s1rrah

I guess everyone has to wash some balls every now and again. LOL ... (I know I sure have) ... .. I am not ashamed.

Are there any "tapers" around here? I played in bands for years, also have been in to recording/production of other bands over the years. But still, I find nothing to be nearly as fun as stealthing in to some bar/club otherwise "venue" ... with permission or not (Noah and the Whale's tour manager recently kicked me out of a show) and taping/recording the performance with the only requirement to make it sound like it sounded when I heard it/saw/listened to it. And then publishing it. I write as a trade; I also have made original music as a trade and so intellectual property shit is not an issue; I buy. A hacker tag from my early 80's BBS days comes to mind here, "Information wants to be free" ... and that's, generally the spirit with which I and my like minded cohorts here in Houston adhere to. It's generally, and at a technical level, illegal (unless we get express approval): most of the acts we capture are signed, many are not. But again, other than Noah and the Whale's prissy-ass manager (who actually demanded that I give him my SIM card from the Zoom recorder I was using) most artists have not minded; some even, like The Low Anthem, have even invited us. Anyway ... Was curious if any one else out there makes a habit of recording live acts; I do (and several here in Houston, do) and I find it endlessly challenging in regards to being able to quickly (occasionally quietly) set up some sort of device to capture a room sound in a way that ends up sounding like the room. I've got lots of such shenanigans documented online at youtube ... and here is one such example. The following was captured via a Zoom H4N (internal mics) as well as an Audio Technica AT822 patched in to the Zoom's mic input. I was shooting with a Canon HV40 video camera, FWIW. I was about five feet from the lead singer guy. The rest of the band were easily within 10/15 feet of me. Very intimate setting. The band (Dr. Dog) were playing a free, in-store performance at the only real record store left in Houston, Cactus. There were about 150 people behind me. It sounds pretty much like we heard it with our human ears ... the band had very little amplification, mostly un amped, other than the vocals. Small room, flourescent lights, and in a record store. ... (I hope this link displays in-line, still suss'ing the forums protocol) ...

I'll just stay in the kiddie pool for now. ) ... it's warm here and safe. LOL ...

I'm really bugged by not knowing anything about soldering. I've actually been looking for night time classes at the local community college. Seriously. I've been in to the computer overclocking scene for decades (all the way back to the celeron days) ... and most of the really good hacks involve some sort of hard volt mods. In the past, I've had to "fake" it with soldering pencils and the like, conductive ink, etc. ... while my friends just broke out the proper soldering gear. It's like always having to swim in the kiddie pool. Anyway ... will most likely follow that advice (re: practice kits) ... though I have about 50lbs of old computer PCB's in my closet which will most likely be more affordable to mess with/practice upon. ;-)

succinct.

Thanks mate. Now I know my over-the-night crush wasn't really stupid, after all. ;-)

For the time being, I'll keep the SR-307's that came with my latest impulse purchase (you know, the one that includes a SRM-T1W amplifier?) ... for the long term, once I get the aforementioned amp? Who knows?

I'll keep the NIB SR-307's that come with the deal ... the amp? Undecided ...

Funny. I might not have a dynamic set up by then (major paradigm shi(f)t set in last week and suddenly I want to stop juggling dynamic cans and just settle on one really good electrostatic set-up. I have great fear about this. LMFAO ... I'll give you a shout in the next couple weeks then ...

Thanks for all that. As a complete electronics feckin idiot, I can't help but feel a sense of relief that I posted here; now my chances of death by electrocution are vastly diminished (while my chances of actually pulling off a first-time soldering project have increased). All day today I kept thinking, "Wow ... this is just like if somebody went surfing with me for the first time, on a particularly huge and nasty day and asked if they should put the leash around their neck instead of their trailing foot!" ... death or no death? Success or failure? Funny. Anyway. I'm really wanting to settle on a general purpose electrostatic set up, something that lasts and is pretty good with just about everything I listen too (which is everything except rap) ... and so I think I'll enjoy the SRM-T1W gear for a few weeks and then put it back up for sell in favor of a significantly greater investment in a new Stax driver unit (some folk have recommended the 323S or the 727II) or one of the other DIY/3rd party builds. For sure I'll be reading more before buying. Shit man ... I just had a dude tell me that there is a whole calibration process to follow whenever one simply wants to swap the tubes in a Stax amp (if that is actually true) ... and his description included process notes that made my head spin and included gear that I've never even set hands too. So anyway ... ;-)

