909

i really think you're understating or sugarcoating what Mikhail has been doing now for many years -- lying. playing devil's advocate here -- the same could be said about you. i am not going to assume why Earl has been laying low, but just because he has recently doesn't change the influential role he played promoting and even on occasion protecting SP.

i've heard nearly every, if not all, incarnation of Craig's balancing act and to be blunt as good as they all have sounded to my ears and improved with each tweak and modification they never truly captured me. i still longed and lusted after John's HD-2 as that has been the gold standard and to find something at least close to it as i believe i have never heard my L3000s sound better. The Nautilus has really perked my interest given the fact that it not only drives headphones, but low impedance speakers like my Moth Cicadas and the inputs and flip of a switch easy of going between the two. Plus the rave reviews it had received up in Northern California -- I thought that might be it. But yesterday, however, the 307A balancing act was a revelation. Now I haven't done a direct comparison with the HD-2, but I walked away from the 307 BA thinking this is likely the best or extremely close to the best I have ever heard the L3000s sound.

ok

that's another topic.

you seem a bit delusional and paranoid.

if they would sell me the CD at the door without having to pay/enter the venue, i'd likely do that and the earlier the better chance i could.

yes, those cases are very posh. i think my wife is set on ordering one. yet i don't know much that flap would bug me, though, i assume they'll update the 3G line with more products. did it seem to really offer good protection against asphalt drops? i signed up for the otterbox 3G notification and called them today. 30 to 60 days is what they are tentatively quoting, but no guarantees. the otterbox looks tough -- probably the most likely to withstand drops on asphalt and from everything i've read the screen cover works fantastic, but bubbles would bug me. i guess my only other concern would be the bulk. old iphone users, amazon is selling the otterbox defender for $30, which is ridiculously cheap.

that's the problem, my cd/dvd drive is shot. will look into this online storage site. thank you. costco has a similar product made by iomega, but it got poor reviews on amazon then i checked out the buffalo and users gave it more favorable reviews. thanks for the impressions and i'll look more into this one.

is that easy to do? i should also check whether Apple would give me grief over it. yes, i've seen those at costco and they are very reasonably priced. i've been looking and it would be nice to find something that i could hook up to my home network that both my mac and pc would easily access wirelessly.

if you shoot the venue and find out whether it's free or what they will be charging for parking and cover, i'd be better able to make a decision.

i need to send my macBook pro to Apple for repair. i have never backed up my system, but would really like to save about fifty very important garageband files plus at least 500 word files -- don't really care about the other stuff. recommendations and advice would be greatly appreciated on the "best bang for the buck" external HD that will work seamlessly with my mac/time machine and is it easy to back-up those files and restore them especially those garageband files? if possible, i'd like to keep my outlay under $150.

is there a link to this event? is there an entrance fee?

i've been researching cases and these below are in the top running. does anyone have any experience or opinions on these cases especially with respect to protection and reception? Vaja Otterbox Defender iSkin Revo Marware (sport grip)

there are many studies that show unequivocally that price influences opinion -- generally if something costs more it is easily perceived to be better and also provides a feeling of elusively for the affluent purchaser. the most recent study i have read pertains to wines in which they surveyed those drinking two glasses of wine. the first sample showed the prices to the drinkers, say a $15 bottle verse a $100. nearly everyone preferred the more expensive wine. the second sample switched the prices. again nearly everyone preferred the more expensive wine, though, it was actually the $15 bottle. the third didn't provide any prices and preferences were pretty much equally split between the two bottles with slightly more picking the less expensive wine. --- when you get into the SP high end Mikhail's prices seem high, but I don't fault him for attempting to charge as much as he can. i also believe that when Mikhail does custom builds it requires more trial and error on his part before he arrives at something he considers a finished product that he is content sending to the customer. What really surprises me about this whole fiasco is how long our community has appeased the situation and supported him in light of his actions. granted Mikhail is a great guy and super nice, yet that shouldn't counteract unreasonable business practices. imo, his appeasers have perpetuated this problem and not only prolonged what seemed inevitable, it all coming to a head, but also put more customers and money at risk. i think we should call it what it is -- Mikhail lies to his customers. he lies about delivery times and that it has shipped. i have heard it first hand, all too often -- so it can't be consider anything other then a standard practice. second, too many SP amps arrive with problems or exhibit problems later on. these things are inexcusable and have been going on for years. finally, his build quality and design implementation are questionable. it's unfortunate how long it has taken the community to wake up and open their eyes.

