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The diary entries of a little girl nearing 30!

Jun 10, 2012 at 3:16 PM Post #7,861 of 15,119
From The Audio Journal Of A DigitalFreak
Sound Byte: Meelectronics A161P
 
The form factor of the A161P I rate as well done. The cord feels good and not overly plasticy and microphonics are practically non existent. The cord also has a nice neck slide adjuster which helps provide very good cable management when using the IEM. Strain reliefs on housing and plug seem sturdy enough and I'm guessing this IEM's cord should stand up to the test of time nicely. The 3.5mm plug on this IEM isn't a straight plug or a 90 degree plug but a 45 degree angled plug which I like a lot. The IEM's housings feel sturdy in your hand and look quite nice with their gold markings and avoids the pitfall of blinged out gaudy looks. You are provided with a nice selection of tips and I'm happy to say I didn't have to scavenge my other IEM's to find a good tip that would give me a proper seal. Along with the nice selection of tips you get a nice circular semi hard clam case to protect your investment. Comfort, the A161P joins the ranks of my pop them in and go IEM's. I'm getting no ear canal pain and I'm easily getting two to three hours use without feeling any discomfort whatsoever. In short form factor wise everything that's a must for a well manufactured IEM to have is there and well executed.
 
Sonically I'm really really liking this IEM and it's a incredibly impressive all arounder that bests even my UE700 as a great sounding bang for the buck earphone. The A161P is very much a step forward when compared to the old flagship the A151. What surprised me the most about the A161P was the bass, I never expected it to be so full sounding and so aggressive. The most surprising part, control speed and detail wasn't sacrificed for the sake of more bass and there's excellent extension and clarity through the whole bass sound spectrum. Although nowhere near the realm of a bass head cannon the 161P's bass has enough punch and slam to rattle your brain around when the music demands it.
 
The mids continue on the aggressive nature of the bass with a slightly forward presentation of guitars and vocals. The general feel of the mids I would class as fairly neutral and guitars have a nice resolving crisp like crunch. The A151 with it's very so slightly warmer mids for some listeners could possibly be classed slightly ahead of the A161P as having a more pleasant sounding mid frequency but for me the A161P's far better detail retrieval puts it way ahead of the old flagship. The overall neutral sounding presentation in the mid range coupled with the fast aggressive bass and quick clean note decay to my ears gives this IEM an overall feel of raw sounding. Nowhere near as raw as say my faster more aggressive EX600's but raw none the less.
 
The treble of the A161P was another very pleasant surprise, finally we have some nice sparkle. The A151 with it's overly smooth highs to my ears was it's achilles heel and I couldn't help but feel part of the music was going MIA when fast aggressive rock or metal was being listened to. Sparkle on the A161P is very well done and I'm loving every second of it. On certain songs I'm noticing a little haze as in slight smearing between the upper and mid treble resulting in what sounds like a little splashiness up top but overall I'm quite happy with the highs on the A161P. The upper mid to lower treble transition has some nice energy behind it and I'm finding sibilance isn't to bad and generally well controlled while using the provided dual flange tips.
 
Instrument separation is very well done but I'm finding soundstage compared to say my MDR EX600 or FXT90 does not compare favorably and you've gone from a medium sized hall to a small hall. It's not bad per say but I can't get away from the sound coming from inside my head feeling. I would have to rate the A161P's soundstage as average or just slightly above average. So overall I'm really happy with this new IEM and give it a full 5 stars in the audio bang for buck category. I was able to buy it for only 80 bones plus shipping using a 20% off coupon code on the Meelectronics website which puts the A161P easily up there as one of the best bang for buck deals currently available.
 
Jun 10, 2012 at 4:25 PM Post #7,862 of 15,119
If you were a headphone, what headphone would you be?
 
If you were an earphone / IEM, what earphone would you be?
 
I'm terrible at judging myself or how others see me.  IRL I think I'm generally pretty quiet, a little introverted, and normally keep to myself so maybe something like and LCD-2r1 or HD650.  OTOH, sometimes people see me as cold, imposing, dangerous, and picky.  HD800 maybe?  You guys would probably do better labeling me...
 