That's precisely the information I was looking for. Danke mate; I'll certainly be heeding that advice then. (BTW.. Hey Shelly ... is it safe to borrow some cans yet?) ;-)

I recently bought a Stax SRM-T1W and in speaking with others online, have heard that the PSU caps might be "dried up" and it's recommended that they be changed by default. Reportedly, the unit sounds/functions fine and is in "like new" shape cosmetically, but I'd like to do the most basic of these changes if I end up keeping the unit as a nearly two decade old bit of electronics is still a nearly two decades old bit of electronics, no matter how it might look. So I'm considering this project my (re)introduction to Stax and so am intrigued/excited about working through a few minor mods, mostly in regards to extending longevity. Can anyone here recommend the PSU caps that might need to be swapped and especially the specs regarding the sourcing of new ones to install? I have no soldering experience but plan on using this item as my introduction to such. I figure with the size of the components, it might be just the sort of Soldering 101 project to get started with. ;-) I have no desire to do any tube modifications yet (switching to ECC99, etc.) and really just want to immediately handle any internals that could be easily (relatively speaking of course) swapped. I'll be receiving the amp early next week. thanks in advance for any assist... .joel

Truth be told, getting banned is something that's never occurred ... I mean .. I am 3l173 and all ... And posting a "WTB: Grills" post is not at all bad considering this is a forum that was most responsive to folks discussing the exact grills I want to buy. Why would I NOT post a WTB thread??? (duh) ... BTW ... Our little tirade and all aside ... I love the fact that users can fucking use words like fuck and not have some gay swear filter kick in. Nice (you all just went up a notch). (most fun I've had in weeks)

My thin skinned fellow user, do pardon, but your the one that so GAYLY thread jacked our (mine and OP's) discussion of the RS1/bowl conundrum. Prior to your post, third in this thread BTW, we were all simply just discussing a fairly popular and intriguing anomaly occurring in the use of certain Grado headphones. Then, out from left field, supposedly inspired by my (indicated) inappropriate first post to this forum, comes your comment about being angry that I'm still a user/member and posting (and I just GOT HErE!) .. With folks like you around so blatantly and childishly bashing new users, how could a forum expect to stick around (outside of being some user-policed gang/cult, that is)? (I mean, seriously ... ban me if you like, I'd take it as a compliment, but does an admin have to waste his/her time to corroborate my above claims or is this just some sort of joke-forum/private club with no concern for objectivity or tact?)

With the default bowls, highs are a bit blistering to my ear as well ... but only at volume levels exceeding what you might call 'normal' or medium. When listening to classical or alt country or something ... no prob cause I'm always at a fairly low volume ... But should I be listening to something like Neurosis or Quicksand ... and of course at the appropriately slamming level, I found the default bowls to be a bit too shrill. So, having a pair of flats and not really liking the spatial effects (nor the driver being so close to my ear) ... I made some slight changes to the bowls that have worked very well for me. Here's what they look like; and yes, I'm going to try the uber band bending mod that Smeggy posted, maybe even the driver change (that's the funniest thing I've seen all week!) : ... ... I can't listen any other way now. Anyway ... despite the flak ... certain, simple mods can seriously affect sound.

"Sorry about your thin skin" ... If I may dare venture a direct quote <cough> <cough> ....

I concur on your comments regarding comfort ... I also have a set of SR225's here at the house (with flats) and greatly prefer my RS1's with the default bowls (albiet a bit modded). And contrary to many posts at head-fi (and maybe here too, I'm new) ... the difference between the RS1 and the SR225's sound is absolutely staggering. I A/B'd the two cans for about two hours last weekend and the RS1's are just HUGE and lush compared to the SR225's. I really was staggered by the difference. That said ... I also have found myself in agreement with many Grado owners that the default highs can be irritating at higher volumes (though I find them perfect at median/moderate volumes) ... but I found a rather effective way of modding the bowls to ever so slightly discipline the highs while losing none of the detail; the mod involves using a thin layer of headphone foam (from radio shack pads) in combination with the bowls. I'll post a thread here in a bit showing the details of the mod; I've got it already posted at head-fi but after getting mod-thrashed after my very first post here in regards to that other forum, I think I'm going to refrain from linking to it. Anyway ... thanks for the post; I too find the flats ineffective.