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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.

I'm attempting to get started with fundraising a little earlier this year for the annual Kelly Brush Ride that I will once again be participating in this year. It's the same group of friends this year, likely minus one who unfortunately can't make it due to work reasons, but we're trying something a little different as a group this year. My friend Tom, who goes us all drawn into this madness, knows Kelly very well and the organization is trying to encourage folks to participate in the ride remotely. They've kind of reached critical mass in Middlebury, VT, with more than 800 riders participating so they can't really grow unless they change something. So our group sort of volunteered to be the pilot and we're headed to the coast of Maine to ride by a bunch of lighthouses and hopefully have some fun while suffering. Why am I explaining all this? Well, we want to show that remote folks can still effectively fundraise and participate. So we're going all-in and getting custom jerseys made to commemorate the ride. So all that said, I'm once again asking this group to be like no other forum. I'd very much appreciate any support that you can offer. The foundation is aiming to raise $1.2M to support individuals with spinal chord injuries to regain an active lifestyle. My personal goal is to raise $2,500. This organization and cause remains something near and dear to me as someone who takes the simple ability to get outdoors and do whatever I like, when I like, somewhat for granted. Every year I participate I find it helps refocus and recenter my appreciation for those that chose to not be limited by life-altering injuries, illness, etc. The foundation helps people discover adaptive sports and recreation, hosts camps to immerse people in sports and community, and most importantly, provides hundreds of grants per year to people that just want to return to the activities they love. Anyway, if you're able here's the link to donate to support me: Nate's KBF Fundraising Page And just for fun here's us with Kelly at the starting line last year. I'm hoping for much better weather this year so we can pound social media with pics and vids of our remote ride.

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...

The revivalists - Get It Honest A new album by a band I never heard before. I could sense some genuine enthusiasm from online comments, and I'm glad I checked them out. Three listens in, and I can say every song on this album is good. Endless hooks, rich sound, great vibes the whole way. YMMV. Ex.

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

^ 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.

Just to clarify: Re: Davis, Coltrane or Evans, who I'd rather listen to. It has more to do with the fact that I've heard Miles Davis albums so many times over the decade, that I would rather listen to the other two given the choice. As far as impact on jazz? Myles Davis is IMO at the top. Both Evans and Coltrane would not have reached the heights that they did without Davis as a band leader, again IMO. Coltrane is my favorite jazz musician, so he'd be tops for my personal preference. Glad I could clear my conscience. I feel better now. I listened to this yesterday (maybe out of guilt).

Another Mary Fahl show, this time with her and only keyboard accompaniment. I was all of maybe 4-5 feet from the stage. Stunning, such a passionate singer. Got to meet up with a couple folks I met at another Mary Fahl show last Fall, last pic.

Miles Davis - In a Silent Way

Both the power supply and amplifier chassis are approximately 290 mm × 400 mm × 90 mm, so it's actually fairly compact considering it's a full-size T2. The power supply uses five GRHV regulators and features plug-in bias daughter boards, making it easy to switch between different bias voltages. Right now it supports both Normal Bias and Pro Bias outputs. The PSU also includes about a 50sec high volt soft start. In addition, there's an AC inrush limiter on the mains input. After roughly one second, a relay bypasses the current-limiting resistor, reducing the inrush current seen by both the filter capacitors and the tube heaters during startup. On the amplifier side, most of the passive components are SMD, which helped reduce the overall PCB and chassis size. The amplifier topology stays very close to Kevin's original T2 schematic, but I added support for several different implementation options to make the design more flexible. It supports three different CCS configurations:10M90, 10M90S + DN2540, and the original T2 complex CCS. The active battery section is also configurable. It supports: LED string reference, LT1021 reference. For the 2SK216 and 2SJ79 positions, I added an extra pin so they can be replaced directly with TTC and TTA devices without modifying the PCB. The overall goal wasn't to redesign the T2, but rather to preserve the original circuit while making it easier to build, maintain, and adapt as some of the original parts become increasingly difficult to source. The chassis is CNC machined by a local machine shop. One detail I paid particular attention to was the top cover of the amplifier chassis. I designed it so that the EL34 tube sockets sit perfectly flush with the top panel, which I think gives the amplifier a much cleaner appearance. Additional ventilation slots were added in the center section for airflow. The side heatsinks are sandwiched between the top and bottom panels. This not only gives the chassis a cleaner look and prevents the sharp heatsink fins from being exposed, but also makes it much less likely that you'll scratch your hands when moving the amplifier. To make sure the heatsinks can still dissipate heat efficiently, I also added ventilation openings in the top and bottom panels wherever they cover the heatsinks. I've also been thinking about turning this project into a group buy, although I'm not sure how much interest in the T2 still exists today. The main motivation would be to reduce the chassis cost, since having a single custom CNC chassis made is quite expensive. If enough people were interested, the machining cost could come down significantly.

