Vinyl & Audiophile

These are my dads old speakers, however they don’t have any logo on them. Does anyone know what product/brand they are? All I know is that they were bought in Norway in the late 90s/early 00s.

I love this album and have since it was released 22 years ago 🫣

It's interesting, it wants to talk about something, and it's totally accessible. I figured it was absolutely worthy of an addition to the collection, glad I found it in the real world.

In my mind, in my mind...

ESP Horizon NT-II

ESP Horizon E-II

Epiphone Les Paul Custom IBG

Epiphone Les Paul Custom MKH

I’m not even the hugest Jefferson Airplane fan, but this record never gets old for me.

I was just given a family friends collection. Feel blessed by the vinyl Gods. Still sorting though but here's the hits from today.

fucking sllleeeeppp. left to right: holy mountain, Volume 1 and dopesmoker. Just need to get the sciences and find a boot of jerusalem to complete the set. also still trying to find a volume 2 7".

the tannoys are surprisingly coherent and have great timing. my SVS Ultra Evolution Bookshelf Speakers sound great too but lack the low end the tannoys achieve. the SVS are a little more sparkly in the highs too.

Im currently curing a headache with Stevie Wonder, so.......yeah

After many years of moving, storing, studio switching, digital media, and all that funky stuff; I got my analog audio all in the same place, ready and able to play; hip hip hooray! 🔊🎚️🎛️🎛️🎚️🔉

"Hey David ... Did we have people over yesterday?"

"Yeah.."

"Were they... little people?"

"Yeah.."

My roommate had his little cousins over for 10 minutes yesterday. Today I walked into the living room to find this.

What are my options here? Can these be salvaged?

​The Quest to Drive the HE6se V2: A DIY Journey from "Pro" Failures to a Homemade Solution

​I’ve finally unlocked the Hifiman HE6se V2, but the path there was a mess of clipping, short circuits, and stubborn "pro" technicians.

​The Problem

​When I first got the HE6se V2, neither my Qudelix 5K nor my hybrid amp could bring out the "magic." I added a Drop THX 789 to the chain, but I was still hitting a wall—audible clipping in the bass at high volumes. My desk is small and my budget for a new balanced desktop DAC is limited, so I decided to stick to a minimalist approach: Why not use the Qudelix 5K as a balanced DAC?

​The "Pro" Disaster

​I took my components to a local electronics repair shop to get a custom 2.5mm to Dual XLR cable made. The technician looked at me like I was crazy. After much persuasion, he made the cable, but he miswired the polarities. I almost fried my Q5K and the THX 789; the amp’s protection circuit was tripping every two seconds due to a short circuit. On top of that, the cable was unnecessarily long and poor quality.

​The DIY Fix

​Frustrated and out of pocket, I decided to do it myself. I ordered some decent unbranded microphone cable, stripped the old one, and got to work.

​Trial & Error: As an amateur, I initially swapped the male/female pinouts and accidentally used the ground pole. The sound was thin and noisy, but at least it didn't trigger the protection circuit!

​The Final Build: I re-soldered everything correctly. It’s a simple Hot (+) and Cold (-) connection with the ground left floating. Since the cable is only 15-20cm, interference isn't an issue.

​Build Quality: One side ended up 1cm shorter, so I had to get creative with the internal wiring and double-heat shrink it. It’s not the prettiest thing—it looks like a "tank" compared to the tiny 2.5mm jack—but it’s bulletproof.

​The Results

​The difference is night and day. The HE6se V2 finally sounds powerful, fast, and expansive. The 3D soundstage I’ve heard so much about is finally there. Is it the absolute "peak" potential? Maybe not, but it’s far better than I expected.

​A few observations:

​Q5K Settings: Switching between 2Vrms and 4Vrms on the Q5K’s balanced output doesn’t seem to make a noticeable difference in this specific chain.

​The Floor: I notice a very faint floor hiss even with low-ohm, high-sensitivity IEMs.

​Other Gear: My AKG K240DF scales beautifully now through the unbalanced out. Interestingly, the jump in quality isn't as drastic for my Arya Stealth, HD800, or HD600—they were already performing well.

​Conclusion:

With a collection of about 30 headphones and IEMs, having the Q5K’s Parametric EQ paired with the raw power of the THX 789 feels like owning a gold mine. If I had just trusted myself and DIY’d this from the start, I would have saved a lot of money and even more nerves.

★ (2016) Kinda can't believe my luck at the local record fair today. It was more expensive than I generally like spending on a record. But it was significantly cheaper than Discogs and I'm exceedingly pleased with it.

I just recently got into Gary Numan. not sure how I spent so many years unaware of his amazing music. Cheers my fellow music aficionados!

translucent ebony