I haven't head as many IEMs as full size 'phones so I'm at a loss there.
 
What headphone or earphone would the love of your life be (if you're not in a relationship, then guess)?
 
Not applicable.  I'm too much of a lone wolf...
 
What headphones or earphones would your two best friends be?
 
Hmm...  I could assign the HD600 to one of my friends for being well rounded and natural without obvious strengths or weakness that immediately stand out.
 
What headphone or earphone would your arch-rival / villainous nemesis be?
 
I don't really hold grudges so I'm not sure.  Maybe the HFI-780.  It assaults my sensibilities on various level.  I could imagine the HD700 being my Bizarro World counterpart too but I could see some people seeing me as the HD700...

 
Jun 10, 2012 at 10:30 PM Post #7,863 of 15,119
Quote:
muppetface said:
What is still most fascinating to me about the differences of approach in this hobby is the desire of some for absence, especially with regard to headphones and their function as an audio thoroughfare. The bibliophiles I've known love to read---love the content that books convey---yet they would never say the goal of their reading is to just have the information presented to them while ignoring the book as much as possible. What partially defines them as bibliophiles is a love of the artifact itself: the tactile sensation of page-turning, the smell of the paper, the historical (and at times monetary) value of original editions.
Click to expand...

 
Yes, but books are media whose own integrity is essential to ensure integrity of the content. If the text is unintelligible or the design impedes readability, it can be argued that the book is not doing its job. The best design for a text whose goal is to deliver the printed word is one in which the best-executed typography optimizes readability, preferably while subtextually enhancing the content. (A reprint of H.P. Lovecraft done in Futura Bold is just not going to look and feel right, regardless of how easy it is to read).
 
Absence is a negotiable or fungible quality in both bibliophilia and audio. There is probably a bibliomane whose obsession is obfuscated texts. Art books are a genre, and many of them deliberately abuse the text and push the boundaries of literal intelligibility; in their most artful forms, sometimes to the enhancement of the message at the expense of being able to read every single word (or even to make the act of reading a race against the decay of the text, as in Gibson & Ashbaugh's Agrippa).
 
Quote:
muppetface said:
I would agree certainly that headphones are tools first and foremost, created with a specific function to fulfill through their use. There is a certain unique element to them however in that how they go about fulfilling this isn't so easily defined. A blade for instance is said to be a good tool if it's sharp, as that is the quality of paramount importance in fulfilling its role. Even something like a modern edition of a book or a film projector which are somewhat more analogous to headphones in that they allow for the relay of information as an artform still have more straightforward tasks to fulfill. If a DVD player only presented films in varying shades of blue and green for instance, it would be seen as anomalous. Yet headphones are often valued by some for presenting music with varying degrees of coloration. On the other hand, there are those who feel the most successful headphones---the ones that best fulfill their role as tools---as those which minimize their presence as much as possible. This even speaks to a difference in focus among those who are primarily concern with musical reproduction. This latter subset is concerned with replicating the original recording as closely as possible, whereas the former isn't concerned with accuracy so much as simply approximating their personal taste. The latter group explores material in so far as they attempt to plump the depths of it to extract as much information as possible, whereas the former group may also be interested in exploring the effects of different equipment, listening to the way colorations change their favorite material. I suppose the emphasis would be on some kind of preconceived absolute versus the acceptance of multiplicity.
Click to expand...




 
 
This shades into thoughts I've been having about the asserted goal of realism in audio, as contrasted by what people end up with when they have a system that fully complements their desires. It's worth fleshing out some other time, though.
 
The commonality of interest among all of us is to find headphones that are faithful to the source; but there is the process to that goal, and the deliberate process away from that goal. As our tastes refine, we become more demanding of the equipment; What seemed rich and detailed seems much less so now that we've heard something even better. This can even get malign as some people believe they are pursuing ever-more-impressive realism by relentlessly replacing their equipment, when all they seem to be doing, to outside observers, is feeding an addition to new sensations, having confused "different" and "better".
 
We might reach some ultimate or penultimate goal of transparency and perfection, or we might decide that we like things slightly off of perfection, or we like a variety of things that perfect different aspects.
 

