View from a bridge over Ili River at Yining during sunset. Known as the only major west-flowing river in China, the sunset over Ili River is a great sight known to many Chinese travellers. Yeah, it is definitely not overhyped.

The consensus was “Overpriced, overhyped, poorly made, poorly timed and ugly.

Comet C/2023 E3 (ZTF)

This comet was one of the most overhyped comets in recent years. The press claimed that we'd be able to see it with our naked eye or at least with binoculars. I looked and looked and never saw it even with 10x50 binoculars. I checked my star charts and programs and I still couldn't find it. I finally grabbed an 85mm f/1.4 lens and shot photos in the general vicinity and finally found the hazy blob. After locating it I went back to my binoculars and could only see it with the corner of my eye using the cones.

Here's my interpretation of the comet. Since I'm in the middle of a large city I wasn't able to capture the long tail that many others could see. In fact, I was only able to see up to magnitude 5 or 6.

The photo you see is about 20 minutes of capture time or 43 photos at 30 seconds each.

I don’t know that I’d ever want to wear these festival shorts to an actual festival. The events seem so overhyped and mainstream at this point. I have no interested in Coachella or Bonnaroo or SXSW. I’ve been to Lollapalooza (and was so disappointed to hear Violent Femmes live). I never attended Lillith Fair, but I have a few of the albums. The only festival that truly piques my interest is Strawberry Music Festival. Maybe these shorts will make it to an actual festival someday. (If Strawberry doesn’t go bankrupt, first.)

For now, though, I’m wearing them at a rented beach cabin near Eureka, CA. And I’m doing all the performing (for Beefy and Jasper, much to their delight!)

Jacket, H&M (thrifted). Shirt, Forever 21. Shorts, Mudd. Leggings, We Love Colors. Boots, Style & Co (thrifted). Sunglasses, Target. Earrings, Rain’s Embellishments. Belt, thrifted.

Meet Maelstrom, the super quirky and full of charm ride about Norway (a High Seas Norwegian Adventure) that is about to be closed. The reason?, an overhyped but very well marketed film called Frozen. (An incredible marketing machine is the only reason I can find for this movie to succeed that much... plain and overly done script... check, songs with ridiculously simplistic music and lyrics... check, hysterical voice acting and jokes seen a thousand times, check check check, but I digress...). So this ride that opened in 1988 and was a testimony of a better time for Epcot is closing its doors very soon. I didn't know that was the case when I took this picture, so it's become my particular homage to this ride, that you couldn't skip on an Epcot day. It's hard to appreciate but it was pouring rain when I took the picture.... As usual lately, Disney executives went for the easiest and fastest way to profit. Don't get me wrong, Disney is a huge company and its goal is to make money.... but then, please, don't get angry if some of us say that you're all in for the money and pretty much out for the art behind this industry. So sad.

LBA as of 2016/12/18

Previous LBA Family Portrait from 2016/07/29

I got rid of some lenses, and ended up getting even more lenses! Now I own the "legendary", but grossly overhyped Minolta MC Rokkor-PG 58mm f1.2 with a serial number of 2503297. It is very soft wide open despite having immaculate glass, The Hexanon 1.2 outperforms the Rokkor 1.2 at all apertures, and has a closer MFD. On full frame/film exposures that will not matter so much unless you start shooting with a teleconverter on these lenses.

I had my Hexanon 57/1.2 and Vivitar S1 90/2.5 CLA'd by Manfred at ICT Camera.

I also picked up an X-570 and Autoreflex T4 body, and 8 rolls of 36 exposure Velvia 100 (not that 100F garbage).

I am in the "pre-Sony" ecosystem by having mostly Konica and Minolta glass, with some M42, FD, N-AI, C-mount lenses floating about. I do have a Canon AE-1, but it is not as fun as the MinoltAutoreflexes.

By the way did you notice that I have three copies of the VS1 28mm f1.9? :P

The stars indicate which lenses I have added since the last lens family portrait.

The Series 1 Tower of Power

・Vivitar Series 1 VMC 200mm f1.3

・Vivitar Series 1 135mm f1.3

・Vivitar Series 1 VMC Macro 90mm f2.5 "Bokina"

・Vivitar Series 1 VMC 28mm f1.9 (Nikon AI)

・Vivitar Series 1 VMC 28mm f1.9 (Canon FD)

・Vivitar Series 1 VMC 28mm f1.9 (Konica AR)

The Tele

・Konica Hexanon AR 85mm f1.8

・Navitar TV Lens 75mm f1.3

The Standard

・Helios 44-2 58mm f2

・Minolta Auto Rokkor-PF 58mm f1.4

・Minolta MC (MC-I) Rokkor-PF 58mm f1.4

・Minolta MC (MC-II) Rokkor-PF 58mm f1.4

☆Minolta MC (MC-II) Rokkor-PG 58mm f1.2

・Konica Hexanon AR 57mm f1.2

・Konica Hexanon (AR) 57mm f1.4

・Konica Macro-Hexanon AR 55mm f3.5

・Konica Hexanon AR 50mm f1.4

・Konica Hexanon AR 50mm f1.8

・Canon nFD 50mm f1.8

☆Minolta MD (MD-II) 50mm f1.7

・Carl Zeiss Jena Tessar 50mm f2.8

・Minolta MD Rokkor-X 45mm f2

The Wide

・Vivitar Auto Wide Angle 35mm f2.8

・Vivitar Auto Wide Angle 28mm f2.5

・Kenko Fisheye 180 Degrees

Accessories

・Viviar Series 1 90mm f2.5 Macro Adapter

・Konica Macro Adapter AR

・Canon Extender FD 2x-B

・Konica Hexanon Teleconverter AR 2x

・Minolta Flashmeter IV

Taken with EF-S18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II on Canon EOS REBEL T3i

100,000 Viewers on Google vs. 14+ Million Views on Flickr; Where Do We Go From Here? — IMRAN®

A late night notification from Google caught me off guard pleasantly: over 100,000 people have viewed the handful of photos I’ve posted there only recently. That’s less than 1% of what I’ve shared on Flickr—where I’ve amassed 14+ million views over nearly 20 years. But let’s not confuse metrics:

Google counted viewers, Flickr counts views. One is pure generic global reach, the other is fewer but with many loyal viewers over the years. It’s a moment to reflect—not just on numbers, but on platforms and squandered potential.

Microsoft let Skype rot on the vine. IMHO, WhatsApp and its clones wouldn’t have been necessary if Skype’s global community hadn’t been mismanaged into oblivion. Yahoo did the same with Flickr. Instagram might’ve remained a footnote had Yahoo not fumbled its head start—first under Jerry’s indecision, then under Marissa Mayer’s overhyped tenure.

Today’s Flickr is a shadow of its heyday. I recently scrolled through its primitive messaging system—still a stream of unthreaded, individual messages spanning hundreds of screens—to revisit my earliest interactions. Most of those accounts are gone. Others haven’t posted in a decade. Many have deleted their entire libraries, including non-erotic content, just to comply with Flickr’s shifting paid account policies.

In a world of uncensored paid platforms, wildly popular free PG-13 services, and even Google’s passive hosting options, it’s increasingly difficult to justify the steep annual cost of a Flickr Pro subscription.

So I ask: What are your thoughts? What’s your plan? Where do we, and Flickr, go from here?

© 2025 IMRAN®

www.donbaloglu.com/

«Малая земля» — название плацдарма в районе Станички (мыс Мысхако) южнее Новороссийска, образовавшегося в результате десантной операции отряда морской пехоты численностью 271 (плюс три командира: Цезарь Куников, Федор Катанов — нач. штаба и Николай Старшинов — замполит) человек под командованием майора Ц. Л. Куникова в ночь на 4 февраля 1943 года. Героическая оборона этого клочка земли продолжалась 225 дней и завершилась утром 16 сентября освобождением Новороссийска. За мужество и отвагу 21 воин был удостоен звания Героя Советского Союза.

In English

Malaya Zemlya (Russian: Малая Земля, lit. "Minor Land") was a Soviet uphill outpost on Cape Myskhako (Russian: Мысхако) that was recaptured after fierce, bloody battles with the Germans during the Battle of Caucasus, on the night of 4 February 1943. The episode paved way for a Soviet attack on German forces in Novorossiysk.

Cape Myskhako is still associated with a heroic stand made by the 800-strong contingent of the Soviet Naval Infantry against the Germans during the Second World War. The special forces were dropped during winter high storms by the Soviet Black Sea Fleet. After the unsuccessful landing attempt at Malajia Ozereevka. The landing at Malaya Zemlya was supposed to be a decoy, but after the landing at Bolshaia Ozereevka was lost in an ambush, the offensive plan was reworked and the landing site at Malaya Zemlya was made the main landing location. Upon landing to secure the beachhead they came under furious German counter-offensive, that utilized both the ground and airforces.

Against very strong forces, the marines held their ground, and the leader of the group Major Caesar Kunikov (Russian: Цезарь Кунников) was mortally wounded, and was posthumously awarded the highest Soviet World War II title of the Hero of the Soviet Union. He is one of the Soviet-Jewish World War II heroes.

The battle was the subject of the first book Brezhnev's trilogy, which overhyped Leonid Brezhnev's participation on the Eastern Front.

I said what I said.

I will NOT title this post with a reference to or pun on Fifty Shades of Grey. I haven’t even read the book and I’m sick of hearing about it.

Blazer, White House Black Market (thrifted). Dress, Bar III. Tights, Forever 21. Shoes, Madden Girl. Earrings, vintage. Scarf, Marshall’s. Belt, Gap. Clutch, Express.

Don’t think I was too snobbish or prudish to read Fifty Shades of Grey. I was just busy reading other trash. At this point, I won’t read it simply because it’s been so overhyped. And here I am, giving it more press. Ack.

Someone just needs to give me this book as a gift so I can stop being so high and mighty about not reading it.

A freshly rebuilt and painted C6M rests on the East Erie Commercial interchange track in Wesleyville, PA underneath a total solar eclipse, while NS 15M is stopped on the main to take in the once in a lifetime spectacle.

Going into April 8th, I really didn't have a concrete plan for where I wanted to be during the eclipse. I only knew that I wanted to get trackside somewhere to frame a train, preferably stopped, and juxtapose it against the sky. Unfortunately back in Buffalo, the weather forecast for the entire week leading up to it called for clouds, and clouds there were. Leaving the house just before noon that day, I set out first towards the CSX mainline near home to scope the activity out. I happened to run into a couple other railfan friends at the same spot, exchanging ideas on how things were going to play out that afternoon. In the meantime, my friend Aidan and I were spitballing suggestions for where to go. He found a cloud forecast for the area and it wasn't boding well. However, there appeared to be a hole opening up between Erie and Cleveland. With a little over a couple hours till totality, our minds had been made up: time to head west. We both beelined for I-90 and stepped on the gas, with him being a few miles ahead of me already. We pretty much stayed on the phone the entire ride out there to report cops and stay updated on current weather conditions/potential train targets. I can say now after the fact that local news media overhyped the potential traffic conditions. The highway was no more crowded than it would be on a regular weekday afternoon. Although once in PA, their state troopers were out in full force along I-90.

