drp

Having a pretty shitty day; but that truly made me laugh out loud. Thank you!

Major congrats, sir. The KGSS is indeed a sweet amp. Glad to read it pairs well with the O2s, although, it actually makes it even more difficult to not buy another stat phone in '08. The temptations are abound!

Chamber pipe?

Most excellent!

Wow, it just moved (George Costanza line). . . . Although I sub'd in "not-quite-20"........, the ripe-like-a-peach part (better than cream puffs.... 8~)) will surely just keep him up. Signed, One of the old fogeys

And there's the crux. Many of us (especially the locals that can easily demo) are anxious to see and hear a stat amp built by NuggetHopper North. We're penciling you in for an early '09 mini-meet to see and hear it.

You bring a lot of expereince and love-of-the-art to the mix; we are very fortunate to have you. I have a few of your cables (U7, S) in my rigs ands remain happy with them.

Cap tease....

A quick note from work . . . A big thanks to Ian for hosting; the loft is a very cool place. Additionally, having comfortable sofas on which to kick back while sampling great gear has spoiled me for all future meet conditions. The KGSS Story - Yup, sorry kids, I should have elaborated on the fact that this was a one off and Stephen's personal KGSS. Once I figure out my next amp move upward, it will more than likely follow the orange glow and migrate home where it belongs. In the mean time, the KGSS/HE60 combo remains one of my favorite rigs of all time and still my personal best. The Pico scare - These are three guys that I would trust with any of my gear, so offered a Pico loner program whereby they could each take the Pico for a few days. Instead of jumping at the chance, they all slowly stepped back and in general reacted as if I'd held out a crack pipe and said "Go a head, first one's on me." Pfft . . scaredy-cats... Best of show - Ian's music collection. I remain amazed at the shear amount of music that Ian owns, and from what I could hear, it is all good listenable stuff. I was exposed to a few new artists, and with five or so fine gear stacks, it was fun finding a system to fit the genre. Since it really is all about the music, this was great incentive to expand my collection. Meet security - Don't let the cutesy kitty pix fool you; they are trained professionals that carefully examine all gear and containers. I found the rafter kitty in my travel bag; head only poking out. . . I still get belly laughs from that image. More later...

I?d read that great manufacturer?s tip and started last night by cutting holes in the back that line up with the charge and USB connectors. However, running the lines through the cutouts and then connecting/adjusting the bag is proving less than swift. Next step is the Justin?s Sack (ah?hem) mod?? So, are you taking side bets on Baby Elephant?s Pico vs. Aristaeus shootout? I think this need a triple-blind-double-fudge test to be a fair test. That is, while blindfolded, we swoop in and snag the HE90s and Aristaeus??

Still thinking we need a mini-meet along with the other usual suspects so you guys can give the Pico a listen, or, I pack up my Pico and send it you and the other locals for a few days of analysis. It truly adds the fun back into portable and creates minimal clutter on the desktop at the office. Oh heck, just dew eet!!!

Great read Vicki; thank you. So true, music is a common bond that crosses so many language, culture, and state-of-being-related boundaries. Perhaps management will realize (with a nudge) that music is the ice breaker you use it for and that they are eliminating a valuable tool. And also back on topic, I guess I am a Dennis Morecroft fan, since I have his solid core interconnects and speaker cables, not to mention his influence on Resolution Audio's products. I'm also a big Resolution Audio fan. And let's not forget fried chicken, for which I am a huge fan; woe how I miss fried chicken (stoopeed diet).

A most heinous event. What was (s)he thinking? Did someone loud spoil it for the rest?

I did read that; was more just gunning for a silly intro; hope you didn't mind.... I very much look forward to your impressions; get some better data in this thread. I'm finding that the Pico does a good job of driving the PK-1s, which I found to be surprisingly hard to drive for a bud, at least by other portables. Perfect combo for the office as I can hear around me, and no headband hair.

