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Saw a few lights….🙂

Got to work to hear that the employee toilet was leaking. It's a hardware store, but nobody seemed to know what to do. I grabbed a wax ring, wrench and caulk. Had it fixed in about an hour. Was offered 2 hours off at the end of my shift. Seems fair to me. Paid of course.

Cool! Could I see the northern lights with your naked eyes or only in pics? We have had the latter a couple of times recently.

there was a lime in the marinade to prevent scurvy...

Playing with the new Df and a Nikkor 35 f/2 AF-D at a nearby Art & Wine fest. Esmé and friend recreating lesser known naval battles as I layer on the post-processing. Highlights be damned.

How to watch https://www.theverge.com/2024/9/7/24238537/apples-glowtime-iphone-16-event-how-to-watch-ios-18-apple-intelligence-ai

Woot! has the Fujifilm GFX100 II (body only) for $3999 today: (NEW) Fujifilm GFX100S II Body Mirrorless Medium Format Camera Body (woot.com)

lamb, done and done

Happy belated! Hope it was great! (party favour noise)

I’m sure just like all of you, yogurt.

I’m going to post this in its own thread as so many people are asking me for X9000 impressions, and it makes sense to have them somewhere where they are easy to find. I was also going to take some pictures to add to this review but I’m just wiped. Might add some later if these ever present storms let up for some good light. I’ve now had the SR-X9000 here for over a week so time for a writeup... as my email inbox is full of people asking for just that. 🙂 First impressions were very promising, the build quality is superb, and those drivers are just a marvel to behold. I do like the new replaceable cables even, though it is a bit of a copy of the King Sound setup, and they really should include a 2.5m cable and a 5m one, the 1.5m makes no sense to me. The earpads might be a tad too big in terms of open area for their own good but they are well made and comfy. That new arc design is also excellent, far better than the 009 mess. The inspiration from the SR-Omega is clear but the build quality here is far, far better. Same loose feeling fit too; they mostly just hang off the head with minimal clamping. I really like how they drew inspiration from them, but I also have some issues with how that was executed… more about that later. The system I’ve been using them in is my main rig, Denafrips Terminator DAC feeding a Carbon CC all being fed from my main PC. Now for the sound, these are clearly voiced in the same direction as the 009/009S but not as horribly colored as those two. They sound open and lively with decent bass and the forward slant is there but far better than the predecessors. I remember thinking… “these are what the 009’s should have been 11 years ago” so yeah, not bad at all. For some recordings they really work but yeah… a few tracks in and the cracks began to show. A bit of a backstory, I’ve likened buying Stax to being in an “abusive relationship” for the last 15 years. Back in 2007 they brought us the 007Mk2’s with all of their issues. Sure, they could be fixed easily enough with some blutac but yeah it was a sign of things to come. At CanJam it was confirmed there was a new version of the 007Mk2’s out and they were even worse (the Mk2.5 as we called them), the blutac helped but could not fix the terrible voicing. Then it was announced a new flagship was incoming and the SR-009 landed in 2011. Now we all remember the clusterfuck that was, drivers failing left and right and forward sound with pitiful bass response… yeah, I’m not a fan. One bright spark was in 2014 when I got a new set of 007Mk2’s and they had clearly been changed for the better. The port finally kind of worked and the voicing was more like the Mk1’s. Then we got the limited edition 009BK (2016?) which I found to be a small improvement over the 009 but still that same sound and finally the 009S is 2018. Less said about them the better, quickest I’ve ever sold one of my flagship phones there… That brings us to the present and since the wait for the SR-X9000 was so long, I had time to bolster my collection to compare against them. I got a used set of 009S just to make sure I didn’t like them (that was still the case), a Voce (not arrived yet due to some shipping snafu’s) and finally the one I really wanted, a SR-Omega with early 007 Mk1 drivers. I had a set a decade or so ago and it’s really the only set of headphones I truly regret selling. I also got my final set of Audeze CRBN’s to compare against the new kid on the block. I had a lot of fun doing so and after a few hours I gravitated to a direct A-B test of the SR-Omega/007 against the X9000. Makes sense as they are a similar idea, put a more modern driver into that same basic housing design. That did reveal