Voltron

Or, wait, moar black:

The mini-MOA idea is for immediately prior to CJ09. Dan (grawk) and Gene and Matt will all be in NorCal, and I am also hoping to con Vicki, Mike, Stephen and whoever else into flying into SF and then out of LA. So mini-MOA will be like Tuesday or Wednesday before leaving Thursday noonish for LA. I will likely work at least Tuesday (and maybe even part of Wednesday depending), but invitees will be welcome to stay in Marin those days/nights. Sorry for the distraction, Mike. Similar to you and grawk, I will holding off on travel before CJ09, so I cannot come to your spring fling. It will be fun to watch from afar though.

Talking Heads -- The Name of This Band is Talking Heads Having just seen Nona Hendryx in Labelle the other night in Oakland, I have had her T-heads days on my mind. Oh, and she is still hot and quite buff at age 64.

Sonic Youth -- Bad Moon Rising

...because it is so sweet to roll doobies on because you can see everything on there man.

The Postal Service -- Give Up

dbag, maybe you should search over on Head-Fi.org for the many discussions of that subject before posting a thread. But if you are looking for information that is not found through that means, you might want to tell people what cans you want to use with those pads.

Is the custom title "didn't read the 'welcome to Head-Case PM'" a new way of saying BANNED? Either way, I like it. I hope Danny enjoys his fun and educational day.

Ratatat -- Mirando (Animal Collective Remix) Dntel -- Dumb Luck

That's how it works. Now Lily will feel better and be cute and want to play while you feel like shit. The circle of life as parents of an infant.

The Decemberists -- The Rake's Song Ben Kweller -- Changing Horses

Jenny Lewis -- Acid Tongue

Don't listen to The Smoking Man, Nate. Lily will feel worlds better when the meds kick in, and in turn so will you when the sleep kicks in. Good luck tonight!

The only things that you may or may not think are relevant are: 1) the the fact that service for a P1 purchased through Audio Cubes will require you to send the unit back to Japan and I don't know if they effectively act as the purchaser to submit it to Luxman for service; and 2) the voltage is not user-switchable so they provide you with a shitty transformer box that converts to the proper voltage for the unit. If you buy from TTVJ you get a US voltage model that is serviced through the US distributor. I don't know those Stello units very well, but I would think that the Onix Ref. 1 has a better analog output than the Stello. I cannot compare them but the Onix when new was a $1200 CDP that was known for its analog output stage.

The Great Jazz Trio -- At the Village Vanguard Vol. 1

My source at that meet was the Onix, which was not up to the Luxman's capabilities. With the EMM Labs it was much better and not as warm sounding/muddy.

It is really good, and it makes me want to see the movie. More fast and dynamic that a lot of Redd's stuff.

Freddie Redd Quartet with Jackie McLean -- Music from The Connection

P1. P200 is not available yet to my knowledge. TTVJ is expecting them to be available soon though.

Indeed.

Koetsu Rosewood Signature Platinum MC cartridge. Traded my RSA XR-10B phono stage (MSRP $4,500, but I paid $3,000 slightly used) for this cartridge (MSRP $5,900). Not a bad deal, and I simply cannot wait to hear this cart with the Doshi phono pre.

Freddie Redd Trio -- San Francisco Suite

The Sound of Jazz [unremastered]

USG: Not sure what more I can add, although the Rockhopper Beta I own is a fantastic amp. It is similar to the other finest Beta I have heard, which was Naaman's Beta that Asr used to own. Either of those blew blessingx's former amp out of the water. Dreadhead has mentioned to me previously that he upgraded it and enjoyed much more as he says above. I have never heard a Nate Beta but I am sure that he also reaches the pinnacle of the form. The hallmarks of a great Beta to my mind are power, neutrality and control. My amp has more power than could ever be needed for normal cans, and can drive K1000s to my understanding but not my personal experience because mine are wired with speaker connections only. The Beta is also very neutral and true to the source. Although I do not find the Beta as "engaging" or "absorbing" as the Luxman, for example, that is not because it is sterile but just because it is so neutral. A warmer source would also get me more where I want to be, and is a consideration I have had while my Beta sits in the for sale category. (I want a more transportable solution and the one-box Luxman has that edge as well.) Strapping on my vintage RS-1s makes me reconsider selling the Beta because that combination is especially engaging, and the same goes for the PS-1s too. Oddly, the Ed. 9s did not have a great synergy with my Beta even though Sovkiller insists that they need SS power over tubes. Anyway, I digress. .. The last factor I mentioned is control, which is related to why they are so accurate but worth mentioning on its own. The Beta has a real grip on headphone drivers. It makes them fast and accurate and deletes flab and overhang and all those things that lack of control connotes. The amazing thing I found about the Luxman is that even with the more lush sound signature that takes it slightly out of the truly neutral category, it is very accurate, very detailed, very fast and still has a strong grip on the drivers. Even though I wish it were balanced, and that is another thing that makes me hesitate on selling the Beta in favor of the Luxman, it has such a compelling presentation that I am driven to try it out. Given the level of sales I have made on other items, I may just sit tight on the Beta, buy the Luxman and compare them head to head. Should be very interesting. As for the Zana Deux, I really like that amp but I think it falls into the category of warmer, less controlled, less accurate and softer overall. People who are owners dispute this, and I have never had a ZD for an extended period outside of meet contexts. It is a great amp with a wonderful sound signature, but I always feel that is softness is both a virtue and a failing. YMMV.