Keep those excellent impressions coming boys and gurils?? Is the lack of sonic impressions because we've all seen how Boomana eats portable pod people for breakfast? Well, I ain't scairt (actually, I am). I received my Pico in the first set of shipments; have had it since the Christmas holidays and it has been a constant companion since then. It saw initial and continued duty as the sound device for my home gaming rig as I attempt to complete COD4 on at the Veteran level (recently completed Hardened level). As a side note, anyone that tells you that bomb blasts and machinegun fire are not the best method of breaking in an amp is clueless.. (insert stupid smiley). I have been impressed by how much better I can hear footfalls in multiplayer maps. Yes, the Pico has saved my life; I now see the light. Of course, the savior at the end of the light is wearing an old baseball cap with a well-turned front lid, slung low. Headphones used: Stock HF-1s, PK-1s, Sensa 2X-S I will also write that I'm so glad that I've moved to higher end (not done yet) electrostatic gear, because for dynamic gear, I think this little dude will be putting many entry- to mid-level home systems to task. My initial intent in the switch was e-stats for home-bound critical listing and portable dynamics for casual and on-the-go musical enjoyment. Although I'm the worst at remembering how something sounds (even from one second to the next; why I cannot do good comparison-type reviews), the Pico, with foobar, asio, and lossless, seems as musical and as enjoyable as my old Mini-DAC/Ear+ HD combo. With the amazing low distortion level, I believe it is a little more resolving; I'm hearing excellent detail. I think that the Pico, a good source (or onboard DAC), and a good set of cans makes for a very decent critical listening system. I've owned the Hornet and T-Hawk as portables and enjoyed the sound, but they sounded like portables. Good detail, punchy, but lacked that larger sense of space that defines the sound stage along with the texture and feeling that good full-size gear provides. The Pico differs mostly in this area, in that it creates more of what I look for in good home amps, such as the simultaneous handling of quiet and loud passages that create the sense of space, imaging, and separation of instruments as instructed by the source material. These big-boy traits are combined with the great texture of the instruments and vocals, and the micro details that provide the sense of the recording venue; a studio or a concert hall. I've been carrying the Pico back and forth from work to use as my laptop's sound card. Perfectly portable. I'm getting the absolute most from Pandora and sky.fm (192k) for background tunes while working. Amp section - Another very amazing transportable combo is the Pico and my dual-DAC D25 portable with the Sensa 2X-S. I'm listening to this combo as I type, and Kate Havnevik's voice has that completely airy, sensual, well-controlled sense that I hear on my home rig (to a lesser extent, but palatable). Okay, I also just think Kate is palatable... but her unique way of transitioning from audible breath to voiced words (similar style to Bebel Gilberto) is reproduced to a very nice degree. My dynamic rig, computer sound card, gaming sound, and travel rig were are completed with one little package in gorgeous piano black finish. Thanks Justin.

Happy New Year. I raise my sniff of Oban to the coolest kids on the web. May the music move you, Dave

I still aspire for a high(er)-end electrostatic amp, but it would appear that my current rig just needs about nine more Ss, a couple of Ts, and at least two Es. I'm actually now thinking three Es though, or would that be deemed prudish conspicuous consumption?

Awesome job, Haj. I just surfer to find the TNT site (great info there) and now considering building one of these. The Opus' somewhat unique size, along with the size of my amp(s) always makes finding the perfect rack a challenge, so the ability to build a custom rack (mini-double?) has many advantages. I'll no doubt be picking your brain for building tips.

I picked up COD4 for PC about a week ago and just yesterday completed the single player mission. Originally started on the easier level, and after one of the several initial system hangs, I restarted on what they call "Normal" mode. If a firefight in rookie mode lasted 2 minutes, in normal mode, it lasted more like 15 minutes. It was much more of a challenge and a lot more intense. Having unlocked the mission selector, I played a few maps last night in Hardened mode. This made for the most realistic FPS war sim yet for me. Walk dumbly out in the open; you get head shot in a second. Don't stick with the team, boom; you're dead. Firefights lasted forever and you had to go about is systematically to survive. It was actually better practice for MP then any other game I've played. I also played a bit of multiplayer last night. As others mentioned, feels a bit like MP maps from other FPS games but with a bit more realism. Took me a few deaths to realize you can't run and gun from a distance (like BHD) but have to look down the sights in all but the close encounters. This is all from a COD MP noob though. I did notice some of the stuff that plagued most of the Black Hawk Down servers; I got killed by a grenade launcher at time when a gun battle just seemed more appropriate. I got naded from 10' at one point; I just had to commend the player for a manly kill. This is just a peeve; entering a map where all you hear is thunk-thunk-thunk-thunk. Give me a gun or knife fight any day. Source: 3 GHz Pentium Amp: ATI 850 XL Limited Edition (AGP mobo) ICs: Logitech MX18 Mouse, G15 keyboard, Gateway FHD2400 (new; trying out my first 24" LCD) Headphones: Plantronics DSP500 for voice (or my regular headphone rig via Opus' digital in) I'm running patch 1.3, which I believe is mostly for MP, but for what always seemed like a decent gamer rig, it just barely runs this game. I'd disabled hyperthreading for Comanche 4 but suspect I should try with this enabled. For resolution, even though 1900x1200 is offered, it's recommended to run at 800x600. The Support site actually recommends setting your monitor to 800x600 (and sound's hardware acceleration to Basic) prior to starting the game. This said, even with the occasional glitch, this is now my favorite FPS game, unseating F.E.A.R.

