb in my spearker system. The eXemplar arrived first but had a problem. While the rest of the machine would power up, the transport and front panel would not. I opened it up looking for an obvious loose or broken connection and could not find one. Eventually I sent it to John Tucker for repair. The loose connection was under the transport. While it was there, I got the opamp and analog filter upgrades. While I was waiting, the E5 arrived. Unfortunately, the transport was damaged. I sent it to Dr. Art and he fixed it for a total of $20 including shipping. After reinstalling the transport, I was able to burn in the modded E5 for about 150 hours before the eXemplar came back. The modded E5 is definitely a large improvement over the stock version. The bass is much more present and extended. It also is better in the details. I was sure it would win the comparo. Then I listened to the eXemplar. It was no contest. For me, the eXemplar does everything better than the E5. It has better timbre, attack, decay, extension, ... So the eXemplar stays in the headphone system and the E5 gets relegated to the speaker system.

PM sent

A Christmas Idea Apple announced today that it has developed a breast implant that can store and play music. The iTit will cost $499 or $599 depending on cup size. This has been hailed as a major breakthrough because women are always complaining about men staring at their breasts and not listening to them.

Happy Birthday John! Have a great one! Thanks again for setting up the meet on Saturday and for your hospitality. I had a great time. Johnny don't need no Analog Room tt.