For a late birthday present, I thought you might be interested in getting yourself a USB hamster wheel: http://www.engadget.com/2006/10/04/t...hamster-wheel/

It took me over an hour to rip CDs when I used an ancient Imation CD drive. I switched to an NEC (3550 or something like that) and it improved a fair amount, but the drive had problems with scratched CDs and, in secure mode, still took about 20 mins per CD. Since I've owned Plextor's 760 and...

ERP4s, ER20s, and the EtyCom. Beautiful stuff.

I love the picture; in a few weeks, I'll be able to try the FUBAR, but it won't be that much fun!

If I were poor, I'd use my soundcard; it's $24 and sounds pretty good for it's price.

I, too, am a night owl. Although I love sleeping, I can't bring myself to lay in bed before 2am, and usually I think about sleeping around 3:30 (not quite as late as Ed). It's so quiet, so peaceful, and I enjoy music and movies a lot more when it gets later. Amazingly, I'm 22, and I still...

I can think of only one instance where a copied CD could sound better. If you have a heavily scratched CD that causes your CD player to skip, and you rip it in secure mode (using EAC, for instance), then burn it onto good media, there's a definite improvement: no skipping!

Lots of good points here.... I use EAC in secure mode, testing and copying with AccurateRip. Lots of my CDs are scratched, and I'm planning on putting them in a box and just having them on my hard drive (well, drives, because I'm backing all the data up). The key to this time-consuming task, for...

Interested, Toledo, OH. (PM me if you're down for a mini-meet)

It was fun while it lasted.

Usually chronic lying takes the form of, "Yeah, and after I drank a full bottle of whisky and beat up those three linebackers, then I took two girls home. It was rough though cus I was drunk and I had to outrun the police, and good think I didn't get caught because I keep a machine gun in my...

Oh no, I definitely didn't send the last snippet. That was an aside. This, like sneaking out behind the house to set micro machines on fire when your parents aren't home (when you're a little kid, not now is too good a game to stop or show your hand.

These headphones might be vaporware, but there's no better way to get your dream cans than through this Randall guy. Imagine: so, hey, uh, Randall, you know those 1-oz. 3D cans that are flat from 1hz-100khz, the ones that are like 30 ohms impedance and never distort? Could you mod the Grado...

Well, it turns out these incredible cans are still for sale. I emailed this d-bag a few hours ago. Enjoy the conversation: On 7/24/06, <darkest374@yahoo.com> wrote: Hi there, I heard you're sellng a special pair of Grados. I tried to find them on Ebay but they weren't there anymore...

I just had a bit of fun writing an email to him. We'll see where this one goes.

Man, I didn't even get a chance to bid on those! Why'd you guys have to ruin my chances!

K2grey, awesome point about listening to music in bed. I set up my computer and main headphone rig right next to my bed, and that way I can listen before going to sleep or when I wake up. It beats the held out of most chairs I've listened in.

redshifter, you read my mind! I was trying to think of what else I could play, but nothing came to me. I actually have the ninja rap on my mp3 player, so that would be perfect. Broadening music horizons has never been so much fun!

Saving money is great, but peace of mind is always good to have. Convenience is a factor too. I'm paying 260 Euros a month for my apartment, a dorm with a communal kitchen and showers. The room itself is about 11'x25' -- way more than enough for me -- but it's kind of dumpy and not terribly...

I would definitely say, go portable and dedicated. Someone mentioned finding out whether you stay in your room or are more likely to listen to music outdoors or in a library. I'd definitely do that, and then go a step further. Find out if your roommates party a lot, and if you can trust the...

Glad you have some gear you love, but upgradeitis never goes away, I don't think. There's always "better" gear out there, even if you love what you have, and even if you have what most people consider the best, other gear still sounds different; it never really ends. And in your case, if you...

Last night I had another round of David Hasselhoff karaoke. Another guy from my dorm joined me in belting out "Du" while knocking back a few Budvars. No reaction from the neighbors, so I decided to play emcee and cranked up Ice, Ice Baby. A few Germans laughed at me, but they tried to sing...

I forgot an "s," a mistake the Great Evil One would never make. Here's the proper address: http://www.esquilax.com/baywatch/

redshifter, you might have a point. I have crappy music and free speakers (actually not horrible considering the price), but luckily, I'm in Germany so I have access to incredble beer. Life is way too short to not have a good half liter every now and then, and all the better when you here people...

I got pretty lucky finding a pair of Sennheiser HD 540 References at a flea market/garage sale in Hamburg, Germany. There was actually a lot of audio gear there, but most of it was junk. I'm still waiting on the audiophile's garage sale too... maybe some awesome old gear for the same price at...