boomana

Nice. You're turning into a regular Grado fanboy.

I pretty much figured they had necks in real life.

Maybe 909 is giving us a test. What do pictures of crusty old Jack and fresh-bosomed Scarlett have in common? Or maybe 909 just has a thing for people with no necks?

Postjack ftw. I'm not going to recommend albums, but suggest you choose from the clues your prof placed in the assignment. The mention of cultural relevance and codes should be key. I'd pick albums that are from time periods that you know about well, and ones that are known to both lyrically and musically represent them. The paper should be easy after that.

My job changed health insurance this year from United to BlueCross, and the plan they picked has left many of the lower paid employees where I work unable to afford basic tests and whatnot. Under the old plan, basic physical and labs were a simple co-pay or completely covered. I went for my annual female checkup, and just to cover visits, mammogram, labs, cost me over $1000 after insurance. My doc wanted to do a biopsy, but that would have cost me well over $3000 more. She agree with me to just watch things for now, and I can swing the costs if necessary, but I know others where I work who simply can't. There's one woman who suspects she's diabetic (she's very overweight and having problems), but she's trying to save enough to even get it checked out. Here is where I have an internal conflict going. I really believe that basic check ups and preventative care should be available to everyone, cutting down on the healthcare costs for everyone, but I question who should have to pick up the tab if people refuse healthcare and solutions for problems when they are preventable and wait until they are astronomically costly. My co-worker, for example, has been told for 10 years to lose weight or she will have problems. She absolutely refuses, eats nothing but fried chicken, ribs, Wendy's, bags of chips, jumbo sodas, etc. all day long, says she won't learn to cook and that Big is Beautiful. She's 45, needs knee replacements and may need treatment for diabetes. Costly and preventable. Same question with those who develop lung cancer after point blank refusing to quit smoking. Where's the line between individual accountability and having a system that makes healthcare available to all? I guess the same questions pose the same problems re welfare and medicaid. I lean towards more providing care towards those who need it, but as the heathcare system is being crushed (many doctors in FL don't even carry malpractice insurance [mine don't] with big signs in every office stating that fact), who should get care if it's not affordable? Example: My mother, who had lung cancer after never smoking a day in her life, or my old boss who had lung cancer, an operation, chemo, etc. and continues to smoke to this day? It actually pisses me off and messes me up. I want my co-worker to have the care she needs, but I also know that I can't afford the care I may need. I'm doing everything I can to educate myself and take care of myself, and she's doing everything she can to cause her own problems and wait for a system to cover her expenses (she actually told me that if she loses her job because she can no longer work, it might be better for her because all her medical bills will be paid for). And then there is the who gets to decide problem... kinda wish I didn't even get started here.

Nope. Twenty some years ago, it might have interested me, but the older I get, the less danger excites. Plus, I'm a klutz. It wouldn't be good.

Egad! I was 13 in 1973. My hobbies were reading, distance running (10 miles daily) and sneaking out of the house to get drunk, do illegal substances and tp the neighbors' houses. Oh, and I was a band geek. Well rounded, I think.

Yay, Nate! Getting old is the new cool thing to do. Happy Birthday!

lostonetr, what source and amp are you using? A cable upgrade does change things, but it's lower on the priority ladder than adequate amp and source.

I think it depends on the condition and if they've been modded or not (I'd be wary of some mods folks have done themselves). Somewhere between $150 to $200 seems to be the going rate, with them running near $200 or slightly above lately. Since a recable is pretty important as well as mods, you've got to add that into the budget. My first pair was a gift, but I've picked up two others on ebay, one for $160 and a mint one with box for $225.

Dang, people getting some nice stuff. Congrats. Last thing I bought: two sweet potatoes and a bag split peas and a bag of spinach. Not very exciting.

I heard them at MOA with the Frank Cooter amp, and I went in wanting to like them. The pair I listened to had a stocking mod done to them, and I don't know what else, if anything, but I was really surprised, given how much people whose opinions I tend to agree with like them, at how much I disliked them. They reminded me a bit of the K501s in that they're okay, but not really after you've heard better. btw, I didn't much like the K340s until they'd been modded and recabled, so that could also make a difference. Hey, the Darths are actually fun phones if you match 'em up and open 'em with the 6528 tubes.

Congrats, but the K340s are soooo much better in every way....uh...not to rain on your parade, but.....

I'm pretty sure I'm going to have nightmares just knowing this exists for real.

We'll criticize MoTs we like also. Most people, including myself, are huge fans of Mikhail's amps and like Mikhail personally. I got no problem saying that he needs to get his act together business-wise, though. He pretty much sucks when it comes to keeping promises re timing, and has been known to send out amps with quality control issues. We'll also criticize MoTs whose products we like, but think they are horrible as people and/or business men. I'm a big fan of LaRocco amps, but will trash Larry Milligan every chance I get, including now: DON'T BUY ANYTHING FROM THIS MAN! HE'S A FUCK-UP AND WILL RIP YOU OFF. I do think that some's dislike of Ray and Ken, and/or their business practices gets extended into current product reviews. If someone has a problem with a MoT for personality or business reasons, I got zero problem with that being aired, but I didn't like, for example, the way some members were hoping Florida folks would trash the Predator at its debut in a Florida meet, and seemed disappointed that we didn't (mostly because the Predator didn't sound bad). We were fair (which, by the way happens here quite often), and that was a disappointment to some. I may be all alone here in my sentiments here, but one thing I like about this forum, is that I can say what I think, popular or not.

Well, that depends on whether or not folks like the way something sounds for the most part, be it headphones, amps, etc. I think you'll find that criticism is pretty sq based, minus the extra dose of venom (which I personally don't like) directed at RSA, and maybe ALO (for overcharging). If there's not much criticism for a product, maybe it's just that people like the way it sounds, or at least respect it, even if it's not their cup of tea, as they say.

Seriously ugly for something called a "luxury" headphone amp, but if it sounds good...

Nice. Congrats!

I've heard and liked the Yammy with a few different headphones. It did not do well with the K340s at all. I don't remember specifics as it was over a year ago, but there were a few of us at aglie_one's (john, matt, mikeg and me) that pretty much all agreed, dismissed it, and quickly moved on.

That's good news! Navigating those bills can make you worse than dizzy.

I've been trying to read that book for three months now, but every time I get three pages in, I fall asleep. tmonk, your thread starting history is both curious and annoying. It's as if you're looking for controversy with sad scraps of human nature. What the heck do you think when you say to yourself, "I know, I'll start a thread with this on head-case. They'll like it."?

Ouch. Sorry to hear that, Nate.

Guzziguy beat me to it, but my offer stands to help you out with those stubborn headphones. I'll even make up an hour by hour burn-in log, having nothing to do with reality, but worthy of posting nonetheless.

My brother has meniere's disease, which is pretty awful. Before he was fully diagnosed, he'd get real bad spells. Once, he couldn't get off his front porch to go into the house for a couple hours, then had to crawl. He was a pilot for American Airlines, which is all he ever wanted to do since he was a kid, but hasn't worked in a couple years (he's doing some math teaching) and hell never be able to do that job again. He also played hockey in an adult league, but now nada. It's been somewhat under control for the past year (extremely low sodium diet and Valium sometimes helps), but he's also a single dad of a 4 and 5 year old, and when it hits, he can't function, and it's scary.