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RIP Mr. Stewart, you seemed entirely like a decent human.

Well now he's seen everything the GuardianPatrick Stewart, Star Trek actor and acclaimed thespian,...Star Trek: the Next Generation and X-Men actor died at his home after ‘a brief and poignant journey with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia’

Modern tech with vintage looks, Ruark R710 all in one system, basically, hook up a pair of speakers and you have everything. Heard it at an audio show a couple weeks ago and was surprised that an under $10k setup was one of the top 5 rooms at the show, it embarrassed the shit out of many mega-buck systems. Yes, it also plays CDs. If I had room for speakers, I'd be totally happy with this setup.

IOT all the way, it is a much better OS

New Teenage Engineering EP-35 Amp:

or try windows 10 ltsc iot.... still gets security updates... or try windows 11 ltsc iot.... you don't need a Microsoft account for either and less bloatware and no AI slop...

A Song for You by Søren Bebe Trio (2012) https://open.qobuz.com/album/5707471025819 Example: An older set from Søren, clean

Aged 86 with Alzheimers and Lewy body dementia. RIP Patrick Stewart. What a rotten way to go. Was lucky to see him several times on stage, three times in Chichester. Malvolio in Twelfth Night, MacBeth in the landmark production as Macbeth in the tiny Minerva (so close I could have touched him), and as the aged Shakespeare, and his death in Bingo. That particular production of MacBeth transferred to the West End, and then two theatres on Broadway, and was made into a movie. And on the London stage with McKellen in Waiting for Godot and both of them in No Man's Land, a rather bleak play by Harold Pinter. A really superb actor of stage and screen. I'm really gutted he's gone.

There are long standing threads for speaker and amplifier porn on HC. Thus far, sources have been neglected. It's true, speakers and amps are in general better looking units than most sources but there are certainly some good looking ones out there. Let's start with a mid 80s Revox CDP that is a bit of a legend amongst collectors: The Revox B225. It's overbuilt like a MFer, which is good as it's also prone to failure and in need of extensive servicing. I just watched a really good YouTube video on repairing one while I was editing a whole stack of photos. TL;DW: A whole pile of Swiss engineering, dirty electrical contacts and a new motor. There were some variants with balanced out and at least one meant for professional use: Love those green lights.

The Revox & the Lampizator are interesting "bookends" to the overall thread. The former being how Lukasz started out, soldering DIY tubed output-stages to older TDA154x-based CD players, and the latter being his uber-expensive current offerings. Not sure if that was planned or not, but...touche' 👍 Can't comment on the latest Lampizator retail products, other than I think I've heard some models once or twice at meets over the years, and they sounded good in those specific instances. I've also heard Chord-based systems that sounded good under similar circumstances too.

North Node by Natalie & Brittany Haas (2026) https://open.qobuz.com/album/q8qgcdcx9xl6c Example: The Haas sisters back at it again. I thought Brittany was too busy with the Punch Brothers that I missed this one coming out. Just what you would expect from a Cello and Fiddle album. And that is what I wanted with a touch of mandolin thrown in here and there.

Elke Sommer, Actress in ‘A Shot in the Dark’ and ‘The Prize,’ Dies at 85. Just missed her 86th. She was a fascinating character. Stunningly beautiful, accomplished actor and talented singer. Apparently she had trouble with core subjects in school, but excelled at language. It has been my pet theory for decades now that had a learning disability.

RIP Patrick Stewart at 86.

RIP Jesse Adams, founder of RainCoast Dog Rescue. https://vancouversun.com/news/bc-animal-rescuer-jesse-adams-killed-by-drone-in-ukraine

MacBook Pro, with a touch screen thats not just an OLED, its a PROLED XDR! You might need a Pro Wallet XL, though or be part of the Anthropic IPO

Don't forget the pencil.