The diary entries of a little girl in her 30s! ~ Part 2
Oct 14, 2013 at 7:03 AM Post #19,081 of 21,761
I think I saw that speaker before - what kind of driver do you think they use?

I kind of like the idea of 3d printers, but I think I would get more use out of a laser or plasma cutting machine, 7 axis mill etc, but those are pretty full on.  Most of the things I want to make are large sized and need to be robust.  I thought about what would be involved to make some decent audio furniture, and to have parts custom machined you may as well fork out for the higher priced racks.  I think I will just save up for a quadraspire (reluctantly, there was a much cheaper option but it wont fit my gear):




The speaker should be using electrostatic drivers, I suppose. But then again, it's only power is either from the Li-ion battery or USB power.

I'm actually interested in a 3D printer because... me and another local head-fier is actually in the process of making a full scale T50RP mod. Everything new, from cups to headband and baffle and all. The only constant is the driver. Sure there's 3D print services around, but having one of my own actually is appealing more than just this project. Oh and since it's $100 CAD it's slightly cheaper than $100 USD.
 
Oct 14, 2013 at 7:30 AM Post #19,082 of 21,761

  Today is my first day at my workplace (again)

 
Good luck man. Good that you're back in action! It never feels right to me to have nothing to do, but at the same time make sure you are listening to yourself.
 
  I can totally relate Cod. I hope things will work out for you. Good luck on the meds.  Never had suck luck with them. My current position requires driving all day. Really can't stand this as I've been in multiple car accidents as a child and hit 3 times on my bike. All these experiences has left me with post traumatic stress. I absolutely hate driving and being around people in vehicles. Whether I am on foot or in my car driving. There's no trust there at all. So I feel you.

 
That's terrible lee :/ I'm sorry to hear that. Are you looking for something different that wouldn't require as much driving?
 
I'm actually interested in a 3D printer because... me and another local head-fier is actually in the process of making a full scale T50RP mod. Everything new, from cups to headband and baffle and all. The only constant is the driver. Sure there's 3D print services around, but having one of my own actually is appealing more than just this project. Oh and since it's $100 CAD it's slightly cheaper than $100 USD.

 
Full steam ahead! I would be working harder at my mods if it weren't for my Uni work but I will furnish you with any advice you require...
 
And if you require prototypes to be printed I can always print some off for you and either send them to you or report back on their fit. How much do third party 3D printing services cost anyway?
 
Oct 14, 2013 at 7:34 AM Post #19,083 of 21,761
  That's terrible lee :/ I'm sorry to hear that. Are you looking for something different that wouldn't require as much driving?
 

 
Well my boss did talk to me about a position opening up in customer service. About 60% of that work is clerical work and 40% talking with customers on the phone. I told him I would much prefer that sort of position. I am just not one who enjoys driving. Even my other part time job requires driving lol (repairing Vizio LCD TVs). I drove about 80 miles round trip to my destination. That is probably not much to most of you guys. But for me that is a journey. Then factor in all the stop and go traffic or the narrow roads it's very difficult for me with the anxiety. I try to block everyone out and just try to focus on getting to my destination safely. That is no easy feet for me to do. What even worse is when I finish work and have to drive home and all the stop and go traffic. I just get very agitated in traffic. I'm already tired from driving all day, then my back is sore from the bumpy ride in the van and being tense. Then of course being super tired from being anxious driving all day lol. So I can't wait for this customer service job. I don't have a problem dealing with customers. As long as it ain't a million customers in a day :wink:.
 
Oct 14, 2013 at 7:42 AM Post #19,084 of 21,761
Full steam ahead! I would be working harder at my mods if it weren't for my Uni work but I will furnish you with any advice you require...

And if you require prototypes to be printed I can always print some off for you and either send them to you or report back on their fit. How much do third party 3D printing services cost anyway?


Depending on which company I go to, it's from $1 USD per gram or cm3, and some do get cheaper the larger volume/heavier it gets.

The thing with the Peachy Printer on KS, it's absolutely cheap compared to other printer. Thing is though, it's resin base, not the usual ABS or that other plastic.

Well, I will take the offer for advice though.

Definitely the safer thing to do is to think a bit more on this. Maybe a good night's sleep too.
 
