Leaderboard

Let's talk about Frankie, baby! In the early 1960s, Frank Sinatra commissioned a home hi fi that was an impressive mix of studio gear and high end consumer kit. The heart of it was a modified McIntosh C-22 preamp. It had one input that was three channel, made specifically for an Ampex correction: a Presto 800 open reel tape deck (visible behind Frank.) Studio recordings in those days were primarily three channel, with the center being for the lead vocals. Final mixes were almost always mono, of course. Sinatra liked to take home the day's recordings from the studio and see what he thought of them that evening. An artist taking home the actual multitrack masters might sound insane, but it was Old Blue Eyes in the 60s. Though visibly impressive, the three units below the Presto are just VU meters. The tuner below the C22 is a Fisher R200. Below the Fisher at the bottom are a trio of tape head preamps made specifically for the Presto. Of course the tape transport, VU meters and preamps are all studio gear, not generally used by (or available to) the public. There were three power amps for the speakers, housed in a different room. Presumably they were Mac tube monoblocks, but there is basically no info out there. Similarly, there is no reliable info on the make/model of the speakers themselves. I've seen Altec-Lansing and JBL floated as likely brands. There was also a huge "Rek-O-Kut" turntable system that could both play back records and cut acetate disks(!) It had its own dedicated space. What the unit lacked in sex appeal, it made up in physical stature. Even a stock C22 has complex mono/stereo routing. (I oughta know, I've owned two of them since 1999 ...for reasons I cannot entirely explain.) Frank's custom unit was modified, but I don't know to what extent. Based on my research there is conjecture that the television output was wired into the C22. Frank was an early pioneer in the world of home theater. In the bedroom, Frank had a high end Grundig all-in-one system. I can neither confirm nor deny if Nancy Reagan ever got to hear a tune or two on that Grundig. Thank you for coming to my TED talk, now help yourself to a pack of smokes on the way out.

So a new electrostatic seems to be incoming: https://apos.audio/products/sjy-argos-electrostatic-headphones?utm_campaign=hyperfuse_last_day%20%2801KZW4554JVNW58G1HET4TN43W%29&utm_medium=email&utm_source=alex_nongdpr_never_subbed_active_180&_kx=cd77Rbf3yu6_OAujM-M4VU1ihuQFsjtyVcb-jl8r-OKxvi62Czezy2yxdLQUUnAj.Ldk8SW I've been keeping an eye on them for a while, no idea what that company is but hey, more the merrier and all that. I just saw the new updated page for these and it is just what the fuck, are they retarded? First off, "fully vented drivers" being spun as something that is positive. Hello, what is the number one rule of planar design? Something about an infinite baffle? No? Anybody here have any fucking clue what they are doing? No? Let's spin our engineering ineptitude as a positive Yes, that is what the drivers need, room to breathe. A common problem with all planar drivers is that they are just being suffocated. What a novel idea and people making planars for 70+ years have clearly all been wrong. Seriously, who thinks the actual reason is that the drivers are horribly unstable so the extra pressure from a sealed baffle would knock them out of balance. So instead of fixing that, let's just employ marketing wank. Then we have the cable... what the actual fuck. Just look at this thing: Anybody who makes a braided cable for electrostatics needs to be taken out back and beaten repeatedly with a copy of the Art of Electronics. The whole point of the fucking cable is to minimize capacitance... not add to it!! Now this looks like the cheap crappy headphone cables coming out of China so I very much doubt it's high voltage credentials. I also love the Y split on a commercial set of headphones... a piece of clear heatshrink. It's also 1.5meters in length, probably to cut down on the pile of extra capacitance this turd adds to the load. Then you can get a proper extension cable and have the headphones reach anything as these are hardly portable.

So, a few months back I reached out to Simmconn as I though this pentode experiment would be very nice to try and he very kindly shared pcbs for the project. A couple of other projects got in the way right then but at the end of my summer vacation I had some free time and this was the perfect project to do: Obviously a bit of tidying up remains (both in the amp and behind it ), but it behaves very well and the sound is really good - a bit more bite compared to the EL34 Carbon GG but with the same tonal balance. Definitely a project worth pursuing should you be looking for something new to try. And a big shoutout to simmconn for finding these tubes and developing this version!

