Dusty Chalk

"...in an order that would surprise you..."

I think the only people who have heard the freq-phased versions are Dinny and Tyll and Larry.

Mars TV, "Reminisce" -- retro synthpop

No I didn't, so thanks for posting that.

Ah well, I'll just share your pics with her then.

Those are beautiful pics, Knucks. My sister ...er... plays with fire. I may have to introduce the two of you, although you are on opposite coasts. You ever get into the Bay area?

Nice! Looks superb! However ... that handle. You really think a kitchen cabinet handle can handle (ahem) that weight?

I'm basing that entirely on my belief in the importance of phase information. Since this is now done entirely without the DSP, then I lose interest in paying the extra money for it...at least for now. If he does something else with it in the future, then I will of course revisit. So yes, there may be other benefits, but IMHO they are negligible and are outweighed by the cost.

...or I guess you could just leave the knob up and use whatever source you're using as a preamp. Although then you get into the question of whether or not the digital attenuation degrades the sound. (Short answer -- it depends on what algorithm they're using -- if it's one of the better companies, then it's probably fine.) If you're doing it from within a computer, you could try just setting it to 50% or 25%, and using the knob on the Bryston in the upper half of its travel to adjust volume. That way you're only using 1 or 2 bits of information. EDIT: That said, all of my suggestions were compromises. Especially the preamp -- not sure adding an extra component to your system is going to degrade your sound any more or less than using digital attenuation, even Windows digital attenuation.

I forget, are the LP2's a significant improvement on the LP's? I'm not sure which pair I heard at the Apple store, but I remember liking them considering they were "major retail".

^ That's brilliant. Hey, if you already have 13's, then they already have your impressions, neh?

That should never be a response, but yeah, that said, a lot of vendors do say exactly that sort of shit. There are attenuators that you could put inline, or you could have someone mod it with a better attenuator. Or you could have someone bypass the attenuator and put a preamp in front of it.

He should still be able to do a backup and restore from within iTunes, neh?

Okay, Billy, go away.

That's bullshit. Everything else sounds par for the course -- and one of the reasons I hate buying retail. The good thing about the economy going down the toilet is that I've noticed that customer service has actually improved. Yeah, that was fun. Alestorm was pirate metal -- even their ballad was "Nancy the Tavern Wench". Epica sounded fucking tight and played all the tracks I wanted them to. My only regret (besides missing Insomnium) is -- no end-of-tour shenanigans!

You know, you can do that. I mean later, when you're sober.

I think you of all people would want comedy/tragedy, perhaps replacing comedy with the Guy Fawkes mask.

In 4.5 hours, this goes on sale.

That was vaguely new-beat-ish. (a good thing)

I will def check out the Disperse album, meant to mention that. I have no idea whether or not you'd like Antimatter, but they are like pure distilled 180 proof atmosphere -- they're not even metal any more.

That reminds me -- I heard today that Gangnam Style is now the most viewed video on YouTube, surpassing the previous record holder, Justin Bieber. This made me happy. Very very happy.

ANOTHER NEW ONE -- FUCKING SWALLOW THE SUN, FUCKING EMERALD FOREST AND THE BLACKBIRD \mmm/ (three-handed devil horns -- something I saw at the Epica concert tonight) EDIT: WOWZERS, THIS IS DIFFERENT -- TAKE OFF THOSE TWO 'FUCKING's.

Yeah, you know, I agree with you that they sort of went through a lull with REM, although I lump SLS in with REM. Not bad, per se, just not as good as their best work. You don't like Hyperactive? That's one of my favourite tracks -- I just love that sound of being on the verge of chaos. I guess that's just a good indicator that we will never completely agree...and that's okay. And Forgotten Land (last track on Memories in My Head) is my favourite track off that album. It's funny that you should mention ambience and atmosphere, because I think this EP excels in exactly that regard. Just goes to show, we can agree on things, and still come to individual conclusions. I love the patience in the songwriting on that one. It's probably 2nd after ADHD. Also, there might additionally be something else going on here. I have a friend that when I met, we thought we'd agree on everything, and instead, we've polarized our musical tastes. He's decided he hates goth metal (probably because I play it too much) and I still love it . I suspect my unabashed love of minor chords and melodrama is the differentiating factor in that case. For example. That said, I do appreciate you revisiting it on my behalf -- I suspect a lot of people are perpetuating the lull to more recent albums unfairly. I will continue to revisit Riverside, because space prog is still >> christmas store music.

Actually, things like that make me go, "wait, what?" usually are a good indication to me. Me: Antimatter, Fear of a Unique Identity -- new! Didn't realize they had something out. Fab, without being particularly better than anything they've done in the past.

The laptop I pointed at last night only went down to US$330, so just as well that you went to bed.