Oct 14, 2013 at 8:58 AM Post #19,085 of 21,761
   
Well my boss did talk to me about a position opening up in customer service. About 60% of that work is clerical work and 40% talking with customers on the phone. I told him I would much prefer that sort of position. I am just not one who enjoys driving. Even my other part time job requires driving lol (repairing Vizio LCD TVs). I drove about 80 miles round trip to my destination. That is probably not much to most of you guys. But for me that is a journey. Then factor in all the stop and go traffic or the narrow roads it's very difficult for me with the anxiety. I try to block everyone out and just try to focus on getting to my destination safely. That is no easy feet for me to do. What even worse is when I finish work and have to drive home and all the stop and go traffic. I just get very agitated in traffic. I'm already tired from driving all day, then my back is sore from the bumpy ride in the van and being tense. Then of course being super tired from being anxious driving all day lol. So I can't wait for this customer service job. I don't have a problem dealing with customers. As long as it ain't a million customers in a day :wink:.

I feel you man, I do 100 miles a day round trip 5 days a week :/, the only good thing is I found an entirely AUdio Based Language learning kit, so I'll have something interesting to due with my drives to work and school now 
  Thank you my friend. Any support is good no matter the "size" of it, imo. Also, I didn't want, nor expect, anything more than a line of "good luck" or something along the lines, so you did just fine. Consider yourself a better moral supporter than you think. :)

 
Best of luck to you as well! I'm happy to hear that you have found a good combination of Medication as well, I was with my step father through many med switches... he has "aniexity" issue hi self. So when he get's stressed out... well he shuts down, a lot of his issue stem from his past military service as well sadly. Non the less I wish you the best of luck with your future, and that's great that you got a lot of support at your job too! 
 
Oct 14, 2013 at 11:09 AM Post #19,086 of 21,761
I feel you man, I do 100 miles a day round trip 5 days a week :/, the only good thing is I found an entirely AUdio Based Language learning kit, so I'll have something interesting to due with my drives to work and school now


I feel you guys...I have an exhausting 10mn walk to work everyday.
 
Oct 14, 2013 at 2:03 PM Post #19,087 of 21,761
I feel you guys...I have an exhausting 10mn walk to work everyday.

you walk to work...
*hangs his head in shame* JUST KIDDING, Seriously though get your self a Bicycle my friend! Then you can bike with ur HE 400s to work each day :D [I used to bike with headphones ^^] 
 
Oct 14, 2013 at 2:21 PM Post #19,088 of 21,761
  you walk to work...
*hangs his head in shame* JUST KIDDING, Seriously though get your self a Bicycle my friend! Then you can bike with ur HE 400s to work each day :D [I used to bike with headphones ^^] 

 
lol I also was never a very patient person. When I was young I would always bike it to get to my destinations much faster and I'd love to race getting there. :p Rule number 1. When crossing the street maintain eye contact with the drivers in the cars. If they aren't looking at you do not cross the road lol.
 
Oct 14, 2013 at 3:05 PM Post #19,089 of 21,761
My coverage of everyone else's coverage of RMAF (LOL):
 
Those new headphones from Oppo look really cool. Their styling is definitely a throwback to orthodynamic and piezoelectric stuff from the 70s. I'm hoping for a price point around the 400 USD range, as this hobby needs more orthos in that bracket. Two of my all-time favorite sub-$500 models are orthos: the Audez'e LCD-1 and HiFiMan HE-400. Unfortunately the LCD-1 and its drivers are extremely rare, and the HE-400 has changed since its debut and not for the better to my ears (I prefer the earlier darker version; I think you can differentiate it by its white drivers). So yeah, I'm looking forward to this thing. It would be a nice thing to have in my office. Speaking with some folks I know who went to RMAF, they said they never came across the Oppo at the show, so I'm thinking this announcement was exclusive to Jude? Either way, here's hoping more impressions surface sooner rather than later.
 
Another big surprise of the show for me was a new prototype from Cavalli Audio, an amp based on the Liquid Lightning but one that uses tubes. Apparently it's more an experimental proof-of-concept at this point, so if it ever goes into production it would be in the distant future. For one thing it would need a completely redesigned chassis compared to the one from the LL2 it was temporarily housed in at the show, as it would need to accommodate all the added heat from the tubes. They would still likely be housed inside the amp which is something I prefer personally (I don't mind external tubes on the Liquid Glass, as it was designed for tube rolling, but even then they're recessed and don't protrude).
 
