Dusty Chalk

I had seen a thread on HDCD before (and I thought it was on hdcd), but it wasn't anywhere near as useful as that one. Especially having examples cited, now I can go reverse engineer it for myself. And I should add a qualifier re: hdcd.exe -- I'm not sure he does the different cases iterated in that thread correctly -- I'd be curious to know for sure. I think he only does the one most complex case, which would mean he's decoding the others incorrectly. Another way to do it would be to rent the Pacific Microsonics Model One or Model Two (it is one of the few devices that will decode entirely within the digital realm), digitally capture the results (I was going to use the Alesis Masterlink), and then use that (.wav files or whatever) as the input to your iTunes library.

Only because usually more care was put into the mastering, but that's not a guaranteed to be the case 100% of the time. It's just that, if the artist is putting that much money care into their master that it's HDCD, then they usually do the same with the rest of the mastering process. So if it's the same exact master, then the only difference would be the slight compressing at the top and bottom of the dynamic range (it's rather like dolby, only an order of magnitude or two more subtle, because they can do that in the digital realm).

No, they're "1"/2.8224 MHz (I say "1" rather than 1, because it's used to represent the information slightly differently than PCM, but it really is still only 1 bit of information).

It depends on what you want to do, Monkey. If you want to run it through an HDCD DAC, then yes, just rip it lossless and run it out a bit-perfect digital out of whatever computer you use. But if you want to decode it (it's just a filter), then you'll need to track down hdcd.exe. The way I do it is rip it to .wav; run it through hdcd.exe; then convert it to whatever it is you want to do (apple lossless, etc.). Undecoded, it's 16-bit. Decoded, it can be anything from 18 bit to 24 bit (I've read 18, 20, and 24, don't know why, haven't done the math). They're not adding information, it's just the representation that's different. The 16-bit representation happens to be compatible with 16-bit audio, but is not the "perfect" representation of the music.

I am maxed out (according to the insurance company) on Allegra-D, Nasonex & Astelin, yes, and I see my allergist weekly for shots. Back when I first visited my prior allergist (the current allergist has taken over his practice), he said, "you tested positive to different things to different degrees, but I don't think you'd be here if it wasn't for this", and pointed to mold, 4+, off the scale, basically. I've since gotten worse with different things (I wasn't allergic to cats at all back then, now register mildly), and this last test, tested positive for the few things that were in DC-area air that I wasn't allergic to before (certain grasses). Yes, that's right, I am basically allergic to everything that is in DC area air (I tell people I'm allergic to air). The prior guy actually told me to move. To the desert.

Fucking breeders. Those are really cute kids.

That's what she said.

Yeah, it does, actually. I'll try those things (especially the "clear your nasal passages" part sooner than later) the next time my allergies act up. I'm thinking it also might be inflamation, not just congestion, but I think all of your advice still applies -- clear (gently), etc.

moar pitchers damit

I thought of a possibility -- when I get congested, my ears start popping, and it's possible I subconsciously do something about it (rub, poke, etc.) -- you're saying that this stimulates earwax production? So what should I do, leave my ears alone? I do try to yawn to open my ears back up -- this would be alright, though? But I don't think it's that, because part of the problem is that there's already enough wax to keep it closed (to stick).

Well, lightning is just one of my favorites -- dark clouds rolling by is another. Hawt.

Dude, they're still designing new tubes -- I just read a one-paragraph article about either Svetlana or Sovtek releasing a new tube...and an amp to go with it. So good luck with that. Just buy what you think you need and don't worry about it. Things always change.

It sounds like they'd be trying to do too much with one device, I can't imagine a jack-of-all-trades type device succeeding in today's market.

I thought he was rating this thread four stars. Alright, no I didn't.

I just had the most awesome Korean BBQ. Triplet of Gui chicken, Bulgogi beef and ...uh...something else, brisket, I think.

Awesome pics, Nate. Send them to Monsieur Samich, he can do it. Chris -- I hope you don't mind me volunteering you, but I'd really like to see this. Mother Nature is my favorite artist, and lightning is one of my favorite of her works of art.

I think he meant "change in number", delta, not absolute. He not that smart, though -- cf that "different story" sentence 3 posts up.

...sounds like someone used your ear for a bowl of Rice Krispies.

You know, just about every color has a problem with it: red -- more likely to be pulled over by police grey/silver/light blue/gray -- same color as sky, depending on day, so therefore harder to see if not paying attention (again, the live-in-DC aspect making this more important than it would others) solid white -- same as your black problem etc. So I'm thinking...plaid.

Don't laugh, I've never had a black car (summers in DC -- although Dan has pretty much convinced me that it doesn't make enough of a difference to avoid them, as I have been, and my ex currently has an off-black car, and it isn't bothering her), but yes, probably black. This is true. My housemate and her sister both have VW's, so I now know "how to buy" a VW -- you make sure you take it in for every little problem, and if they can't fix a problem after three tries, you declare lemon law and force them to give you a replacement. Once you get a good one, you stick with it. They haven't had to do that, though (her sister bought a new one recently). I will admit to being hesitant about that -- I'm the kind of guy who hates taking cars to the dealership, and prefer independent mechanics (I usually go out of my way to find one I can trust). But the A1 is so cool...

Jesus, that's a lot of bread.

Using what system? I've seen a really good Faroudja into a CRT projector, and DVD res vs. high-res was almost indiscernible. The two places where I could tell the difference were: (1) direct-to-highdef, such as sports desk on CNN and late night with Jay Leno (yes, this was back then), and (2) CGI (Finding Nemo). Then switching to a DLP projector, the differences became a little more visible (we compared Final Cut of Blade Runner DVD vs. Blu-Ray -- so the same exact transfer) -- it was visible, but not intolerable. That was with an inferior upscaler and using the PS3 as a transport. I have a feeling a really good player and a really good upscaler will bring them much closer together. (For reference, the DLP was much clearer than the CRT, but the CRT had warmer tones.)

Oh. :|

And even then, not in public. I'm just not a PDA kind of guy.

No, it's pretty much after the fact -- I can feel the build-up of wax, and can predict that when I finally use a Q-tip, it will be "productive". And I hardly use IEM's, so I doubt it's that, either. I'll try to monitor myself more closely, see if there's something else going on -- maybe when my allergies are exacerbated, my ears itch, and I itch them, or something like that. Or perhaps it's the dusty environment.