Torpedo

Holly shit!!!

Any experience with Spanish wines? They used to be a great bang for the buck. However once we joined the EU, prices started to climb, but still at 12-20 euros (here) you can find great wines. Some brands and areas are quite consistent across different vintage years, others not that much and you need to know the good years to get the best ones. Some regions like La Rioja have a very recognizable and personal flavor due to the type of grapes used, which is mostly the "tempranillo" variety, with some "garnacha". Have a look at the La Rioja wine website, they have a promotion running on: Vibrant Rioja Were you able to find some Rioja Alta (the area) crianza (the most affordable vintage) from 2001, 2004 or 2005, or even if the price were right for you reserva or gran reserva of any brand, you'd get an idea of its taste and if it appeals to you. I can specially recommend the Muga Crianza 2004. It should be into your price range and it's a good wine to try the Rioja taste.

Happy day to all you americans. Here it's not a holiday, looks like we don't need to thank for anything

Wooohooo, now I get you (I think). Welcome to the acceptance/conformation/live-with-it club! Self lying is just one strategy to handle it, but won't work with many intelligent people. Or maybe it works, the difference is that you know the strategy and keep living with it. /cheap philosophy mode ON/ As I see it the first crucial part is accepting that they've been lying to us for all our lives, so we're not all equal, we cannot achieve everything we wish, success has nothing to do with money nor prestige, and happiness is no way related to achievement, material things nor success. Then you learn to live with what you can get, to wish what you can achieve and to be happy with the small things of life. When doing so, you notice you're not artificially refusing, but only enjoying what's really worth. /cheap philosophy mode OFF/ I suppose you're at some point of the midlife crisis. Take your time, normal people overcome it way faster and more easily than rich people who can afford young lovers, convertible cars, plastic surgery, fancy clothes and all sort of true "artificial refusing" goods to delude themselves.

Now you've got me more interested Perhaps you were emphasizing the "refusing opportunities" side of things more than the "instinct controlling" one?

LOL I like other people's kids as far as they're decently educated, at least that they don't use emotional extortion to fulfill their whims. But once they leave or we get back home, we love the quietness hehehe. I hate when they are sick, it's pitiful when kids suffer serious diseases. That's a good part of my specialty, most of the children I treat don't use to be seriously sick, they can recover quickly.

Oh, I just take care of the beings available so far, their lives are unique and precious, but I don't think the world needs a lot more of them, nor that it can keep them at decent welfare levels.

I'm afraid the current world doesn't need more offspring from anyone

Feel free to keep talking mate, if that helps... Being a male of the human species is no big deal regarding procreation instincts. You can't fight feeling them, but you need to learn to control them if you don't want to convert your whole life in a terrible mess. I had the hope that things would improve with years, but looks like they get worse It was nice being an adolescent hahahahaha however I think I'm happier now... gotta think about it

Middle age crisis? Seven year itch? Whatever it is, if you love your wife, kill your instincts and have that part of your brain cauterized. It's not about lying yourself, it's about being able to keep the things you appreciate safe and clean.

Some have reported tightening of the bass, but I find it rather tight already, maybe they just got accustomed to their "bass heaviness", and also smoothing in the treble, but it's not harsh IMO. Probably the best surprise for me has been the quality of the voices. Too early to say though, I haven't listened to "my girls" yet. Promising nonetheless.

Oh guys, you have an attic

I'm quite impressed for the tonal balance, a bit bass heavier than neutral, but more than acceptable in the midrange and treble. Overly smooth and pretty natural. For the price I had wished a stronger wire, I find it a bit thin for portables which aren't IEM. We'll see how the shape after some burn-in, but not really wishing they go profound changes, I like them as is.

Went to work, taught a resident how to make a couple of surgeries, got back home and in the way bought some milk, yogurt and Coke, ate delicious "coca" (kind of pizza without mozzarella and way more stuffed), received the new ESW10 and been listening to them for the most part of the rest of the day, paid the Sonny Rollins gold disc I bought from Deepak, listened to my brother in law's radio show while chatting with him and other station staff, dinned "ensaimada" (a delicious cake stuffed with truffle chocolate cream and threaded sweetmeat), watched a couple of Frasier old episodes with wife, now giving the last round to the forums. Busy day huh?

Welcome SD. Here you will feel like at home once you learn about the peculiarities of the gang. Great people nevertheless. Just avoid the void and you'll be fine

Happy Birthday!!!!

^ LOL, keep dreaming!

Maybe Nate can assist with some sort of receipt of his work and parts value. Good luck CJ Ooopss I missed a lot of replies that came before this one. Glad to see Nate coming to the rescue

Trying to probe my thin skin? hehehe Sorry to read that, I had chosen a very nice CD to send to my gift-pal Which by the way, I've been able to get and perhaps, only perhaps, even signed by the artist.

IME tube dampers help a little with tubes that are very slightly microphonic, and in some tube models, change sound when there's no microphony at all, but once you have a tube converting a finger tap in clear audible "thump" they're completely useless. Replace those tubes, hopefully the same one being microphonic is the one about dying and causing the rest of problems.

Glad to participate. I already know what CD I'll be sending if I can get it, so mate me with someone appreciating vocal jazz. No problems sending Worldwide.

They seem to be stuck in the prejudiced notion that second and in general even harmonics produce warmth and fuller body on the sound. That's false or in the least not completely true -in any case not the absolute truth I'm afraid-. I read an old paper some time ago (sorry I can't give the reference) presented at the AES showing that no distortion is perceived as better sounding and more natural than ANY kind of distortion, but that if you introduced distortion then it sounded better when being of even order. I've found myself that very good tube gear and very good SS one tends to sound very very alike, and that very good digital systems can be very analogue sounding, though I'm not sure that completely indistinguishable from good analogue. The question IMO is more what kind of sound makes you enjoy the most, than trying to set a standard of absolute sound or what should be the right one. Modern digital recordings of commercial music sound like crap, probably not for the use of digital gear to master them, but for the huge amount of compression used. On the right digital system some of the first CD releases which weren't compressed nor remastered, sound damn good to me.

Very welcome mate. Wonderful you arrived safe and those little presents got there in time for your enjoyment

Paraphrasing others, fuck a lot on your happy birthday