sandt38

Scanner arrives tomorrow. I'm pretty excited! I got my Piece of Schiit yesterday. http://schiit.com/products/mani I am using it to replace my Project Phono Box. The Project box sounded pretty good, but the highs were a bit rolled off. I also wanted more gain. The Schiit Mani affords multiple gain settings, and it allows you to select 47 or 47kOhms to facilitate the use of both moving magnet and moving coil carts. At this pricepoint the ability to boost MC is unheard of, and Schiit's reputation is exceptional. I am using fairly solid moving coil carts right now, but really wanted to try some moving coil units. They are audiophile based units, and not priced for the feint of heart. I hooked the piece of Schiit up yesterday and spent several minutes playing with my input and gain settings. At top gain (59dB) it really lays down the law, but I start clipping at about 2/3 volume. I stepped back to 47dB and found my happy spot. She clips just past 7/8 and doesn't ever hard clip (remember, tube clipping is actually pleasant), so the phono stage isn't actually imparting it's own distortions. At 3/4 it is difficult to be in the same room with it, it is LOUD. I find myself cranking it at 1/2 and enjoying it between 1/4 and 1/3 volume, where the Project box took the amp at full tilt to equal my 1/3 setting with the Schiit. The Schiit sits about 6 inches away from the player and the amp and has no noticeable interference. It isn't dead silent, but you need to have it opened up to hear it isn't totally black. For under $150 and with all it is capable of, it is beyond acceptable. When I first fired it up I was not terribly happy. Midrange was bloated and highs seemed to roll off really early. Bottom end was improved in both depth, but it seemed muddy and incoherent. After several hours of break in the bottom end has developed an immediacy and impact that the Project simply lacked. Top end is lively now, although not as extended as I would like, and midrange is a tad forward, but not as bad as it was at first. I am using my Shure mx97e cart right now, which is known for midrange and bottom end with an understated top end, so maybe that is why it lacks the shimmer I was hoping for... or maybe it needs time to break in more. Sibilance does not exist at this point, so I have that to be thankful for. With the forward midrange my image seems a little cluttered and forward, but it isn't horrible. Stage is still vast and the air is still there, although compressed a bit. Is it amazing? No, I can't say that, but it is a vast improvement over the Project Phono box, and IMO worth what you pay for it, and then some. I wanted to play with MCs but this unit will have to break in better before I take that jump. Ultimately I will be running a Budgie tube phono stage, but the module to add to it to enable the use of MC carts is $400... add that to the $450 price of the phono stage and quality carts costing upwards of $750 (admittedly you can find them on Amazon for $450 though) and I don't see myself taking that jump blindly to MC... ever. I was hoping that the Schiit would give me a good idea of weather the jump to MC would be worth it to me, but I don't think it does at this point. We'll see... maybe it will open up to where I will feel comfortable dropping $450 on an MC and trying it.

LOL!

You're pregnant?

I'm really digging those Quarks. Think I might build a pair.

Look awesome. Love the kit coupled with the amp unit. I may give them a shot. For some other solid kit offerings check CSS. http://www.creativesound.ca/

Cool little speakers. Got any pics and a personal review? How are you powering them? I have contemplated building some PC speakers, but powering them on the cheap has prevented me from doing so.

New scanner ordered. My old Verus was behaving wonky so I ordered a new one. It laid down on me for almost a full day. It wasn't a huge deal, as I have several other scanners, but it was a big deal as it is my go to tool (I know it's abilities, capabilities, my way around it, and I trust the information it delivers, making it incredibly more efficient for me), and I needed my scope that morning. It has been struggling to connect to the scan module, often times requiring a reboot that may take 10 minutes if it is feeling slow. The new tool is the Verus Edge... so new the SnapOn website doesn't have pricing. I should have it in hand by mid next week. Fortunately Euro is included in the $10,800 price tag. My old Verus required a key purchase of ~$2,000 over it's $9,999 offering price, so the new Verus is lighter, smaller, bigger screen, faster, more complete, and less money. It also has a hot dockable 4 channel scope, which affords me more reach for scope leads... which I need. Will post porn when it arrives. https://www1.snapon.com/diagnostics/us/VERUSEdge

*LOVE!*

no way! I have a buddy who works there.

boooo!

National beer day! Drinking a Mokah right now!

LO fucking L!

cunt

c-word

fuck, fuck, fuck

Fuck

Why the pucking shit ass language filter?

