thrice

You really need to let the picture burn-in before you judge it fully. Here's my methodology: 1) Get double blind (with respect and adoration to agile_one, the developer of the double blinding aspect of this methodology). This is easily and quickly accomplished by drinking some Delirium Tremens Belgian Ale....frankly what else could you want? 2) Stare at the picture of Tyll damn near naked trollping around with his headphone setup until the image: a: is burned into your retina so you always see a "ghost" image of Tyll whenever you look at anything b: starts to look good, really good c: makes you want to get some man-sock garters and a garden hose so you can get all VD on the cable Nazis 3) Lather 4) Rinse 5) Repeat

I didn't know they still sold sock garters...I mean that's old school. It's even better knowing that picture was attached to an ad that ran in stereophile. http://www.headphone.com/pdfs/November%202002.pdf

Oh damnit, I forgot about beer.... well if I had a choice, I listen to more music than beer, so...... BEER! no no no no...MUSIC!

LOLZ. Actually it's cleared up nicely. Was there a little bit today but it seems to be gone now. I'll take it easy tomorrow at the NC meet, but damn that was scary for awhile there. I've always said to my wife that I could lose my sight, touch, taste, smell, but jebus don't take music away from me.

Nothing I can point to and say, ah, that's when it happened. Oh great...now it burns when I pee.... DAMNIT MAYBERRY!

Well, looks like this is going to go away of it's own accord...at least that's what the doctor thinks. She mentioned that sometimes flying can cause temporary tinnitus due the the change in air pressure. If it's still there in two weeks I go back for hearing tests. Since there isn't an infection or perforation in my eardrum and I'm not experiencing vertigo that's the skinny. I've been told to take some Sudafed, that might help a bit if there's an congestion that's causing it. Annoying, but I'm glad they can't find anything terribly wrong with me. So I'll just sit it out and take it easy on the headphones for awhile....oh yeah, NC meet this weekend that I'm hosting....argh!

LOL, yeah I'm never hanging out with those people and their Typhoid Mary headphones.

yeah they killed me....everytime he got the ball, bam, three, bam three. sigh.

Well, I've got a Dr. appt. today so we'll see. My ear feels "thick" for lack of a better word, almost blocked up, although I think I can hear the same volume out of the right ear as the left. My co-worker just got over an ear infection as did my bosses wife. Each of them had tinnitus and a little vertigo as a result. I don't have any vertigo, but I'm hoping this is all because of an ear infection and not permanent damage. I've always taken good care of my ears, plugs at concerts, reasonable volume when listening to headphones....etc. I hope to have a lifetime of ring-free hearing...we'll see.

Well, my new home team didn't quite make it last night. Duke was really in control, making the Heels play by their rules....plus Paulus kept nailing all those 3-pointers. Anyone else see the game. We'll get them at the end of the season when we play at Duke!

So that's where I put my Lemo connectors...thanks Kevin, send 'em to....

Well it seems a little softer now than yesterday. I've got some Murine that I was using last night since I thought it might be built up wax. I'll try that again later tonight....we'll see what happens. I'll call the Doc tomorrow and get in to see someone this week or next. Yeah, knowing it's there is worse...I can't actually hear it unless I whistle or block my right ear, but KNOWING is driving me nuts.

yep, I'll head to the doctor as well, can't have this getting worse. Looks like there are temporary things that can trigger it as well, so perhaps some rest is all that's needed. i wonder if putting earplugs in would help, to block out sounds so the ears have time to rest. Could be an ear infection as well, and that ear is feeling a little off, but that could be me being hypersensative at this point. Off to the Dr. it is then. Sigh.

actually I'm concerned its tinnitus. I was just in the bathroom and someone else was whistling and I could hear the pitch cutting in and out. So after they left I started whislting and blocking each ear because I can hear it in the right ear better than the left. So when I blocked the right ear, just before I started whistling I could hear the pitch, very faintly. I was not whistling and I had my index finger just covering the ear canal, almost like you're listening to a sea shell.... the same pitch. Christ, I hope I don't have tinnitus.

Fortunately my ability to hear is not needed to sling solder...just to make sure your amp actually works.

No.

Yes I do.

Perhaps that means I'm creating the fixed pitch via whistling since I can hear it even when I cover my ears?

Ok so last night I was whistling along with a tune and I noticed a strange sound...like a clashing harmony. I figured I was off or something, whistled the wrong the note. Then I whistled the song again just by myself and I heard the same weird clash. So after some more whistling and so forth I determined that I was actually hearing a fixed pitch on top of what I was whistling. In short if I whistle one pitch, I hear two, the pitch I'm whistling and another fixed pitch. I can change the pitch I'm whistling and the fixed pitch remains, well fixed even when I move the whistled pitch quickly. It's pretty strong too (the fixed pitch, I can hear it very clearly.) My wife does not hear this other pitch. Which has me concerned about my hearing. Obviously I'm not looking for medical advice, I should see an audiologist, but I was just wondering if anyone else has experienced this as well. I don't seem to hear any anomalies when I sing or speak or listen to music through headphones....just whistling. I went out and got an ear-wax removal kit and followed the directions thinking that maybe I had some impacted wax or something that was creating some sort of resonance factor in my ear-canals. But that didn't help and I didn't seem to have a lot of ear-wax anyway. Strange thing is that if I cover each ear while I whistle I still hear the fixed pitch, even with both ears closed. I was trying some throat singing the other day (you know trying to sing two pitches at the same time, it's possible)... so maybe that has something to do with it. Weird huh?

QFT My impressions: Overall i like the Pico...the big advantage is the killer DAC. I've got a Twisted Pear Opus DAC at home that uses the same DAC chip and I've been really happy with it. So when use the Pico with the DAC, I'm quite pleased. The amp section while good, is a portable amp. It's a great sounding amp using the AD8397 and while I was not found of that chip early on, it's starting to grow on me. The Pico's amp section is a little more refined sounding than the Mini^3. Overall I find the amp has good detail and separation with good tonal balance throughout the spectrum. When used with the DAC the sound is even better. My one complaint and this goes for most portable amps, is the size/shape. I can't understand why portable amp designers come up with cases that are not flatter and wider/longer. Strap this puppy to an iPod and it's awkward, same with the Tomahawk/Hornet/Headroom Micro....etc. I think that there's a desire to make something really small, while that all well and good, there are a lot of DAPs out there and many of them are similar in size. The iPod nano does share similar dimensions as the Pico and would mate well with it, but a lot of us have higher capacity units, like the iPod Classic or the Touch or iPhone. I do realize that this unit is also meant for use with a laptop or a home computer but it's also a portable that can be used with a DAP. I wish more people would design their chassis with that in mind. Granted this is just a very small complaint of mine, hardly something that would make me sell the amp or not buy it.

I'll post more detailed impressions late, but the K1000 out of the GM70 was possibly the best I've ever heard that headphone. Maybe even better than the Pass labs and Firstwatt stuff, but I'd have to build a GM70 amp and compare it with the Firstwatt F1 I've got...oh yeah, and get a pair of K1000.

WHOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!

He sent me a pair of XLR cables set up with the ground connected at one end only. I was using this on my balanced Beta22 and experiencing some hum...that's when I checked the connections. The Beta22 in balanced mode references the + and - signals to ground, so it needs to be connected. (from the source to the amp that is.)

Happy Birthday