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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.

Not to many of these being built anymore, I built this from Mjorin kit, parts are getting difficult to find. Works and sounds great . Bill

Saw Suzanne Vega Saturday night. Can't believe it took me this long to see her (I, like many, became a fan with the Solitude Standing album which contains Luka, Tom's Diner, etc.). Great voice, and she was a great chatter and storyteller as well! Loved her intro to Flying With Angels, and then her explanation of what it means to her hit a big chord. I had more than one of those "angel" moments taking care of Karen. Links to videos https://drive.google.com/file/d/1pbVJOr7oRrMu3qFmzp_BR2ClAard30ou/view?usp=sharing - Luka https://drive.google.com/file/d/1yoDLhsgfoNn9umTOkQ3h7JGVvBIizeM9/view?usp=sharing - Flying With Angels

Grahame outdid himself making all of these delicious curries and two more salads/sides from scratch, although he only sliced the banana. As you can see, defending the universe requires a lot of sustenance. Thanks again Grahame and Joanne for hosting us at your wonderful new home!

There may have been Curries and fixin's to help defend the universe and sustain excessive woodworking. There may also have been exquisitely crafted Apple Tart And fixin's But I couldn't possibly comment.

Shouldn't this be in the baking thread? Well technically both. I tried an experiment. A pretty standard sourdough mix at 78% hydration. Formed yesterday, sat overnight in fridge. Baked this morning on pellet grill. I use a cast iron dutch oven/combo cooker. I heated the grill to 500 with the cast iron. loaded and scored the bread lowering the temp to 450. I took it out of the cooker and baked in the grill at 350 for an additional 30 minutes. The oven spring wasn't great but good enough, And I probably could have baked it a little longer. But there is a decidedly Smoky flavor to the entire crust. I'm not sure if I would want it all the time but it's pretty darn yummy.

Minor story: likely my first trip to Sundance we ate at a Mexican restaurant in Park City next to an actor we recognized, but couldn't name. Eventually we figured out it was Tom, and in fact we discovered tomskerrittishot.com that day, though now long gone.

Horowitz playing Mozart is a good thing. CD CD

https://we.tl/t-3CV8Ne8KJixHF1gP Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit at the Ryman 10/22/26 Ben Nichols from Lucero opened

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’

Everything But The Girl - Young and Dumb (single from their new album coming in February)

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.

There's always the new iPad mini. Lifestyle Benefits Narrative Or Minimalist Product Showcase What's not to like? Several things, actually. OLED, yes, nice, but only 60 Hz, not 120 Hz ( sorry, Pro Motion) Display?

R'uh roh. m2-vp9-res_624p.mp4 8y9xmvhcyfxh1.mp4

Or rather used our local official ballot drop box avoiding potential USPS shenanigans. "Gentlemen, this is democracy manifest"

I enjoyed this set.

What a cutie

dat bass

Not a new band, but fits a mood occasionally.

New band from Ireland, the kinda music I like (post-punk, I think)

That's why the annual predictability of same form factor, slightly faster processor, slightly nicer display, slightly better camera is so comforting to us. Bless.

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.

Go sports ball.

😔

They sell a ton of these to pilots. You put them on a knee board and it's perfect for displaying charts/approaches etc. and with a pencil you can jot down complicated ATC clearances. The biggest ask for a couple of years has been a brighter screen, so we'll see if the OLED is a step forward. Some folks will even mount them on the control yoke as an additional flight control display, although the FAA officially frowns on this.

And Now there's the iMac's and MacBooks with M6 Power! Spec Bump? Price Bump! $4K, Nice? They may announce a Touch Screen Tomorrow.

Mi Historia Americana: Sur by Daniil Trifonov (2026) https://open.qobuz.com/album/z5ctty71t1zjt Example: A lot of new works for me. I should have looked at the runtime (knowing Daniil's work in the past). I was not ready for 2.25 hours of music right now. I am a little over half way. I really enjoy it, there are some challenging works mixed in with lovely powerful pieces. Edit: I forgot to mention a feature in Qobuz that I recently found. I don't know how long it has been there. But for some classical recordings they include the digital booklet. So that you can have liner notes and track lists. I do hope that they keep expanding it, because having the back album covers for old jazz releases would be great. Ex. (18 page booklet)

Watch a snake 'nope out' (not actual headline)

Pelageya blending some folklore themes with Hans Zimmer. I want to hear her try some Bjork songs one day just to see what she can do with it.

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

RIP, Donnie Iris

Don't forget the pencil.

The setup reminds me of Yazoo -- a soulful voice paired with an electronic synth backdrop of music -- yet they sound nothing like each other. I really dig.

80s electro-funk compilation... some real bangers:

I've been really enjoying this YouTube channel, Caffinated 80's, a mix of old remixes and home-made mixes. They did a Naked Eyes tribute when Pete passed away; they did an Alison Moyet tribute recently (I had to check whether or not she passed away -- she didn't, so probably just a loving tribute), and have several Alan Parsons remixes. Not Stereotomy, though.

Finished Setup: 4 PSUs on GaN transistors 27.5V, bias 180mA. Sound impression: completely reference, lively and interesting, full control of my headphones HifiMan HE-6. For my ears better then DynaMight. Thanks to all who helped with configuration.

I don't think we should be sad - she had a life well-lived, and acted in podcast works well into her 90's.

Lunch á deux With plates. Fancy.

🐓🍛 4 BDF

I saw Maybe my demographic is different.

Nvidia released some DLSS5 teaser images and are getting absolutely roasted. The Akakichi no Eleven meme, which I still don't fully understand. My personal favorite, Gen XLSS5.