Voltron

It's the drugs, man. Yeah, I stayed up late as hell but by 2 or 3am Saturday night it wasn't even voluntary any more. Stevieo was just taunting me and begging me to end his miserable life. It's Gene who is really a mystery. Kind of like Mickey Rourke in Barfly -- as long as he has his "fuel" he keeps going and going. When I was trying to sleep and threatening Stevieo with kicks to the head if he didn't shut up, Gene was posting pictures with his one squinky eye.

I'm relieved, but still an old fuck.

Very cool Steve. No parties in the prior 89 years? That's a depression-era upbringing with some staying power! My dad turns 86 this week, and he hates parties so we always have to tone it down. His father lived to 93 but was already in much worse shape than my dad or your granddad for that matter! My grandpa was also one of my heroes and I live in his last house that he bought the year I was born and where he and my grandmother lived throughout my childhood, which makes it a very special place to me. And congrats to Vicki and her parents' 50th! I know you have been working on that event for a long time, V, so I hope you get to have fun now that it is here. My folks celebrate their 60th this September. We're still trying to figure out what to do, so maybe I should ask you for some tips!

Fun with homonyms. Sorry. Plus, are you too young to even know those TV ads? Man, I'm an old fuck.

As a result of Jack Wu's kindness, I have had the Woo GES prototype in my house since CanJam ended. I have not spent as much time as I might have hoped with the GES, but it is a big improvement over the Stax 007t and made me actually think the Omega II was enjoyable (right before I sold them!). Although the prototype is an old model (obviously) and is not supposed to be up to the current production model's standard, it is a very good match with all of the Stax cans I have thrown at it. That would include the O2, 4070s, Lambda Pro, Lambda Signature, and Stax SR-5NB Gold, and each of them improved with the GES over the 007t. That is also saying something special because the 007t was being fed a balanced signal from the EMM Labs rig, while the GES got merely single-ended signal from lesser cables. Anyway, I cannot do a full review of this wonderful amp for lack of time spent and time to commit to it, but I can definitely say that its greater power and increased finesse both add greatly to the listening experience. When I upgrade or add to my electrostatic setup, the Woo GES will be at the top of the list. Even upgraded in a few ways that Jack recommends and with top-notch tubes, it is still a much more affordable option than other available high-end amps. Also, it is a one-box and compact unit in the stock configuration, which is another plus in my book and given my overcrowded racks! Congratulations to Woo Audio for another fine amp in their line-up. In fact, there is a rumor circulating (and I have not spoken to Jack about it yet) that there will be another Woo electrostatic amp in the near future. It is a higher-end model and I know basically nothing about it other than it is supposed to be on the way. I will be watching for sure! Here are a couple pics of the Woo and Stax 4070s. I didn't have room on the rack for a solo spot so the GES is sitting on top of the VPI SDS speed controller. Enjoy (I know I do!):

Warm and welcoming?!

How about some 4070s and a nice cappuccino? The setup looks great Deepak, and I hope you enjoy the O2s more than I did.

What a dope. I meant baritone above, not trombone. Long week.

Glad to see the trombone thread had some impact! I also received my Night In Tunisia from Music Matters. Can't wait to spin it tonight! Oh yeah, there seem to be 4 images in your original message but only 3 show up. When I cut off the last one, non-trombone-related, it now shows 2 images. Odd, but it seems to be this fine, trombone-related, title:

An oldie but a goodie.

Following the theme of the day: Used Canon EF 20-35mm f2.8L for my 40D.

My friends in Paris combined the two quite regularly. They would unroll a Gauloise, sprinkle in some hash, and then re-roll the combo in a new rolling paper. Peps you up and mellows you out at the same time! Not that I would know about that. They just told me. And speaking of California exports, they would die for actual California sensimillia because it is so scarce compared to hash. What is your surprise, btw, or is that a surprise too? Do all Dutch women say "Yihaa"?

In (obviously). As mentioned elsewhere, I will probably bring the Rockhopper 6-channel Balanced Beta22, a balanced source, and some balanced cans (Ed. 9, RS-1, PS-1, HD650/600 etc.). Maybe I will also bring the Stax 007t and 4070s or maybe i will just bring the 4070s and use Ric's amps. Who else is flying/driving in from out of town for this one! Huh? Come on, bring on the 'Cases!

Good options people. Keep them coming.

I don't know Indra personally but I am guessing that she doesn't smoke pot/hash with her morning coffee. Not that there's anything wrong with that...

Thanks AS. I just listened to Encounter and now I am jamming this one from Pepper: Come on Reks, what Mulligan albums?

Oops, I meant Nugget Audio not Granite. Nate is from the Granite State and takes pics on granite and I get confused in my feeble brain. Sorry for the unintended slight.

Sorry that Napa let you down, but Beringer mostly does suck. Big, commercial wineries often do. I know that these are sweeping generalizations but so be it. Too bad that is a lot of what Europeans think of as California wine.

Following up from Reks' cool trombone-music thread, I thought I would throw out a request for more jazz titles led by or featuring baritone sax. I came across a random but cool website, http://www.jazzbarisax.com/ that has some great leads and such, but this crowd has some good musical taste and knowledge. Here are a couple of my own favorites to start off: Serge Chaloff: Gerry Mulligan: James Carter featured with the Ginger Baker DJQ2O (Denver Jazz Quintet to Octet): That last disc is a favorite in general and James Carter wails on the first track, Cyril Davis, and three other cuts as well. So, whadya got?

tkam- Have you tried the SB3 analog output itself? It isn't bad (especially when you have a nice Sigma11 PS from Granite Audio ), and blessingx just sold his Lavry DA10 because he thought there was too little difference between the SB3 output and the SB3 into Lavry output. He was using some Stax rigs during that comparison after owning the Lavry for a long time, although he was using Stax amps which are likely to show off the differences less. If Alex will add a spdif in on you CDP, then I would definitely go for that option if within your price range.

Are you not allowed any sharp objects, Dom?

Thank god for small favors (no offense, big fella).

I thought he hurt his leg?!

Today is boring (work) so I'll stick with the original question of what I did on Memorial Day. Woke up with a hangover from a couple beers at dinner and two gigantic killer Manhattans with Baker's bourbon (forgot it was 107 proof) after seeing Rosa Pasos with my wife. She had a hangover too from a couple of strong-ass Sidecars, and she was on puppy duty so she had gotten up at 3am and 6:30am to let the little dickens outside. Most of the day was new-puppy-focused, from stopping her biting us constantly to constant house-breaking work to playing and petting. Just assume that goes on the whole time this other stuff happened. We had bagels for breakfast, went over to our house in Marin (aka Mayberry) and hung out with the new pup and my sister-in-law's family for a few hours and lunch. Tended to our new side garden and planted the Italian plum tree we had ordered and picked up on the way to the house (organic nursery open on the holiday). We actually called it the Plum Pole because it is trunk with small shoots starting out that will eventually be branches. Shopped for groceries on the way back to SF, and talked to one of my sisters and my folks about the puppy and other stuff. I cooked up some de-boned trout and enjoyed that with some mache, baguette, and a couple beers. Watched an episode of Robin Hood recorded from BBC America with the kids and then watched The Tudors from the night before with my wife before collapsing into bed. Cheers, all.