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.

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.

If it annoys you too much, let me know what you want to donate and I'll do it in your name. Thanks for kicking off the party, Mikey and Todd! I'm going to ride up to the Maine coast this afternoon for a friend's 50th and it's a scorcher! It's 9AM and it's already 80 in the shade. Good thing the ride will end at the beach.

Also a little clarity on my side. I go back longer with Coltrane, but listening to a ton of nearly every period of Evans lately. Most importantly I’m currently reading the below (which so far has been great) so we’ll see where I end up.

How you all doin' San Rafael. Neon Velvet Has them dancing under the lights

Tokyo Adagio by Charlie Haden & Gonzalo Rubalcaba (2015) https://open.qobuz.com/album/0060254744627 Example: Another nice set - recorded at the Blue Note but for Impulse. And very well recorded. Just a touch too much dinner table noises in the background now and then. I am over here trying to listen and you are elbows deep on some chicken parm. come on!

^^ added to my seemingly endless queue. 🙄 And just a quick note on Eddy Grant - personal mental block of not really liking Electric Avenue from my past. But since your post, I did poke around 'File Under Rock' (1988), you know, 'I'm still trying to like this' type of thing, and I have to say, I think I do. Me: FATHERS by Nate Smith • Kiefer • Carrtoons • Kenny Beats (2026) https://open.qobuz.com/album/hr9lqhajxzltq Example: Pretty much an 8 track jam session. Cool vibes for 30 minutes. On Blue Note.

Some more filez from the webz

I love this album.. Eddy Grant "killer on the rampage"

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.

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.

Season 4

(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 !

Done

Thank you all!

You know, it's fun that we live in a world where we can play these mental tiering games without consequences, but at the same time, I'm glad we live in a world where they all exist.

After about a year of work, I've finally finished redesigning the PCB layout for the original T2. The new layout supports several different active battery implementations, as well as multiple CCS options, making it much more flexible for different builds and future experimentation. I've also completely redesigned the chassis. Like the original concept, it will still use a two-chassis configuration, with the power supply and amplifier housed separately. It's been a long project, but it's exciting to finally see it coming together. I'll share more photos and progress updates as the build moves forward.

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!!!

The New Topographics https://subjectivelyobjective.substack.com/p/the-legacy-of-new-topographics-50

That’s so great. Congrats. Must have been wonderful. About five years ago we had a small team reorg and everyone did a small presentation introducing themselves. Skills, likes, hobbies, etc. I mostly just played DakhaBrakha really loud. ;)

Sorry insta does not embed. Captcha photographer... https://www.instagram.com/reel/DbtCDaJxQCr/?igsh=MXJvNXJvbDg0Ynoyaw==

I know I've posted this before, but I was just forced to revisit it, and it's just as much an earworm as it ever was

The new alien invaders Wilson flagships have landed:

Quiet birthday dinner for Melissa before larger plans, including a comedy show, this weekend. Speaking of comedy we strangely found birthday Covid cards in 2026.

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