bs -- stop the fucking rouse, you've got insider information.

my wife and i have succumb to the evil apple iphone temptation -- we both took a bite yesterday. the mall had an elaborate waiting procedure, where they only allowed ten folks to wait in front of the store and housed the others offsite in something akin to purgatory. we signed our names to a list and got a number, i got 546. they were calling numbers in the low 400s when we arrived. i waited a bit and following a party over to the store front where the security guards required numbers and ids. so they really attempted to prevent any line cutting. when i got back to purgatory i started chatting with a guy, and out of the blue he offered me number 451 as he had 450 and that was his wife's number, but she left -- so i took it and within a matter of ten minutes they called our numbers then marched us over to the apple store. when the security guard approached us i told him how we got our number and he seemed a bit pissed, asking why i didn't tell him before we left... i was like you didn't ask... i guess he figured it was too late to do anything and just let us in the store. my wife did something really nice, she insisted on buying it for me as a belated b-day gift. i don't know what i did to deserve such an awesome wife that not only enjoys my audio hobby, but treats me so well. ok, here are my initial observations about the iphone. first my wife and i have two different LCD screens. Hers has better black on black contrast and color saturation, particularly noticeable with greens, browns and blues. my has better white on white contrast and does seem a little bit washed out, though, not one could tell unless they were comparing them side-by-side. i have notice that some of the black plastic case edges can be ever so slightly ruff and even slight less than perfectly smooth plus this can also be the case with the sliver trim. my wife really scored as i can not find any imperfects with hers. at&t's 3G network seems weak and unstable around Culver City, Century City, Malibu, Beverly Hills, and West Los Angeles. Though, my wife surfed the net without problem as we drove to dinner on PCH and home on Sunset. yet when i checked the bars driving around town today doing errands (more bars in more places) it rarely touched all the bars and mostly stayed around the mid point and far too often dropped down to one. messing around i have found much better reception switching off the 3G network and using edge. hopefully at&t will get its act together with their new network especially since their maps show they have great 3G coverage throughout the greater Los Angeles area. with good reception, call quality is very good and on par with my old razor on the verizon network. the iphone is very user friendly and an absolute pleasure to use -- i hated the razor in this regard. google maps with directions and real-time traffic is incredibly cool. tonight i will put some music on the thing, but have little experience using itunes. i got a special number to contact at&t: (866) 801-3600 as i believe it reaches the top techs and easier to get thru as well.

Welcome

glad to hear they were able to resolve your issue.

congrats! i don't think you'll be disappointed. The highest gain setting should work fine with the 103. And the four gain settings (26 dB, 35 dB, 44 dB and 53 dB) provide ample flexibility, but if you need more gain Postjack's step-up transformer suggestion is a good solution. i decided against stacking them and keep it plugged in and on all the time as there is no on/off switch. congrats! any pics?

apple has them -- at&t sold out

played around with a floor sample iphone today. felt thicker than the original. the plastic isn't cheap feeling, but i don't dig the shinny finish -- wish it was matte. it doesn't seem prone to scratching, but finger smudges will be noticeable. the speed is substantially faster -- almost makes it worthwhile whereas the first one felt godawful slow in comparison. off to see hell boy!!!!

blackened cod (didn't marinate long enough -- still tasty) potatoes au'gratin (homemade and heathy) slightly steamed spinach (soaked in freshly squeezed lemon juice, flax seed oil, and topped with a bit of sea salt)

ear drops for my pug's infection. black cod for dinner.

it's a freebee.

you where there, but you didn't get one?