jpelg

Nice shot, Zip. Good to see someone still using K/M gear.

Anyone run into download limits from your ISP? I've heard that Comcast, for one, clamps down on this hard.

Not sure that jitter is the, or the only, culprit for differences. I once compared a portable Sony PCDP with optical-out with another Sony model (also portable, also optical), and there were easily detectable differences in the output levels. A full-sized home CDP was still different. Each increasing in output level respectively. This was using the same DAC with its own internal headphone amp, and the same headphones. Since the digital output on all of these players is not variable, I can only assume that the players' internal software that controls the digital signal is preset at a certain output level. I can also reasonably assume that other digital-outs are also not equal. Don't know how you measure that though. Also don't know if this occurs when using coax/RCA-type digital connections (or any others, for that matter). But I bet that that this accounts for more differences between transports than jitter. Benchmark also did a comparison between a small sampling of DVD players as transports, with considerable differences between those used. But this mostly had to do with sample-rate down conversions at the digital-out side even if the players' DAC chipses could read a higher-level signal. Of course those player/transports that preserved the full sample rate sounded better.

FTFY

Last ten (already filmed) eps to air this Spring. Dang.

WHAAAA?!!!

After nearly a year of prodding by my brother about this show, my wife & I decided to catch up with season 1 via Netflix streaming (way cool now that the PS3 doesn't require a disc!), and jumped into with season 2 this Fall. I must say that, although none of the previous Stargate franchises caught more than a passing glance from me, this latest series has both of us totally hooked. Honestly, there is not so much original here. But it is packaged very well, and the human quality is engaging. Now that it is off for a few weeks/months mid-season, we recently marathoned the Firefly series. My wife had never seen it, but is a Nathan Fillion fan from Castle, so it was an easy sell. Whedon's production held up as well as I remembered it. Next, I may introduce her to Farscape (my personal fav).

I've become increasingly interested in a computer-base library, as late to the game as it is, for all of the advantages of convenience. At the last NY meet, I sat down to listen to the Ayre QB-9 dac that was attached to a Mac laptop. Unfortunately, I could not evaluate the DAC because I was so distracted by the strange sputters that came thru my headphones every time I moused thru the iTunes library while listening to a song. Dunno if that is a common issue or what, as I have so little computer-base audio listening experience. And the system owner wasn't nearby for me to ask. I imagine anything that increases speed (processor power, more memory, increased caches, faster hard-drive access, & such) would improve things a lot. But that sputtering was quite off-putting, and something that would piss me off if I planned on using such a system as my primary delivery method.

Cyndi Lauper last night at the Tarrytown Music Hall. Great show.

Lawyers always want to go to business school, and MBA's want to be lawyers. Whassup wit dat? Lately, I wish I had become a plumber.

Nice. Will have to take my nieces & nephew there the next time I'm in Dallas.

The pricing on the T1 is too high. I'll hear the T5's tomorrow and determine if they are too.

That sucks Nate. If the others' offers aren't sufficient (I'm sure they will be), I believe I have a bunch of unused ER4 foamies of the proper "vintage" that you are welcome to. Alternatively, I tried Comply foamies a few years back and found them very comfortable, although I still prefer the tri-flanges to both. Thirdly, despite being part of Etymotic's inappropriate response to your plight, the Custom-Fits have a writeup in the latest Stereophile that piqued my interest in getting molds done. In the meantime, have a good & safe trip.

Aimee Mann at the Tarrytown Music Hall on Thursday night. A bit disappointing, comparing to half-a-dozen previous performances I've seen her over the past ten years. She went "budget", using only two other performers - a bass player/vocalist, and a pianist - rather than her full band. I don't mind stripped-down performances, but this night it didn't work so well. Frankly, I missed her rock-out self. She seemed a bit unrehearsed, and they seemed to be experimenting with computer-aided accompanyment controlled by the keyboardist. It probably didn't help that the venue sounded a bit harsh. I don't know shit about using a soundboard, so I'm not sure what could have been helped. The combined result was heavy-handed bassline, and a sluggish computer drumming. Aimee herself didn't hit her own stride until much toward the end of the concert. She finally redeemed herself with an encore rendition of "Red Vines" stripped more bare & emotional than I'd ever heard it, as well as "It's Not" for a final cut. Hopefully Cyndi Lauper will be better in a few weeks in the same venue *fingerscrossed*

Maybe it's like one of those number series questions on the math SAT's? Can you guess what comes next?

For you "speaker people", Musician's Friend Deal-of-the-Day today has Auralex Burgundy Studiofoam panels on sale: Stupid Deal Of The Day! | Musician's Friend

I used to have a Pioneer DVD-V7400 that was pretty neat. Robustly built for kiosk-type environments. Dunno if Pioneer still makes something in that form factor.

This is the first concert in the NYC area that she has published for this season. She usually does a "Christmas Concert" in Manhattan a bit later. Keep on the lookout for other shows. Even if not, she's worth staying up late on a school night.

Saw Arturo Sandoval on Saturday at the same Summerwind Performing Arts Center where I saw MCC a couple of weeks ago. Just ordered tickets for Aimee Mann at the Tarrytown Music Hall in Nov.

Would TOSLINK optical then be the best digital cabling method from a computer to DAC in terms of isolation from errant electrical noise (assuming the PC has direct optical output, of course)?

Just saw this. Wow - just beautiful! Congrats!

Nice shots, Jin. The color subway shot has some nice energy happening, while also having an interesting perspective. Love the B&W stuff too. Great "feel" to them. What lens(es) are you using for each?

Mary Chapin Carpenter last night at the Summerwind Performing Arts Center in Windsor. Perfect night for being at this nice outdoor venue.

Plainsong seems to like hers alot, particualrly after 175 hours.

The wife and I saw Shelby Lynne on Saturday at the Fairfield Theater Company. It's a tiny, black-box theatre that seats only 180, and is more typically used for small plays. They've recently begun to use it for suitable concerts. Like Wayne, we only got tickets at nearly the last minute. As luckily, that was not an issue, as every seat in the house is literally but a few steps from the stage. Very intimate, and just the kind of venue that I prefer these days. Shelby sang to perfection, musically stripped-down with only a guitar over her shoulder and accompanied by one very skilled guitar player that reminded me more than a little of Clapton. Needless to say it was a perfect night.