HeadphoneAddict

Sweet!

No, needs more caffeine. I really fell asleep watching it.

My son got an early Christmas present, a 14 week old kitten from a local "non-kill" animal shelter. Ben has been heartbroken since Greystone died, and having trouble sleeping without his cat. We took him to visit over 18 different kittens and cats, and last Tuesday he picked one that looks a little like his old cat. We're debating over names, like Smokey, Shadow, or Cinder. His sisters like Milo. His temperament is great - he likes people, loves to head butt, nudge, cuddle and play. He seems like a mix of 90% Russian blue and 10% grey tabby (very faint lines that are hard to see). Over the next week we'll be introducing our other cat to this one's safe place while this one visit's the others spaces. Then they'll meet each other slowly, and if all goes well then he can meet the dog next (Snickers, the Sheltie).

I know you guys aren't into RSA amplifiers, but I've spent several weeks listening to my HD800 via PWD Mk2 into a balanced F-35 Lightning amplifier (via balanced silver dragon cable), and this rig has nice synergy. The Lightning renders the HD800 less fatiguing than my WA6 or DACmini amps, and fills in that slightly lacking midrange that some people complain about, making them sound warmer and richer, albeit a little more forward and a little less spacious sounding than with my better amps. It's really strong and punchy too. It might be similar to using my old Squarewave XL, and likely more reliable. I think it offers a good bang for the buck. It really scales up with a better source. Moving up from an iPod to a Pico DAC as source is a noticeable upgrade, but the improvement from going to a balanced perfectwave DAC is not lost on this amplifier. You could probably enjoy it as a desktop replacement amp after you buy the best source you can afford, until you can buy a better amp later. It's not on par with my ZDT or EF6 amplifiers which pair very well with HD800, but it also costs a fraction as much, leaving more money for the source. Not planning to drive both orthodynamics and HD800, don't want to recable, or have a smaller budget or allergy to RSA amps? Then the Hifiman EF-2 is actually quite nice with HD800 too, although with a much smaller soundstage and less power.

Slightly faster now, a year later.

The D3 draws too much power to use with iPad connection kit, unless you also use a powered USB hub. For the iPad, I found that the best portable DAC for use with the CCK is the Pico DAC. All of the non-upsampling portable DACs that I tried didn't come close to the Pico DAC who's ASRC helps reduce jitter when used with the CCK. It's performance is very close to the portable dedicated digital docks for iPad from CEntrance and V-MODA. I tried out the Dragonfly at RMAF one year and it was okay, but it seemed to lack a little bit of air and micro-detail vs my Pico DAC + Slim. I had a chance to buy a V1.0 Dragonfly recently for $99 and passed it up. However, I'm very impressed with the Audioengine D3 which seems to match my Pico DAC in sound quality. In fact, the D3 driving my HE-500 or LCD-2 sounds IDENTICAL to my Pico DAC + Pico Slim (in sound signature, performance, and power). If you offered me $1000 to pick out whether I was listening to the D3 or Pico DAC/Slim I'm not sure I would be able to do it (sorry Justin). I was not this impressed with the Dragonfly demo that I had. The D3 drives my JH16Pro IEM or my LCD-2 rev2 equally well, and it also does a very good job as a DAC/preamp feeding a more powerful amp, in case you want insane volume levels from a bigger amp. The sound quality of the D3 feeding my ZDT amp is insane. Without an external amp, when using my JH16Pro I sometimes need use the option-shift-volume on my Mac to change the volume in fractions of a step IF I want to listen at very low volumes, but normal listening volume using JH16Pro is with the Mac volume at 1-2 steps above zero. With LCD-2 I'm listening to the D3 right now with the system volume set at step 6 out of 16 (about 40% system volume). At max system volume it is uncomfortably loud, but anything above a system volume of 75% will probably cause hearing damage if you listen long enough.

More theories about the crash, unstable car + magnesium wheels. (And they question did he survive the crash just to burn to death) http://freepatriot.org/2013/12/05/paul-walker-survive-crash-die-fire-matters-carrera-gt-owners/ Also, some crazies on other sites have suggested the government was responsible. If I find the link to that again I'll post it, but I pretty much blew it off and forgot where I saw that.

Happy Birthday!

Audioquest Dragonfly DAC for $99 on Amazon http://www.amazon.com/AudioQuest-DragonFly-Digital-Converter-Version/dp/B00882U782/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pd_nS_nC?ie=UTF8&colid=2112Y742IOU19&coliid=I1OR15NN8S3MJE Based on a previous Dragonfly demo at RMAF one year I'd have to say that I have been enjoying the Audioengine D3 more, but this sale puts the dragonfly at $90 cheaper, for now, which I think is worth it. I wouldn't pay full price for one though. [PS: I just canceled my order because I need another portable DAC like a hole in the head. That just means more available for everyone else, although the price just went up a couple of bux to $100.78 shipped free via Prime]

I bought one at Amazon a while back that I've used once, and it worked for me. The reviews are good too. "Professional JAXA Type XL Watch Case Back Opener Wrench for Large Waterproof Watches" http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00944T13U/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

You guys beat me to it. I came here to post what I saw online: http://gizmodo.com/grado-labs-made-gorgeous-cans-out-of-irish-whiskey-bar-1476399898 I just want to smell and lick them...

I guess you need a mini DP to DP cable, not a thunderbolt cable (which is mini on both ends).

I have a mini display port cable, and it won't fit the DP jack on that monitor... [edit - okay, so this may be a thunderbolt cable, but it still doesn't look compatible with that monitor]

Yeah, these guys were good drivers, racers in real life, and humanitarians. The good guys always go early. It almost seems strange that I had just bought the 1st, 5th and 6th F&F movie on 11/20 & then this happened 10 days later. I was looking forward to #7 that also had parts filmed here in Colorado Springs.

