The random chat thread for throwing out things that don't matter

A friend, who installed a bidet after using mine has a better way to use it. When cleaning with the bidet, instead of scooting back and forth just bend forward and back while sitting. it widens your 'smile' and actually works better. His wife found that out bendinding down to pick something up. It really works much better than scooting.

I just bought my first pair of vintage desktop ribbon speakers.   The technology is old but just didn't catch on because they have to be positioned just right.  There is not much to them then a mylar sheet and some magnets. Because the mylar is light weight it has incredible inertia and damping effects that a normal speakers don't. 

 What do they sound like?  it sounds like you are wearing a good pair of headphones reason being they have a tight focus with minimal reflections from other surfaces. You are hit with a wall of sound.  It will sound louder in the sweet spot but once you move away its fades away quickly.  

@dev

What did you get? I've been thinking about a pair of Mini Maggies for my computer room.

Posted by: @mrsponz

@dev

What did you get? I've been thinking about a pair of Mini Maggies for my computer room.

Mini Maggies would be ultimate.  I bought a vintage pair of Monsoon Planar speakers with integrated subwoofer.  I heard these before at someones house in the early 2000s and was completely shocked by how nice they sounded.  I always wanted a pair of ribbon speakers but they have always been too expensive and they are power hungry requiring high wattage amps to get the sound of them since they are inefficient.  

  Monsoon went out of business a long time ago and rumor has it that the dipole technology they used had their own patent that the government bought and that is why they are no longer made or made by other manufactures.   I never heard music this good before.  There is so much attack, and everything is vibrant because the ribbon moves so quickly. 

 Im so sold on this that I bought another pair  without the sub just incase anything happens to these.  

I tried some of the other current near field monitors on the market and returned them because I wasn't satisfied. There is so much crap out there on Amazon with the reviews to go with it.  

  I think maybe this year for my home system I will treat myself to the Magnapan LRS which is their entry level speakers.   

@dev

I believe the Monsoon's speakers were based on planar magnetic technology, licensed from Eminent Technology who developed the original concept. 

And yes, a lot of crap out there, for example BOSE, they spend a fortune on advertising and marketing - and still use the cheapest components in the world.

I think a lot of people get so hung up on sheer audio quality that they forget that there are so many other factors in audio products that make them good. And shit on Bose way too much. Bose are the most comfortable headphones on the market, with some of the best noise-cancelling technology money can buy. No one but Sony can even compete in that department. The now discontinued sport in-ears were by far the most comfortable earphones I've ever used, which is why I've owned four pairs. Do they sound great? No, they sound alright. But they were easily worth the money just for the comfort level. 

That's why I try to stay out of the audiophile community. It's parallel to the toxic car community that screams "THE SUPRA DOESNT HAVE ENOUGH POWER" when that 0-60 in 3.8 seconds and linear power delivery are incredible and intoxicating, not to mention it performs great, handles great, FEELS great. Hell, that ZF 8 speed auto felt a lot better to me than a 2014 PDK did. 

Not calling any of you out. Just throwing out some thoughts. I love love love audio. I just try to keep an open mind, and even though I have plenty of audiophile headphones that make major sacrifices for audio quality, I most often use my Bose in-ears. 

Posted by: @mrsponz

@dev

I believe the Monsoon's speakers were based on planar magnetic technology, licensed from Eminent Technology who developed the original concept. 

And yes, a lot of crap out there, for example BOSE, they spend a fortune on advertising and marketing - and still use the cheapest components in the world.

  I don’t say this lightly after auditioning equipment for a very long time and doing DSP corrections, bi-amping and all sorts of things. The ribbon speakers are the best I have heard, nothing sounds like them. They have a presentation that is engaging with with fast transient response however I wasn’t impressed with Martin Logan’s electrostatic speakers, I thought they were garbage and then I seen them being sold at Bestbuy which made me think that is where audio goes to die. I also auditioned the current line of B&W and they are also not very good and over priced. 

 Magnapan has a 60 day free trial for their speakers which I might give them a try since the monsoon speakers are compared to them in their signature. I noticed that those with Magnapans keep them for a very long time and they hold their value. It’s just that they require to be some distance away from the wall and angled to the listener, not kid or pet friendly. 