At this point, the farthest we could make it would likely be Conneaut, OH. In fact, Google Maps estimated I would make it with only a couple minutes to spare before totality set in. With NS having a yard there, at least there was guaranteed to be some power sitting around to use as a prop. Another idea was to find Conneaut-based local C62 out on the main, which for the longest time has had NS 3452 as its leader, the only snoot nose SD40 remaining on the NS roster. Their present location at the time was somewhere near Erie. Aidan being about 15 minutes ahead of me decided to go look for them once he was across the PA state line. The skies had begun to open up just as I crossed into Pennsylvania, finally seeing the sun for the first time that day. The more Aidan drove around, the less he wanted to continue west, thus I followed suit and exited the highway around North East, PA. I veered towards the NS main in town to check for C62 since they have three customers nearby. Alas I didn't see them, but instead kn my scanner heard 15M somewhere east of the NY state line. Then, a call from C62 to get a signal to run around their train and head home to Conneaut. Within a few minutes of hearing that, Aidan stumbled upon them returning west, so they were now out of the question. However, in the process he found a freshly rebuilt and painted C6M sitting near the GE Wabtec plant on the EEC interchange track. His mind was made up, and I vaguely knew where it was so I mapped my route and started heading towards him. Wanting to avoid the troopers, I stuck to the back roads between North East and the plant. Being only 15 minutes away, I now had plenty of time to spare before the eclipse. Along the way I passed a huge gathering of people, at least a few hundred, all sat out on someone's ranch property with a parking attendant to boot. A few more miles of driving and I rolled up on Aidan parked next to the old brand new engine. I think there was still about a half hour to go before the eclipse. Utilizing the special light filtering glasses everyone had bought leading up to it, we checked the sky and sure enough the moon was beginning to make its way into the sun's path. Within ten minutes of totality the sky darkened significantly, and the temperature drop was quite noticeable. I crossed NS at one point to go check the signals on CSX, which runs parallel to NS through the area. Nothing was lined through at that time, however on the horizon to the east there was suddenly a headlight on NS. I had jokingly said a little while prior "watch 15M stop next to us." Sure enough it was all red going west on the main near the interchange track switch. It seems D&H dispatch allowed 15M the courtesy of being able to stop and enjoy the show. Watch parties could be heard in the surrounding neighborhoods as people blew on horns and set fireworks off in the afternoon twilight. The coolest part to me was the horizon, that warm glow all around us in one big ring. It was comparable to storm lighting, but not quite the same coloration. Approaching THE moment, there were some patches of clouds making their way towards the sun, but thankfully they were thin enough not to affect the visibility. Totality was estimated to be close to four minutes up here in the northeast. I've had smaller windows of time to work with for industry shots, but in this case four minutes didn't feel like nearly enough. Three minutes and 43 seconds actually to be precise. Going super wide and low to the ground, managing to frame the NS logo with the sky, I was entirely satisfied with what we came away with, although initially I had wished the engine was facing east to get the nose. Aidan managed a bonus shot of the reflection of the sky in the cab window, while I was afew seconds too late to jump on it, as that's when the eclipse started to let off. To think for a full hour cities across the U.S. got to experience this phenomenon one by one, it's something I truly won't forget. Further west in central Ohio I know some people managed shots with the old B&O signals as props under the eclipse, but I wouldn't trade this shot for anything. As sunlight flooded back onto the ground, 15M was granted their light to continue west. A local videographer back near Buffalo managed to catch a few CSX trains carrying on with business as usual during the course of totality. I feel for anyone on an eastbound that day who didn't get to pause and enjoy this. Immediately after, I set out for Cleveland to go find C46, having confirmed they were on duty first. Figuring I was already halfway there, and being Monday meant it was a Silverplate Branch day, I said what the hey and continued the day trip. With plenty of daylight left, why let it go to waste? Carpé diem.

I have to admit. Hollywood studios was a bit of a disappointment to me. While it does have my favorite ride of any park (Aerosmith's Rock'n Roller Coaster) and my favorite single attraction (Animation Academy)...those are really the only two things I enjoyed. I did Star Tours. It was ok at best. Tower of Terror...overhyped IMHO. The Pixar section of the park was tiny and so crowded you could hardly move. Don't get me wrong. I'm glad I went to the park...but I wouldn't be bummed if I went back again soon and missed the park.

This is a three shot HDR combined in Photomatix Pro and finished in Lr3.

It looks much better full sized, so press L to view it that way.

Please press F if you like it!

I had to replace the dead Canon AE1 but didn't want to spend fortunes on overpriced overhyped SLRs so i have opted for a 2001 Nikon F80 with a 50mm 1.8 lens for under £100. and i'm happy to announce it was a great decision. It's a brilliant camera!

---------------

Nikon F80

50mm 1.8

Kodak ColorPlus 200

Full disclosure - I started gaming on an Atari 2600 back in 1981. I survived the "crash" of 83 with my twitch reflexes intact, though I didn't get an NES until summer 1988 (my parents bought it for me after finishing sixth grade). The only Nintendo consoles I didn't own were the Virtual Boy and Wii. I had a PS1 and a PS2 and loved both.

I went with Xbox 360 this last generation because

1) the PS3 was WAY overpriced, tried to do too much, and reeked of Sony trying to dictate to the market with its overhyped "Cell" processor

2) Xbox Live looked awesome

3) Call of Duty 2

4) A little Gran Turismo replacement called Forza 2

Even with the red ring of death, I have not regretted it, or the money sunk into Xbox Live. There have been some amazing games on the system that I have thoroughly enjoyed. And playing with my friends all over the country (and in some cases, world) was a blast.

But Microsoft has gone too far. They've made the mistake of clarifying the rumors, and the ones I find the most irksome and unsettling are the always online requirement and the burdensome requirements for sharing/used games.

It was a great ride, MS, don't get me wrong. But unless your system undercuts the PS4 by 200 bucks, there's no way I'm getting an X-Bone.

And Sony, if you're listening, if you pull the same crap with PS4, I just won't get either until one or the other cuts the crap.

I've got a Wii U and I LOVE it. I would eventually like a Blu-Ray playing console, though. So the first company that ditches these draconian measures gets my wife's hard-earned money.

Christmas has become an overhyped, over-commercialized drinking, eating and spending frenzy. And the ones who can afford to do that tend to forget that there are many for whom Christmas is not so happy, not so rich.

That is why I am asking you for a minute. Please stop stuffing yourself with food and drinks. And think about children who are not as lucky as you are and as your kids or your neighbours kids.

There is this organization called CARF The Children At Risk Foundation. It deals with streetkids all over the world to give them a better chance to survive and to a better life.

Marília took the innitiative to spread the word on Flickr and I am hopefully contributing a little bit to this good cause by posting this message.

Visit this link and donate an amount of money that you can miss to give a streetkid somewhere in the world a better life. Lots have done it before you, including myself. Make this world a better place, if you can. Thanks for your time and I wish you a Smiling Good Christmas.

- Lyrics by Scott Davis -

As the snow flies

On a cold and gray chicago mornin’

A poor little baby child is born

In the ghetto

And his mama cries

’cause if there’s one thing that she don’t need

It’s another hungry mouth to feed

In the ghetto

People, don’t you understand

The child needs a helping hand

Or he’ll grow to be an angry young man some day

Take a look at you and me,

Are we too blind to see,

Do we simply turn our heads

And look the other way

Well the world turns

And a hungry little boy with a runny nose

Plays in the street as the cold wind blows

In the ghetto

And his hunger burns

So he starts to roam the streets at night

And he learns how to steal

And he learns how to fight

In the ghetto

Then one night in desperation

A young man breaks away

He buys a gun, steals a car,

Tries to run, but he don’t get far

And his mama cries

As a crowd gathers ’round an angry young man

Face down on the street with a gun in his hand

In the ghetto

As her young man dies,

On a cold and gray chicago mornin’,

Another little baby child is born

In the ghetto

it was not too bad, but overhyped for 'hokkaido milk' :P

2-Mar-11 The Postmistress by Sarah Blake (nook)

"A brutally horrifying portrait of the tragedies of war.

The recurring theme of mothers losing their young sons had reached into my heart and twisted it every time. This book had be reaching for chocolate chip cookies late at night, coz the world is just too scary otherwise.

Quotes from the book:

When he said the boys would not fight in foreign wars, we believed him, though we had listened to the names of the French towns falling the way people listen to the names of medicine before they are taken ill themselves.

When we know there are people in need, right now, in the same breath as what we are breathing, we cannot look away. It is not abstract. We have to go. That is humanity. The whole thing relies on it. Human beings do not look away.

And the patrician habit of deflecting strong passion or insight first into calmer waters, to reflect, to take stock, belonged to her mother's generation.

- the world might not bear to hurt a newly pregnant woman. maybe there was a clause, not divine exactly, but primordial, in which harm would stop short at the gate - seeing the woman crossing her hand resting on her belly - and neither lift the latch nor step across.

""She believes that if you are in the world without parents or someone who loves you, you are invisible. That no one sees you because no one needs to. No one needs to watch out for you.

"

6-Mar-11 The Star of Kazan by Eva Ibbotson (librarywala.com)

"Another delightful piece of escapist fiction, this one without any ghosts. But Ibbotson rarely disappoints me. This book is just what an older children's book should be. Horses, dogs and happy endings galore!

Quotes from the book:

It was a lovely church - one of those places which look as thought God might be about to give a marvelous party.

He was a scientist - a geologist - and lectured in the university, where he told the students about fluorspar and granite and how to hit rocks with a hammer so that they did not get splinter in their eyes.

Having a harp is rather like having a large and wayward child who has to be carried about and kept from draughts and helped into carriages, and Professor Gertrude - like many harpists - often looked worried and dismayed.

Then there was the food. The Viennese really liked to eat. Wonderful cooking smells wafted through the streets - vanilla and freshly ground coffee; cinnamon and sauerkraut. Even cucumber salad, which in other cities hardly smelt at all, had its own scent in Vienna.

It was an antiquarian bookshop, which meant that the books that were sold in it were old ones. It also meant that not many people came into the shop. No one quite knew how Herr Koblitz, who owned it, made a living. He was not a sociable man and whenever anyone tried to buy a book he hadn't finished reading, he became grumpy and annoyed."

8-Mar-11 He Calls Her Doc by Mary Brady (nook)

Tedious. Nothing happens, really. And then they lived happily ever after.

10-Mar-11 Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford (nook)

"A lovely book. Touching at times, but very very real. The characters live and breathe and break hearts and fix hearts …and listen to jazz.

Quotes from the book:

Father believed in a government of the people but was wary of who those people were.

Henry had heard about the looting that had begun the night before in some neighbourhoods. Families hadn't even left, and people strolled right in and took lamps, furniture, anything that wasn’t nailed down. If it was, they had claw hammers to fix that too.

His father had said once that the hardest choices in life aren't between what's right and what's wrong but between what's right and what's best. The best thing was to let her go. And Henry had done just that."

16-Mar-11 The Lake of Dreams by Kim Edwards

"A beautifully written book about mostly unlikeable characters. Perhaps I had rather high expectations from the woman who wrote The Memory Keeper's Daughter. But I can't say I did not like this book. It may not be in the same league as her first work, but this one is a must read for all fans of Edwards.

Quotes from the book:

""I don’t know. There are forks in the road that I've second-guessed for years. But I can't do any of it over. We made the best decision we could at the time. And even if you're right, Lucy, even if Blake is making a mistake, it's his mistake to make. I have to stay out of it.""

I wanted to pretend the intervening years had never happened, that Keegan and I were still in that time before loss.

The rights I took for granted seemed suddenly very new, measured against the centuries."

25-Mar-11 A Discovery Of Witches by Deborah Harkness (nook)

"Overhyped and tedious, a book without an ending, and with a heroine who spends most of her time fainting, resting, being carried around and eating. In all fairness she should have got as fat as a pig by the end of the almost 600 pages of this silly book.

Quotes from the book:

My aunt Sarah had always warned me it wasn't possible fr one witch to lie to another, but that hadn't stopped me from trying.

Sarah always said that conversations with daemons were impossible, because they began in the middle.

The number of black trousers and leggings I owned was mind-boggling, all with different degrees of spandex, but most were splotched with tea, boat grease or both.

He made tea, then rubbed my feet while I drank it. Did he also wag his tail and lick your toes?

"

28-Mar-11 Journey to the River Sea by Eva Ibbotson (librarywala.com)

Delightful. I don’t see how I can bear to return this back to the library. I'll have to buy my own copy of this tale of an orphan schoolgirl who goes to live with relations in the Amazon… and finds the adventure of a lifetime.

“For Boys – Girls – Hunters – Campers – Everybody! The Most Amazing Sun Watch in the World! The Timepiece of Adventure. Just look at what it does: (1) Tells Time, (2) Weather Forecasting, (3) Glow-in-the-dark Compass, (4) Durable Plastic Strap, (5) 6-Power Magnifying, (6) World’s Smallest Ball Point Pen, (7) Signaling Mirror, (8) Find the North Star and Constellations, (9) Morse Code. Amazing value, $1.98.