I don't recognize the display port jack on that monitor as being the same as Apple's. I'm confused. You may have to Google it...

Watch rental subscriptions, will they become mainstream? Article from TechCrunch http://techcrunch.com/2013/12/02/eleven-james-is-a-new-startup-that-lets-you-rent-your-wrist-wear/

Update: Paul Walker, one of the main stars of the popular Fast and Furious action-movie franchise, was killed on Saturday in a car accident in Santa Clarita, Calif. The actor's representative, Ame Van Iden, confirmed his death to USA TODAY. He was 40. Walker had returned home for the holidays from the Atlanta set of Fast and Furious 7 and was scheduled to return next week. A statement on Walker's Facebook page says the actor died while attending a charity event for his organization Reach Out Worldwide. The statement continued: "(Walker) was a passenger in a friend's car, in which both lost their lives. We appreciate your patience as we too are stunned and saddened beyond belief by this news. Thank you for keeping his family and friends in your prayers during this very difficult time. We will do our best to keep you apprised on where to send condolences. #TeamPW."

http://usat.ly/1cInyhN Bummed - he wasn't the greatest actor, but he had heart. I'll miss him. "Paul Walker, one of the main stars of the popular Fast and Furious action-movie franchise, was killed on Saturday in a car accident in Santa Clarita, Calif. The actor's representative, Ame Van Iden, confirmed his death to USA TODAY. He was 40. Walker had returned home for the holidays from the Atlanta set of Fast and Furious 7 and was scheduled to return next week. The California native appeared in all but one of the Fast and Furious movies, starring as Brian O'Conner opposite Vin Diesel. Other movie credits include Varsity Blues, Eight Below, Takers and the upcoming Hours, an indie drama set in Louisiana after Hurricane Katrina out Dec. 13. Fast & Furious 7 is scheduled to be released July 11. Walker also is set to star in the cop drama Brick Mansions, due Nov. 27. Universal Pictures released a statement on Walker's death Saturday night: "All of us at Universal are heartbroken. Paul was truly one of the most beloved and respected members of our studio family for 14 years, and this loss is devastating to us, to everyone involved with the FAST AND FURIOUS films, and to countless fans. We send our deepest and most sincere condolences to Paul's family." Contributing: Scott Bowles"

Sorry about his suffering, and hope he has more good days. Narcotics can suppress respiratory rate and depth, and make the upper airway muscles more slack so that airways can collapse more easily, leading to snoring, apnea or strider. It may be possible to try different body positions at rest to improve breathing, or adjusting the medication dose by 10-20% lower.

Gastric acid blocking agents can lead to a b12 deficiency, which can lead to anemia and neurological disorders. The steroids irritate the gastric lining, hence the need for the antacids, which lower the b12 levels. The steroids will have the biggest effect with helping the arthritis, while the antacids are likely to treat the steroid side effects, and the B12 is to treat the side effects of the meds treating the first side effects. Just my pediatric hypothesis projected onto cats.

Are you running a music server, player, or another app on the Mac in the background that could be keeping a file open? Are you running any software that came with the external drives, like what Seagate includes? Often that software can have bugs and prevent file copies after a few GB of files are copied, and the crash point is always different. Also try to use disk utilities to repair the disks and repair permissions. Is the target drive clean, or are there incompletely copied files on the drive still left after the first failed attempt? (Those files may still be "in use" and can't be over-ridden, but that doesn't explain the error the first time you saw it) Can you boot the Mac in safe-mode first (I think boot up while holding the shift key down) and then try to do the file copy fresh, without overwriting old copies? In case it's a bad file or files, you can try to isolate them, but you said it sounds random. Have you tried to copy each subfolder one at a time, to see which folder hangs up and which can be copied? Then try the files or folders inside that one to find the ones that hang up. If no subfolders, can you try copying groups of individual files in alphabetical clusters? Such as copy all the files starting with A, then try all the files starting with B, and so forth until you isolate a range of files that are giving you trouble? The go in smaller increments to find the file or files that can't be copied.

Happy Birthday!

If I recall, Birgir has LNS drivers in his HE-90's

s1rrah, I did not like the 507 at all, as they had a nasally sounding upper mids/lower treble that was way worse than the usual mild upper mids etch I heard on vintage Lambda Signature and Lambda Pro. I very much prefer my Lambda Nova Signature (LNS) over the 507, and I think the LNS are among the best of the Lambda Series (although SR-404LE were pretty good but hard to find). Livewire mentioned the Koss. My current LNS sounded better than my old ESP-950 which I sold; but I preferred those recabled ESP-950 over my older Lambda Pro and Lambda Signature (but my ESP-950 were using an SR-007 cable and Stax amp). However, my LNS via KGSS sound a lot like my HE-500 via ZDT amp, and the SR-007 are a noticeable upgrade over any Lambda series phone. Sometimes I've considered downsizing things and selling the KGBH/SR-009 and just enjoying the KGSS/007. It's a very nice combo, and my DIY KGSS is a bit smaller than my old WES. The KGSS reminds me of the SRM-717 with a little more spacious soundstage but a little less warmth and bloom. So, if you can find an SR-007 and SRM-717 or KGSS I think you will be pretty happy. A KGBH will be even better for 007 but harder to find. Note - my KBGH is noticeably more powerful, punchier, warmer, and smoother sounding than my KGSS; but it's circuit has been tweaked and I think it's better than a few other KGBH out there (such as the one Namaan built and brought to my house in 2009 for a meet.)

Happy belated birthday!