Quote:
muppetface said:
Of course, these are gross generalizations made for the sake of reflection. In the above-mentioned cases, headphones are treated as a means rather than an ends in themselves, and therein I think a huge distinction lies: the primary distinction between the audiophile and the collector. That is why I say the collector sees headphones as more than tools, as tools are primarily a means to an end.
Click to expand...




 
And I think this is where we diverge, as I consider "audiophile" a blanket term for those people with an avocation in audio equipment: Because they are historically interesting, or collectible, or are the tools for listening with. I don't see a budgetary threshold or personal agenda beyond that as being a determinant.
 
I think the water is muddied a bit in this definition because having multiple high-quality headphone setups is much easier than multiple high-quality full-size speaker setups. Not just financially, but materially: They take less space, and they don't need dedicated rooms for optimal use. But there is still a general mindset that some configuration of components being the singular ideal system is the goal; but even in the smallest apartment a dedicated audiophile can amass an impressive, usable collection. I think attitudes like yours towards building a composite landscape of audio qualities is still a progressive one, but fully complementary with where audiophilia generally will be going, as headphones continue to gain respect as serious listening equipment.
 
(And now that I think about it, this is in some ways congruent with the "men's jewelry" aspect of audio, in which the equipment is not necessarily better in pure technological terms, but they are very good, and are hand-built with the greatest of care and most precious of metals and insulators, and set in metal and wood chassis intended to impose and impress.)

 
Quote:
muppetface said:
If you were a headphone, what headphone would you be?
If you were an earphone / IEM, what earphone would you be?
What headphone or earphone would the love of your life be (if you're not in a relationship, then guess)?
What headphones or earphones would your two best friends be?
What headphone or earphone would your arch-rival / villainous nemesis be?
Click to expand...

 
Sextett with buzzing right channel
TF10 with buzzing right channel 
no good reason for these two answers other than I was at a bar last night and shouting a lot, and a ballgame today and shouting a lot, and now my voice is throaty and my ears are still ringing a little.
HD 800
QP801 and HD25-1 II
Fanny Wang
 
Jun 10, 2012 at 11:05 PM Post #7,864 of 15,119
If you were a headphone, what headphone would you be?
HD580, perhaps... I'm not flashy, but I'm capable --- and a little old school.
 
If you were an earphone / IEM, what earphone would you be?
Er... perhaps a TO GO! 334... I'm very detail-oriented, but I do emphasize practicality as well.
 
What headphone or earphone would the love of your life be (if you're not in a relationship, then guess)?
Perhaps a PS500... comes from a family of exciting, personable people, but is the reasonable one of the family.
 
What headphones or earphones would your two best friends be?
LCD-2 and... ED10... hard to explain...
 
What headphone or earphone would your arch-rival / villainous nemesis be?
The Taket BPP... it gets under my skin!
wink.gif



 
Jun 10, 2012 at 11:58 PM Post #7,865 of 15,119
Jun 11, 2012 at 12:39 AM Post #7,866 of 15,119
If you were a headphone, what headphone would you be?
Grado PS500
Mean lean aggressive with great punch
 
If you were an earphone / IEM, what earphone would you be?
Sony MDR EX 600
Mean aggressive and relentless
 
What headphone or earphone would the love of your life be (if you're not in a relationship, then guess)?
V-MODA M80
I love the raver girls especially if they have a little gothy flash to their style
 
What headphones or earphones would your two best friends be?
Meelectronics A161P and Ortofon E-q7
First friend I consider a smaller version of me the second friend he's the colorful fun guy you love to have around
 
What headphone or earphone would your arch-rival / villainous nemesis be?
Monster Beats Solo
Cheap all flash and no real value. Represents everything negative in the world
 
-----------------------
I kept my choices to gear I've heard or own
 
Jun 11, 2012 at 2:29 AM Post #7,867 of 15,119
If you were a headphone, what headphone would you be?
HD 650
kind of old school
not as good as the top tier but better than the normal in the same rank
some where in between  
If you were an earphone / IEM, what earphone would you be?
not sure I'm a fullsize guy from the start :)
What headphone or earphone would the love of your life be (if you're not in a relationship, then guess)?
V-moda m80
good looking and good character is a dream 
What headphones or earphones would your two best friends be?
he 90 one of the best if not the best but old like hell 
if I'm hd 650 he is hd 600.
He's like my big brother share almost every same aspect but still unique in our own way. 
 