“You’ll be the envy of all your friends when you wear this sensational 9-way wonder – the amazing patented new TELZALL SUN WATCH. It’s the only watch of its kind in the world. This tickless time piece tells the sun time . . . nothing to go out of order. . .” [From the ad copy]

[Note: While it might seem like an overhyped sundial with a few extra gadgets, it undoubtedly captured the imagination of many back in 1950! By the way, $1.98 in 1950 has the same "buying power" as $25.93 in 2025. I think I might have settled for a real watch.]

www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qd5H0wndwGw

Happily crossing over into 2022 Case P and ironically in bigger quantities than its debut assortment. From overhyped and hard to find to overlooked in just one batch! For me its still a looker especially in this glossy black finish.

Found recently at The Entertainer.

Mint and boxed.

So over the last two or three weeks I’ve grown accustomed to the sound of the Nuforce Icon HDP and Quad QPM1 combination. The HDP has been connected to the iMac via the supplied generic USB cable supplied in the box. The Quads have had the audio signal passed to them via a couple of Monster Audio 250 Interlink phono cables. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been working late on the computer and listening to music with a pair of Sennheiser HD 238 ‘phones plugged into the HDP. Although the sound from the Quads has been pretty damn good it struck me that the sound from the 238’s was a bit punchier, cleaner, smoother and had a far better sense of depth and airiness around the instruments. Now these are good, but not great, cans. They certainly sound much better through the HDP than they do through my iPhone. It’s clear the HDP has far more power available to drive them properly. But they are not in the same audio league as the Quads.

So why did they sound better? What I was hearing from the Quads was beginning to annoy me. Complex passages of music, be it driving rock or orchestral pieces, were indistinct and lacked pace and dynamism. Compared to the headphones the sound was nowhere near as refined and articulate. At times with the headphones on I forgot I was wearing them and I was convinced sounds were actually coming from the room around me. I didn’t get this effect with the Quads.

Surely it couldn’t be the cables? As far as I was aware all the USB cable had to do was feed a bunch of zeros and ones along some copper and into the HDP DAC. Being digital, I wasn’t convinced the signal could degrade enough over the metre length of the cable to make much difference to the DAC. Then I started looking into it and discovered that cable manufacturers were adamant that jitter and timing errors could have a significant effect on the DAC’s ability to convert the data stream without introducing a detrimental effect on the audio fidelity. I have to admit that I was quite sceptical about this. But then again it all seemed quite technical and the more I read the more I began to be persuaded there might just be something in their claims. Also from my experience of the Quad 12l2’s in the front room hooked up to the Arcam with Audioquest Indigo cable I was sure the Quad QPMs should sound a hell of a lot better than they currently did.

The Wireworld Ultraviolet USB cable was getting rave reviews from the likes of What Hi-fi and they’re generally fairly reliable. I decided to take the plunge. I’ve always thought that the rule of allocating 10% of your expenditure on the audio gear should be allocated to cabling was a sensible one. I’ve never regretted any of the cable upgrades I’ve made in the past. So the Wireworld cable might sort out some of the digital confusion but I then had to deal with the analogue side.

I’ve never really rated Monster Cables. I think they’re overhyped and any cable manufacturer that flogs their wares in an electrical shop that also sells washing machines and fridges has got to be a bit a bit suspect. I’d only bought the 250 interconnect as a last resort because I couldn’t be bothered making the trip into town to by something better. I had a hunch the 250 cable was basically junk. Having read great reviews on the Chord Crimson Plus interconnect I decided I’d give it a try. What Hi-fi (again) had awarded it best cable of the year. It seemed to possess all the characteristics I was looking for. Transparency, neutrality, openness, good bass control, improved dynamics, great detail and acoustic delay. And quite affordable.

Knowing that poor cabling was very probably the root of my problems I was excited to try out the cables. I got home today and rewired the system and fired up the iMac. I can honestly say that the difference was immediately apparent. Anybody that tells you that cabling doesn’t make a difference to the quality of your system has never actually tried changing their wiring.

The difference really is immense. I was quite surprised and thrilled to hear the difference the new wiring made. Well worth the investment. Everything suddenly makes sonic sense. Everything is placed properly across the sound stage. The balance that the recording engineer intended is immediately apparent. A sense of scale and dynamics, sorely missing before, has been restored. The sense that you’re there with the musicians right in front of you is now evident. This, really, is what the hi-fi enthusiast is really striving for. Finally, it’s all come together. For the sound quality I now have in my first truly dedicated computer based audiophile grade audio system I'm delighted. And for the price I paid, a bargain. Plus it will last a lifetime.

Buy decent audio gear while your ears are still capable of hearing it!

TRENDY LONDON FIXEDGEAR NIKE AIRMAX TURD. DON'T BELIEVE THE HYPE

LOMO Cosmic Symbol

Fujicolor 200 35

my breakfast - smoked salmon & poached egg on buttered country loaf. well, my poached egg is not perfect but at least, the yolks are runny! YAY. didn't make the hollandaise sauce coz no tarragon, not enough vinegar.

brunch is totally overhyped & overpriced. for someone who cant afford that, i'll hv to make do with recreates at home LOL

So over the last two or three weeks I’ve grown accustomed to the sound of the Nuforce Icon HDP and Quad QPM1 combination. The HDP has been connected to the iMac via the supplied generic USB cable supplied in the box. The Quads have had the audio signal passed to them via a couple of Monster Audio 250 Interlink phono cables. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been working late on the computer and listening to music with a pair of Sennheiser HD 238 ‘phones plugged into the HDP. Although the sound from the Quads has been pretty damn good it struck me that the sound from the 238’s was a bit punchier, cleaner, smoother and had a far better sense of depth and airiness around the instruments. Now these are good, but not great, cans. They certainly sound much better through the HDP than they do through my iPhone. It’s clear the HDP has far more power available to drive them properly. But they are not in the same audio league as the Quads.

So why did they sound better? What I was hearing from the Quads was beginning to annoy me. Complex passages of music, be it driving rock or orchestral pieces, were indistinct and lacked pace and dynamism. Compared to the headphones the sound was nowhere near as refined and articulate. At times with the headphones on I forgot I was wearing them and I was convinced sounds were actually coming from the room around me. I didn’t get this effect with the Quads.

Surely it couldn’t be the cables? As far as I was aware all the USB cable had to do was feed a bunch of zeros and ones along some copper and into the HDP DAC. Being digital, I wasn’t convinced the signal could degrade enough over the metre length of the cable to make much difference to the DAC. Then I started looking into it and discovered that cable manufacturers were adamant that jitter and timing errors could have a significant effect on the DAC’s ability to convert the data stream without introducing a detrimental effect on the audio fidelity. I have to admit that I was quite sceptical about this. But then again it all seemed quite technical and the more I read the more I began to be persuaded there might just be something in their claims. Also from my experience of the Quad 12l2’s in the front room hooked up to the Arcam with Audioquest Indigo cable I was sure the Quad QPMs should sound a hell of a lot better than they currently did.

The Wireworld Ultraviolet USB cable was getting rave reviews from the likes of What Hi-fi and they’re generally fairly reliable. I decided to take the plunge. I’ve always thought that the rule of allocating 10% of your expenditure on the audio gear should be allocated to cabling was a sensible one. I’ve never regretted any of the cable upgrades I’ve made in the past. So the Wireworld cable might sort out some of the digital confusion but I then had to deal with the analogue side.

I’ve never really rated Monster Cables. I think they’re overhyped and any cable manufacturer that flogs their wares in an electrical shop that also sells washing machines and fridges has got to be a bit a bit suspect. I’d only bought the 250 interconnect as a last resort because I couldn’t be bothered making the trip into town to by something better. I had a hunch the 250 cable was basically junk. Having read great reviews on the Chord Crimson Plus interconnect I decided I’d give it a try. What Hi-fi (again) had awarded it best cable of the year. It seemed to possess all the characteristics I was looking for. Transparency, neutrality, openness, good bass control, improved dynamics, great detail and acoustic delay. And quite affordable.

Knowing that poor cabling was very probably the root of my problems I was excited to try out the cables. I got home today and rewired the system and fired up the iMac. I can honestly say that the difference was immediately apparent. Anybody that tells you that cabling doesn’t make a difference to the quality of your system has never actually tried changing their wiring.

The difference really is immense. I was quite surprised and thrilled to hear the difference the new wiring made. Well worth the investment. Everything suddenly makes sonic sense. Everything is placed properly across the sound stage. The balance that the recording engineer intended is immediately apparent. A sense of scale and dynamics, sorely missing before, has been restored. The sense that you’re there with the musicians right in front of you is now evident. This, really, is what the hi-fi enthusiast is really striving for. Finally, it’s all come together. For the sound quality I now have in my first truly dedicated computer based audiophile grade audio system I'm delighted. And for the price I paid, a bargain. Plus it will last a lifetime.

Buy decent audio gear while your ears are still capable of hearing it!

This picture is #526 in my 100 strangers project. Find out more about the project and see pictures taken by other photographers at the 100 Strangers Flickr Group page

Having a Coke outdoors, Morgan seemed relaxed and approachable. She was. A native of Sarasota, she graduated from nearby Riverview High School. I commented about how Venice High School dominates Riverview in Football. She was unaware and uninterested.

Now she works at the recently opened, University Town Center Mall. Specifically at Sephora, a store as familiar to me as football is to Morgan. “We sell fragrances and make-up.” That explains why. She agreed with me that the new mall is overhyped – overdone and oversold. But the pay is higher than other stores, so what can you say?

A few minutes later I was driving, and Morgan came flying by on her bicycle. She seems like an individualist.

Thank you, Morgan, for allowing me to photograph you for the 100 Strangers Flickr group.

Christmas has become an overhyped, over-commercialized drinking, eating and spending frenzy. And the ones who can afford to do that tend to forget that there are many for whom Christmas is not so happy, not so rich. That is why I am asking you for a minute. Please stop stuffing yourself with food and drinks. And think about children who are not as lucky as you are and as your kids or your neighbours kids.

There is this organization called CARF The Children At Risk Foundation. It deals with streetkids all over the world to give them a better chance to survive and to a better life.

Marília took the innitiative to spread the word on Flickr and I am hopefully contributing a little bit to this good cause by posting this message.

Visit this link and donate an amount of money that you can miss to give a streetkid somewhere in the world a better life. Lots have done it before you, including myself. Make this world a better place, if you can. Thanks for your time and I wish you a Smiling Good Christmas.

Read the article on opensource.com

Is the influence of social media overhyped?

Created by Critter for opensource.com

So over the last two or three weeks I’ve grown accustomed to the sound of the Nuforce Icon HDP and Quad QPM1 combination. The HDP has been connected to the iMac via the supplied generic USB cable supplied in the box. The Quads have had the audio signal passed to them via a couple of Monster Audio 250 Interlink phono cables. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been working late on the computer and listening to music with a pair of Sennheiser HD 238 ‘phones plugged into the HDP. Although the sound from the Quads has been pretty damn good it struck me that the sound from the 238’s was a bit punchier, cleaner, smoother and had a far better sense of depth and airiness around the instruments. Now these are good, but not great, cans. They certainly sound much better through the HDP than they do through my iPhone. It’s clear the HDP has far more power available to drive them properly. But they are not in the same audio league as the Quads.

So why did they sound better? What I was hearing from the Quads was beginning to annoy me. Complex passages of music, be it driving rock or orchestral pieces, were indistinct and lacked pace and dynamism. Compared to the headphones the sound was nowhere near as refined and articulate. At times with the headphones on I forgot I was wearing them and I was convinced sounds were actually coming from the room around me. I didn’t get this effect with the Quads.

Surely it couldn’t be the cables? As far as I was aware all the USB cable had to do was feed a bunch of zeros and ones along some copper and into the HDP DAC. Being digital, I wasn’t convinced the signal could degrade enough over the metre length of the cable to make much difference to the DAC. Then I started looking into it and discovered that cable manufacturers were adamant that jitter and timing errors could have a significant effect on the DAC’s ability to convert the data stream without introducing a detrimental effect on the audio fidelity. I have to admit that I was quite sceptical about this. But then again it all seemed quite technical and the more I read the more I began to be persuaded there might just be something in their claims. Also from my experience of the Quad 12l2’s in the front room hooked up to the Arcam with Audioquest Indigo cable I was sure the Quad QPMs should sound a hell of a lot better than they currently did.