Schiit had a prototype for the Ragnarok there, but apparently it was really buggy. That can happen with prototypes; it happened with Schiit's other prototypes before, but the issues get ironed out by production time. People saying they're now considering not getting one when they were before are kind of being silly. Even looking at the rough pre-production model without the proper exterior finish and exposed bits and pieces, I think it's a rather beautiful looking amp. The Vali seems to be usurping it in the attention department however, which is easy to understand since a $120 tube amp that competes with amps ten times its price is exciting. The biggest drawback of the Vali seems to be its noise level however, specifically tube microphonics. Highly sensitive devices will exacerbate this. Still, the Vali plus a modified T50RP seems like a potentially amazing pairing. Maybe I'll end up putting one alongside the new Oppo planars for office duty.
 
Not RMAF related, but since I'm talking about amps, I'm reminded that there are rumors from various sources of a new TOTL amp from Stax in the pipeline. At this point I'm actually rather interested in it, especially if they go all out like on the T2 (doubtful). I'm considering selling most of the my stat gear and would just have a minimal setup.
 
Overall this quarter has been pretty wild as far as new announcements go. Last year wasn't nearly as over-the-top ... or is that just me? As I mentioned before, the only categories I get all riled up about these days are full-sized orthos and IEMs, but it just so happens most of the big announcements lately have been for these things. Go figure. I've spent some time talking to folks I know who went to RMAF, getting a sense of how they felt about this stuff.
 
--> The Audez'e LCD-X seems to be pretty well regarded by most folks, though the biggest complaint I've encountered is the price tag. The XC seems less highly regarded, with some telling me its tuning isn't as agreeable as the X, which isn't too surprising given that it's closed which means Audez'e is having to try to tame resonance that isn't as problematic on the X. Still those wood cups are gorgeous, and having a choice of woods is pretty nifty.
 
-> The Abyss is awesome. Someone who heard a demo of it way back when and was underwhelmed (saying it was about on par with the HE-500 or thereabouts) said he was now eating his words after hearing it at RMAF on the LAu. 
 
-> The JH Roxanne seems to be garnering praise from some, but others have told me in private that it has some major issues at this point. Driver incoherency, problems with imaging, issues with reverb and transients, tinny sounding highs. Obviously the usual caveats apply: it's a demo. To be honest I expected incoherency issues given all those drivers, but I must confess I'm a bit surprised at how negative some of the reactions have been. Not just from one person, but several I know. Looks like it needs some work, so hopefully JHA can fine tune it more. Get those drivers to cooperate and the Freq-Phase properly sorted.
 
-> The new Fostex ortho is not so well received. According to one ortho-head who was probably to most positive about it of those I've talked to, it sounds very delicate and is promising as a starting point, but there is definitely more work to be done.
 
-> On the other hand, the rest of the gear from Fostex seems to be well liked. Their little tube amp has been in development for a while now, and it's pretty solid from what I gather. Their new IEM also seems promising.
 
Oct 14, 2013 at 3:29 PM Post #19,090 of 21,761
Nice to hear about the LCD X, and a Tube from Fostex might be nice. Not to mention the $120 Schiit Tube will FLY off the shelvs. That price range is DOMINATED  by Chinesse tubes, I'm willing to bet that Schiit can build a better tube for the same price, not to mention who in the United States doesn't want to buy local and support Amerinca Buisness. A very VERY smart move on their part! I paid $125 for an indeed G3... USED at that, and while I liked it... it had flaws that where acceptable given the price, so I might even snatch up the Vali for a few weeks of listening! 
 
Oct 14, 2013 at 6:42 PM Post #19,091 of 21,761
  I can totally relate Cod. I hope things will work out for you. Good luck on the meds.  Never had suck luck with them. My current position requires driving all day. Really can't stand this as I've been in multiple car accidents as a child and hit 3 times on my bike. All these experiences has left me with post traumatic stress. I absolutely hate driving and being around people in vehicles. Whether I am on foot or in my car driving. There's no trust there at all. So I feel you.

Thanks my friend, yeah things worked out very well at work. People were happy to see me again, and I didn't feel especially alien over there. Tomorrow I'll have my first meeting as a part of the IT council, and it feels good to be back on track. I'm taking it easy, and most of my 50% today went to go into different offices and say "Hey, I'm back, how are things here?". One of our researchers had left her thesis book on my desk, signed "To Ville from ...". As for medication, I actually like the lithium together with cymbalta. I was out of meds for three days and things started to get real messy again.. Side-effects so fara, very minimal. Slight drowziness, and a little head ache, but it's really a cheap price to pay to feel a lot better.
 