the two main issues with the X9000’s, the bright edge to everything which is just borderline annoying and more distracting than anything. Second are the imaging issues… First off, the brightness, with the 009’s they were really intolerable, and I’ve never been able to just sit down and enjoy a listening session with 009’s. It’s not that bad here but it’s always present. Some tracks it just blends in and becomes part of the sound while on others it stands out and takes away from the immersion. What makes it worse is that there is no logic to which tracks have that edge to them, bright ones which I would expect to have it… well it just blends in while darker ones have it. Must be a resonance issue as there is so little damping here. Now with the imaging, I think Stax made a mistake having the outside screen angled like that. On the SR-Omega it is perfectly parallel with the drivers but on the X9K, it is maybe 3mm further out towards the front. This or some part of the driver structure might be the culprit for the odd imaging. Let me clarify, they throw a large soundstage but it’s very much a “three blob affair”. Nothing wrong with that really but it’s the front imaging which sounds off for me. It’s all a bit to distant and boxed in while not being as focused as the 007 soundstage. When you pick up on it, it becomes very apparent and distracting. As comparison, let’s take the SR-Omega and SR-007Mk2. The SR-Omega throws a wide soundstage but it’s all a bit loose and diffused. Now the 007’s (all of them really) have a much tighter, more focused soundstage which also does something unique, there are layers to it. With the SR-X9000 it’s more like the SR-Omega (which makes sense) but more localized to the three blobs and the middle one has that odd boxed in effect while being a bit distant. Now other than these two things, these are well made and high performing sets, but these two things annoy me enough for them to not make my top/best ever list. The SR-007’s are more laid back and “darker” but also more neutral and truer to the original sound. The SR-Omega/007 is a more fun and looser version of that sound but those slight deficiencies just make them a welcome change, doesn’t make them any less neutral. They simply act as a bridge bringing those two sounds together, absolute purity of the 007 with the more warm and loose nature of the SR-Omega. I feel I should also talk a bit about the new kid on the block, the Audeze CRBN. Now I’ve had a few of them here, prototype units to the final production version and it really is the antithesis of the SR-X9000 is terms of fit and sound. The CRBN is snug as it hugs your head with thick and supple earpads. The sound is far more damped so it is darker but still very open and expansive. Now they aren’t perfect, they have that slight issue with the midrange presence due to the heavy damping, but it is minor overall. They are really what the HE90 could have been back in the day, more diffused than the 007’s but with proper bass. Nice way to tie back the 007's were always being compared to the HE90 back in the day. Lastly, how are they to drive. Well… as one would expect with a driver this size, they need a lot of power to behave. That brightness will quickly get out of control, especially at higher volume levels when the headphones don’t have enough power behind them. I’ve only tried them on a couple of amps so far so I’ll need more time with that, but I’d say powerful and neutral amps will suit these just fine. Conclusion/TL; DR These are good but not as good as they could have been. They are too forward sounding though not as bad as the SR-009, 009BK or 009S. I crave neutrality over everything else, the headphones should just present the sound with as little an impact on it as is possible. If they fail to represent a part of the spectrum, that’s fine but if they add something… then I have a problem with it. The brightness and imaging issue does disqualify them due to that, but I will keep them around, nonetheless. With some material they work well and plus I’m in a collecting mood… 😉 I'll probably add to review later on as I spend some more time with them. Finally, I’m going to be a bit cynical and think Stax are doing this sound signature on purpose and not for the obvious reasons. This is exactly the type of sound which grabs you on a quick audition or impresses the useless audio reviewers out there who don’t know any better. Back in 2002 the 007’s got no love at all as they are the definition of “unimpressive at first audition”, let along not many amps around at that time which could drive them. Stax are clearly now trying to make money and not audio purist just trying to make the best product possible, nothing wrong with that, so I’m glad this wasn’t a complete hack job like the 009S.

