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Happy 80th Mum!

Good news, I've had the HT setup up and going for about two weeks now and I'm really happy with it. As previously mentioned I ended up getting the Marantz sr5007 to use only as a processor/pre-amp and the Emotiva XPA5 for amp duties. I also ended up getting the Oppo BDP-103 and some new cables (hdmi and speaker). Detour time - the last Oppo I owned prior to the BDP-103 was one of their universal dvd players. I don't remember the model but it was an older one for sure and while it always performed well the build quality was pretty poor. With the BDP-103 I have to hand it to Oppo the build quality is superb and while I realize $500 isn't cheap for a blu-ray player these days it's still a hell of a bargain for what you get. Color me extremely impressed. Back on topic, I'm really happy with how well the Marantz and Emotiva are working out. For being a lower-end model the Marantz really is loaded feature wise, it has all auto-calibration and networking related features you can ask for including a smartphone control app. It also has support for Airplay though it's not something I can test. Of course it also has the all important full set of pre-outs that most other brands have abandoned in the lower-end models. Setup was a breeze thanks to the on-screen interface which I quite like. It has an understated look and keeps things simple, everything I needed was easy to find and setup properly. I did use the on-board Audyssey auto-calibration for setting up the speakers. It did a fairly decent job as I only had to tweak things a little bit. The Marantz does have quite a bit of video processing capabilities but I'm just having it pass-through everything coming in through the HDMI inputs so I can't really comment on that. It does appear to pass-through the signals unmolested though so that's a good start. I am using the 12v trigger from the Marantz to the Emotiva and that works perfectly. Speaking of the Emotiva, it's a beast weighing in at 75 lbs and is solid. It drives my Selah speakers with ease and the 3D's (the fronts) are a nominal 4 ohm and 83db efficiency. It really does quite a good job, it's probably the best I've heard the speakers sound in a while. So the Emotiva sounds great, and maybe more importantly it functions flawlessly. At power up it cycles through each amp channel checking for faults before fulling turning on and this is just one of the many safety/protection features it has. The XPA5 is the first Emotiva product I've owned and I'm a big fan. It's a solid product at a very reasonable price. I'm a happy camper, I have a my HT rig rebuilt and it's looking and sounding better than ever.

Mike, JP, Raffy, and Vicki have been pissing me off with all this bike mania, so I decided to join them in the madness. Picking up my Scott SUB 10 tomorrow. It's an "urban" bike - don't you love marketing? Should be just right for me - I want to ride for exercise, don't need off road capability (been there, done that, have scars to prove it), and don't need to be fastest,. Also appeals to the tech geek in me - Gates Carbon Drive, Shimano Alfine 8 speed hub, Shimano hydraulic discs. Watch out, people, I'm comin' for you, and I'm coming now!

Interesting story regarding Rutherford Chang and his collection of numbered Beatles albums. I understand that it's more of a multi media art presentation but for the casual onlooker, it's almost cult like! http://www.dustandgrooves.com/rutherford-chang-we-buy-white-albums/

Happy Birthday to Mum! Grahame cleans up real nice.

Looks like I'm going to have to fly...

Ruh roh! I have the Raleigh completely torn down to the bare frame right now, and finally decided to fix what a machine shop fucked up 30+ years ago. I had Raleigh replace the fork, and when it arrived, the crown race seat needed to be machined. Back in the pre-internet days, and a fairly new LBS, they didn't have the crown race cutting tool to handle it. Couple that with the fact that I had no idea about ISO (26.4mm) and JIS (27mm) fork races. Mine was a 26.4mm Campy. I asked for a "loose" press fit. It came back machined down to < 26mm. I guess that is loose Shim stock roughly took care of the problem in this time. Sent the fork up to Chris Kvale in the twin cities. He has it rebrazed and machined correctly:

plane ticket purchased!

Well I finally went up to Champaign to pick up the Airmotiv 5 speakers from FedEx. I have them hooked up suboptimally through the SE loop outs of the GSX (until I can get long enough XLR cables) and they still sound great. This is a really clear and clean sounding near field system. Really glad I did not get the 6s since they would have been pretty imposing on my desk and the 5s are plenty at this distance. They are hooked up in my office system at work. Mac mini ---optical--> Emotiva xda-1 ---XLR--> HeadAmp GSX ---RCA--> Airmotiv 5

Are you kidding me?!!!!

Glen Hansard, Rhythm and Repose

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.