Now, I hope you get your position you want to have. I can't imagine the anxiety you must have driving that car, having been through all that before. I'm crossing fingers here that you get the job.
 
   
Good luck man. Good that you're back in action! It never feels right to me to have nothing to do, but at the same time make sure you are listening to yourself.
 
 
That's terrible lee :/ I'm sorry to hear that. Are you looking for something different that wouldn't require as much driving?
 
 
Full steam ahead! I would be working harder at my mods if it weren't for my Uni work but I will furnish you with any advice you require...
 
And if you require prototypes to be printed I can always print some off for you and either send them to you or report back on their fit. How much do third party 3D printing services cost anyway?

Thanks, yeah - being home doing nothing is just not a good thing. I regret that I didn't make a proper scchedule of things to do, for instance, take an hour long walk, then code for an hour and so on. You know, having some sort of regularity in my life, but since my doctor would write a few weeks off at a time, I didn't know if it would be worth it to create a schedule. However, yeah, it feels good to back in action. I'll just need a few days or a week to back on track with what I was doing before I left and so on. I'm a bit amazed that I even remember my own passwords to my own servers at work, but yeah, they are functioning as they should.
 
On my way home I celebrated by buying a coat. I wanted a duffel but exited with a coat instead. I haven't decided whether I like the length of it (to my knees) or not, but I do like everything else about it. Oh, and a pair of new boots: http://www.eurosko.se/sko/8460/roots.html
 
 
  I feel you man, I do 100 miles a day round trip 5 days a week :/, the only good thing is I found an entirely AUdio Based Language learning kit, so I'll have something interesting to due with my drives to work and school now 
 
Best of luck to you as well! I'm happy to hear that you have found a good combination of Medication as well, I was with my step father through many med switches... he has "aniexity" issue hi self. So when he get's stressed out... well he shuts down, a lot of his issue stem from his past military service as well sadly. Non the less I wish you the best of luck with your future, and that's great that you got a lot of support at your job too! 

YHeah those swiotches are horrible. You just want to tell them "Yeah, sure, can we pause life while we're at it?".......................................... Yeah, it's just a mess
 
 
Sorry guys. Ambien kickionbg in here... got go. See ya and again, thanks for the support. I mean a lot.
 
Oct 14, 2013 at 6:58 PM Post #19,092 of 21,761
Thanks, I hope so too. I equate that anxiety that I get to being in near death situations with the adrenaline. Just on a regular basis. Very nice right? lol. At least the reflexes are virtually unhuman but that's another story.
 
Oct 14, 2013 at 11:14 PM Post #19,093 of 21,761
  My coverage of everyone else's coverage of RMAF (LOL):
 
Those new headphones from Oppo look really cool. Their styling is definitely a throwback to orthodynamic and piezoelectric stuff from the 70s. I'm hoping for a price point around the 400 USD range, as this hobby needs more orthos in that bracket. Two of my all-time favorite sub-$500 models are orthos: the Audez'e LCD-1 and HiFiMan HE-400. Unfortunately the LCD-1 and its drivers are extremely rare, and the HE-400 has changed since its debut and not for the better to my ears (I prefer the earlier darker version; I think you can differentiate it by its white drivers). So yeah, I'm looking forward to this thing. It would be a nice thing to have in my office. Speaking with some folks I know who went to RMAF, they said they never came across the Oppo at the show, so I'm thinking this announcement was exclusive to Jude? Either way, here's hoping more impressions surface sooner rather than later.
 
Another big surprise of the show for me was a new prototype from Cavalli Audio, an amp based on the Liquid Lightning but one that uses tubes. Apparently it's more an experimental proof-of-concept at this point, so if it ever goes into production it would be in the distant future. For one thing it would need a completely redesigned chassis compared to the one from the LL2 it was temporarily housed in at the show, as it would need to accommodate all the added heat from the tubes. They would still likely be housed inside the amp which is something I prefer personally (I don't mind external tubes on the Liquid Glass, as it was designed for tube rolling, but even then they're recessed and don't protrude).
 
Schiit had a prototype for the Ragnarok there, but apparently it was really buggy. That can happen with prototypes; it happened with Schiit's other prototypes before, but the issues get ironed out by production time. People saying they're now considering not getting one when they were before are kind of being silly. Even looking at the rough pre-production model without the proper exterior finish and exposed bits and pieces, I think it's a rather beautiful looking amp. The Vali seems to be usurping it in the attention department however, which is easy to understand since a $120 tube amp that competes with amps ten times its price is exciting. The biggest drawback of the Vali seems to be its noise level however, specifically tube microphonics. Highly sensitive devices will exacerbate this. Still, the Vali plus a modified T50RP seems like a potentially amazing pairing. Maybe I'll end up putting one alongside the new Oppo planars for office duty.
 