I always apply the port mod so my impressions are always with that in place.

Finally, I’ve had some time to sit down and dot down my final thoughts on the CRBN. They’ve been here for a couple of months, but I really wanted to have a Carbon CC up and running to try them on before I wrote anything final. I rustled up some pretty ghetto front and back panels this week, so I finally have one for my own system. Feeding it is a Denafrips Terminator DAC but I’ve tried it with a number of other sources plus whatever amps I’ve up and running at any given point, KGSSHV, KGST, CCS modified Stax amps etc. Now I want to start with how it’s been living with them for the past two months, in a word flawless. No issues at all with this second set, no imbalance, noises from the drivers… nothing like that. They are also supremely comfortable, and I’ve worn them for hours on end with no discomfort. Now this is Iceland so not exactly warm and the all-leather earpads might be an issue in warmer climates. Audeze might make hybrid pads like the Sennheiser HE60/90 but here I just open a window to cool down... 😉 Also, a word on driving them. They are inefficient and do need a lot of power. Anybody claiming otherwise is just full of it and thinks gain and position of the volume knob has anything to do with power levels. They are not quite 007 bad in this regard but they do reward a more powerful amp when pushing them. Baseline for excellent performance would be the KGST/KGSSHV line but even with the CCS modified Stax amps they work well at moderate volume levels. Push them though and yeah… you need power behind them. So how do they sound… well TLDR, how I’ve always wished the Sennheiser HE90 should have sounded but never did. These were my first impressions, slightly oversized soundstage and not as precise as others but far from the mess that is the HE90. Plenty of deep, well controlled bass too but not quite up to the 007 level. They can get bright when the source calls for it, slightly excessively so at times, but far from the forward nature of the 009’s. The soundstage is a bit larger than life, but it makes for plenty of presence and separation so while not pinpoint accurate, they are very close to it. Overall, they are just so balanced and pleasant to listen to regardless of what you feed them. Now for the only real issue, the damping is something which has annoyed me more and more. Now as some might know… I’m a bit picky… just a tiny bit… 😛 and while it is not always apparent, some songs or parts of them just sound off to me. This generally true for every headphones I use so I remove all damping when I can. Also, a large part of why I like the 007’s so much due to their innovative air damping. Now on the CRBN the damping is damn good, but I can still tell it is there. This is not like the Sennheiser HE-1 for instance, where that bloody amp with its mosfet based output stage and joke of a front end just spreads its dirty fingerprints on everything. This is far more subtle and only affects some tracks so for instance, it is too closed in when it shouldn’t be, bass has a twang to it that shouldn’t be there… something like that. This is a very minor gripe, and this is me being super picky so take it as you wish. Still, I’d love to try these drivers with less damping… 🙂 So, this aside, there is so much to recommend here. They are certainly not cheap but just holding them you can see where the money has gone. Plug them into a good amp yeah, they will impress. The only issue for me it they have rekindled an old project, take some LCD-2’s and fit them with custom electrostatic drivers. Anybody know of a cheap set I can buy? 😉 Now I’ve not received my SR-X9000000000000 yet so I can’t compare them but on its own the CRBN is a great product. They are not perfect (what is?) but as a first stab at making electrostatics, they are damn impressive. I’m adding this set to my collection, and they are certainly in my top 5 all-time greats. I really must say they are a breath of fresh air as the releases over the last few years have been such a disappointment. It really has been a 10-year slump now so here’s hoping we get something excellent over the next 10 years.

