[MuppetFace]

Oh. It's Maria Watches Over Us. It's not my kind of thing, but I do remember that it aired on Animax (in the anime time slot on AXN) back a few years. While I honestly would like to ignorantly declare it's crap (DON'T KILL ME!), it doesn't push my rage buttons as other shoujo anime.

(don't kill me)
 

 
Yeah, that translation is kind of silly. Maria-sama would simply translate into "Holy Mother Mary" or "The Virgin Mary" or just "Mary" in English. By keeping "Maria" but dropping the honorific, it becomes Latin which kind of sticks out in an otherwise English title.
 
How much of it did you actually watch? Because the characterization and writing in general is way beyond any other shoujo-ai I've ever seen. It's kind of like an anime Jane Austin novel.
 
I get a little annoyed because folks try to argue that the whole "S" thing is just play-acting (or "ventriloquating" --- something people still try to use WRT Sappho --- ie. they're just stand ins for heteronormative relationships). Or that any kind of subtext isn't official canon or whatever. But these kind of arguments are, in the first case, incredibly chauvinistic and, in the second case, ignorant of the use of subtext in writing and the actual social implications surrounding its use. Not to mention the history of its tropes and set pieces in fiction.

 

[Hutnicks]

   
I've heard through the grapevine (yes, the same vine mentioned before --- getting a little overgrown here) that Stax isn't doing so well financially at the moment. You don't hear much about corporate issues between their own silence and the tendency of their fanbase to deify them and subsequently sweep most things under the rug, but I get the sense their products have been having some reliability issues lately. I've owned four different SRS-002 sets for instance, and each one had the same squealing in eco mode. Know some other folks who had the same issue (including Justin from HeadAmp). I even sent units back, only to get replacements with the same issue. Then there's the SR-009 which has been failing in the field more than you might imagine. I know of two people just recent who had to return brand new sets. This was more of an issue at launch, then it seemed to be ironed out, but now it's popping up again.
 
The Lambdas are probably the most stable e-stats in existence just because they've been around for so long (and units from the 70s still work flawlessly). You don't hear much about them though because they're not en vogue I guess. A closed model would be cool, but I don't see much incentive for them to offer one right now. The 4070 was made to order, and sales weren't that great, so they stopped making them. I've heard some interesting rumors about upcoming products from them, including new TOTL stuff, so who knows what the future holds.
 
Personally, I'm quite interested in the new lineup from Airbow. This is a company in Japan that modifies Stax Lambdas. They say they cryo-treat them, but that seems kinda ridiculous to me, so I'm thinking they might just adjust the diaphragm tension or dustcovers or something. Either way, the end result actually sounds noticeably better than the original models. I'm looking forward to hearing the new modded versions of the SR-407 and SR-507.
 
 
My camera skillz suck, but there were pictures of them posted in one of the threads here I think. They've got oyster shell faceplates and pink / orange acrylic shells. In person it looks a lot better because it all sort of blends together into this iridescent mass, like custom fitted fire opals.
 
The FitEars have more bass and an overall thicker sort of signature relatively speaking. The Kaiser is probably closer to the 1Plus2, but not quite as emphasized at either end.

Vegemite has such an obvious sexual connotation that that any the tase aloine make it well worth avoidandce; Terlingua chilli is a far safer bet;
 
Stax will no doubt be absorbed by a large player like Hardon kumom and return to a state of the art purveyor with much wider distribution
 
The CIEm market will continue to trip over itself offering nothing new but perhaps moon rock fashionista versions to attempt to distinguis themselves from one anotherl
 
Full size will become leading edge and neophites will drive prices throught the roofs as they exist to validate purchases based on spendability.
 
Graphs will poliferate endlessly until some keener actually implemets a test that will tell what a phone sounds like through the spectruml
 
Pulled portk poutine will be come the staplediet in north america.
 
Mimmoule will stumble across a factory which has a warehouse full of unused components and co incidentally run into A frustrated ''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''mb enginerr who over an evening of noxious plum wine  will put an uber dac schmatic on a stained naplkin  which will sell for 129 bucks and shound light years ahead of Altman and and Ak and selll 2oo,ooo units on ebay.

 

[ardgedee]

  Stax will no doubt be absorbed by a large player like Hardon kumom and return to a state of the art purveyor with much wider distribution
 
The CIEm market will continue to trip over itself offering nothing new but perhaps moon rock fashionista versions to attempt to distinguis themselves from one anotherl
 
Pulled portk poutine will be come the staplediet in north america.

 
Stax was already acquired by a Chinese company last year. Once it starts getting traded hand-to-hand, it's probably dead.
 
The cIEM industry has been improving and progressing. The problem is that progress isn't fast, so in order to sustain public interest the manufacturers have had to announce a steady stream of blinged-up variations on existing products (which, themselves, tend to be perfectly fine products with or without the bling).
 
Since I've stopped seeking out news from the audio world and its FOTM cycles, I can say that there are a few models introduced in the past year that seem to genuinely break new ground, and on terms other than raw driver count.
 