As far as Bose goes I have had several sets. Most people don’t give Amar Bose enough credit for two big innovations. One was the direct reflecting design and the other is the accustamass 2.1 system. In order to work they have to be EQed quiet a bit and they do not work well in all rooms because they need to be positioned correctly.  I have a modified set of vintage 301s version 2 which was very average until I changed the crossovers caps  and used a PEQ to fix them. They sound phenomenal now. What Bose missed is there speakers require room correction EQ done by the end user. What ever happened to Bose in the late 90s became a departure from a speaker company to a mass marketing company for the masses. 

 
I have set up newer Bose theater systems for family primarily because they can’t handle dynamic sound. What Bose does particularly well is middle of the road sound that doesn’t distract them. High quality audio is not for everyone and that is why there is a market for colored V sound signatures like what you get from Beats headphones. This is why audiophiles scratch their heads at Bose but I do agree they do spend money on marketing for people who are suckered on brand recognition, same with Apple EarPods. 

Posted by: @haloruler64

I think a lot of people get so hung up on sheer audio quality that they forget that there are so many other factors in audio products that make them good. And shit on Bose way too much. Bose are the most comfortable headphones on the market, with some of the best noise-cancelling technology money can buy. No one but Sony can even compete in that department. The now discontinued sport in-ears were by far the most comfortable earphones I've ever used, which is why I've owned four pairs. Do they sound great? No, they sound alright. But they were easily worth the money just for the comfort level. 

That's why I try to stay out of the audiophile community. It's parallel to the toxic car community that screams "THE SUPRA DOESNT HAVE ENOUGH POWER" when that 0-60 in 3.8 seconds and linear power delivery are incredible and intoxicating, not to mention it performs great, handles great, FEELS great. Hell, that ZF 8 speed auto felt a lot better to me than a 2014 PDK did. 

Not calling any of you out. Just throwing out some thoughts. I love love love audio. I just try to keep an open mind, and even though I have plenty of audiophile headphones that make major sacrifices for audio quality, I most often use my Bose in-ears. 

 I believe that people over pay for audio and buy into brand names and technologies that may not make that much of a difference and in many cases worse than what they previously had. The best way to know is to have a bases of comparison and to trust your ears, not brand names or reputations on the internet.  I have retuned or sold more than half of my gear because I wasn’t satisfied but it’s worth it because it’s panning for gold.  For many others they get use to it and are comfortable with their purchase. I have had regrets with selling and now of the belief vintage gear can be a better value because not much has changed or has got worse because to get the same level of sound quality you need to spend three times the price. A lot of new gear looks the part but it under delivers sounding dull like what you would think old speakers would sound like. 

This ought to be  interesting. Even if it is just turning left. 20 laps, 50 miles, will they hit 200 mph?

https://indyachallenge.com/#speedway

Will they be having a sexbot giving out the trophy? 😍 

Posted by: @grumpy

This ought to be  interesting. Even if it is just turning left. 20 laps, 50 miles, will they hit 200 mph?

https://indyachallenge.com/#speedway

Will they be having a sexbot giving out the trophy? 😍 

 Nerds that don’t like the smell of oil and gas.  So much for putting your heart in it. 
 Over the last few years gamers are starting to be as popular as actual athletes.  

Gamers being athletes makes sense. Don't get me wrong, it's silly to revere a dude who sits at a desk and does something that IS impressive. 

But it's also absolutely ridiculous to adore big dudes hitting each other and throwing a ball. And getting happy when they win. And getting so upset when they lose. And rioting when they lose, or win. And fighting so hard for them when... they don't care about you. 

Celebrity worship, athlete worship, all the same levels of absolute hilarity. Gamers being athletes fits the bill.

Oooo and ahhhh. Magnaflow exhaust on the daily.

I love the sound. It's fairly quiet, pretty much inaudible on the freeway, no drone whatsoever. 

One issue is the cold start. Mazda has this thing called Accelerated Warm-up System. Not entirely sure how it works, but Subaru's similar system uses valve overlap to heat the cat up very quickly. This in turn causes a loud rattling cold start, even with the stock exhaust. Even though the exhaust itself is quiet, the cold start rattles the house. Unfortunate. 

I got a new batch of coffee. Jamaican blue mountain from the same Ebay supplier. This batch was not so good. I had to add more heat in my machine and even then it just wasn't the same extraction.  Coffee is like wine where you have different growing seasons and it could also be the roast.  A little disappointed but that is what happens from time to time with high end coffee. 

 I just found out that my 1981 espresso lever machine I bought and rebuilt in 2019 has gone up another $200. Maybe inflation or demand.  If you want quality these days with thick copper, brass and stainless steel  its going to cost you like a vintage 911. 

It is almost time for my oil change