I take a completely different approach to workout music, but then my workout is 180 degrees different. I have four days of weight training, two days of cardio, and one day off. Given the pain factor, I go for music that makes you grit your teeth, growl, and jam, such as Tool, Nine Inch Nails, 10 years. My old stand by, the sound track to Queen of the Dammed is in the mix as well. Something about the driving guitar and bass lines, not to mention the screaming vocals; works in tune with my screaming muscles, and when I can't, it does the screaming and cussing not possible with no oxy in the lungs. For something to make me space out and machine-like during steady state cardio (one day), Welcome to the Machine is great. For home listening, my musical tastes have swung towards slightly trippy downtempo lounge genres, yet my old hard rock still lives on in my workout rigs. Reads like you are in the thick of the program. Very cool.

And how it that un-modded snow blowing rig treating you, Nate? It would seem that your post was the equivalent of a snow dance, because I just moved a ton of wet heavy stuff. Got it moved before the rain got a chance to make it even heavier. On the mod, I think I'm going to terminate just south of the driver leads (lower value resistors maybe), similar to how the E500 is constructed, and use a 1st Gen Shuffle with a shirt clip. This will make for a minimum wire length player for the gym (or snow shoveling.... grrrr). Then maybe an extension with other resistors to go to an amp'd player.

Have any of you that have the IM716, or took advantage of the Buy dot com deal, removed the volume pod and added resistors? The other site has a thread on this but thought I check here as well. I just got in a pair and also have a few resistors hanging around; although, all I have are 75 ohm jobbies from KSC-35 mod craziness. Other than getting rid of the somewhat sizeable pod holding the switch and volume pot, anyone find it worth the effort?

It's the "I definitely want them; been looking for them and so on" that may have compelled him to choose you over other interested parties (I've always tried to be selective to good h-fiers), and then after he's convinced, you asked him to hold onto them. I bet he got cold feet from wondering why you'd been looking for so long, seemed so serious, but did not have the cash to pull the trigger that very instant. I am typing from personal experience as this same thing happened to me as a seller; ended up waiting for another two weeks for a buyer and missed an item I wanted because I did not have those funds available. Doesn't change the fact that you missed the cans you wanted, and that part does indeed stink. Reads like you now have the cash just waiting for the next opportunity so are ready to strike. Writing "have funds to send right now" goes a long way with sellers, as missed opportunities from being "nice" stinks just as badly for the seller. Good luck on the RS1s; they are worth the wait.

Congrats; that is truly money well spent. There are so many advantages to having a personal trainer as you step back into the shape and lifestyle that will carry you though the next several decades. With three months of dedicated help, you will develop great form and get the most out of your workout. Nutrition also plays a huge part. After this, all you need is periodic maintenance to switch things up; not perform the same exercises over and over. I am lucky (or is it cursed) that my gf is at the moment my trainer, my nutritionist, and my motivation to stay in shape (50+ is itself a challenge). It will soon become a way of life. I love hitting the gym these days; it's one of the places I can think. I just hate cardio....... Better heart rate and breath control can only lead to better critical listening skills . . I hope. Nate - Nice cones, dude......

Mindset recalibrated Disassemble Johnny Five? "Escaped Robot Fights for His Life. Film at Eleven." - Number 5