Although I live in a few blocks from Moffett Field/NASA Ames/Google's private airport I rarely go through security. Strangely they get a little nervous with random people going "off course" and taking photos. ;) Plus the Space Bar has been closed for a while. An author was speaking this weekend though so swung by and snapped a few shots afterward. Leica SL2-S and, what's been mostly glued on lately, Light Lens Lab 35mm f/1.4 Double Aspherical "11873".

smoked pork belly is back on the menu boys.

From the file of covers that are WAY better than the original.

The Flaming Lips - Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots

Season 4

Music on TIDALCerrone - 3 - SupernatureListen to 3 - Supernature on TIDALI was looking at other artists who did the continuous groove thing (initially inspired by a listening of Jean Michel Jarre's Equinoxe Pts. 5-7, but also: New Order's The Village/5 8 6, MacArthur Park, Philip Oakey/Giorgio Moroder side 1, &c.), and Google AI turned me on to this disco suite. Suites. Sweets. Whatever. Kinda how I felt when Steve Hackett released his first classical guitar recording, Bay of Kings. But I eventually came to love it, just like everything else in his discography.

Sudamericano by Leonardo Andersen (2026) https://open.qobuz.com/album/ytv241s3u2iqc Example: Nothing really groundbreaking here, but very nice. Well recorded and well played.

Finally finished UFO, started on Space: 1999. Ohmigosh, no wonder my mom wouldn't let me watch this when I was a kid, it was frequently horrific.

Hello, Novato Pop Rocks were Rockin' The Block, in Novato, to end the summer ... Also So Anyway, I Started Blasting

I haven't had much time for DIY headphones recently but I just sent for some parts to be made and one might be a truly unique stator principle. More on that later but I've been using these lately and finally post about them after seeing that SJY pile of fail: I found this Hifiman Edition X for next to nothing as the pads were trashed and both drivers were blown. Gotta love that Hifiman build quality... Anyway, the plan was to design some drivers for this shell and then make my own version of the Shangri-la as the stock ones are frankly utter crap. Given the complex shape of the baffle in these I put it off for months but finally got off my ass and made these: This is the same piece but reversible for each side. There is just enough space in the housing to cram Stax Lambda drivers in there and I just happen to have quite a few in stock... shocker. Then we ended up with this: The back grill was glued into place but with the driver glued to the baffle, it holds it all in place as there is no extra room in there. I added the coarse foam to back to make them look more stock as I didn't have any of that black cover Hifiman uses. The baffle uses the stock neoprene gaskets from the planar drivers and it's okey for the seal but not quite perfect. The drivers in these are Lambda Signature units (no real reason I chose those, just what came to hand) and the cable is a Stax extension cable. I added the strain reliefs to the housing and the cable is so tight in there that it doesn't need any more fixing in place. Then they were finished off with some sheepskin earpads off Aliexpress as the stock Hifiman units are trash. These are the drivers with the protective mesh in place (just as they were in a Lambda/Sigma) but I also ordered some baffles with slots cut in them so I could put in thinner drivers to have a bit more space behind the drivers.

Wait, what? Transitioning back on track. 😉 Bill Evans Trio With Symphony Orchestra (full album)

The Three Sounds – Good Deal (Mono)

Japan's SHM-SACD

This is in my top 10 favorite songs ever. With obviously some Cure stuff and Talking Heads and Rammstein etc.

I first saw this video in 1992. I was in WalnutCreek, CA killing a few minutes before going to work. My best friend and roomate, and then boss, Paul came down the stairs, saw tears streaming down my face and thought something terrible had happened. When I explained it was this video, he basically mocked me for being such a sensitive baby. The funniest part of that interaction was that he was a tiny, effeminate, obviously gay man, whom I had physically come to his aide several times when homophobic "tough guys" had threatened him. But that all being true, his 115 lb., nelly frame was absolutely right about my extreme sensitivity. I cry at sad TV commercials. I have no problem jumping into a group of assholes bullying some smaller guy, but show me a puppy getting a vaccination shot and I'm wiping the tears away. Anyway, more than 30 years later and this video still has me attempting to divert rivers of salty tears. There are reasons of course. I've been in that hospital room many times, holding the hand of a friend that wasn't going to make it. And I've also been the Son of a macho, Texan that wanted all of his Sons to be exactly like him. Then later in life he was cheerfully cooking breakfast for boyfriends that had stayed over. Pretty surreal when you grow up thinking that if he ever found out that I was gay, he'd walk away from me without ever looking back. Watching children grow up must be a magical thing. But watching your Father grow up into a caring, accepting human being is also pretty great. Oh yeah, this was about a music video...

