Sherwood

I'm in a similar boat here, though naturally I want everything. The BAT was the only truly balanced preamp I've found, but the Parasound Halo P3 and the Classe DR-5 often come up for as low as $500 -- both are balanced.

Some of you fine folks may be charitable givers. I've no doubt you have organizations you enjoy working with if you are, but here's another for you to consider. Kiva is a microfinance loan organization registered as a charity in the US. Basically, you choose a loan beneficiary by geographical region or business sector, and loan money to them. Most loans have a repayment period of 12 months, and better than 95% of the loans are repaid on time. They are zero-interest loans overseen by volunteers on site. Those volunteers choose the recipients and assist them in administering funds. Personally, I;m a big fan of microfinance, and of this organization. 100% of your donation funds go directly to the applicant, so the organization itself is funded seperately by other donations (usually a 10% request on top of your donation). Also, should you choose to, once the loans are repaid the money is yours again. I like to roll it back in, but should you be in need of it it's there. Just a shout out for a good organization that I was not aware of until recently.

Same same goes for the greenline oboes. Both are spectacular instruments.

Ah, Ovations are crap. The still have a wood top, though, don't they?

That is the legendary Maccaferri G40, made from Styron. Plastic never sounded better.

Hopefully you got my meaning. I agree that most quality instruments are made of wood. Headphones aren't instruments, though, they're transducers.

Charlie Parker with his famous Grafton Plastic Alto. He only played it in France, as I understand it, because of contract and sponsorship issues. Great horn.

This really chaps me. Wood is used in instruments because it is resonant. Resonance is what you do not want in a speaker cabinet, unless it is specifically intended to augment certain frequencies. I am so sick of the "real instruments are made of wood" argument.

I'm thinking like this, but with wood. I know some trees by your place.

I'm assuming he's using the "cable pants" bullshit Y splitter because it's the first one he found and didn't have to fabricate. I think that thing is ugly as sin.

Steve: expect a call about some mahogany curb feelers.

Smoked taillight covers for my A6. I am ashamed.

Luckily, the cables I build also have quality issues.

The only part of that site I like is the $39 stock D5000 cable. $40 saves me the trouble of building, terminating and jacketing a cable, which is worth it in my eyes. It's nothing special, but neither is his $500 cable, so hey.

Which parts of the plastic virgin are teflon and which parts are natural? At least she'll be warm

"Placement on automotive CPUs has measurably increased engine horsepower." Do you have to affix it with ERS tape?

Were the wire and the caps on the inside, or is mere proximity enough now?

I was thinking more of a "drop-shipped to an Arab Sheik" situation, but the sheik lost all of his play money on a camel race and John got stuck with the bag.

Neither do snowflakes. However, you have to be pretty close to tell the difference.

Yeah they look like every Lambda I've ever seen. Tough to tell which model from the picture, but it doesn't really matter. Mccoy Tyner in Stax is enough for me.

I'll bite, but on HF if that's okay with you. A little "pearls before swine", I know...

I remember smeggy mentioning something about how the best housing for the SFIs was basically a wooden hockey puck... seems like he wasn't too far off.

I am leery about purchasing such a thing from Ho Chi Minh City.

Depends. If you buy two they deliver the first as described, and the second is simply dropped from altitude and expected to find its own way.

hawt.