Not RMAF related, but since I'm talking about amps, I'm reminded that there are rumors from various sources of a new TOTL amp from Stax in the pipeline. At this point I'm actually rather interested in it, especially if they go all out like on the T2 (doubtful). I'm considering selling most of the my stat gear and would just have a minimal setup.
 
Overall this quarter has been pretty wild as far as new announcements go. Last year wasn't nearly as over-the-top ... or is that just me? As I mentioned before, the only categories I get all riled up about these days are full-sized orthos and IEMs, but it just so happens most of the big announcements lately have been for these things. Go figure. I've spent some time talking to folks I know who went to RMAF, getting a sense of how they felt about this stuff.
 
--> The Audez'e LCD-X seems to be pretty well regarded by most folks, though the biggest complaint I've encountered is the price tag. The XC seems less highly regarded, with some telling me its tuning isn't as agreeable as the X, which isn't too surprising given that it's closed which means Audez'e is having to try to tame resonance that isn't as problematic on the X. Still those wood cups are gorgeous, and having a choice of woods is pretty nifty.
 
-> The Abyss is awesome. Someone who heard a demo of it way back when and was underwhelmed (saying it was about on par with the HE-500 or thereabouts) said he was now eating his words after hearing it at RMAF on the LAu. 
 
-> The JH Roxanne seems to be garnering praise from some, but others have told me in private that it has some major issues at this point. Driver incoherency, problems with imaging, issues with reverb and transients, tinny sounding highs. Obviously the usual caveats apply: it's a demo. To be honest I expected incoherency issues given all those drivers, but I must confess I'm a bit surprised at how negative some of the reactions have been. Not just from one person, but several I know. Looks like it needs some work, so hopefully JHA can fine tune it more. Get those drivers to cooperate and the Freq-Phase properly sorted.
 
-> The new Fostex ortho is not so well received. According to one ortho-head who was probably to most positive about it of those I've talked to, it sounds very delicate and is promising as a starting point, but there is definitely more work to be done.
 
-> On the other hand, the rest of the gear from Fostex seems to be well liked. Their little tube amp has been in development for a while now, and it's pretty solid from what I gather. Their new IEM also seems promising.


The real question is...what are you getting ? Ordering the Roxanne or will you wait? I am thinking I might wait a bit....at 1.8K (I will take carbon for sure), better be sure.
 
Oct 15, 2013 at 12:50 AM Post #19,094 of 21,761
 
The real question is...what are you getting ? Ordering the Roxanne or will you wait? I am thinking I might wait a bit....at 1.8K (I will take carbon for sure), better be sure.

 
I'm going to wait on the Roxanne for several reasons.
 
~> They need quite a bit of polish based on what I've been told by some. I'm sure it'll happen, but the question to my mind is will it be enough polish to make them truly shine? 
~> Too many other IEMs on my radar right now.
~> JH usually has holiday sales, even on new stuff, in my experience.
~> I'm going to be sending the JH-3A in for warranty repair on the amp, and how I'm treated by JH during this experience will factor into my decision.
 
 
I'm becoming more and more convinced as time goes on that I should just sell off most of my remaining gear aside from the LAu + Abyss and a few odds and ends. It mostly stems from a desire to clear out a lot of this stuff and consolidate. I'd still collect IEMs since they're small and easy to organize, but for the most part I kind of want to get out of the full-sized headphone game. Apart from the Abyss and some other orthos, I don't listen to much else these days. The only stats I've really touched since the beginning of summer have been the Floats.
 
If I went down that route, I'd most certainly go for some floor standing speakers. Probably a line array setup of some sort.
 
Oct 15, 2013 at 1:47 AM Post #19,095 of 21,761
   
-> The Abyss is awesome. Someone who heard a demo of it way back when and was underwhelmed (saying it was about on par with the HE-500 or thereabouts) said he was now eating his words after hearing it at RMAF on the LAu. 
 

 
Is the Abyss really that good? I'm in the process of putting together my 10 year end game rig (based around an Apex Pinnacle) and it's sort of a toss up when it comes to the ortho category.

 

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