Iron_Dreamer

Glad to see you weathered that little shitstorm of spyware. I get so sick of removing that crap from people's systems. Not that it doesn't make me money, though. How's that new computer fund coming along?

They need to put in a Frys somewhere between San Jose and LA!

x10,000!!! Now with CompUSA, Circuit City, and PC Club out of business, Best Buy is the only place in my area to buy a lot of computer hardware. Sure the office stores, and even Target, carry a few things, but finding something specific is a total crapshoot. The only reason I'd go to Best Buy for that sort of stuff is if it was absolutely necessary to have, the same day.

Doesn't help that Aaron and I are trying to funnel all your cash into a new 'puter

Hmm...well I have my first rolls of Velvia 50 in the chill chest awaiting action...guess I should dig up an old projector somewhere along the lines.

I have never seen as many people at CC as there were today. CC should have gone out of business years ago, then they wouldn't have had to go out of business. Just like the CompUSA liquidation, the prices suck, and by the time they don't, likely everything worth anything will be long gone. I fear what BB will be able to do, especially in towns where they are the only remaining serious electronics store. I really hope Fry's expands to rival BB at some point.

Ugh, talk about better off forgotten!

Sure, here ya go:

Not exactly, only that most people would get caught up in the initial excitement of such a product launch. I can count on my buddy Ed to remain steadfastly skeptical and critical, as is his approach to everything he explores. Combine that with his rather picky ear, and a tell-the-truth-even-when-it-hurts attitude, and it is a recipe for impressions that I know I can always trust. Furthermore, I'd be more interested in impressions from someone whose baseline is an R10 or K1000, than an HD650 or K701. Of course the HD800 will sound a lot quicker and more transparent than an H650, it's hardly a feat! Not to mention it damn well better, if Sennheiser has properly copied/ripped-off/emulated/choose-your-verb-here Sony's most recent high end cans as they appear to have. I can remember a lot of BS from the Senn camp back when the 650's came out that they were a major upgrade from the 600's. Not that I'm saying the 800's won't be, considering the changes in design, price, and philosophy; I'm just trying to account for the launch excitement. I mean, c'mon, it's not like a new high end headphone gets released every week, or even month, so people have a lot of accumulated energy to blow off. Jude even admitted in his first post that he has been waiting for this for YEARS.

I'm waiting for Edwood's typically brutal and frank sonic assessment. At this point, it's hard to believe anything that the hypesters are spitting out about these cans.

Works for me.

The SA5000 gives a taste of what the 010 can offer, properly fitted of course. The 010 is more detailed yet smoother, has a larger soundstage, and a more powerful bass. IMO there isn't anything that the SA5000 does better than the 010. Really, since you own the 010, I wouldn't even bother with the SA5000, unless you want to see if you can get by with them, in lieu of the 010. But I doubt that is really possible. Just go listen to your Qualias, and enjoy!

I've been burned a couple of times in the past with buggy OCZ ram. Granted, I haven't tried them again since original DDR, but considering the success I have had with Corsair and Patriot DDR2, I have no desire to. BTW, does Apple sell their own branded flash drive?

Depending on one's position, I suppose these all could be considered "audio sins," not that any of them bother me: I never have, nor intend to own a turntable/vinyl I never have, nor intend to own an Apple product (iPood or computer) My system has always gone through either a computer or DAP I play lossless files (as opposed to WAV files or CD's)

Corsair + Patriot + Sandisk, all have been good for me. I just use the maxim "of would I buy any other products from this company" when buying flash drives. Rules out OCZ really fast.

:o :o Where do you get the energy?

I though it would be Bose+Beats+Skullcandy, so they could have done much worse.

I had a very quiet year on the audio front, and it doesn't displease me. After receiving my Pico nary a week into the year, it became clear that I had entered a new phase in my headphone gear life. Didn't take long for me to shed the Apogee Mini-DAC, and beyond that it's been a pretty dry year for gear, but not for music. I did recently add a 4GB Sansa Clip to the stable, and what a great sounding tiny little device (though I could live without the 15-second startup time). Also managed to upgrade my stalwart iRiver iHP-120 with a 32GB CF card in place of the hard drive, and a fat new battery. Hello 24hr+ battery life, and near instant startup!

Amazingly ugly!

A 64GB Samsung SSD for my main workstation computer. QUIET!!!! and fast, what a nice combo. And finally at a size/price I could stomach ($240), compared to the next closest substitute (Velociraptor).

Hmmm....most of the places aren't exactly the kinds of joints that do gift certificates...

Now THAT's an office rig. Better be sure you don't accidentally blow the roof off the joint with this one. Who doesn't love a big box with NUGGET on the front?

I'd take the GS1 over any M3 I've ever heard, but that's just one opinion

Arrrgh, shiver ye b-day Captain Gene!

I've managed a nice little haul of deals the past few days, without having set foot into a store: 3 x 4GB Sandisk Extreme III CF cards - Free after rebate - Beach Camera Logitech VX Revolution Mouse - $3 after rebate - Newegg 4GB Corsair DDR2-800 RAM - $15 after rebate - Fry's Sansa Clip 4GB - $32 - Bestbuy All in all, not a bad load of stuff for about $50 total.