Dusty Chalk

Oh, look, amps in cribs

Esoteric SA-60 -- new universal player without video. I thought one of the biggest criticisms of DVD-A is that they're not easily played without the ability to see the menu? I'm curious how they approached that problem.

That's true if it's a different model, or, as in the case of the Beyers, not even true at all. Oh, well, good thing I don't like most Grados. [/delurk]

I haven't heard either. I'm afraid very few people have heard both. Do you have the ability to audition both? In your home system?

You spelled Invisible correctly. Oh, and: LOL.

It is. People are going to ask me what time it is, and I'm going to hit myself in the face just from sheer momentum.

If one is going to mention holiday reading, I highly recommend Orson Scott Card, Lost Boys.

Or 2 1/2 RS-1's

Creeper -- Welcome to Creepsville Steve Niles is my new favourite comic graphic novel writer.

For how long?

I actually listened to one of those enhancer disks once -- it cleaned my ears. I was an audiophile by the time it was done. But I don't think it was one of those Isotek ones -- different brand (single track, custom made).

The biggest difference is that it's purple.

I look good in my trench. On the bright side, I didn't have to go to work today. Lounged around with my kitty, took a nap, did some shoveling...

Well, hopefully "...and because I qualified my statements enough" works its way in there, too. grawk -- thanks for the info. I will take someone's personal experience over my theoretical knowledge any day, but alas, have not the budget for yet another mic in my arsenal. Perhaps when we get down to serious recording I'll rent a good one to see what I can do. I have to admit to not having much luck making field recordings. I was tempted just to get this and stop worrying about it.

Finally getting around to watching BSG season 2.

Except...isn't it the same exact headphone, other than cosmetically? Has anyone reported any audible differences yet? (ducks behind rock)

(shrugs) I don't know. Here is more information about the 51-30, of which this is a special edition.

That's awesome.

Yeah, I considered their Blade II: ...except it was $450, and doesn't quite look the part to me. Now...if it was $25, I might think about it... That was exactly the point, if you read the other thread. And now that I think about it -- there's something about black numerals on a black face that makes it more black than just a black face without numerals, such as their "Player": Sweet. One of my two favourite types of food & beverages is "free".

Never mind, they posted it online: Barney's/Nixon collaboration Ordered, waiting. I've actually seen one in person -- they had it at a store in Georgetown. It's gorgeous. And huge. I will still probably collect some of the Nixon all-black collection, but this will be the cornerstone piece.

I have found my watch.

Well, first of all, I hope you don't take my previous post as arguing with you about your impressions, only with your expectations -- I understand what you are saying, and yes, I agree, from what I am saying, I would say, stay away from omnis. I am by no means defending the MBLs -- if what is important to you is soundstaging and imaging, and they don't excel at that, then they are definitely not for you. I also still appreciate the impressions -- I know how to read impressions, even negative ones, to see if there is still something I'm interested in. I am the target market for omnis, and even at US$70K, I still wouldn't expect them to excel at imaging (except in maybe the scenario grawk gives, or perhaps in an acoustically soundproofed room [i forget what they're called]), but then, that's not important to me, which is why I asked about midrange and so on. grawk -- I understand what you're saying, but I was speaking in generalities. I'm sure you could come up with a few isolated examples of rooms and/or recordings that they might excel at, but I stand by my disagreement -- most recordings with any sense of soundstage were done with directional mics (e.g. Mapletree, Weavers at Carnegie Hall, etc.). Ears are directional...ish (more like a cardioid mic than anything else, I think), so recording something with an omni mic I would think would be too much information (especially in terms of reflections), but if one had a surround mic, or...have you heard those recordings that Kimber has started doing, yet? I haven't, but I heard they image superbly. I think that might yield a more realistic soundstage.

LOL

Yes, I think you were being unrealistic to expect omnis to excel at that holographic soundstage that I've heard with the best recordings. Again, this is just theory, but here's why: Soundstage is an illusion. The speakers are not only recreating the direct sound of the original recording hall, but also the reflections. The better speakers are at recreating those sounds, the more "you are there" you will get. Omnis are going to add their own (well, the room's) reflections, because they're literally projecting sound around the room in a more energetic manner than regular dynamic speakers, which tend to beam somewhat. At least, that's my story, and I'm sticking to it. I read a review recently of the smaller MBL in which the reviewer claimed excellent imaging, but I tell you what -- I remain skeptical.