Currawong

This is my usual attitude, but the problem has always been zooming out indoors. I think ... ...this is my answer. I'd have bought one but they were sold out everywhere here. I actually used the 14-24 at 24mm about half the time IIRC, so I know it is about right. Ok, I'll shut up with my indecisiveness and post pictures. Before anyone asks, yes, the highlights are over-blown deliberately. The flash set-up wasn't as good as it could have been as I was in a hurry to grab the smile. Yes, he's cute too. He likes jumping up-and-down and/or falling asleep on me listening to "Friday Night in San Francisco".

Damn, the Smart Alec looks like what I need, though I don't know if it would fit a camera as well. The Gator is too good -- i end up overloading it with the MB Air and D7000 and it becomes a PITA to lug around. There's a Crumpler backpack around the right size for both those things with a camera side entry, but maybe I need to get the Sony RX1 instead...

All the fun I've missed trying to ignore the 'net for a few days. I read the whole discussion about DSD, including the Stereophile links and I'm still not sure what to make of it. A friend is about to receive a Resonance Invicta (I swear that name sounds more like that of a lawn mower than a piece of audio gear. Maybe it's an Australian thing...) which can play back DSD. He has ripped a crapload of SACDs, I have the Weiss converter and hopefully we'll be able to experiment on the weekend. In all honesty, I think Luxman digital gear is utter rubbish. The DA-100 and DA-200 were so bad it was unbelievable. I was so shocked I waited until someone independently confirmed what I'd heard first. The D-05 was simply underwhelming. It only sounded like a less bad DA-200. Slightly unrelated, but I bought a second-hand Anedio D2 FOTM. I like it better than what I heard of the Benchmark. It's so excessively clear and spacious-sounding that it sounds like the bass isn't there in most music. Since it has a remote control, it is intended for my living room system with the Emotivas. A couple of weeks ago I hosted a mini-meet of local audiophiles and one brought the Mytek. That was very good-sounding from the built-in USB (noting that it was plugged into a PS Audio Power Plant, which would have improved the sound a bit).

Kitamura. Not sure about other stores, but the one in the city is full of middle-aged to old guys who have obviously been into photography a long time. I did probably mean the 10-24. I always get the zoom lenses screwed up. If I type 12-24 I mean 14-24. I think the solution may be to take an SD card with me and take a bunch of test shots at the store with different lenses that they recommend. I guess it's always going to be a case of: Light-weight. Sharp. Can zoom. Pick two.

I've installed it on two with no problems. The only issue I've had is that integer mode hijacks the interface being used, so unless another one is selected in Mac OS X, other programs that try and output sound can lock up, such as Safari when playing a Youtube video. It can also be a bit funny if you try and switch the output without restarting the program. If it crashes, it might not release the output interface. It is really best for a computer dedicated to music playback, especially using its built-in playlist rather than iTunes integrated mode, though that works fine. To me, it sounds a tiny bit clearer than Amarra with most devices I've tried, but the differences are pretty small.

Cankin: I've been wary of 3rd party lenses. I gather the D800 has even had issues with primes, so I suspect I need to be very careful with lens selection. Salt Peanuts: They didn't have any refurb D600s here. The pros for the D600 are not having to learn a new button layout upgrading from the D7000, but I hate the button layout! The D800 seems slightly more sane, or maybe more insane. I suspect the low price may be due to the Japanese market and the focus on the new and latest, which is the D800E. The shop is reputable (a chain, but staffed by experienced people who know their stuff). I will ask them about shutter count and condition. I didn't notice any of the usual red text used for noting problems on the tag with the price. What kind of shutter count is considered good or bad? Lenses still bug me. What would be awesome would be something like the 17-55 but smaller. I don't *need* the pixels -- it's tempting me to simply cheat and go for a wider rather than narrower lens, eg: a 20mm prime and just crop madly when I can't get as close as ideal. As usual, I had plenty of fun with a friend's 14-24 in Tokyo. Not a single picture needed more than the RAW Boost effects to look great. It's too damn heavy though. I want one the size of the 10-22mm lens. If an FX 10-22mm lens existed that was the same size as the DX one and only started to obviously distort below 16mm (like the 14-24) I'd probably nab it in an instant. It's the trips out to the park and the like where I'd like up to about 55mm or more.

I've been thinking about upgrading to the D600 lately, even though I'll have to buy new glass. I have been endlessly pondering something like a 17-55 anyway, as that would cover most of what I shoot. However, there is a s/h D800 going for <$2k. Should I go for it?

