Voltron

That cab ride took about the same time as the flight would take. Would you actually eat this time? More economical solution would be to overnight some Roscoes to Chicago. I'll investigate.

Atlas Sound -- Logos

For two different people, I am looking to recommend compact non-audiophile 2-channel systems, one under $1K and one over. Any new thinking on the under? Any ideas for the over? I'm thinking of recommending the Arcam Solo/Solo Mini with some Harbeths or something like that for the over. He can afford good stuff but he wants something compact for a place in Manhattan. Are there other CD/Integrated/DAC kind of products people can recommend? I don't think computer audio is likely, but iPod connection is likely. Anybody ever heard Sonics speakers by Joachim Gerhard? Those are being recommended to him. Thanks.

Nick Cave & Warren Ellis -- The Road (Film Score)

I imagine the hotel has it screwed up because that has happened every year one way or another. Thanks for fixing it, Jim.

And Art Dudley about creamed himself reviewing it years ago. I didn't know what it was when Stretch posted it so I looked it up. Sounded like a very nice piece, and a major bang for the buck winner. Enjoy it Stretch!

Arcam. Keep it British.

Ottmar Liebert & Luna Negra -- Up Close (24/96 HD Tracks)

I have not had that happen yet, but this is weird. I just did a playlist that has a mix of sample/bit rates and as long as I let the songs end and Amarra automatically switches to the next track it is fine. Then, I tried going from 96 to 44 in the middle of a song and the reaction is a slow-mo artifact I guess from the 96K song and then the 44K song starts playing fine. I did it with a number of different tracks and the same result occurred. Same result with 176 or 192 files. After a number of back and forth switches in mid-song, Amarra and or the Model 4 locked up, a couple of times. I am not sure how to describe all of these things, but there were some digital clicks and artifacts in between tracks. None of this stuff has happened to me just playing things straight through. Amarra is not opening when I open iTunes although iTunes will open when I open Amarra. Odd. I also have to Force Quit Amarra too often when Quitting the program. These quirks and bugs are getting annoying.

toe -- the book about my idle plot on a vague anxiety

Happy Birthday Luis! Cheers

Wow, that TV is nice, but my neck really hurts after watching a movie over here.

iTunes.

Or maybe he doesn't recall.

Douche.

Why do the Fiferfighters just walk away from a fire? That seems like a bad message.

I meant I have gifted the RS130, not RS160.

I have given several RS160 as gifts over the last couple of years and they are always a huge hit. The recipients are not audio-phreaks but they like the sound and can watch football, wander around with classical playing all the time, or listen to podcasts when they were previously hampered by spouses or sleeping kids or whatever. If these are much better, then it is a cool thing. Still sucks that they don't have anything to announce for us.

Did you read the book "Kitchen" by Banana Yoshimoto? That got me going on the quest for the perfect tonkatsu years ago and I still seek it.

Roy Hargrove Quintet -- Earfood

Don't be a tease. Give the man what he wants!

Honda Fit? Nissan Versa? Hyundai Accent? Kia Rio? 2009 Smart car? The stupidest names, but supposedly some of the best small, budget options.

He's only 15 or some shit, so maybe his mom is the Koss Bandito. Anyway, this fucking kid is on my last nerve. He did the whole Piccolino cable pumping thing and ran Wilson's loaner program but now he is a TWag convert and loves everything those morons do, including commenting on how that shows what incredible markups there must be on high-end cables. Genius. The following posts are sickening but show his family's 7.1 B&W 802 setup (with the center and rear surround channels about 12 feet in the air ), which he calls "my listening area." He has invited people over and laxx seems like he is going to watch movies with him, and I think it would be funny to show up drunk as hell with a 12 pack and some Jaegermeister.

Mmmm, donut arm.

I only watched the last 4 minutes on the clock. I didn't get to see the kid do anything but choke up the ball, throw an interception and otherwise puke his guts out onto the field. The highlights showed the good parts, but damn it was pretty ugly in those last 4 minutes.