Voltron

I'm trying to rationalize and justify the bulk of this as being part of our remodeling project. The main TV system was in place for many years, and is outdated, although I will use some of it in Mayberry. The Oppo BDP-95 had already made the old Arcam DV29 redundant and the AV8 has no HDMI or other modern capabilities. i am also picking up a better DVR from Comcast. I also wanted to streamline and make the system more family friendly, so an integrated receiver makes it easy to watch TV, Bluray, or streaming Netflix, and listen to CDs, streaming audio (plus internet radio built into the new Arcam), AM/FM and iPods on this system without messing with my 2-channel setup. Plus, I am keeping my trusty Pioneer Elite 50" plasma(720p/1080i max) that we have had for over 10 years because I still love the picture. I saw the Clearaudio Double Matrix Pro at RMAF and was impressed by how solid and great looking it is. It is extreme, but as Jeff said it could be an awesome solution to a painful necessity. It is supposed to be a lot quieter, does both sides at once, and even has a de-static brush for post-cleaning. The lack of a platter is brilliant because not only do I hate cleaning on the VPI 16.5 machine but I also worry about sticking the newly-cleaned side down on the cruddy platter. I am going to have a headphone and small speaker setup down in the garage, and the new wine "cellar" with wine/beer/vermouth cooler is close by, so headphone cleaning will be a party!

Have a great one! Cheers

So, attending RMAF toward the end of my construction project is proving to be an expensive proposition. Since returning, I have purchased the following: Squeezebox Touch Arcam AVR360 AV receiver for SF REL R528 Subwoofer for SF, to go with the Gallo Reference Strada R/C/L speakers I bought before the remodel started And I went temporarily insane and got the Clearaudio Double Matrix Professional record cleaner for my new record cleaning table in SF Problem is, I am not sure I am done yet . . .

Cheers, Shelly, and I wish my profs would have had a couple drinks before writing my recommendation letters!

Similar cover art, but it works better for Bjork.

I was going to join Mike (after the fact) in some Handy Rye, but Shelly's idea seems better at the moment. G-R XO for me.

Beautiful Aviation Jim! Lovely mixing Marc! Excellent choices by the rest, but wow, Mikey, that was a hell of a weekend! Gonna ponder a nightcap of some sort.

Ninkasai Tricerahops

I tend to think Marc was suggesting that the fact Eric owns W4S gear already he would be inclined to like it as reinforcement of his past purchases, while you do not own any W4S gear and might give a more unbiased opinion. Just the way I read it.

Has anybody bought the CD, Vinyl or Deluxe version of Rhino's Smiths Complete box set? Curious about sound and mastering.

I tried listening to this, Todd, and the vocals were a big hangup for me. Peter doesn't have the same feel as Ian, but I am sure it was more fun live. My Brightest Diamond -- All Things Will Unwind Unfortunate cover, imo, especially given the other ones that were really well done.

Which O2s are in the lineup? Maybe you should trade those three for one 009.

I thought they were pretty impressive in clarity and air and sound staging. I have never heard timpani heads reverberating after being slammed the way the Sanders portrayed it. It seems that they benefit from being a whole system with matched amps. The problem was that the roller coaster described both the seating and thf music because Sanders played no more than 30-60 seconds of each track. We went from classical crescendo to Johnnie Cash to the middle of a Stevie Ray Vaughn song. It was weird.

Back at you, sirs. *first iPhone 4S photo.

Good news about no bypass Lloyd! Sorry about the MRI Shelly, those things suck if you are uncomfortable in there. Like CJ, I fell asleep during one on my leg last year, so it can also be a nice rest.

If you had the right lens, Jeff, Dinny would have looked like this:

Red Death Cocktail 1/2 oz vodka 1/2 oz peach liqueur 1/2 oz amaretto almond liqueur 1/2 oz triple sec 1/2 oz sloe gin 1/2 oz lime juice orange juice Pour all ingredients (except orange juice) into an ice-filled collins glass. Fill with orange juice, and serve.

Thanks G-Man!

To complete the birthday trifecta, have a great day! Cheers!

I asked a couple of times if anyone had met you there and nobody had. Why the stealth mode?

Happy birthday Peter! Rock on with yo bad self. Cheers!

Have a great one Carl! Cheers!

Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros -- Streetcore

At the airport waiting for a plane home. The inevitable let-down is sinking in as I try to get some work done for an 8am call in the real world tomorrow. oh well, it was still great to hang with the crew that made it here, even with red vodka and blackouts. Impressions of gear will have to come later, but I wanted to acknowledge the amazing job JP did to put on a world class showcase of headphone audio. The room was packed with a record number of MOTs and the setup was very conducive to sampling all the offerings as Dinny said. Thanks for all the hard work. It seemed like a fairly high percentage of the RMAF attendees passed through the room. Perhaps this is the year we really do cross over from the fringe to the mainstream Tyll suggested out on IF. I will be really interested to see the media coverage. I also wanted to thank Jeff and Tyler for picking up the driving duties and Tyler again for taking us to Biker Jim's. As ironbut Steve said today, the sausage hunt has become an integral part of these events, which are largely sausage fests, especially when Vicki and Shelly are absent. Speaking of which, many and more of you were sorely missed and it would have been great if more of the Travel Team had made it. This really is NOT a CanJam, however, and will never have that same feel. I'm curious if the large-scale member-driven version will ever happen again. I think i prefer our smaller get-togethers anyway at this point, but I feel sorry for the rest of them.

Dinny was very proud that his new wine was for sale in denver!