The Wireworld Ultraviolet USB cable was getting rave reviews from the likes of What Hi-fi and they’re generally fairly reliable. I decided to take the plunge. I’ve always thought that the rule of allocating 10% of your expenditure on the audio gear should be allocated to cabling was a sensible one. I’ve never regretted any of the cable upgrades I’ve made in the past. So the Wireworld cable might sort out some of the digital confusion but I then had to deal with the analogue side.

I’ve never really rated Monster Cables. I think they’re overhyped and any cable manufacturer that flogs their wares in an electrical shop that also sells washing machines and fridges has got to be a bit a bit suspect. I’d only bought the 250 interconnect as a last resort because I couldn’t be bothered making the trip into town to by something better. I had a hunch the 250 cable was basically junk. Having read great reviews on the Chord Crimson Plus interconnect I decided I’d give it a try. What Hi-fi (again) had awarded it best cable of the year. It seemed to possess all the characteristics I was looking for. Transparency, neutrality, openness, good bass control, improved dynamics, great detail and acoustic delay. And quite affordable.

Knowing that poor cabling was very probably the root of my problems I was excited to try out the cables. I got home today and rewired the system and fired up the iMac. I can honestly say that the difference was immediately apparent. Anybody that tells you that cabling doesn’t make a difference to the quality of your system has never actually tried changing their wiring.

The difference really is immense. I was quite surprised and thrilled to hear the difference the new wiring made. Well worth the investment. Everything suddenly makes sonic sense. Everything is placed properly across the sound stage. The balance that the recording engineer intended is immediately apparent. A sense of scale and dynamics, sorely missing before, has been restored. The sense that you’re there with the musicians right in front of you is now evident. This, really, is what the hi-fi enthusiast is really striving for. Finally, it’s all come together. For the sound quality I now have in my first truly dedicated computer based audiophile grade audio system I'm delighted. And for the price I paid, a bargain. Plus it will last a lifetime.

Buy decent audio gear while your ears are still capable of hearing it!

So over the last two or three weeks I’ve grown accustomed to the sound of the Nuforce Icon HDP and Quad QPM1 combination. The HDP has been connected to the iMac via the supplied generic USB cable supplied in the box. The Quads have had the audio signal passed to them via a couple of Monster Audio 250 Interlink phono cables. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been working late on the computer and listening to music with a pair of Sennheiser HD 238 ‘phones plugged into the HDP. Although the sound from the Quads has been pretty damn good it struck me that the sound from the 238’s was a bit punchier, cleaner, smoother and had a far better sense of depth and airiness around the instruments. Now these are good, but not great, cans. They certainly sound much better through the HDP than they do through my iPhone. It’s clear the HDP has far more power available to drive them properly. But they are not in the same audio league as the Quads.

So why did they sound better? What I was hearing from the Quads was beginning to annoy me. Complex passages of music, be it driving rock or orchestral pieces, were indistinct and lacked pace and dynamism. Compared to the headphones the sound was nowhere near as refined and articulate. At times with the headphones on I forgot I was wearing them and I was convinced sounds were actually coming from the room around me. I didn’t get this effect with the Quads.

Surely it couldn’t be the cables? As far as I was aware all the USB cable had to do was feed a bunch of zeros and ones along some copper and into the HDP DAC. Being digital, I wasn’t convinced the signal could degrade enough over the metre length of the cable to make much difference to the DAC. Then I started looking into it and discovered that cable manufacturers were adamant that jitter and timing errors could have a significant effect on the DAC’s ability to convert the data stream without introducing a detrimental effect on the audio fidelity. I have to admit that I was quite sceptical about this. But then again it all seemed quite technical and the more I read the more I began to be persuaded there might just be something in their claims. Also from my experience of the Quad 12l2’s in the front room hooked up to the Arcam with Audioquest Indigo cable I was sure the Quad QPMs should sound a hell of a lot better than they currently did.

The Wireworld Ultraviolet USB cable was getting rave reviews from the likes of What Hi-fi and they’re generally fairly reliable. I decided to take the plunge. I’ve always thought that the rule of allocating 10% of your expenditure on the audio gear should be allocated to cabling was a sensible one. I’ve never regretted any of the cable upgrades I’ve made in the past. So the Wireworld cable might sort out some of the digital confusion but I then had to deal with the analogue side.

I’ve never really rated Monster Cables. I think they’re overhyped and any cable manufacturer that flogs their wares in an electrical shop that also sells washing machines and fridges has got to be a bit a bit suspect. I’d only bought the 250 interconnect as a last resort because I couldn’t be bothered making the trip into town to by something better. I had a hunch the 250 cable was basically junk. Having read great reviews on the Chord Crimson Plus interconnect I decided I’d give it a try. What Hi-fi (again) had awarded it best cable of the year. It seemed to possess all the characteristics I was looking for. Transparency, neutrality, openness, good bass control, improved dynamics, great detail and acoustic delay. And quite affordable.

Knowing that poor cabling was very probably the root of my problems I was excited to try out the cables. I got home today and rewired the system and fired up the iMac. I can honestly say that the difference was immediately apparent. Anybody that tells you that cabling doesn’t make a difference to the quality of your system has never actually tried changing their wiring.

The difference really is immense. I was quite surprised and thrilled to hear the difference the new wiring made. Well worth the investment. Everything suddenly makes sonic sense. Everything is placed properly across the sound stage. The balance that the recording engineer intended is immediately apparent. A sense of scale and dynamics, sorely missing before, has been restored. The sense that you’re there with the musicians right in front of you is now evident. This, really, is what the hi-fi enthusiast is really striving for. Finally, it’s all come together. For the sound quality I now have in my first truly dedicated computer based audiophile grade audio system I'm delighted. And for the price I paid, a bargain. Plus it will last a lifetime.

Buy decent audio gear while your ears are still capable of hearing it!

So over the last two or three weeks I’ve grown accustomed to the sound of the Nuforce Icon HDP and Quad QPM1 combination. The HDP has been connected to the iMac via the supplied generic USB cable supplied in the box. The Quads have had the audio signal passed to them via a couple of Monster Audio 250 Interlink phono cables. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been working late on the computer and listening to music with a pair of Sennheiser HD 238 ‘phones plugged into the HDP. Although the sound from the Quads has been pretty damn good it struck me that the sound from the 238’s was a bit punchier, cleaner, smoother and had a far better sense of depth and airiness around the instruments. Now these are good, but not great, cans. They certainly sound much better through the HDP than they do through my iPhone. It’s clear the HDP has far more power available to drive them properly. But they are not in the same audio league as the Quads.

So why did they sound better? What I was hearing from the Quads was beginning to annoy me. Complex passages of music, be it driving rock or orchestral pieces, were indistinct and lacked pace and dynamism. Compared to the headphones the sound was nowhere near as refined and articulate. At times with the headphones on I forgot I was wearing them and I was convinced sounds were actually coming from the room around me. I didn’t get this effect with the Quads.

Surely it couldn’t be the cables? As far as I was aware all the USB cable had to do was feed a bunch of zeros and ones along some copper and into the HDP DAC. Being digital, I wasn’t convinced the signal could degrade enough over the metre length of the cable to make much difference to the DAC. Then I started looking into it and discovered that cable manufacturers were adamant that jitter and timing errors could have a significant effect on the DAC’s ability to convert the data stream without introducing a detrimental effect on the audio fidelity. I have to admit that I was quite sceptical about this. But then again it all seemed quite technical and the more I read the more I began to be persuaded there might just be something in their claims. Also from my experience of the Quad 12l2’s in the front room hooked up to the Arcam with Audioquest Indigo cable I was sure the Quad QPMs should sound a hell of a lot better than they currently did.

The Wireworld Ultraviolet USB cable was getting rave reviews from the likes of What Hi-fi and they’re generally fairly reliable. I decided to take the plunge. I’ve always thought that the rule of allocating 10% of your expenditure on the audio gear should be allocated to cabling was a sensible one. I’ve never regretted any of the cable upgrades I’ve made in the past. So the Wireworld cable might sort out some of the digital confusion but I then had to deal with the analogue side.

I’ve never really rated Monster Cables. I think they’re overhyped and any cable manufacturer that flogs their wares in an electrical shop that also sells washing machines and fridges has got to be a bit a bit suspect. I’d only bought the 250 interconnect as a last resort because I couldn’t be bothered making the trip into town to by something better. I had a hunch the 250 cable was basically junk. Having read great reviews on the Chord Crimson Plus interconnect I decided I’d give it a try. What Hi-fi (again) had awarded it best cable of the year. It seemed to possess all the characteristics I was looking for. Transparency, neutrality, openness, good bass control, improved dynamics, great detail and acoustic delay. And quite affordable.

Knowing that poor cabling was very probably the root of my problems I was excited to try out the cables. I got home today and rewired the system and fired up the iMac. I can honestly say that the difference was immediately apparent. Anybody that tells you that cabling doesn’t make a difference to the quality of your system has never actually tried changing their wiring.

The difference really is immense. I was quite surprised and thrilled to hear the difference the new wiring made. Well worth the investment. Everything suddenly makes sonic sense. Everything is placed properly across the sound stage. The balance that the recording engineer intended is immediately apparent. A sense of scale and dynamics, sorely missing before, has been restored. The sense that you’re there with the musicians right in front of you is now evident. This, really, is what the hi-fi enthusiast is really striving for. Finally, it’s all come together. For the sound quality I now have in my first truly dedicated computer based audiophile grade audio system I'm delighted. And for the price I paid, a bargain. Plus it will last a lifetime.

Buy decent audio gear while your ears are still capable of hearing it!

So over the last two or three weeks I’ve grown accustomed to the sound of the Nuforce Icon HDP and Quad QPM1 combination. The HDP has been connected to the iMac via the supplied generic USB cable supplied in the box. The Quads have had the audio signal passed to them via a couple of Monster Audio 250 Interlink phono cables. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been working late on the computer and listening to music with a pair of Sennheiser HD 238 ‘phones plugged into the HDP. Although the sound from the Quads has been pretty damn good it struck me that the sound from the 238’s was a bit punchier, cleaner, smoother and had a far better sense of depth and airiness around the instruments. Now these are good, but not great, cans. They certainly sound much better through the HDP than they do through my iPhone. It’s clear the HDP has far more power available to drive them properly. But they are not in the same audio league as the Quads.

So why did they sound better? What I was hearing from the Quads was beginning to annoy me. Complex passages of music, be it driving rock or orchestral pieces, were indistinct and lacked pace and dynamism. Compared to the headphones the sound was nowhere near as refined and articulate. At times with the headphones on I forgot I was wearing them and I was convinced sounds were actually coming from the room around me. I didn’t get this effect with the Quads.

Surely it couldn’t be the cables? As far as I was aware all the USB cable had to do was feed a bunch of zeros and ones along some copper and into the HDP DAC. Being digital, I wasn’t convinced the signal could degrade enough over the metre length of the cable to make much difference to the DAC. Then I started looking into it and discovered that cable manufacturers were adamant that jitter and timing errors could have a significant effect on the DAC’s ability to convert the data stream without introducing a detrimental effect on the audio fidelity. I have to admit that I was quite sceptical about this. But then again it all seemed quite technical and the more I read the more I began to be persuaded there might just be something in their claims. Also from my experience of the Quad 12l2’s in the front room hooked up to the Arcam with Audioquest Indigo cable I was sure the Quad QPMs should sound a hell of a lot better than they currently did.

The Wireworld Ultraviolet USB cable was getting rave reviews from the likes of What Hi-fi and they’re generally fairly reliable. I decided to take the plunge. I’ve always thought that the rule of allocating 10% of your expenditure on the audio gear should be allocated to cabling was a sensible one. I’ve never regretted any of the cable upgrades I’ve made in the past. So the Wireworld cable might sort out some of the digital confusion but I then had to deal with the analogue side.

I’ve never really rated Monster Cables. I think they’re overhyped and any cable manufacturer that flogs their wares in an electrical shop that also sells washing machines and fridges has got to be a bit a bit suspect. I’d only bought the 250 interconnect as a last resort because I couldn’t be bothered making the trip into town to by something better. I had a hunch the 250 cable was basically junk. Having read great reviews on the Chord Crimson Plus interconnect I decided I’d give it a try. What Hi-fi (again) had awarded it best cable of the year. It seemed to possess all the characteristics I was looking for. Transparency, neutrality, openness, good bass control, improved dynamics, great detail and acoustic delay. And quite affordable.

