[Argyris]

The title says it all. We've got multiple complaint threads; how about the antithesis? You can post about anything that's exciting, brings you joy, etc., be it Head-Fi/audio-related or not (but please try to follow the forum rules, of course--the mods here do a great job, so let's not make their lives difficult 

). Preferably, though, it will be something current, recent, or soon-to-be.
 
I guess I'll start off. I just Rockboxed my 5th generation iPod. I have no idea why I didn't do this sooner! The main reason I decided to go ahead with it was to gain access to the parametric EQ, since I recently followed the advice in this thread and painstakingly created a custom EQ for my SRH440. With a few necessary simplifications, I was able to transfer those settings to Rockbox. I'm still evaluating the results, but so far I think the curve translated well.
 
Overall, I'm still exploring Rockbox, but so far I like it a lot. The crossfeed is nice to have and something I didn't expect to be included. I also really appreciate the flawless implementation of gapless playback, which would have been a deal breaker if it didn't work well. The Rockbox interface takes some getting used to after the iPod one, but I'm getting there. It seems like there's a treasure trove of customization options, and I've already taken advantage of some of them.
 
So that's what I'm excited about: Rockbox and my custom EQ.

 

[matthewh133]

I'm excited about my AD2000s which should be arriving within the next couple of days. I'm also very excited to hook it up to my other 2 new toys (HA-160 and Audio-GD FUN). Also excited for a 2 week break after the end of this trimester, so busy with study atm >.>

 

[Brooko]

Relatively new here - but here goes .....
 
After taking a 10 year hiatus from golf while we started a family - my wife recently suggested I take the game up again now that the kids are a little older.  But the great part is that we just bought her a new car (OK the bank owns a fair chunk of it for the moment) - and because I got such a good bargain - she told me to get new clubs as well.  So now proud owner of a reasonably expensive set of TaylorMades - and rediscovering my joy of the game.  To make it even better my 9yo son is just starting to take golf lessons - and looks like he is going to love the game as much as his dad.
 
And 3rd plus - I've been given the OK to upgrade my old and cheap Senns for a step higher - so I will be picking up a set of SRH840's when I'm back in the US in about 5 weeks (can't wait).  So everything is coming up roses.
 
Nice thread Argyris - and thanks for the link on the EQ - it's just what I needed for when I get the new cans..

 

[earthpeople]

Marvel vs Capcom 3 should be at my door today or tomorrow.
My Mugen 2 is coming in today.
Got another 4 gigs of RAM coming soon.
Paycheck.


Life.


[edit]
My Mugen 2 arrived.
It is very quiet and performs great.

 

[n3rdling]

http://www.thekingoflimbs.com/

 

[deadhead12]

^^^ this.
Also, I'm expecting some t50rp's in the mail but TBH, had I known about the imminent release of the album, I would have just waited and bought Newspaper version. 

 

[Argyris]

I'll check into my thread again. Today I was awoken from a sound sleep to learn that my mother had been prompted by an obvious attempt to pharm her bank account information. She tried to sign into her Comerica account and got a screen asking for all the typical stuff these sorts of attacks ask for (SS number, PIN, etc.). She knew enough that this wasn't right, and so we tried logging in on another computer. No pharming screen. Obviously, then, the problem lay on the kitchen computer. Three hours and a malware scan later, we found several infections and (supposedly) cleaned them up. But, when I tried logging in on the kitchen computer, the screen came right back.
 
At that point my father decided it was high time to get another computer, anyway, as the kitchen one was long in the tooth (late 2006-era, AMD X2 3800+). It was a rather weak excuse to fulfill his obvious desire to have a rig worthy of playing the latest Total War game (he's rather transparent about this). In fact, the exploit seems to have come from a security hole in Java--he frequently pours over a Rome: Total War interactive map that he knew came from a site that has known problems with malware. The induction is pretty compelling. Like I said, this incident didn't exactly warrant a new machine, but I wasn't about to argue if my father wanted a new toy.
 
So, after a little searching, we ended up getting a Lenovo Ideacentre (evidently Lenovo now makes desktops). It's not a gaming powerhouse (integrated graphics), but with a Core i7 processor, 8GB of memory, and a 1TB HDD, it's not going to be a slouch, either. We'll likely add a dedicated graphics card later on, as I don't think the integrated Intel graphics are going to cut it for gaming. We also got a 24" monitor, as there was no real reason not to.
 
Once the new machine arrives (we had to order it) I'm going to wipe the old one clean, put a fresh installation of Windows 7 on it, and set it up for wireless so my father has a computer in his own bedroom.
 
So, all in all, it was a weird day. I unfortunately have lost my perfect security record*, but somehow we ended up with a new computer in the bargain, so I think it's a pretty good trade. I'm excited for the end of the week, when the new toy arrives.
 
*I know, I know, I DID rail on about this stuff in previous threads; on the other hand, I did follow my own advice--my father didn't, and what happened stands as a perfect example of what I meant about watching what you click on and where you go on the Internet.

 

[deadhead12]

Quote:

Relatively new here - but here goes .....
 
After taking a 10 year hiatus from golf while we started a family - my wife recently suggested I take the game up again now that the kids are a little older.  But the great part is that we just bought her a new car (OK the bank owns a fair chunk of it for the moment) - and because I got such a good bargain - she told me to get new clubs as well.  So now proud owner of a reasonably expensive set of TaylorMades - and rediscovering my joy of the game.  To make it even better my 9yo son is just starting to take golf lessons - and looks like he is going to love the game as much as his dad.
 