The drug schedules are a joke. I love how LSD is considered a schedule 1 when coke is a schedule 2. How is LSD dangerous? How is coke less dangerous? How many people have died from LSD? Cocaine? I pucking love cocaine, but it is a huge no-no for me. I quit heroin easier than cocaine. I had opiate like withdraw from cocaine, but my heroin withdraw was almost exclusively minor physical issues... heeby jeebies, nausea, vomiting, but it seemed to take forever. At least a few weeks... Cocaine was hard core, but relatively quick. I used to do a shit ton of acid when I was a kid. me and 3 buddies would buy a sheet and eat it in a week. We did that several times. I was a tripping fiend, but never any addiction or withdraw issues. How in the fuck is ketamine a schedule 3? I snorted some of that shit once and it was fuckin crazy. To me it felt like what you read of a near death experience, along with some bizarre visuals. I couldn't move and felt myself detaching from my physical self. I was looking down at myself and my body. My assumption is that was what I felt like so that was my trip. But my understanding is that death by special K is nearly impossible. I understand it has a ton of medicinal benefits, but no way is this a schedule 3. Weed is so much different. No addiction, a ton of medical benefits. Hell, it saved my life when I had cancer. It should be a requirement that if you do chemo, you must smoke buds. It is medically less physically addictive than aspirin or caffeine. I have to clarify that I don't smoke weed or any other derivative any more. It makes me too paranoid. I'll smoke hash oil maybe once a year, but otherwise I have no desire. Now, DMT on the other hand...

I wish! I was fortunate enough to have some in Charleston a few years back. It is hard to find.

160 pounds is no joke. I'd buy you a Pappy for that.

Finally, from 2112: 2112. Love "The Temples of Syrinx" portion of the song. FWIW: 2112 is one of two Rush albums listed in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die (the other being Moving Pictures). In 2006, a poll of Planet Rock listeners picked 2112 as the definitive Rush album. In 2012, it was ranked second on Rolling Stone's list of 'Your Favorite Prog Rock Albums of All Time', as voted for in a reader's poll, one of three Rush albums included (the others being Moving Pictures and Hemispheres).

Caress Of Steel Epics: The Necromancer. I really dig this tune, less the cheesy voice overs... The Fountain of Lamneth: FWIW: Although the band initially had high hopes for Caress of Steel, it sold fewer copies than Fly by Night and was considered a disappointment by the record company. The album eventually became known as one of Rush's most obscure and overlooked recordings, consequently being considered underrated by fans.[6] Caress of Steel did not attain gold certification in the United States until December 1993, nearly two decades after its release. It remains one of the few Rush albums to not go platinum in the U.S.[7] Due to poor sales, low concert attendance and overall media indifference, the 1975-76 tour supporting Caress of Steel became known by the band as the "Down the Tubes" tour. Given that and record company pressure to record more accessible, radio-friendly material similar to their first album – something Lee, Lifeson and Peart were unwilling to do – the trio feared that the end of the group was near. Oddly, it is my favorite album by Rush.

Sean, Epics from Hemispheres Cygnus X-1 Book 2: Hemispheres La Villa Strangiato. This is a great show off piece. I think you may like this better... FWIW: Following themes going back to Rush's second album, Fly by Night, on Hemispheres lyricist Neil Peart continued to utilize fantasy and science fiction motifs. Similar to their 1976 release, 2112, Hemispheres contains a single song separated into chapters as the first side of the album ("Cygnus X-1, Book II: Hemispheres", which serves as a conclusion to the track "Cygnus X-1, Book I from the earlier album A Farewell To Kings) while the second half contains two more conventional tracks, "Circumstances" and "The Trees", as well the nine-and-a-half-minute instrumental, "La Villa Strangiato". According to Peart, the band spent more time recording "La Villa Strangiato" than they did recording the entire Fly by Night album.[2][3] The album contains examples of Rush's adherence to progressive rock standards including the use of fantasy lyrics, multi-movement song structures, and complex rhythms and time signatures. In the 2010 documentary film Rush: Beyond the Lighted Stage, the band members comment that the stress of recording Hemispheres was a major factor in their decision to start moving away from suites and long-form pieces in their songwriting. That change in philosophy would manifest itself in the band's next album, the considerably more accessible Permanent Waves. The band's seventh album would mark their commercial success, paving the way for the multi-platinum Moving Pictures. For a short period of time, the album was available in Canada also as a red vinyl LP in a gatefold sleeve with poster (catalogue number SANR-1-1015), and as a limited edition picture disc (catalogue number SRP-1300), both of which have become much sought-after collector's items.

Kick ass, dude! Great job!

Caress of Steel is my favorite Rush album. I would steer you there first. The other epics are cool, but can be kinda cheesy from time to time. I hail from Buffalo, as you know, and Buffalonians have an odd affinity for Rush. Rush is a staple there. They are from right over the border in Toronto, which is part of it I guess. I have always hated them because of how much everyone listened to it. Of course, I love to be different... so I stayed away for years. My recent home stereo upgrades have me expanding my horizons, listening critically again. I thought of how Rush did their thing and I figured they would kick ass on the system. I still have my distaste for them, but have opened up my mind, and my ears, to try to gain a different perspective. So please, bear in mind that I am not saying these will be the best albums you ever hear. But if you like musicians, you should really get off on them. If you have a kick ass system at home, you will like what they do spatially. Image, air, and staging dynamics are great on their heavy analog pressings. I think Pink Floyd did it better with their The Wall, Wish You Were Here, and Dark Side of the Moon repressings, but outside of those, and maybe Dave Matthews Under the Table and Dreaming, they dominate every other record I have.