Knowing that poor cabling was very probably the root of my problems I was excited to try out the cables. I got home today and rewired the system and fired up the iMac. I can honestly say that the difference was immediately apparent. Anybody that tells you that cabling doesn’t make a difference to the quality of your system has never actually tried changing their wiring.

The difference really is immense. I was quite surprised and thrilled to hear the difference the new wiring made. Well worth the investment. Everything suddenly makes sonic sense. Everything is placed properly across the sound stage. The balance that the recording engineer intended is immediately apparent. A sense of scale and dynamics, sorely missing before, has been restored. The sense that you’re there with the musicians right in front of you is now evident. This, really, is what the hi-fi enthusiast is really striving for. Finally, it’s all come together. For the sound quality I now have in my first truly dedicated computer based audiophile grade audio system. And for the price I paid, a bargain. Plus it will last a lifetime.

Buy decent audio gear while your ears are still capable of hearing it!

So over the last two or three weeks I’ve grown accustomed to the sound of the Nuforce Icon HDP and Quad QPM1 combination. The HDP has been connected to the iMac via the supplied generic USB cable supplied in the box. The Quads have had the audio signal passed to them via a couple of Monster Audio 250 Interlink phono cables. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been working late on the computer and listening to music with a pair of Sennheiser HD 238 ‘phones plugged into the HDP. Although the sound from the Quads has been pretty damn good it struck me that the sound from the 238’s was a bit punchier, cleaner, smoother and had a far better sense of depth and airiness around the instruments. Now these are good, but not great, cans. They certainly sound much better through the HDP than they do through my iPhone. It’s clear the HDP has far more power available to drive them properly. But they are not in the same audio league as the Quads.

So why did they sound better? What I was hearing from the Quads was beginning to annoy me. Complex passages of music, be it driving rock or orchestral pieces, were indistinct and lacked pace and dynamism. Compared to the headphones the sound was nowhere near as refined and articulate. At times with the headphones on I forgot I was wearing them and I was convinced sounds were actually coming from the room around me. I didn’t get this effect with the Quads.

Surely it couldn’t be the cables? As far as I was aware all the USB cable had to do was feed a bunch of zeros and ones along some copper and into the HDP DAC. Being digital, I wasn’t convinced the signal could degrade enough over the metre length of the cable to make much difference to the DAC. Then I started looking into it and discovered that cable manufacturers were adamant that jitter and timing errors could have a significant effect on the DAC’s ability to convert the data stream without introducing a detrimental effect on the audio fidelity. I have to admit that I was quite sceptical about this. But then again it all seemed quite technical and the more I read the more I began to be persuaded there might just be something in their claims. Also from my experience of the Quad 12l2’s in the front room hooked up to the Arcam with Audioquest Indigo cable I was sure the Quad QPMs should sound a hell of a lot better than they currently did.

The Wireworld Ultraviolet USB cable was getting rave reviews from the likes of What Hi-fi and they’re generally fairly reliable. I decided to take the plunge. I’ve always thought that the rule of allocating 10% of your expenditure on the audio gear should be allocated to cabling was a sensible one. I’ve never regretted any of the cable upgrades I’ve made in the past. So the Wireworld cable might sort out some of the digital confusion but I then had to deal with the analogue side.

I’ve never really rated Monster Cables. I think they’re overhyped and any cable manufacturer that flogs their wares in an electrical shop that also sells washing machines and fridges has got to be a bit a bit suspect. I’d only bought the 250 interconnect as a last resort because I couldn’t be bothered making the trip into town to by something better. I had a hunch the 250 cable was basically junk. Having read great reviews on the Chord Crimson Plus interconnect I decided I’d give it a try. What Hi-fi (again) had awarded it best cable of the year. It seemed to possess all the characteristics I was looking for. Transparency, neutrality, openness, good bass control, improved dynamics, great detail and acoustic delay. And quite affordable.

Knowing that poor cabling was very probably the root of my problems I was excited to try out the cables. I got home today and rewired the system and fired up the iMac. I can honestly say that the difference was immediately apparent. Anybody that tells you that cabling doesn’t make a difference to the quality of your system has never actually tried changing their wiring.

The difference really is immense. I was quite surprised and thrilled to hear the difference the new wiring made. Well worth the investment. Everything suddenly makes sonic sense. Everything is placed properly across the sound stage. The balance that the recording engineer intended is immediately apparent. A sense of scale and dynamics, sorely missing before, has been restored. The sense that you’re there with the musicians right in front of you is now evident. This, really, is what the hi-fi enthusiast is really striving for. Finally, it’s all come together. For the sound quality I now have in my first truly dedicated computer based audiophile grade audio system I'm delighted. And for the price I paid, a bargain. Plus it will last a lifetime.

Buy decent audio gear while your ears are still capable of hearing it!

So over the last two or three weeks I’ve grown accustomed to the sound of the Nuforce Icon HDP and Quad QPM1 combination. The HDP has been connected to the iMac via the supplied generic USB cable supplied in the box. The Quads have had the audio signal passed to them via a couple of Monster Audio 250 Interlink phono cables. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been working late on the computer and listening to music with a pair of Sennheiser HD 238 ‘phones plugged into the HDP. Although the sound from the Quads has been pretty damn good it struck me that the sound from the 238’s was a bit punchier, cleaner, smoother and had a far better sense of depth and airiness around the instruments. Now these are good, but not great, cans. They certainly sound much better through the HDP than they do through my iPhone. It’s clear the HDP has far more power available to drive them properly. But they are not in the same audio league as the Quads.

So why did they sound better? What I was hearing from the Quads was beginning to annoy me. Complex passages of music, be it driving rock or orchestral pieces, were indistinct and lacked pace and dynamism. Compared to the headphones the sound was nowhere near as refined and articulate. At times with the headphones on I forgot I was wearing them and I was convinced sounds were actually coming from the room around me. I didn’t get this effect with the Quads.

Surely it couldn’t be the cables? As far as I was aware all the USB cable had to do was feed a bunch of zeros and ones along some copper and into the HDP DAC. Being digital, I wasn’t convinced the signal could degrade enough over the metre length of the cable to make much difference to the DAC. Then I started looking into it and discovered that cable manufacturers were adamant that jitter and timing errors could have a significant effect on the DAC’s ability to convert the data stream without introducing a detrimental effect on the audio fidelity. I have to admit that I was quite sceptical about this. But then again it all seemed quite technical and the more I read the more I began to be persuaded there might just be something in their claims. Also from my experience of the Quad 12l2’s in the front room hooked up to the Arcam with Audioquest Indigo cable I was sure the Quad QPMs should sound a hell of a lot better than they currently did.

The Wireworld Ultraviolet USB cable was getting rave reviews from the likes of What Hi-fi and they’re generally fairly reliable. I decided to take the plunge. I’ve always thought that the rule of allocating 10% of your expenditure on the audio gear should be allocated to cabling was a sensible one. I’ve never regretted any of the cable upgrades I’ve made in the past. So the Wireworld cable might sort out some of the digital confusion but I then had to deal with the analogue side.

I’ve never really rated Monster Cables. I think they’re overhyped and any cable manufacturer that flogs their wares in an electrical shop that also sells washing machines and fridges has got to be a bit a bit suspect. I’d only bought the 250 interconnect as a last resort because I couldn’t be bothered making the trip into town to by something better. I had a hunch the 250 cable was basically junk. Having read great reviews on the Chord Crimson Plus interconnect I decided I’d give it a try. What Hi-fi (again) had awarded it best cable of the year. It seemed to possess all the characteristics I was looking for. Transparency, neutrality, openness, good bass control, improved dynamics, great detail and acoustic delay. And quite affordable.

Knowing that poor cabling was very probably the root of my problems I was excited to try out the cables. I got home today and rewired the system and fired up the iMac. I can honestly say that the difference was immediately apparent. Anybody that tells you that cabling doesn’t make a difference to the quality of your system has never actually tried changing their wiring.

The difference really is immense. I was quite surprised and thrilled to hear the difference the new wiring made. Well worth the investment. Everything suddenly makes sonic sense. Everything is placed properly across the sound stage. The balance that the recording engineer intended is immediately apparent. A sense of scale and dynamics, sorely missing before, has been restored. The sense that you’re there with the musicians right in front of you is now evident. This, really, is what the hi-fi enthusiast is really striving for. Finally, it’s all come together. For the sound quality I now have in my first truly dedicated computer based audiophile grade audio system I'm delighted. And for the price I paid, a bargain. Plus it will last a lifetime.

Buy decent audio gear while your ears are still capable of hearing it!

I wanted to make this comparison to highlight that the supermoon isn't really that much larger than normal. Personally I think the xupermoon is overhyped for what it is, and that it's hard to tell visually that the moon is larger or smaller, unless you do a direct comparison like this.

I had originally photographed the supermoon [back in March](www.reddit.com/r/astrophotography/comments/b3sdga/full_mo...), but it wasn't until recently that I could get a micromoon to go along with it. My supermoon photo isn't as sharp as my micromoon photo. Looking at the timestamps from when I photographed it, the supermoon was only 10 degrees high in the sky, which intorduced a **lot** of atmospheric distortion. I also captured/stacked more frames for the micromoon, which helped increase its sharpness.

The angular diameters and distances were taken from a planetarium program called Stellarium. I compared the pixel measurements of my photos to the values calculated by Stellarium, and the discrepancy was only 0.22%.

Another thing to note is that the moon has "wobbled" slightly between the two photos. This effect is known as [libration](en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Libration), and can be seen pretty well in [some of my](www.reddit.com/r/astrophotography/comments/9rkrwz/4_night...) previous [lunar time lapses](www.reddit.com/r/astrophotography/comments/c64x7o/11_nigh...), as well as [this time lapse by /u/ajamesmccarthy](www.reddit.com/r/space/comments/bqllnq/i_took_a_few_shots...). I'm currently processing a 10 night time lapse I took starting September 7th which should also show the libration effect.

**Equipment:**

* TPO 6" F/4 Imaging Newtonian

* ZWO ASI1600MM-Pro

* Skywatcher Quattro Coma Corrector

* ZWO EFW 8x1.25"/31mm

* Astronomik LRGB+CLS Filters- 31mm

* Moonlite Autofocuser

**Acquisition:** (Camera at Unity Gain, -20°C for supermoon, -10°C for micromoon)

* Astronomik Red filter used to combat atmospheric seeing

* Exposure- 0.213ms for supermoon, 1.115ms for micromoon

* 1000 frame capture for supermoon

* 2000 frame capture for micromoon

**Capture Software:**

* Captured using Sharpcap and [N.I.N.A.](nighttime-imaging.eu/) for filterwheel and focuser control

**Processing:**

* Supermoon: Best 10% of frames stacked in Autostakkert!3

* Micromoon: Best 25% of frames stacked

* Registax Wavelets for sharpening on both images

* Level and curve adjustments in Photoshop

* Images combined and annotated in Photoshop

So over the last two or three weeks I’ve grown accustomed to the sound of the Nuforce Icon HDP and Quad QPM1 combination. The HDP has been connected to the iMac via the supplied generic USB cable supplied in the box. The Quads have had the audio signal passed to them via a couple of Monster Audio 250 Interlink phono cables. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been working late on the computer and listening to music with a pair of Sennheiser HD 238 ‘phones plugged into the HDP. Although the sound from the Quads has been pretty damn good it struck me that the sound from the 238’s was a bit punchier, cleaner, smoother and had a far better sense of depth and airiness around the instruments. Now these are good, but not great, cans. They certainly sound much better through the HDP than they do through my iPhone. It’s clear the HDP has far more power available to drive them properly. But they are not in the same audio league as the Quads.

So why did they sound better? What I was hearing from the Quads was beginning to annoy me. Complex passages of music, be it driving rock or orchestral pieces, were indistinct and lacked pace and dynamism. Compared to the headphones the sound was nowhere near as refined and articulate. At times with the headphones on I forgot I was wearing them and I was convinced sounds were actually coming from the room around me. I didn’t get this effect with the Quads.