What headphone or earphone would your arch-rival / villainous nemesis be?
beyer T1 cold view everyone as inferior to it 
(don't know why just my opinion after listen to its sound)
 
just saw that on ozbargain not a fan of this kind through.
 
Quote:
a_recording said:
 
 
Yay, free chiptune album!
 
I'm pretty sure this artist is a big deal, but I am sadly ignorant. What a beautiful cover though.
 
http://www.shemusic.org/compilation/index.html
 

 
 
Click to expand...

 
Jun 11, 2012 at 5:27 AM Post #7,869 of 15,119
If you were a headphone, what headphone would you be?
If you were an earphone / IEM, what earphone would you be?
This is a hard question to answer. I don't know if I've yet found my headhone counterpart. I guess I'd be seen as somewhat of a lonewolf, not trying to make any active attempts at garnering too much attention. A little bit on the quiet side. I am intelligent and sharp, but I don't know if I'd be seen as booksmart. I know a lot, just maybe not the right knowledge if we're talking about the Bourdieu kind of capital. So something with a sharp sound, not afraid to bite, but maybe not following the flat frequency curve that most are trying to achieve. Perhaps a tesla equipped beyer? Maybe an ultrasone edition? Although the ultrasones would seem like attention seeking. So, maybe the beyers. 
 
What headphone or earphone would the love of your life be (if you're not in a relationship, then guess)?
I'd definitely describe my wife as a figure with great social needs. She needs to function among people, which she does for the most time. She knows to bite when she feels attacked, which she feels a lot because of her beliefs (she can be rather aggressive in her feminist beliefs). I'm thinking maybe something more balanced than me in that way - she strives for equality among all - so maybe something with a flat curve, although colored enough to present a bite and some weight to it. Maybe a higher end Denon?
 
What headphones or earphones would your two best friends be?
I'm not sure I have "best friends", to be honest. Forever alone :( Hmm, I like hanging out with goofballs, because they present fun times in my otherwise rather normal life as a father. I do however need someone with both feet on the ground as well to exchange ideas with. So, a fun goofball one, and a restricted boring one. However, seeing my former "best friends", I actually think the people I get along the best with are a bit of "outsiders" as well. So, something that probably feels a little left out and misunderstood... 
 
What headphone or earphone would your arch-rival / villainous nemesis be?
In a way, the people that have been my "arch-rivals", have also been my counterparts. It's been a little "This town ain't big enough for us" type of deal. Often times, when I've gotten to know the person that is my arch-rival, I've come to realize that we're pretty much alike one another and strangely enough, been able to socialize normally afterwards. So, if I was a beyer, then another beyer or an ultrasone would be my arch-rival. I'm not saying that beyers and ultrasone sound much the same (I couldn't tell anyway), but that they are both seemingly sharp sounding and non-flat.
 
Oh well.
 
Jun 11, 2012 at 5:59 AM Post #7,871 of 15,119
I love reading the answers to this.
 
Quote:
If you were a headphone, what headphone would you be?
 
If you were an earphone / IEM, what earphone would you be?
 
What headphone or earphone would the love of your life be (if you're not in a relationship, then guess)?
 
What headphones or earphones would your two best friends be?
 
What headphone or earphone would your arch-rival / villainous nemesis be?
Click to expand...

 
Stax SR-007
Laid back but still something of an achiever. Unassuming exterior, but can look fancy under the right circumstances (007A). Not very outgoing: you'll need to work to get it to liven up a bit. Demanding and picky: best to build the system around it rather than trying to make it fit. Expensive tastes. Regarding the transition from mk1 to mk2: tries to fix things in some ways but often ends up making them worse in other ways. Don't ask about the "Stax fart" U_U
 
Qualia 010
A wild child. An erratic geek with a clearly defined image and focus on fashionability, though with a strong outward sense of independence from established norms. Someone who plays themselves off as being tougher than they are---with something of a mean streak at times---underlying a core of vulnerability and need for approval and care. Someone who is demanding but mostly knows what they want and isn't afraid to go after it, though may need help to get there despite not admitting it. Abrasive and thrilling at times in equal measure.
 