I could only find this pic. I guessed opamps of some kind and it seems I was right. I can't make out what the opamps are though. Pic from here: http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/benchmark-announces-dac2-hgc.298822/page-4 The QuteHD is in at a local store, so I'm going to drop by and see if I can't give it a run. I put a 480 GB SSD in the Air along with my iTunes library. Now I just have to find a DSD file of something that I already have in PCM. I'll have to see if I can't remember to take the Audiophilleo with me as well. I was reading, however, that it is possible to run DSD through nothing more than a low pass filter and analogue sound will come out. No need for a proper DAC at all.

I met Jerry on the weekend as well and he kindly stuck things in my ears to try, as well as explained phase to me in a way that made sense. I ordered the 13s. I've been wanting to order them for years now, but I'm glad I waited for the freqphase upgrade. Since they had the AK100s for only $400 I got one of those too, with a guy from Thailand doing the impedance mod on the spot for me (so that it works better with low-impedance IEMs). That'll do for my portable rig I reckon. No rubber bands involved.

I did try the DAC2 on the weekend using USB input from my MacBook Air. I think someone used to a NOS DAC would feel it sounded "digital". It definitely wasn't as good as when I had the Calyx fed by the Audiophilleo, but then the Audiophilleo is excellent. I forgot to try DSD stupidly though. I really wanted to try the QuteHD as well, but for whatever reason the USB input didn't show up. Given its wall-wart power supply, a good PSU + an Audio-gd USB32 digital interface might make it a great DAC bargain. I have no idea if DSD is worth bothering with or not though. I want to grab a bunch of DSD-native DACs and experiment, but I have trouble believing that investing in improving a system in other ways wouldn't be better first.

I don't reckon it is a pyramid scheme, but I do reckon the feds in various countries will want to shut it down. Anything they can't control....

I've been interested in the DAC 2 as well, as I've wanted to replace the Calyx with a DAC/pre unit. I am encouraged by the single decent review on it that suggests they've fixed what many people didn't like about the sound of the DAC 1, but also because having owned the Calyx I know that good results can be had with a well-designed Sabre-based DAC, though in my case with the use of a better USB to S/PDIF converter.

Seriously cool. Those are the kinds of shots I have been wanting to take.

I've pulled the HP-P1 out of the box again just now and it is indeed a good match. I kind-of wished I'd kept the L3 just to compare it to the Pico Power now. It worked well with the HP-P1 as a source too.

Things are looking up for me being able to actually build something here without family chaos interfering so I want to ask, given the issue with the sand, should I simply wait for the new boards first?

There's a guy here who did a DIY dual-ES9018 DAC. There's a lot of crazy stuff here like that. Latest FOTM in some circles (ie: a DAC nut on a couple of forums has waxed lyrical over it) is the Chord Qute HD, which is the processing core of their TOTL DAC but in a Chordette case for ~DAC1 money. Not balanced though it accepts DSD over USB.

They are suing Yamaha too for their "Dr who?" ads where they are flogging a look-alike.

I reckon you can do better than the ULN-2 now. Also, if, for whatever reason, you aren't getting sound out of it you'll be there forever trying to work out which setting was wrong. One idea might be the Metrum Octave, which has dropped in price. Factor in a good USB to S/PDIF converter though (eg: an Audiophilleo 2), as the optical input is awful. It's more mellow-sounding than the Benchmark or Lavry. Though it's two boxes, it's like two elongated small Hammond cases and weighs stuff-all. Other than that, why not build a maxxed Buffalo III? Easy to do with all the audiophile-approved bits and no headphone outputs.

Sometimes I get lucky with the kids. I bought an SB-700 and my indoor shots no longer suck, except when I forget to set a suitable exposure.

For those who don't frequent the other forum, 3 of us got to interview Stax and tour the factory.

You can buy cheese on Amazon now?!?

Found it. I played with a friend's 14-24mm Nikon lens on my D7000 in Tokyo. Mad lens. The pinch of salt in that Ken Rockwell article for me is his talking about getting right up in the face of things. The point of having the zoom on that lens is so you don't always have to do that IMO. Mind you, I haven't tried that lens on an FX camera yet and my photography with that lens was for practical, not artistic purposes -- eg: standing in front of a table at a meet and capturing the whole thing without having to worry about getting a crowd of people out of the way.

Ditto. There are a couple of local KEF dealers here but both are completely clueless about computer audio so the likelihood of being able to audition a pair are slim. I want a pair of these: http://unityaudioproducts.co.uk/the-rock.php ELAC tweeter and woofer in a sealed box with an E.A.R. amp. I just sprung for a pair of ADAM ARTist 3s and some other gear so I can't justify something like these for a while, regrettably.

Made in some sweatshop in Bangladesh for 2c/pair no doubt.

Amarra for $59. Was from a promo a while ago but the link still works. Just remember to set alert sounds to an interface other than the one being used for music output for best results.