Surely it couldn’t be the cables? As far as I was aware all the USB cable had to do was feed a bunch of zeros and ones along some copper and into the HDP DAC. Being digital, I wasn’t convinced the signal could degrade enough over the metre length of the cable to make much difference to the DAC. Then I started looking into it and discovered that cable manufacturers were adamant that jitter and timing errors could have a significant effect on the DAC’s ability to convert the data stream without introducing a detrimental effect on the audio fidelity. I have to admit that I was quite sceptical about this. But then again it all seemed quite technical and the more I read the more I began to be persuaded there might just be something in their claims. Also from my experience of the Quad 12l2’s in the front room hooked up to the Arcam with Audioquest Indigo cable I was sure the Quad QPMs should sound a hell of a lot better than they currently did.

The Wireworld Ultraviolet USB cable was getting rave reviews from the likes of What Hi-fi and they’re generally fairly reliable. I decided to take the plunge. I’ve always thought that the rule of allocating 10% of your expenditure on the audio gear should be allocated to cabling was a sensible one. I’ve never regretted any of the cable upgrades I’ve made in the past. So the Wireworld cable might sort out some of the digital confusion but I then had to deal with the analogue side.

I’ve never really rated Monster Cables. I think they’re overhyped and any cable manufacturer that flogs their wares in an electrical shop that also sells washing machines and fridges has got to be a bit a bit suspect. I’d only bought the 250 interconnect as a last resort because I couldn’t be bothered making the trip into town to by something better. I had a hunch the 250 cable was basically junk. Having read great reviews on the Chord Crimson Plus interconnect I decided I’d give it a try. What Hi-fi (again) had awarded it best cable of the year. It seemed to possess all the characteristics I was looking for. Transparency, neutrality, openness, good bass control, improved dynamics, great detail and acoustic delay. And quite affordable.

Knowing that poor cabling was very probably the root of my problems I was excited to try out the cables. I got home today and rewired the system and fired up the iMac. I can honestly say that the difference was immediately apparent. Anybody that tells you that cabling doesn’t make a difference to the quality of your system has never actually tried changing their wiring.

The difference really is immense. I was quite surprised and thrilled to hear the difference the new wiring made. Well worth the investment. Everything suddenly makes sonic sense. Everything is placed properly across the sound stage. The balance that the recording engineer intended is immediately apparent. A sense of scale and dynamics, sorely missing before, has been restored. The sense that you’re there with the musicians right in front of you is now evident. This, really, is what the hi-fi enthusiast is really striving for. Finally, it’s all come together. For the sound quality I now have in my first truly dedicated computer based audiophile grade audio system I'm delighted. And for the price I paid, a bargain. Plus it will last a lifetime.

Buy decent audio gear while your ears are still capable of hearing it!

So over the last two or three weeks I’ve grown accustomed to the sound of the Nuforce Icon HDP and Quad QPM1 combination. The HDP has been connected to the iMac via the supplied generic USB cable supplied in the box. The Quads have had the audio signal passed to them via a couple of Monster Audio 250 Interlink phono cables. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been working late on the computer and listening to music with a pair of Sennheiser HD 238 ‘phones plugged into the HDP. Although the sound from the Quads has been pretty damn good it struck me that the sound from the 238’s was a bit punchier, cleaner, smoother and had a far better sense of depth and airiness around the instruments. Now these are good, but not great, cans. They certainly sound much better through the HDP than they do through my iPhone. It’s clear the HDP has far more power available to drive them properly. But they are not in the same audio league as the Quads.

So why did they sound better? What I was hearing from the Quads was beginning to annoy me. Complex passages of music, be it driving rock or orchestral pieces, were indistinct and lacked pace and dynamism. Compared to the headphones the sound was nowhere near as refined and articulate. At times with the headphones on I forgot I was wearing them and I was convinced sounds were actually coming from the room around me. I didn’t get this effect with the Quads.

Surely it couldn’t be the cables? As far as I was aware all the USB cable had to do was feed a bunch of zeros and ones along some copper and into the HDP DAC. Being digital, I wasn’t convinced the signal could degrade enough over the metre length of the cable to make much difference to the DAC. Then I started looking into it and discovered that cable manufacturers were adamant that jitter and timing errors could have a significant effect on the DAC’s ability to convert the data stream without introducing a detrimental effect on the audio fidelity. I have to admit that I was quite sceptical about this. But then again it all seemed quite technical and the more I read the more I began to be persuaded there might just be something in their claims. Also from my experience of the Quad 12l2’s in the front room hooked up to the Arcam with Audioquest Indigo cable I was sure the Quad QPMs should sound a hell of a lot better than they currently did.

The Wireworld Ultraviolet USB cable was getting rave reviews from the likes of What Hi-fi and they’re generally fairly reliable. I decided to take the plunge. I’ve always thought that the rule of allocating 10% of your expenditure on the audio gear should be allocated to cabling was a sensible one. I’ve never regretted any of the cable upgrades I’ve made in the past. So the Wireworld cable might sort out some of the digital confusion but I then had to deal with the analogue side.

I’ve never really rated Monster Cables. I think they’re overhyped and any cable manufacturer that flogs their wares in an electrical shop that also sells washing machines and fridges has got to be a bit a bit suspect. I’d only bought the 250 interconnect as a last resort because I couldn’t be bothered making the trip into town to by something better. I had a hunch the 250 cable was basically junk. Having read great reviews on the Chord Crimson Plus interconnect I decided I’d give it a try. What Hi-fi (again) had awarded it best cable of the year. It seemed to possess all the characteristics I was looking for. Transparency, neutrality, openness, good bass control, improved dynamics, great detail and acoustic delay. And quite affordable.

Knowing that poor cabling was very probably the root of my problems I was excited to try out the cables. I got home today and rewired the system and fired up the iMac. I can honestly say that the difference was immediately apparent. Anybody that tells you that cabling doesn’t make a difference to the quality of your system has never actually tried changing their wiring.

The difference really is immense. I was quite surprised and thrilled to hear the difference the new wiring made. Well worth the investment. Everything suddenly makes sonic sense. Everything is placed properly across the sound stage. The balance that the recording engineer intended is immediately apparent. A sense of scale and dynamics, sorely missing before, has been restored. The sense that you’re there with the musicians right in front of you is now evident. This, really, is what the hi-fi enthusiast is really striving for. Finally, it’s all come together. For the sound quality I now have in my first truly dedicated computer based audiophile grade audio system I'm delighted. And for the price I paid, a bargain. Plus it will last a lifetime.

Buy decent audio gear while your ears are still capable of hearing it!

SSo over the last two or three weeks I’ve grown accustomed to the sound of the Nuforce Icon HDP and Quad QPM1 combination. The HDP has been connected to the iMac via the supplied generic USB cable supplied in the box. The Quads have had the audio signal passed to them via a couple of Monster Audio 250 Interlink phono cables. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been working late on the computer and listening to music with a pair of Sennheiser HD 238 ‘phones plugged into the HDP. Although the sound from the Quads has been pretty damn good it struck me that the sound from the 238’s was a bit punchier, cleaner, smoother and had a far better sense of depth and airiness around the instruments. Now these are good, but not great, cans. They certainly sound much better through the HDP than they do through my iPhone. It’s clear the HDP has far more power available to drive them properly. But they are not in the same audio league as the Quads.

So why did they sound better? What I was hearing from the Quads was beginning to annoy me. Complex passages of music, be it driving rock or orchestral pieces, were indistinct and lacked pace and dynamism. Compared to the headphones the sound was nowhere near as refined and articulate. At times with the headphones on I forgot I was wearing them and I was convinced sounds were actually coming from the room around me. I didn’t get this effect with the Quads.

Surely it couldn’t be the cables? As far as I was aware all the USB cable had to do was feed a bunch of zeros and ones along some copper and into the HDP DAC. Being digital, I wasn’t convinced the signal could degrade enough over the metre length of the cable to make much difference to the DAC. Then I started looking into it and discovered that cable manufacturers were adamant that jitter and timing errors could have a significant effect on the DAC’s ability to convert the data stream without introducing a detrimental effect on the audio fidelity. I have to admit that I was quite sceptical about this. But then again it all seemed quite technical and the more I read the more I began to be persuaded there might just be something in their claims. Also from my experience of the Quad 12l2’s in the front room hooked up to the Arcam with Audioquest Indigo cable I was sure the Quad QPMs should sound a hell of a lot better than they currently did.

The Wireworld Ultraviolet USB cable was getting rave reviews from the likes of What Hi-fi and they’re generally fairly reliable. I decided to take the plunge. I’ve always thought that the rule of allocating 10% of your expenditure on the audio gear should be allocated to cabling was a sensible one. I’ve never regretted any of the cable upgrades I’ve made in the past. So the Wireworld cable might sort out some of the digital confusion but I then had to deal with the analogue side.

I’ve never really rated Monster Cables. I think they’re overhyped and any cable manufacturer that flogs their wares in an electrical shop that also sells washing machines and fridges has got to be a bit a bit suspect. I’d only bought the 250 interconnect as a last resort because I couldn’t be bothered making the trip into town to by something better. I had a hunch the 250 cable was basically junk. Having read great reviews on the Chord Crimson Plus interconnect I decided I’d give it a try. What Hi-fi (again) had awarded it best cable of the year. It seemed to possess all the characteristics I was looking for. Transparency, neutrality, openness, good bass control, improved dynamics, great detail and acoustic delay. And quite affordable.

Knowing that poor cabling was very probably the root of my problems I was excited to try out the cables. I got home today and rewired the system and fired up the iMac. I can honestly say that the difference was immediately apparent. Anybody that tells you that cabling doesn’t make a difference to the quality of your system has never actually tried changing their wiring.

The difference really is immense. I was quite surprised and thrilled to hear the difference the new wiring made. Well worth the investment. Everything suddenly makes sonic sense. Everything is placed properly across the sound stage. The balance that the recording engineer intended is immediately apparent. A sense of scale and dynamics, sorely missing before, has been restored. The sense that you’re there with the musicians right in front of you is now evident. This, really, is what the hi-fi enthusiast is really striving for. Finally, it’s all come together. For the sound quality I now have in my first truly dedicated computer based audiophile grade audio system I'm delighted. And for the price I paid, a bargain. Plus it will last a lifetime.

Buy decent audio gear while your ears are still capable of hearing it!

So over the last two or three weeks I’ve grown accustomed to the sound of the Nuforce Icon HDP and Quad QPM1 combination. The HDP has been connected to the iMac via the supplied generic USB cable supplied in the box. The Quads have had the audio signal passed to them via a couple of Monster Audio 250 Interlink phono cables. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been working late on the computer and listening to music with a pair of Sennheiser HD 238 ‘phones plugged into the HDP. Although the sound from the Quads has been pretty damn good it struck me that the sound from the 238’s was a bit punchier, cleaner, smoother and had a far better sense of depth and airiness around the instruments. Now these are good, but not great, cans. They certainly sound much better through the HDP than they do through my iPhone. It’s clear the HDP has far more power available to drive them properly. But they are not in the same audio league as the Quads.

So why did they sound better? What I was hearing from the Quads was beginning to annoy me. Complex passages of music, be it driving rock or orchestral pieces, were indistinct and lacked pace and dynamism. Compared to the headphones the sound was nowhere near as refined and articulate. At times with the headphones on I forgot I was wearing them and I was convinced sounds were actually coming from the room around me. I didn’t get this effect with the Quads.

Surely it couldn’t be the cables? As far as I was aware all the USB cable had to do was feed a bunch of zeros and ones along some copper and into the HDP DAC. Being digital, I wasn’t convinced the signal could degrade enough over the metre length of the cable to make much difference to the DAC. Then I started looking into it and discovered that cable manufacturers were adamant that jitter and timing errors could have a significant effect on the DAC’s ability to convert the data stream without introducing a detrimental effect on the audio fidelity. I have to admit that I was quite sceptical about this. But then again it all seemed quite technical and the more I read the more I began to be persuaded there might just be something in their claims. Also from my experience of the Quad 12l2’s in the front room hooked up to the Arcam with Audioquest Indigo cable I was sure the Quad QPMs should sound a hell of a lot better than they currently did.