Grado HP1000 and Audio-Technica L3000
One is level-headed, an old spirit who looks to contemporary goings on with skepticism, but also good humor. Patient. Able to offer sound advice, but is something of a doormat when it comes to their own interpersonal dealings. Someone I don't mind being around often, someone compatible with a variety of moods and is just sort of "there." A bit flat, but in a very good way.
The other is loud, somewhat obnoxious and definitely the sort of person one needs to be in the right mood for. Best in small doses, but a lot of fun and sweet. Someone who is dependable in spirit if not somewhat incompetent. The good kind of 'bumbler' if you will. Endearing.
 
Lawton Audio LA7000
Someone who is essentially fluid, changing to suit the tastes of whoever they're in the company of for the time being. Someone who basically sacrifices their own identity and modifies themselves over and over, embracing numerous trends, claiming to be "discovering themselves" but never actually moving beyond that point. The perpetual college freshman by choice.
 
Jun 11, 2012 at 6:39 AM Post #7,872 of 15,119
Today's the start of WWDC, when Apple is expected to announce a series of new products.
 
The keynote is going to be about 20% Apple's chest-beating about their success and the successes of a few showcased developers, 40% about coming features in iOS 6, which for almost everybody is not going to mean a whole lot, and 40% new product announcements. It's really only this last 40% that Apple customers who are not developers might care about. Here are my predictions regarding that minor segment of the keynote. New product announcements at any individual event tend to focus almost exclusively on one product segment. This time, I think the product segment is going to be Apple's Mac portables.
 