Man, I miss playing golf.  My buddy used to work at course for like 10 years and I got to play there and other sister courses for free all the time (this was in Myrtle Beach).  It was great.  Sadly, I've only played maybe three times in the past three years. 

 

[matthewh133]

The last time I played golf I was too lazy to go fetching the multiple balls I hit off the fairway that day. I ended up losing all my balls and had to walk the last 7 holes back to the car. Never been back since.

 

[El_Doug]

PORTAL 2!!! 
 
The wife and I just preordered 2 copies  

 

[3602]

Found another use for my (long time not fired up) vinyl rig: Link the receiver's (used as a photo stage) Tape-out jacks to my PCM-D50, then digitize my small vinyl library to 96/24. I don't even need to de-click or anything after: the resulting sound is incredibly smooth and silky, with just the right balance between detail and musicality. Although some records have physical damage that is beyond repair. Ah, life is imperfect. Or if you're not happening to be in a Little Bird 3,000 feet off the ground, it's downright unforgiving.

 

[Argyris]

All my vinyl is in terrible condition, as I inherited from my father, who never really took care of any of it. The worst part is that headphone listening magnifies the imperfections. Something that intrigues me is what format radio stations used when vinyl was in its heyday. Did they use RTR or some other electromagnetic medium, or did they actually spin records? I just can't imagine broadcasting something that, even in "pristine" condition, had all those little crackles and sputters. It seems like a fragile and cumbersome method, even if they had automatic changing machines. Granted, my vinyl sounds like bacon cooking so maybe it's an extreme example, but even some brand new stock I tried (part of an old Time Life collection of classical) had some surface noise.

 

[3602]

Probably R2R back then, but I don't know. FM waves are compressed IIRC, plus the weak home receivers and crud speakers, so the little pops might not even show up. I may be wrong, I am no expert in wireless communications.
Surface noise is unavoidable, unless you play it in a clean-room (all white where you need to wear full-body suits and such) there always will be little particles and small imperfections. Actually in this case (physical contact), the more sensitive your needle/stylus, the more details you can get, hence the more noise you pick up.
Interesting, though. Some consider CDs and modern digital media to be "too perfect". I may be one of these people as I find the little noises on vinyl to be oddly comforting. Am I strange?
 
PS: R2Rs. Ah God. Man I once saw a Telefunken R2R for 10 bucks. Not a single English word on that thing.

 

[Brooko]

Quote:

Man, I miss playing golf.  My buddy used to work at course for like 10 years and I got to play there and other sister courses for free all the time (this was in Myrtle Beach).  It was great.  Sadly, I've only played maybe three times in the past three years. 

Carpe diem Deadhead.
 
No time like the present for dusting those clubs off!
 
Mathew had his first lesson yesterday.  Imagine the smile from a 9yo - when he hit his first shot (with the instructor behind him) straight and true.  Only about 70 or 80m - but nice flight, and the best he's hit it so far.
 
We are lucky in NZ.  I play at the best course in Invercargill - it was once ranked in the top 5 courses in NZ.  Only $500 NZ per year membership.  Can't beat that
 
You are very lucky with the quality of your courses though - *envy*.
 
Just been invited (by a supplier) to play Gulf Harbour (NZ's 1st or 2nd ranked course currently) next week.  He flies us up, arranges accommodation + covers expenses.  3 days off work chasing a little ball around and enjoying spectacular views.  Doesn't get much better

 

[Argyris]

I'll bump up this merry thread with an update. The computer arrived today (or yesterday by this point), and after my last class in the evening I came home and cracked open the box. To my surprise and delight, I discovered that it had a discrete graphics card installed when the product description indicated that it only should have integrated Intel graphics. It's not an especially great card (it's a Radeon HD 5570), but anything's better than integrated. I also noticed that all the crapware that BB usually puts on its special model machines was absent.
 
Interestingly, we got an e-mail shortly after we got back home from Best Buy the day we ordered saying that the computer was on backorder and might take an additional 1-2 weeks. However, we paid for expedited shipping, which would have ensured that the computer arrived within the week. Two days later we got another e-mail saying that the order had shipped. What I think happened was BB had Lenovo send over a unit with the official configuration of the model (which includes discrete graphics) because Lenovo didn't have any of BB's special (and slightly stripped down) configuration machines on hand. We paid extra for shipping, and BB probably figured this was the best way to avoid having to renege.
 
Whatever happened, it's always nice to get a free upgrade. We will likely still upgrade the PSU and get a better graphics card, but for now it should work great for everything we have to throw at it. Since I have a lot of computers on the home network, I give every one of them a distinctive name so I can tell them apart in the Network list. I've broken my naming tradition of using Greek or Latin words for metals and given this new machine the epithet "Epwna." The ultimate intention is for this to become a reasonably potent gaming rig, so I thought this name was really clever. For those who don't get it, Epona is the name of Link's horse in the Zelda series, and of course "pwn" is gamer net-speak for "own." Sadly I'm not the first person to think of this (I just did a Google search), but I did come up with it independently of anyone else, so I still think it's awesome.
 
I guess this geeky stuff gets me all excited. I'm still getting everything set up.