The Wireworld Ultraviolet USB cable was getting rave reviews from the likes of What Hi-fi and they’re generally fairly reliable. I decided to take the plunge. I’ve always thought that the rule of allocating 10% of your expenditure on the audio gear should be allocated to cabling was a sensible one. I’ve never regretted any of the cable upgrades I’ve made in the past. So the Wireworld cable might sort out some of the digital confusion but I then had to deal with the analogue side.

I’ve never really rated Monster Cables. I think they’re overhyped and any cable manufacturer that flogs their wares in an electrical shop that also sells washing machines and fridges has got to be a bit a bit suspect. I’d only bought the 250 interconnect as a last resort because I couldn’t be bothered making the trip into town to by something better. I had a hunch the 250 cable was basically junk. Having read great reviews on the Chord Crimson Plus interconnect I decided I’d give it a try. What Hi-fi (again) had awarded it best cable of the year. It seemed to possess all the characteristics I was looking for. Transparency, neutrality, openness, good bass control, improved dynamics, great detail and acoustic delay. And quite affordable.

Knowing that poor cabling was very probably the root of my problems I was excited to try out the cables. I got home today and rewired the system and fired up the iMac. I can honestly say that the difference was immediately apparent. Anybody that tells you that cabling doesn’t make a difference to the quality of your system has never actually tried changing their wiring.

The difference really is immense. I was quite surprised and thrilled to hear the difference the new wiring made. Well worth the investment. Everything suddenly makes sonic sense. Everything is placed properly across the sound stage. The balance that the recording engineer intended is immediately apparent. A sense of scale and dynamics, sorely missing before, has been restored. The sense that you’re there with the musicians right in front of you is now evident. This, really, is what the hi-fi enthusiast is really striving for. Finally, it’s all come together. For the sound quality I now have in my first truly dedicated computer based audiophile grade audio system I'm delighted. And for the price I paid, a bargain. Plus it will last a lifetime.

Buy decent audio gear while your ears are still capable of hearing it!

So over the last two or three weeks I’ve grown accustomed to the sound of the Nuforce Icon HDP and Quad QPM1 combination. The HDP has been connected to the iMac via the supplied generic USB cable supplied in the box. The Quads have had the audio signal passed to them via a couple of Monster Audio 250 Interlink phono cables. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been working late on the computer and listening to music with a pair of Sennheiser HD 238 ‘phones plugged into the HDP. Although the sound from the Quads has been pretty damn good it struck me that the sound from the 238’s was a bit punchier, cleaner, smoother and had a far better sense of depth and airiness around the instruments. Now these are good, but not great, cans. They certainly sound much better through the HDP than they do through my iPhone. It’s clear the HDP has far more power available to drive them properly. But they are not in the same audio league as the Quads.

So why did they sound better? What I was hearing from the Quads was beginning to annoy me. Complex passages of music, be it driving rock or orchestral pieces, were indistinct and lacked pace and dynamism. Compared to the headphones the sound was nowhere near as refined and articulate. At times with the headphones on I forgot I was wearing them and I was convinced sounds were actually coming from the room around me. I didn’t get this effect with the Quads.

Surely it couldn’t be the cables? As far as I was aware all the USB cable had to do was feed a bunch of zeros and ones along some copper and into the HDP DAC. Being digital, I wasn’t convinced the signal could degrade enough over the metre length of the cable to make much difference to the DAC. Then I started looking into it and discovered that cable manufacturers were adamant that jitter and timing errors could have a significant effect on the DAC’s ability to convert the data stream without introducing a detrimental effect on the audio fidelity. I have to admit that I was quite sceptical about this. But then again it all seemed quite technical and the more I read the more I began to be persuaded there might just be something in their claims. Also from my experience of the Quad 12l2’s in the front room hooked up to the Arcam with Audioquest Indigo cable I was sure the Quad QPMs should sound a hell of a lot better than they currently did.

The Wireworld Ultraviolet USB cable was getting rave reviews from the likes of What Hi-fi and they’re generally fairly reliable. I decided to take the plunge. I’ve always thought that the rule of allocating 10% of your expenditure on the audio gear should be allocated to cabling was a sensible one. I’ve never regretted any of the cable upgrades I’ve made in the past. So the Wireworld cable might sort out some of the digital confusion but I then had to deal with the analogue side.

I’ve never really rated Monster Cables. I think they’re overhyped and any cable manufacturer that flogs their wares in an electrical shop that also sells washing machines and fridges has got to be a bit a bit suspect. I’d only bought the 250 interconnect as a last resort because I couldn’t be bothered making the trip into town to by something better. I had a hunch the 250 cable was basically junk. Having read great reviews on the Chord Crimson Plus interconnect I decided I’d give it a try. What Hi-fi (again) had awarded it best cable of the year. It seemed to possess all the characteristics I was looking for. Transparency, neutrality, openness, good bass control, improved dynamics, great detail and acoustic delay. And quite affordable.

Knowing that poor cabling was very probably the root of my problems I was excited to try out the cables. I got home today and rewired the system and fired up the iMac. I can honestly say that the difference was immediately apparent. Anybody that tells you that cabling doesn’t make a difference to the quality of your system has never actually tried changing their wiring.

The difference really is immense. I was quite surprised and thrilled to hear the difference the new wiring made. Well worth the investment. Everything suddenly makes sonic sense. Everything is placed properly across the sound stage. The balance that the recording engineer intended is immediately apparent. A sense of scale and dynamics, sorely missing before, has been restored. The sense that you’re there with the musicians right in front of you is now evident. This, really, is what the hi-fi enthusiast is really striving for. Finally, it’s all come together. For the sound quality I now have in my first truly dedicated computer based audiophile grade audio system I'm delighted. And for the price I paid, a bargain. Plus it will last a lifetime.

Buy decent audio gear while your ears are still capable of hearing it!

So over the last two or three weeks I’ve grown accustomed to the sound of the Nuforce Icon HDP and Quad QPM1 combination. The HDP has been connected to the iMac via the supplied generic USB cable supplied in the box. The Quads have had the audio signal passed to them via a couple of Monster Audio 250 Interlink phono cables. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been working late on the computer and listening to music with a pair of Sennheiser HD 238 ‘phones plugged into the HDP. Although the sound from the Quads has been pretty damn good it struck me that the sound from the 238’s was a bit punchier, cleaner, smoother and had a far better sense of depth and airiness around the instruments. Now these are good, but not great, cans. They certainly sound much better through the HDP than they do through my iPhone. It’s clear the HDP has far more power available to drive them properly. But they are not in the same audio league as the Quads.

So why did they sound better? What I was hearing from the Quads was beginning to annoy me. Complex passages of music, be it driving rock or orchestral pieces, were indistinct and lacked pace and dynamism. Compared to the headphones the sound was nowhere near as refined and articulate. At times with the headphones on I forgot I was wearing them and I was convinced sounds were actually coming from the room around me. I didn’t get this effect with the Quads.

Surely it couldn’t be the cables? As far as I was aware all the USB cable had to do was feed a bunch of zeros and ones along some copper and into the HDP DAC. Being digital, I wasn’t convinced the signal could degrade enough over the metre length of the cable to make much difference to the DAC. Then I started looking into it and discovered that cable manufacturers were adamant that jitter and timing errors could have a significant effect on the DAC’s ability to convert the data stream without introducing a detrimental effect on the audio fidelity. I have to admit that I was quite sceptical about this. But then again it all seemed quite technical and the more I read the more I began to be persuaded there might just be something in their claims. Also from my experience of the Quad 12l2’s in the front room hooked up to the Arcam with Audioquest Indigo cable I was sure the Quad QPMs should sound a hell of a lot better than they currently did.

The Wireworld Ultraviolet USB cable was getting rave reviews from the likes of What Hi-fi and they’re generally fairly reliable. I decided to take the plunge. I’ve always thought that the rule of allocating 10% of your expenditure on the audio gear should be allocated to cabling was a sensible one. I’ve never regretted any of the cable upgrades I’ve made in the past. So the Wireworld cable might sort out some of the digital confusion but I then had to deal with the analogue side.

I’ve never really rated Monster Cables. I think they’re overhyped and any cable manufacturer that flogs their wares in an electrical shop that also sells washing machines and fridges has got to be a bit a bit suspect. I’d only bought the 250 interconnect as a last resort because I couldn’t be bothered making the trip into town to by something better. I had a hunch the 250 cable was basically junk. Having read great reviews on the Chord Crimson Plus interconnect I decided I’d give it a try. What Hi-fi (again) had awarded it best cable of the year. It seemed to possess all the characteristics I was looking for. Transparency, neutrality, openness, good bass control, improved dynamics, great detail and acoustic delay. And quite affordable.

Knowing that poor cabling was very probably the root of my problems I was excited to try out the cables. I got home today and rewired the system and fired up the iMac. I can honestly say that the difference was immediately apparent. Anybody that tells you that cabling doesn’t make a difference to the quality of your system has never actually tried changing their wiring.

The difference really is immense. I was quite surprised and thrilled to hear the difference the new wiring made. Well worth the investment. Everything suddenly makes sonic sense. Everything is placed properly across the sound stage. The balance that the recording engineer intended is immediately apparent. A sense of scale and dynamics, sorely missing before, has been restored. The sense that you’re there with the musicians right in front of you is now evident. This, really, is what the hi-fi enthusiast is really striving for. Finally, it’s all come together. For the sound quality I now have in my first truly dedicated computer based audiophile grade audio system I'm delighted. And for the price I paid, a bargain. Plus it will last a lifetime.

Buy decent audio gear while your ears are still capable of hearing it!

So over the last two or three weeks I’ve grown accustomed to the sound of the Nuforce Icon HDP and Quad QPM1 combination. The HDP has been connected to the iMac via the supplied generic USB cable supplied in the box. The Quads have had the audio signal passed to them via a couple of Monster Audio 250 Interlink phono cables. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been working late on the computer and listening to music with a pair of Sennheiser HD 238 ‘phones plugged into the HDP. Although the sound from the Quads has been pretty damn good it struck me that the sound from the 238’s was a bit punchier, cleaner, smoother and had a far better sense of depth and airiness around the instruments. Now these are good, but not great, cans. They certainly sound much better through the HDP than they do through my iPhone. It’s clear the HDP has far more power available to drive them properly. But they are not in the same audio league as the Quads.

So why did they sound better? What I was hearing from the Quads was beginning to annoy me. Complex passages of music, be it driving rock or orchestral pieces, were indistinct and lacked pace and dynamism. Compared to the headphones the sound was nowhere near as refined and articulate. At times with the headphones on I forgot I was wearing them and I was convinced sounds were actually coming from the room around me. I didn’t get this effect with the Quads.

Surely it couldn’t be the cables? As far as I was aware all the USB cable had to do was feed a bunch of zeros and ones along some copper and into the HDP DAC. Being digital, I wasn’t convinced the signal could degrade enough over the metre length of the cable to make much difference to the DAC. Then I started looking into it and discovered that cable manufacturers were adamant that jitter and timing errors could have a significant effect on the DAC’s ability to convert the data stream without introducing a detrimental effect on the audio fidelity. I have to admit that I was quite sceptical about this. But then again it all seemed quite technical and the more I read the more I began to be persuaded there might just be something in their claims. Also from my experience of the Quad 12l2’s in the front room hooked up to the Arcam with Audioquest Indigo cable I was sure the Quad QPMs should sound a hell of a lot better than they currently did.

The Wireworld Ultraviolet USB cable was getting rave reviews from the likes of What Hi-fi and they’re generally fairly reliable. I decided to take the plunge. I’ve always thought that the rule of allocating 10% of your expenditure on the audio gear should be allocated to cabling was a sensible one. I’ve never regretted any of the cable upgrades I’ve made in the past. So the Wireworld cable might sort out some of the digital confusion but I then had to deal with the analogue side.

I’ve never really rated Monster Cables. I think they’re overhyped and any cable manufacturer that flogs their wares in an electrical shop that also sells washing machines and fridges has got to be a bit a bit suspect. I’d only bought the 250 interconnect as a last resort because I couldn’t be bothered making the trip into town to by something better. I had a hunch the 250 cable was basically junk. Having read great reviews on the Chord Crimson Plus interconnect I decided I’d give it a try. What Hi-fi (again) had awarded it best cable of the year. It seemed to possess all the characteristics I was looking for. Transparency, neutrality, openness, good bass control, improved dynamics, great detail and acoustic delay. And quite affordable.