New Pro-series portables: 100% (a certainty). This is actually the product line with the least substantial rumors, but which is most likely to be updated simply because it's beyond the usual time window between updates. There are new CPUs available now, the form factor is due for a redesign, and the Apple technical world has changed a lot since the MBP last saw a redesign. The actual ship date will be some time after the show, but if the ship date will be more than two weeks hence, it means that Apple will probably not take pre-orders yet, and the new computers will probably ship with Mountain Lion installed. I predict July. Since I consider the announcements a sure thing (if not the date) I'll break down the offerings...
  1. Retina display: 75% (likely). I've gone from doubting to suspecting. Though there's no meaningful evidence of this happening shortly, only a lot of circumstantial clues. Main reasons against are the vastly increased cost of large high-density screens, and the implicit requirement for Apple to upgrade the iMacs and accessory display simultaneously, to maintain concurrency. Main reasons for are the increased use of high-res versions of system graphics and at least one third-party app with Apple-vetted copy promoting retina display compatibility.
  2. No optical drive: 100% (a certainty). The majority of software, including all major software and everything Apple sells, is now available by download, both through the Mac App Store and third party websites. The optical disk is going the way of the floppy, and we'll have lighter, thinner portables in exchange. I've considered it superfluous on my laptops for years: It's deadweight, and the rare times I need to use an optical disk, an external drive has always been handy.
  1. SSD as a default, mechanical drives optional on all models: 25% (unlikely). As much as I'd like this to happen, solid state drives in useful sizes aren't economical enough yet, and the current version of the OS is not totally user-friendly with multi-drive home folder setups yet either. On the other hand, Mountain Lion might make it an easier thing for nongeeks to configure, so we'll see.
New netbook portables: 75% (likely). For all Apple's talked trash about netbooks, the MacBook Air is, for all intents and purposes, a netbook. So. Since the non-Pro MacBook like has been subsumed into the MBA series, and the Pro series, per my predictions above, are going to be kind of crowding the MBA's product space, it's mostly going to differentiate itself now by adding a feature-limited, minimized subset of whatever the MBP gets. No retina displays, no mechanical drives, maybe a larger default RAM configuration.
New iMacs: 50% (maybe). If the MacBook Pro gets high-res displays, so will the iMacs. It seems more likely that the iMac will get its major update after Intel's next round of CPU upgrades, though.
New Mac Pros: 50% (maybe). The tower computer doesn't seem to get a lot of love at Apple, but it never gets formally discontinued either. The current model is long in the tooth, but if it gets updated it will probably not be announced until later this year.
New Mac Mini: 25% (maybe). In some ways this is just an iMac without the display. Its upgrades are rarely announced at public events, though. If it gets upgraded it will not happen until after the iMac's next upgrade, whenever that is.
New Apple TV-branded television: 5% (improbable). Lots of hot rumors saying Apple is going to make an entire television and not just a minibox, and I'm sure there's a skunkworks lab somewhere in Cupertino where Apple's doing working on something like this. However, one of the critical problems in the TV world is the need for fit: Different display sizes for different rooms. The dozen-plus sizes most of the major TV makers produce could probably be trimmed back to a half-dozen or less, but that still seems like a great deal more variety than Apple prefers to offer: They prefer to make a limited range of high-quality items in immense numbers. If Apple doesn't think it can sell immense numbers of televisions yet, they're not going to do it. Yet. But maybe someday. But this leads to...
New Apple TV OS: 75% (likely). Its current OS is a hot mess. iOS is seeing a major update. Apple TV runs a limited version of iOS. Expect the new Apple TV OS to only work fully on the 1080p version: the 720p version will only see a subset of new features. New features will include a decent UI and an API (so third-party developers can write apps for it), although I have no idea what kind of third party apps are going to be good for a TV box that doesn't even offer game-style controllers. But then again, hmmm...
New iPhone: 5% (improbable). That's for September. I think a lot of the iPhone component leaks in the rumor mill right now are ringers, or are from iPhone knockoffs. For the most part, much of the WWDC will be focused on workshopping iOS 6 to developers, in order to get third party apps ready for the new OS. Apple will never tell anybody what tech specs are for coming products, but expect Apple to gently shift from encouraging developers to stop targeting screen sizes to encouraging developers to stop targeting screen dimensions, too.
Mountain Lion ship date: 100% (likely). Probably concurrently with the new Mac hardware. I predict July.
iCloud user services: 100% (likely). Don't really know what's going on here, but new Apple bumf for it has been spotted. So.
One more thing: 0% (nope). That was Steve Jobs' schtick, and he stopped doing it a couple years ago. The current management is not going to announce a new product that way either.
 
Jun 11, 2012 at 6:44 AM Post #7,873 of 15,119
Quote:
ardgedee said:
Today's the start of WWDC, when Apple is expected to announce a series of new products.
 
The keynote is going to be about 20% Apple's chest-beating about their success and the successes of a few showcased developers, 40% about coming features in iOS 6, which for almost everybody is not going to mean a whole lot, and 40% new product announcements. It's really only this last 40% that Apple customers who are not developers might care about. Here are my predictions regarding that minor segment of the keynote. New product announcements at any individual event tend to focus almost exclusively on one product segment. This time, I think the product segment is going to be Apple's Mac portables.
 
