I listen to my HD800 exclusively now, but sometimes I really need a closed phone. However, I find that going from the HD800 to my Denon D2000 is just too much of a quality and sound signature leap so I never use the Denons. I want a closed phone that offers an upgrade over the D2000. It needs to...

I have another baseball league going using the new game version, PureSim Baseball 2, which was released as a commercial product in September (it sells for $20). My new league has a little different concept. I have completed three seasons now, and still going strong. Here's a link to my...

The burn-in is officially over. I have about 150 hours on them now and I am no longer hearing changes. I can offer a few more conclusions after my latest listening session, which covered two days and featured: Pink Floyd - Dark Side Of The Moon [MFSL] Pink Floyd - Wish You Were Here [CBS...

I listened to The Beatles' White Album (2009 Remaster) and "Blackbird" was so incredible that I listened to the track twice. Then I jumped over to the Rubber Soul remaster for "Michelle" and it was amazing also. Then I put on Joni Mitchell "Ladies Of The Canyon" and it was spectacular...

Oh, great. Another one of these threads... Well, I just got 'em so I have to pile on. Sorry. I have spent the past two evenings sipping wine with my new HD800's on my head. It has been two wonderful evenings! These headphones are like a dream come true for me so far. The summary is "I really...

I've read the stickie, but I still don't get it. So I will just ask for opinions. Please answer honestly. This is not about flexing my hi-fi muscle and you won't hurt my feelings. I've been to meets, so I know there are much better rigs out there. My question is really to understand where the...

I have spent the past two evenings sipping wine with my new HD800's on my head. It has been two wonderful evenings! These headphones are like a dream come true for me so far. The summary is "I really like them". However, please continue reading if you want more detailed impressions. For my...

Quote: Originally Posted by Orcin Sennheiser HD600 vs. HD800 comparison I spent a lot of time with Shelly's HD800's in order to make a buy decision. I have been on the fence for months. (snip) The HD800's are better. Yeah, I know that's a pretty controversial position. I'll...

I am being sneaky and opening this thread on the night before the meet. We'll update this tomorrow if we can hijack some Internet access from the neighbors. Otherwise, it will probably be Sunday morning. Move along... nothing to see here... yet.

Note: If you have no idea what this post is about, please read my previous "baseball simulation" blog entry for the introduction. Orcin -> 1946 St. Louis Cardinals (9/3/2009 1:24:24 PM) I wanted to try a historical replay league with the new AI GM, and this concept was at the top of my...

I am posting this under "PC Gaming", although it could be equally correct under "Sports". Another of my life-long (off and on) hobbies is baseball simulation. I wrote a long story about this once, but I'll just put the short version here. I played Strat-O-Matic baseball as a kid (Google it if...

Fall is coming, and that means the temperature here in Houston might get below 90. It's a great time for a headphone meet, don't you think? When and where: Date: October 17, 2009 Location: Lakes Of Brightwater Clubhouse, 2410 Brightwater Drive, Missouri City, TX 77459 Time: 10AM-6PM...

The new computer is very stable now, and the initial thrill of high-speed gaming is wearing off. So it's time to focus on my headphone rig again, and purpose #2 for the new computer: a source for my high-quality digital music collection. To achieve my plan, I needed several...

I posted on Mushkin's forums and learned that the proper timings for my memory were 6-7-6-18, 1T. This sounded great, so it was time to get the rig stable with these settings. The starting point was to get serious about the “auto” settings, and get rid of as many as possible. Advanced CPU...

Assuming that you can boot into Windows without incident, how do you tell if your overclock is unstable? It's a good sign that you have a problem when you get corrupt data in an application. You can be sure when you run a stress test and get a blue screen of death in two seconds. I'll lay out...

Fry's had Crysis: Maximum Edition for $35 today, so I ran down there and bought it to test out my rig. Obviously, I had not played this game before on my Dell. It runs beautifully on DX10 at 1920x1200 with 2x AA! I am getting 30-35 fps with all settings at Very High, except using High for...

I went into the "Tweaker" section of the bios last night to continue my quest for a better overclock. I dropped the CPU voltage to 1.35v and disabled C1E and EIST to be sure that they were not interferring with the voltage setting in any way. I decided to further scan the "auto" settings and...

I decided that the purchase of a new computer was a good time to assess my level of electrical protection. I have my headphone rig covered with a PS Audio Duet. My primary video system is plugged into a Panamax MT8Pro. I am really happy with both of those units, and both are less than one year...

What is overclocking? Overclocking is the practice of operating a computer component above its rated specifications. Why overclock? There are two main reasons: (1) for the challenge of it – as a hobby or competitive pursuit, and (2) to increase the ratio of performance per dollar expended. In my...

You don’t really “build” a computer – you assemble it. So the processes for any assembly line operation apply to this task. You need to have all the materials, tools, and work instructions available and a clean, roomy work area with proper lighting. I started the project early in the morning...

I love Fry’s! If you have never been to a Fry’s store, just imagine Newegg or Tiger Direct as a brick-and-mortar store, then combine it with a Best Buy, and you are fairly close. I can spend hours in there, and frequently do because there is a Fry’s less than ten minutes from my house. This trip...

I started my research by consulting a few websites, like AnandTech and Tom’s Hardware, for the “build your own” articles. I was looking for mid-range gaming builds costing between $1500 and $2000. I had a preference for Intel over AMD and the latest Intel processor series, Core i7, was possible...

I suddenly have the urge to document my latest project, and this blog seems to be the best place to do it. I plan to follow up with some posts about my headphone rig and my music collection, but I will be starting this blog with a series of posts about my recent computer build. First, the...

My recent quest for a new amplifier eventually led to an exploration of tube amps under $1,000. As any experienced Head-Fi’er knows, “under $1,000” means $1,200 plus shipping. The Houston Head-Fi Meet was going to provide plenty of good amps to audition in the solid-state camp along with a few...

I'm starting this thread for our impressions from the meet. We will have a great selection of gear, and some unique pieces to comment on. We will probably begin to fill this thread up on Sunday and Monday, but I will try to sneak some pics in on Saturday night if I get home in time.