It's like seeing a Bentley parked in a trailer's car port.

Rokia Traoré's Né So Ex. Edit: Looks like she has an old Tiny Desk too.

I was a weird little kid. No surprise there. As a youngster and up until present times, I loved things kids weren't supposed to like. Spinach and liver are good examples. The only two people in my family that liked liver were myself and my Mother. Especially chicken livers! One day back in the 70's, my Father took my Mother to a new restaurant for lunch. She noticed on the breakfast menu a chicken liver omelet. She intended to go back and try it sometime. One day it was just her and I running errands, and she remembered this restaurant close by. We both had the chicken liver omelet and both loved it. I have no idea why I haven't recreated this omelet to date, but today is the day! Delicious!!!

Grant Green – Am I Blue [mono]. Lovin’ this channel.

These don't really count in my queue, being compilations. But I am having fun. and Example - just pick your fav Smith tune.

Apparat, A Hum of Maybe (2026 release) Wow, this sounds nothing like Orchestra of Bubbles (2006 collaboration with Ellen Allien) or his early IDM work or that subset of his work with Moderat with which I'm familiar...I got autoplayed one track, which reminds me of Goldfrapp's atmospheric art pop, except without her, combined with the more Console-y Notwist of Neon Golden.

(not Bill Evans) Schumann: Complete Symphonies by Los Angeles Philharmonic (2026) https://open.qobuz.com/album/t0z8is48e0tzb Example: I don't think I have ever listened to all four symphonies in a sitting (2.25 hours). This new release is good. Mustavo and the LA Phil sound good. The engineering is solid, but not amazing. On the 'Platoon' label? It is interesting how the works flow, 17 tracks really sounds like one piece.

Yard Act- 100% Endurance

We are off and running on the fund raising and 1/3 of the way there already, thanks d-_-b !

while you are at it, use the 3rd generation sicfet for the current source. requires extra 12v power supply.

It must have been a distorting mirror universe You could almost say it's ...

Pet Shop Boys’ All The Young Dudes / West End Girls (with the Manchester Camerata)

There was a guy on another thread who recently bought some cable from China, and randomly found that a magnet stuck to it. It was iron wire with a thin copper coat. And what a stoopid idea of them using braided cable, and ridiculously short. High capacitance (usually around 50 to 100pF/m, or even more) and very low inductance (sub uH/m). Oh and use the hardback version of Art of Electronics 1.5m would add at least 75 - 150pF!!!

Looks like using the teenager Mac on ancient OSX made the trick, even the PayPal button appeared, which wasn't available on the iPad under any of the three browsers I tried. Go Nate!!!

^ On that note, The Ultimate Bill Evans As Selected By Herbie Hancock, which seems in Japan to be titled To Bill Evans With Love – Selected By Herbie Hancock on SCM-CD.

Logged some hot miles this afternoon riding to York, ME. Feels like temp was 93F and it felt every bit of that. Thank god for a little tail wind.

That's a major project, I cannot imagine how many hours you spent, even for just designing the chassis... Congrats for this beauty

^ I was expecting her to say “mad world” at some point

Black Sails

The Continental (Peacock) - all John Wick fans must see (a prequel): Not to be confused with:

Split Enz, True Colours (everything except "I Got You")

Kimono My House by Sparks (1974) https://album.link/i/1443750483 Example: More fun than I was expecting, and really good.

Moontan by Golden Earring (1974) https://album.link/i/81668043 Example: Another band that I know by name and two songs. My bad, I would have had these on my playlists a long time ago. There is a lot for me here. Great jams, 9+minute songs. Classic guitar sound. Now that I know, I shan't forget.

50yo pair Here Come The Warm Jets by Brian Eno (1974) https://album.link/i/723783174 Example: His first solo - and it is all over the place - in the best way. He tried most things, and most of them worked. And a good Album Title. A clear contrast to: Country Life by Roxy Music (1974) https://album.link/i/724178403 Example: YouTube wont let me post the original song for some age restriction reason or something. There is no bad lyrics in here.. yeesh Oh well. Overall a fun album.

For what it's worth, my CFA3 bords fell 2,5V short in terms of offset when I built them. In my case, swapping all the red LEDs to a version with much less forward current than the ones I installed first (I'm now using LTL-4221, which has 2mA I believe) put all numbers back in the right places.