Everybody knows that pulled pork is to be served in a vinegar based pepper sauce, with cole slaw and hush puppies on the side. Serving it with potatoes and gravy makes as much sense as birthday cake glazed in marmite.

 

[Mimouille]

The FitEars have more bass and an overall thicker sort of signature relatively speaking. The Kaiser is probably closer to the 1Plus2, but not quite as emphasized at either end.

I had guessed these pink iridescent ones were yours in a heartbeat. Funny, I had not imagined the K10 to sound even remotely close to 1plus2 but with less U shape...then they must sound VERY close to the Hidition NT6, just darker.

 

[Mimouille]

Stax was already acquired by a Chinese company last year. Once it starts getting traded hand-to-hand, it's probably dead.

The cIEM industry has been improving and progressing. The problem is that progress isn't fast, so in order to sustain public interest the manufacturers have had to announce a steady stream of blinged-up variations on existing products (which, themselves, tend to be perfectly fine products with or without the bling).

Since I've stopped seeking out news from the audio world and its FOTM cycles, I can say that there are a few models introduced in the past year that seem to genuinely break new ground, and on terms other than raw driver count.

I forgot to tell you I got my hands on a pair of NT6 at a great price. These are excellent CIEMs...very coherent and liquid, and quite neutral. Thanks for the time we spent talking about Hidition.

What recent ciems strike you as innovative or interesting?

 

[illyria]

Vegemite is the bestest thing my parents brought back from Australian culture (since they went there for their degrees). Marmite is crapfest though.

 
I was going to buy another jar of marmite while ordering some other stuff, however, it looks like I might just try Vegemite instead.

 

[billybob_jcv]

CIEMs will never be popular with the unwashed masses. There's not enough space to put the big "b" logo...

I love me a pulled pork sammich! I prefer sweet and spicy sauce.

 

[gikigill]

Agree with the pig bit billy but CIEMs are simply too expensive and complicated. Fitting, maintenance and the waiting for months doesn't help their case.

This coming from someone who cycled 8 amps just to pair with the HE-6

 

[Argyris]

Agree with the pig bit billy but CIEMs are simply too expensive and complicated. Fitting, maintenance and the waiting for months doesn't help their case.

This coming from someone who cycled 8 amps just to pair with the HE-6

 
Exactly. Most of the people I know don't even understand why I have "big" headphones when "technologically superior" smaller ones (iBuds) are available. How in the world do you explain to somebody like that that they need to have impressions made (or take their own if they're very brave), perhaps every year or couple of years as their ear canals change shape; then ship these off to some company on the other side of the world so they can make your earphones for you. And, if they get the fit wrong, it's a new set of impressions and back to the maker again for another go. And all for something that the vast majority of people would never be able to appreciate, anyway.*
 
Beats are so much simpler and more available. Plus, they come in trendy colors.
 
*I realize this sounds very elitist, but I'm just being bluntly honest. Most people just don't perceive sound on a detailed level like we enthusiasts do, and anything I could have said there just boils down to the same thing.

 

[Magick Man]

I'd love me some turkey sammich.

Morning petite baguette clubs, w/ turkey, honey ham, swiss, and bacon.

 

[Silent One]

   

That thing about a notebook is a good idea. I've tried using Paper on the iPad as a notebook:ish sort of an app, but I always get back to the basics: paper and pen (-cil). As much as I love my iPad, it can't replace that, yet.

 
RHODIA, night and day... 

 

 

[lee730]

Morning petite baguette clubs, w/ turkey, honey ham, swiss, and bacon.

Lol you're making me hungry .

 

[Argyris]

Morning petite baguette clubs, w/ turkey, honey ham, swiss, and bacon.

 

Lol you're making me hungry

.

 
That does sound good. I wouldn't have minded something like that this afternoon. I did try a Boston cream pie Pillsbury toaster strudel for the first time today. Sadly, I can't recall if I've ever had the namesake pie (actually, cake), so I couldn't determine how well they captured the ethos of said desert. Regardless, it was decent enough but it probably won't become one of my favorite flavors.

 

[gelocks]

Food again huh?

Lol

Has anyone heard of the new Leckerton amp/dac?
I loved the UHA-6SMKII but they were a bit underpowered... even in high gain with some cans. Is the new one more powerful?

 

[lee730]

Food again huh?

Lol

Has anyone heard of the new Leckerton amp/dac?
I loved the UHA-6SMKII but they were a bit underpowered... even in high gain with some cans. Is the new one more powerful?

Probably not, I'm assuming it is slightly more refined sounding and has more features. Such as multi gain, multi cross feed as well as a digital pot for channel balance at very low volumes. I preordered the amp. Figure if it doesn't suit me, I can always sell it and recover most of my money back anyways. Leckerton has always been up there for me starting with the UHA4 (arrow killer , to the UHA6 MKII. Based on value and performance per dollar they are very much up there