Knowing that poor cabling was very probably the root of my problems I was excited to try out the cables. I got home today and rewired the system and fired up the iMac. I can honestly say that the difference was immediately apparent. Anybody that tells you that cabling doesn’t make a difference to the quality of your system has never actually tried changing their wiring.

The difference really is immense. I was quite surprised and thrilled to hear the difference the new wiring made. Well worth the investment. Everything suddenly makes sonic sense. Everything is placed properly across the sound stage. The balance that the recording engineer intended is immediately apparent. A sense of scale and dynamics, sorely missing before, has been restored. The sense that you’re there with the musicians right in front of you is now evident. This, really, is what the hi-fi enthusiast is really striving for. Finally, it’s all come together. For the sound quality I now have in my first truly dedicated computer based audiophile grade audio system I'm delighted. And for the price I paid, a bargain. Plus it will last a lifetime.

Buy decent audio gear while your ears are still capable of hearing it!

So over the last two or three weeks I’ve grown accustomed to the sound of the Nuforce Icon HDP and Quad QPM1 combination. The HDP has been connected to the iMac via the supplied generic USB cable supplied in the box. The Quads have had the audio signal passed to them via a couple of Monster Audio 250 Interlink phono cables. Over the last couple of weeks I’ve been working late on the computer and listening to music with a pair of Sennheiser HD 238 ‘phones plugged into the HDP. Although the sound from the Quads has been pretty damn good it struck me that the sound from the 238’s was a bit punchier, cleaner, smoother and had a far better sense of depth and airiness around the instruments. Now these are good, but not great, cans. They certainly sound much better through the HDP than they do through my iPhone. It’s clear the HDP has far more power available to drive them properly. But they are not in the same audio league as the Quads.

So why did they sound better? What I was hearing from the Quads was beginning to annoy me. Complex passages of music, be it driving rock or orchestral pieces, were indistinct and lacked pace and dynamism. Compared to the headphones the sound was nowhere near as refined and articulate. At times with the headphones on I forgot I was wearing them and I was convinced sounds were actually coming from the room around me. I didn’t get this effect with the Quads.

Surely it couldn’t be the cables? As far as I was aware all the USB cable had to do was feed a bunch of zeros and ones along some copper and into the HDP DAC. Being digital, I wasn’t convinced the signal could degrade enough over the metre length of the cable to make much difference to the DAC. Then I started looking into it and discovered that cable manufacturers were adamant that jitter and timing errors could have a significant effect on the DAC’s ability to convert the data stream without introducing a detrimental effect on the audio fidelity. I have to admit that I was quite sceptical about this. But then again it all seemed quite technical and the more I read the more I began to be persuaded there might just be something in their claims. Also from my experience of the Quad 12l2’s in the front room hooked up to the Arcam with Audioquest Indigo cable I was sure the Quad QPMs should sound a hell of a lot better than they currently did.

The Wireworld Ultraviolet USB cable was getting rave reviews from the likes of What Hi-fi and they’re generally fairly reliable. I decided to take the plunge. I’ve always thought that the rule of allocating 10% of your expenditure on the audio gear should be allocated to cabling was a sensible one. I’ve never regretted any of the cable upgrades I’ve made in the past. So the Wireworld cable might sort out some of the digital confusion but I then had to deal with the analogue side.

I’ve never really rated Monster Cables. I think they’re overhyped and any cable manufacturer that flogs their wares in an electrical shop that also sells washing machines and fridges has got to be a bit a bit suspect. I’d only bought the 250 interconnect as a last resort because I couldn’t be bothered making the trip into town to by something better. I had a hunch the 250 cable was basically junk. Having read great reviews on the Chord Crimson Plus interconnect I decided I’d give it a try. What Hi-fi (again) had awarded it best cable of the year. It seemed to possess all the characteristics I was looking for. Transparency, neutrality, openness, good bass control, improved dynamics, great detail and acoustic delay. And quite affordable.

Knowing that poor cabling was very probably the root of my problems I was excited to try out the cables. I got home today and rewired the system and fired up the iMac. I can honestly say that the difference was immediately apparent. Anybody that tells you that cabling doesn’t make a difference to the quality of your system has never actually tried changing their wiring.

The difference really is immense. I was quite surprised and thrilled to hear the difference the new wiring made. Well worth the investment. Everything suddenly makes sonic sense. Everything is placed properly across the sound stage. The balance that the recording engineer intended is immediately apparent. A sense of scale and dynamics, sorely missing before, has been restored. The sense that you’re there with the musicians right in front of you is now evident. This, really, is what the hi-fi enthusiast is really striving for. Finally, it’s all come together. For the sound quality I now have in my first truly dedicated computer based audiophile grade audio system I'm delighted. And for the price I paid, a bargain. Plus it will last a lifetime.

Buy decent audio gear while your ears are still capable of hearing it!

Table lamp i got it from random big bro (my cousin bro' friend), some dad's precious collections (he still have more but most of them are classic love songs and slow rock songs) except rockin & rollin, it's my b'day presents from him lol.. feat. mom's tablecloth (why did she put it everywhere).😂

I went to junior high school which is famous for its choir and music. Also one of the famous bands in my country was the alumni of that school, the main focus besides regular lessons are choir, marching band and band (music activities)

During my second year we had to make a band then perform something (music class). Started from creating an ensemble band with 10 members (pianika, recorder), acoustic band 10 members (acoustic guitar, cajon, acoustic bass) , then full band with electronic instruments, 5 or 6 members. Every week we had to perform something from, national song, modern pop song, folk song, until self composed song. It was so stressful, especially when you have zero knowledge about it.

In the end we created our very first self composed song and at that moment I thought it was very lame, flat and suck. We laughed at it. Music class was just like a nightmare too for student who couldn't play instrument nor sing, because when we couldn't reach minimum grade or score, we had to keep repeating it until we reached that minimum score.

At that moment I though "It's a regular school or art school aah... such a pain... The standard is too high for noob like me Aaa.. headache!". I forced myself to learn guitar, but too bad I bought wrong type of guitar. It was steel strings guitar not nylon strings, so I was having hard times like.. RIP my fingers also the fret spacing is too wide. Ah.. combo headache! 😑

At that moment my friends told me to be the vocalist but I said no, coz I have airy voice tho i can do falsetto easily, but still it didn't match with the song. Also there was a moment one of our class bands was scolded by our music teacher for choosing tone deaf vocalist. It was so scary.. because she said, "I know that you have more self confidence than your bandmates but it is not enough if you actually can't sing". In other class i heard a news that our music teacher scolded one of the student again, but I guess the mistake of this girl was quite fatal. This girl thought that she has the best voice among other because she took a vocal lesson. In the end our teacher said, "tho your friend have so-so technique but her tone/color of the voice is better than you. You should be more humble to other". Our teacher disliked nasally voice. Since that day, noone wanted to be the vocalist. Lol.😅

Every year our school held a school music festival called open air music festival. At that time it was quite famous (I didn't know it's still famous or not.. 🤔). School had spent a lot sum of money for decoration (big stage, lighting, etc) and guest stars. Every year there would be band competitions, so each class from 7th - 9th grade must sent at least one band. The prize is money...

And each of class had unique traits during school music festival. I didn't know it's just coincidence or there's something else behind it...🤔

A class: good boy, good girl class, school servants ups.. we used to call em like that.. I mean most of the student council members are here. 😅 (pop, acoustic pop)

B and C bilingual (science and math taught in english): rich kids, teacher's pets, same as A class, most of the choir members are from this class. They have the best vocalist too. (Pop, acoustic pop)

D - F: easy going, outgoing, popular, rebel, class clown. (Me from 1st year D - 2nd F - 3rd D) (heavy metal, alternative rock, post grunge) (at that moment if I'm not mistaken... hmm.. our class band performed these songs 🤔: Muse-starlight, papa roach - getting away with murder)

G - H: not sure about these two? Rebellious but in subtle way, and not as popular as D - F. 🤔 (Punk, alternative rock) (If i could remember... it's carry ooon.. carry ooonnnn... MCR - welcome to the black parade, Green Day - boulevard of broken dreams)

Me and my friends had ever caught and sent to the Counseling room because we're secretly busking after school, I didn't know who inform the teacher about this. We did that because some of my friends don't have any money to pay the music studio's fees. Once in a week we had to rehearse our song in that place, and we got limited time, only 2 hours and the fee/hour at that time was quite expensive. That's why during school break time, we rehearsed our song in the school corridor or under the stairs (then scolded by teacher, again. Welcome to the counseling room, again)😆.

In the counseling room, our counseling teacher scolded us this and that blablabla. Later we counterattacked her, "our music teacher wanted us to create a band, do you think from where we got the money to rent the music studio, maam". It's sickening coz they wanted us to reach certain standard without giving us any facilities.

Some students could ask some money from their parents but some parents couldn't give them some money because of some reasons (didn't have spare money or didn't think it's necessary). And some of my friend kept saying, they didn't have any money to pay the music studio's fees, even my drummer had to keep busking secretly to get some money. He said, he's a guy, he feels ashamed keep asking for some money from his parents.

It seems like you got that potential but you got no support compared to other overhyped kids, it's ironic.

In the end, we silenced that teacher.. later she told our headmaster to let everyone using music room which is full with so many instruments during break time. (1st break time 30 minutes, 2nd break time 1 hour coz we need to do dzuhur pray).

But stiiiiillll.... we had to fighting over the music room. It was monopolized by bilingual kids, so we had to kick them out no matter what coz D-H classes need to use the electronic instruments while those from bilingual classes only need acoustic guitar, acoustic bass and cajon.

Me: they use the music room again, guys... 😐 *from teacher's room asking for the key*

Classmate 1: they only need acoustic instruments but try to monopolize the music room.. *sigh* 😐

Classmate 2: let's kick them out..😒

Whole classroom: yeah!!😤✊😤✊

Some years later, i went to X senior high school, I was shocked coz most of my friends were there too. Sometimes we talked about our past experiences during middle school. My drummer went to the same high school as me (my classmate), but it seemed like he tried to hide his skills (hate being in the spotlight). One day it was school festival, everyone shocked that he could play drum. Lol. 😂

After that, there's no more band thingy. Some of my members went to other high schools, and some went to vocational high schools, that's the end of it.

#fuckinglong

#mythumbsaredying

The game may be a bit overhyped... but the gun is slick.

The Brooklyn Bridge in New York City.

I never really knew what all of the hype was behind the Brooklyn Bridge. I grew up in the little brother of the Big Apple and had always seen New Yorkers as a bunch of blow-hards. I just figured it was another overhyped item. As I became an architect and a structural engineer I could see some of it's attraction, but it still seemed like it was getting incredibly too much attention.

Though a few weeks ago while I was in the big city, it was at the top of my list as far as must sees. After seeing so many great pictures of it on Flickr, I had to see it for myself. It did not disappoint. It is quite an amazing structure and the promenade down the center of it was quite an experience. While I still think it gets more attention because of it's proximity to such a large population, I see and understand why so many people adore it.

And that is one of the things about experiencing things firsthand. You really must be there to see it in three dimensions and see both how it interacts with it's surroundings and how it interacts with the users. That is why I love both architecture and travel.

This is the photo that everyone takes of these duly famous gardens on Vancouver Island. I took many many others but this view of the Sunken Garden gives the best flavour of the place. It's an old limestone quarry dug by Mr Butchart's company that Mrs Butchart subsequently planted so tastefully (with considerable hired help). The only remnant of the previous works is the old kiln chimney (top right).

These elaborate gardens are over a century old and lie some 20miles north of Victoria on Vancouver Island. It is the go-to tourist attraction on Vancouver Island, with over 1m visitors a year.

Given this popularity, you'd be forgiven thinking it is overhyped, overpriced and fundamentally disappointing. But, whilst heaving with tourists, it is profoundly impressive. I'm fond of visiting a formal garden and we Brits do them quite well.

But the sheer profusion, variety, ingenuity of planting and vibrancy of the flowers just blew me away. The website states 900 varieties of plants and a million bedding plants giving uninterrupted bloom from March-October. I can believe it.