New Pro-series portables: 100% (a certainty). This is actually the product line with the least substantial rumors, but which is most likely to be updated simply because it's beyond the usual time window between updates. There are new CPUs available now, the form factor is due for a redesign, and the Apple technical world has changed a lot since the MBP last saw a redesign. The actual ship date will be some time after the show, but if the ship date will be more than two weeks hence, it means that Apple will probably not take pre-orders yet, and the new computers will probably ship with Mountain Lion installed. I predict July. Since I consider the announcements a sure thing (if not the date) I'll break down the offerings...
  1. Retina display: 75% (likely). I've gone from doubting to suspecting. Though there's no meaningful evidence of this happening shortly, only a lot of circumstantial clues. Main reasons against are the vastly increased cost of large high-density screens, and the implicit requirement for Apple to upgrade the iMacs and accessory display simultaneously, to maintain concurrency. Main reasons for are the increased use of high-res versions of system graphics and at least one third-party app with Apple-vetted copy promoting retina display compatibility.
  2. No optical drive: 100% (a certainty). The majority of software, including all major software and everything Apple sells, is now available by download, both through the Mac App Store and third party websites. The optical disk is going the way of the floppy, and we'll have lighter, thinner portables in exchange. I've considered it superfluous on my laptops for years: It's deadweight, and the rare times I need to use an optical disk, an external drive has always been handy.
  1. SSD as a default, mechanical drives optional on all models: 25% (unlikely). As much as I'd like this to happen, solid state drives in useful sizes aren't economical enough yet, and the current version of the OS is not totally user-friendly with multi-drive home folder setups yet either. On the other hand, Mountain Lion might make it an easier thing for nongeeks to configure, so we'll see.
New netbook portables: 75% (likely). For all Apple's talked trash about netbooks, the MacBook Air is, for all intents and purposes, a netbook. So. Since the non-Pro MacBook like has been subsumed into the MBA series, and the Pro series, per my predictions above, are going to be kind of crowding the MBA's product space, it's mostly going to differentiate itself now by adding a feature-limited, minimized subset of whatever the MBP gets. No retina displays, no mechanical drives, maybe a larger default RAM configuration.
New iMacs: 50% (maybe). If the MacBook Pro gets high-res displays, so will the iMacs. It seems more likely that the iMac will get its major update after Intel's next round of CPU upgrades, though.
New Mac Pros: 50% (maybe). The tower computer doesn't seem to get a lot of love at Apple, but it never gets formally discontinued either. The current model is long in the tooth, but if it gets updated it will probably not be announced until later this year.
New Mac Mini: 25% (maybe). In some ways this is just an iMac without the display. Its upgrades are rarely announced at public events, though. If it gets upgraded it will not happen until after the iMac's next upgrade, whenever that is.
New Apple TV-branded television: 5% (improbable). Lots of hot rumors saying Apple is going to make an entire television and not just a minibox, and I'm sure there's a skunkworks lab somewhere in Cupertino where Apple's doing working on something like this. However, one of the critical problems in the TV world is the need for fit: Different display sizes for different rooms. The dozen-plus sizes most of the major TV makers produce could probably be trimmed back to a half-dozen or less, but that still seems like a great deal more variety than Apple prefers to offer: They prefer to make a limited range of high-quality items in immense numbers. If Apple doesn't think it can sell immense numbers of televisions yet, they're not going to do it. Yet. But maybe someday. But this leads to...
New Apple TV OS: 75% (likely). Its current OS is a hot mess. iOS is seeing a major update. Apple TV runs a limited version of iOS. Expect the new Apple TV OS to only work fully on the 1080p version: the 720p version will only see a subset of new features. New features will include a decent UI and an API (so third-party developers can write apps for it), although I have no idea what kind of third party apps are going to be good for a TV box that doesn't even offer game-style controllers. But then again, hmmm...
New iPhone: 5% (improbable). That's for September. I think a lot of the iPhone component leaks in the rumor mill right now are ringers, or are from iPhone knockoffs. For the most part, much of the WWDC will be focused on workshopping iOS 6 to developers, in order to get third party apps ready for the new OS. Apple will never tell anybody what tech specs are for coming products, but expect Apple to gently shift from encouraging developers to stop targeting screen sizes to encouraging developers to stop targeting screen dimensions, too.
Mountain Lion ship date: 100% (likely). Probably concurrently with the new Mac hardware. I predict July.
iCloud user services: 100% (likely). Don't really know what's going on here, but new Apple bumf for it has been spotted. So.
One more thing: 0% (nope). That was Steve Jobs' schtick, and he stopped doing it a couple years ago. The current management is not going to announce a new product that way either.
Click to expand...

no more one more thing? no more apple :P 
 
Jun 11, 2012 at 7:30 AM Post #7,875 of 15,119
If only iTunes/iPods would support flac... I would get the latest Classic in a heartbeat. I love the ipod's UI. One-handed navigation and no-frills scrolling. For the amount of music I would store in a Classic I would rather not convert all of them to alac. Most people take UI for granted. As much as I dislike the Apple ecosystem, one thing I can't help but laud is their attention to design. Sure, it may seem superficial to, but it's still part of using their products. 
 
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