a few impressions from the SoCal meet: no. 1 " Audeze CRBN , silky, great low end for an estat, impressive soundstage, faster than the lcd-5 but without the same tactile feel. Sounded MUCH better out of the mjolnir audio than the Z10e. Very different than Stax, and I really enjoyed these. I may not even need to hear the sr-x9000 before deciding to put my order in. Sounds like the waitlist is until Jan … crazy." no. 2 "The best sound for me were the Audeze CRBN's. These are my next dream headphones. They sound totally different from Stax, and have their own sound signature that I really liked. They were musical and had a visceral slam/punch I haven't heard in my own collection of electrostatics. I've never heard the HE-90's, but the CRBN's sound like what I dream a HE-90 would sound like." no. 3 "Unfortunately I don't think they bring anything to the table. As a big 009 fan, I think if you are making a non typical estat-like estat, you better have something special to justify the specific amplifier requirement. This definitely doesn't have either the 007 magic or the 009's extreme detail and lightness. I might need some more time with it but so far I haven't found anything impressive from them." no. 4 "listened to the CRBN after auditioning the LCD-5. Solid headphone, although I preferred the HFM Shangri-la Jr. due to its superior soundstaging and overall refinement. Probably my favourite headphone that I heard today! I detected a bit of grain in cymbals on the CRBN, although the audition was too brief to make any definitive statements. Bass was definitely above average on both the Audeze and HFM by 'stat standards. Some dynamic compression seems to be a fact of life with this technology vis-a-vis planars, but the Shangri-la Jr. does offer more resolution than even the Susvara, and I'm intrigued for sure. Will listen to both again tomorrow and update my impressions." no. 5 "CRBN (some un-obtainium set up). After hearing these I understand why some people warship e-stats. The CRBNs have a delicate presentation, but they don’t ever sound thin or lacking in body. The overall frequency response is very similar to the LCD-5, but the presentation is a lot different. The bass is excellent in texture and level, easily better than the Susvara. Not as punchy as the LCD-5 though. Midrange is equal to or better than anything here. More body to the vocals than the Susvara. Treble, comparing here again to the Susvara, the Susvara are pretty magical, but I like the texture of the CRBN a little better. The soundstage on these is larger, open and layered in a way where I could easily forget I was wearing headphones. The build quality and comfort here again are equal to or better than anything. As far as pure aesthetics, these are the best looking headphones I have ever seen. In person they are stunning." no. 6 "I had a short opportunity to A/B test CRBN and 009s on Mytek & BH. (Also heard CRBN on Mjolnir Audio but I felt the A/B test was much more interesting.) CRBN sounds very tonally correct, polite, but didn’t carry the sparkles nearly as much. Sound stage is smaller than 009s. I felt CRBN is more similar to Elite and Utopia than to 009s. I personally would pick 009s every time over CRBN. I didn’t get to test bass heavy songs at all, which I heard is what CRBN excels at. What a pity." no. 7 "But now for me and the one BURNING question I had was how does CRBN sound on the Blue Hawaii Special Edition? As some one who still owns and enjoys the original 009 my curiosity was peaked! And honestly... for starters I feel like CRBN does everything the original 009 set out out to, it retains that insane sense of speed and detail I love about 009 BUT has a slightly denser tone with noticeably stronger bass with all the detail and transparency I've come to expect. It's sound stage is a little more intimate too and all in all while I still love the original 009's lovely tone, exceptional nuance and delicacy. I could 100% see my-self picking up CRBN as a compliment for when I want that extra bit of weight, heft and intimacy without any lose in the speed or detail that I love about Electro Stats! But overall I feel that CRBN really captures and delivers the true spirit of Audeze! Powerful, detailed TRUE to life BASS! A natural weighty mid range with amazing speed and clarity that alongside with crystal clear highs are all presented within an outstandingly cohesive and precise sound stage. I for one can't wait to get a little more time with BHSE and CRBN! It's likely going to become my new favourite thing to hear at each show until I'm ready to pick up a set for myself!" no. 8 "Overall a fluidic, semi-sweet / modestly dry (in a good way), linear sound with the full FR represented. Bass texture was spot on but overall leans ever so slightly towards a brighter signature not far off from Stax SR-009. Soundstage was great as well, but may be a small step behind Stax Lambda series in that regard. Sense of PRaT was nearly impeccable, though drums may not hit with quite as much authority as a well driven dynamic or planar headphone (something Mark Cohen of Audeze also confirmed). These pull it off so nicely that one may not even notice any shortcomings whatsoever, and can do almost any genre with finesse and seemingly left over headroom to boot. This paired exceptionally well with what I believe was the Mjolnir Audio Carbon e-stat energizer. For a comparison to the SR-009 I would have to do more testing, but I would say the SR-009 has superior sense of resolution, speed, depth and emotional / visceral quality. Not necessarily better overall, just different." no. 9 "Holy moley this was the headphone of the show for me. I'm an electrostatic headphone fan, and the CRBN's bass surprised me. I find the SR-009/009S to be too bright for me and I much prefer the Dan Clark Audio VOCE over them. I don't know how the Mjölnir Audio Carbon sounds since the only thing usually at these shows is the Blue Hawaii, but the CRBN sounded pretty solid out of it. Volume-wise, I needed to turn the volume knob quite a ways for the CRBN, so either the Carbon doesn't output a lot of power (which I doubt since it's made by spritzer/Mjölnir Audio), or the CRBN isn't very sensitive (whose technical specification is unlisted on Audeze's website). There was good texture and presence in the bass region, more so than the other estats I've heard, but it didn't overwhelm the midrange. The midrange had excellent clarity and timbre overall, but was a tad bit warm-sounding to me from the bass region. Unlike any other estat I've heard, the bass seemed to take the main stage away from the midrange, as the mids seemed laid-back in comparison (which reminds me a bit of the 007 MKI from memory). The frequency response sounded more linear/smooth overall compared to what I'm used to hearing from the SR-404. The treble, like a lot of estats, was silky smooth and retains a lot of detail overall. Image separation paired with the Carbon sounded excellent, which is another feature I find estats to do well compared to other transducer types. The soundstaging seemed a bit small compared to the 009/009s/VOCE to me, and was more rounded than the SR-Lambda series. Compared to what I'm used to hearing with the Lambda series, the images were spaced more around my head versus left/right and vertical, which I appreciate. Also like most estats, I was able to turn up the volume really high without experiencing any fatigue. The other transducer types don't seem to be able to replicate this effect, and I have no idea why. Comfort-wise, these rock. Audeze's headband on the CRBN is quite comfortable. Paired with the supple leather earpads, the CRBN fits snugly, but not too snug on my head. The oval-shaped earcups fit on my head pretty well even with glasses on. At 300 g, this thing is insanely light! The "cube" pattern on the earcups' grill is also pretty unique-looking. I feel like I've seen this pattern somewhere else, but I can't put my finger on it at the moment. The strain relief parts from the earcup look more sturdy than those of STAX."

RIP James Earl Jones. One of the actors who took George Lucas' corny ass dialogue and elevated it to the level of a cultural touchstone for generations. Also his first film also happens to be my favorite one.

RIP two students and two teachers at Apalachee High School in Georgia, 4 senseless deaths attributable to gun violence. I am still pro 2A, as I do not blame the gun. But Jeezy Peezy, why are school shootings a thing? I was just giving Jordan Klepper (The Daily Show) a fact-check/hard time about his recent piece questioning right wing nut jobs about gun violence. It almost feels ... set up. Choreographed, even. I'm going to stand against the 2A community and say, yes, there should be a law against teenagers and children being able to handle guns without adult supervision. Hormones are real. It's the same reason there's an age limit to driving a car.