View allAll Photos Tagged AZ
Az utolsó horgony beépítésével a speciális mélyépítési munka gyakorlatilag befejeződött. Vége felé tart a földkitermelés is.
This is a 69 million Pixel image made up of I think 6 or so images stitched together in AutopanoGiga. See the enlarged detail below!
This was taken just outside of Mt. Zion National Park.
These AZ-Two speakers replaced my Audio Note AX-One speakers several months ago. I love the AX-1s. In particular, the vocal coming out from these lowest end of Audio Note line up is unbeatable. I have never heard female vocal is so beautifully reproduced through these tiny AX-1 speakers. However, since I listen to many types of music, including rock and hard bop jazz, the Absolute Zero-Two speakers with 93 db have replaced the AX-1s. It's been several months now, and it’s been burned in about 200 hours more or less. So, it’s time to write some impression on these black ash speakers. These speakers are very ugly looking. If your wife has some opinion on furniture sets at home, then these boxy looking speakers may be a great challenge for you guys to persuade. It may need a cross of Albert Einstein and George Clooney to persuade your wife to love the look of AZ-Two. When laymen see these speakers, they would think that these are made in Glodok. Or, they might think that these speakers are some school projects from your neighbor’s son. I am not kidding. If there’s some robber breaking into your house and looking at these two black boxes, they would definitely skip these things. In particular, if you do not put the AN labels on, the robber would think that these are made by people in Cikapundung – an electronic market in Bandung.
OK, they are ugly, so how is the sound? Nah, I have not finished yet. Let me finish it. The speakers are boxed with one layer carton boxes. A regular sedan will be hard to carry a couple of these big boxes. After opening the boxes, I took out the AZ-Twos. They are quiet heavy. Even though Audio Note provides good quality spikes inside the boxes, I use Soundcare Super Spikes on these speakers. Now, this is another ugly thing. When I tried to wire them and tighten the binding posts, I realized that the binding posts are so hard to grip. They are really pains in the butt. The binding posts are very high quality indeed, but they are just so awful to tighten. You should use soft towel to help your fingers grip the slippery binding posts. Another point that you should know is that these speakers are not equipped with jumpers. I think bi-wire is in PQ’s mind when he designed these.
After wiring them, I put each of them about 40 cm from the back wall and 50 cm from the side wall. By the way, I power these speakers using 4.8 watt Almarro A205A mkII. I played Just the Two of Us, by Grover Washington, Jr. It was nice, but I felt the sound was boomy. I knew that Audio Note instructed to place the speakers on the corners or close to the back wall. The manual states that the speakers may sound boomy if they are place too far from the walls. Funny, eh? Conventional speakers are the opposite. They will sound boomy if they are placed too close to the walls. So, reluctantly I place them on the corners. Voila! The boomy sound is gone. They sound so wonderful. The bass goes lower and tighter. Now, after about 200 hours burned in, the speakers are flexed a bit, and they produce very musical atmosphere. Rock and fusion jazz are their bread and butter. I love listening Dark Side of the Moon, by Pink Floyd. Oh, boy! These AZ-Twos can create picturesque or panoramic 3D stage. The sound stage is very wide. I feel like the sound does not come from those speakers. The source of the different instruments seem coming from certain point locations on stage. The speakers are just gone or hidden. It is excellent. I have never had this experience before. If you bass freak, these black boxes can give you plenty of quality bass. The highs are transparent and smooth, not edgy. This is the type of versatile speakers. They are all-round speakers for all kinds of music. However, if you are vocal fanatics and have mostly vocal jazz or easy listening albums, such as audiophile CDs played in audio shows, I think AX-Ones would be better choices. They are unbeatable in vocal reproduction. AZ-Twos cannot compete with AX-Ones in this area. Moreover, the price of AX-1 is very reasonable. The AX-1’s price is more or less in the range price of popular bookshelf speakers in Indonesia. I believe AX-1s would be the best choice for most two-channel systems. On the other hand, if your CD collections range from hard rock to world music, from mainstream to hard bop jazz, then AZ-Twos should be on your must-listen list. The sonic of AZ-Twos are softer and more likable after 200 hour running. Now, when I listen to Marcus Miller Live album in late night and dark room, it’s like I was there in the same room with Marcus Miller. It is very alive. Another incredible thing I experience with these AZ-2s is when I play Kind of Blue CD (The Definitive Version), by Miles Davis. This must have album was made in heaven, Bill Evans said in the liner notes. They made this recording without actually practicing it first. They learned the notes right before the session. In this album, there are three horns. They are Miles’ trumpet, John Coltrane’s tenor sax, and Cannonball Adderley’s alto sax. Through AZ-Twos, one can pinpoint the exact location and height of each horn on the stage. Amazing! Scary!
Conclusion: The only good thing about AZ-2s is their musical sound.
5 iPhone image pano of Willow Lake, Prescott Az. Taken near the Prescott dog park. The water level is extremely high. I saw a bald eagle there today, but the images I got were very poor.
Bisbee, Arizona was founded in 1880 as a copper, gold, and silver mining town. It was the home to the Phelps Dodge Copper Queen mine. Mining halted in the city in 1975. The central portion of Bisbee is on the National Register #80004487, and is also a National Historic Landmark. Central Bisbee is also surrounded by the Bisbee Residential Historic District, on the National Register #10000233.