Kejadiannya berawal ketika saya masuk di sebuah toko aksesoris komputer yang lumayan lengkap. Iseng ngeliat kesana kemari, saya tidak menemukan kibot protektor yang dicari. Awalnya saya hanya mengira kalau disimpan di lemari khusus yang tidak bisa saya lihat. Lalu saya pun bertanya kepada si mbak penjaga toko, dan ternyata memang barang yang saya cari lagi kosong stok-nya. Rada kecewa karna toko tersebut merupakan toko yang lumayan lengkap dan besar. Kalau di toko yang segedhe itu saja tidak ada, apalagi di toko yang lain. Saya pun meninggalkan toko tersebut. Ketika baru nyampe di dekat pintu keluar, eitttt... there's something interesting. Yup, saya melihat Sennheiser MX 160 yang sepertinya cocok kalau disandingkan dengan Ipod Nano kesayangan. Sejenak perhatian saya tertuju ke Sennheiser tersebut lalu berlanjut dengan melihat dan membayangkan jika bersanding dengan Ipod.

Dan selanjutnya saya pun lupa kalo harus beli kibot protektor, lalu terbius tak tersadar dengan membawa Sennheiser MX 160 ke kasir untuk membayarnya. Baru ketika di luar toko saya tersadarkan diri kalau baru saja mengeluarkan 2 lembar uang 50.000. Fiuhhh, lagi-lagi lupa diri kalo jalan sendirian!!!

Berikut skrinsyut-nya :

Dan perjalanan hari itu pun terus berlanjut ke deretan toko henpon yang banyak terdapat di sana. Akhirnya setan pun sukses menggoda bujangan kesepian yang lagi jalan-jalan sendiri seperti saya. Dalam waktu kurang dari 30 menit berikutnya, saya sudah melakukan transaksi tunai sebesar Satu Juta Sembilan Ratus Tujuh Puluh Lima Ribu Rupiah untuk membayar Sony Ericsson K660i yang memang sudah target incaran saya. Berikut skrinsyut-nya :

Terbukti sudah !! jadi bujang terlalu lama itu memang merugikan. Selain merasakan kesepian yang amat sangat, di satu sisi akan banyak uang yang terbuang untuk hal-hal yang kurang begitu penting. Tapi enaknya, jika pengin beli suatu barang ga perlu banyak pertimbangan.

Intinya jika anda seorang gadget-ers yang gampang tergoda seperti saya, sebaiknya jangan pergi ke area mall dan tempat-tempat yang menjual barang elektronik dalam keadaan sendiri. Akan tetapi keadaan juga tidak lebih baik jika anda tidak pergi sendiri, tapi bersama sahabat yang ternyata juga punya hobi yang sama. Kalau sudah begitu keadaan bisa bertambah buruk.

Berapapun uang yang sudah saya keluarkan hari itu, ga jadi masalah. Yang penting hati lega. Asal ga keseringan aja.

I've used headphones since I was 14 maybe, back when my first Discman was made out of metal, contained four batteries, and weighed about the same as a satelite-phone (if those still exist). I'm sure if I turned it on today, it would still work. Headphones, however, are a completely different matter.

Headphones have evolved and devolved in my life. I started with the sucker-buys: super-multi-tripple-bass-boosting Sonys. But no matter how many I bought (all earphones), they all broke after a few months, at the latest. That was, on average, a good €20 thrown away every time.

Finally, I got fed up and plunged down to €3 headphones, the kind that lie next to the chewing-gum in your super(tech)market. I figured, why waste money, and instead buy in bulk and replace every few weeks. It worked pretty well for a while… of course the sound is nothing to write home about.

Finally, when I got my first & only iPod, three years ago or so, I discovered the Sennheiser PX200's.

The upside:

• Not too expensive; paid €60 on the first purchase, and €25 on the second. I generally don't think people should spend more than that for what is essentially a perishable good.
• Came in white—matching the iPod.
• STURDY - that's right. Except for a few design-flaws, these are the most sturdy headphones I've ever had, the first pair lasting nearly two years; the second about a year.
• Sound-insulating: that way I enjoy the music for myself, and don't bother anyone else.
• Stay on when I jog—important, as I jog 4 times a week.
• Great sound.
• Very portable—fold into the size of a pair of sunglasses.

The downside:

• A few design-flaws related to the wiring. If you close it a certain way, it actually cuts into the wiring. Also I just broke my second pair, because the wiring at the base, close to the plug, somehow broke… very annoyed with that, and wires in general.
• Insulates you from the rest of the world. Don't try biking on a busy street with this sucker.
• Insulates you by making you look like a freak. This picture from 2 years ago in Barcelona says enough (well, actually the gigantic sunglasses don't help either). Wearing these kinds of headphones really shouts out that you don't want to talk to someone.

After breaking the second pair, I'm saying good bye to perhaps all headphones. They brought me much wisdom—80% of my iPod consumption is from podcasts with interesting people and on interesting subjects. They made me high—running with them is not only super-comfortable, but the sound is excellent, and helps getting your endorphins pumping. But they also made me anti-social, where I should be saying hello to my neighbours, I put on my headphones when I leave the house, forgetting everything around me.

Maybe, I'll get another pair, I don't know. Maybe when the next episode of 'Stanford's entrepreneurial thought leaders' or 'iInnovate' comes out and I just have to learn something new. Maybe… and maybe I have to go cold turkey, smell the roses, listen to the wind, smile at the nice people around me, and reserve my sound-consumption for a club or a stereo. I'm sad now; an era is perhaps over.

But maybe, you have discovered the ultimate, never-breaking, super-multi-bassboosting headphones yourself? In which case, SHOUT IT OUT in the comments, as I want in.

Vincent

This week, I have made a concerted effort to get back into the swing of things again. After a long day trip for a meeting in Paris on Monday (sounds glamorous, but was just exhausting), I must admit I did sleep in on Tuesday. Anyway, dragged myself out of bed for spinning yesterday, had an early night and toddled off to the gym this morning for a treadmill run complete with iPod and new-ish headphones.

I've struggled to find a decent pair of headphones for a while. I used to have a fairly robust pair of  over-the-ear style ones but lost them and couldn't remember the name of the manufacturer to get a replacement pair. Then I bought a pair of Philips headphones that looked similar in shape but were made of a flimsy white rubber material - arguably more comfortable but just kept bouncing away from my ears so I ended up with an atrocious tinny sound. They were about 35 quid, so not exactly cheap.

I did some research before making another problematic purchase, and read a few complimentary reviews and blogs about Sennheiser. The company makes a range of headphones designed for sports use. I plumped for the neckband model PMX70.

I've used them a few times now, and I'm already a convert. The neckband style looks a bit strange but works very well - although if you have long hair that you wear in a ponytail, you need to secure it into a some kind of bun affair to stop it banging against the band and distorting the sound. Once you have that sorted, the sound is excellent - a nice lot of bass and plenty of volume for noisy gyms and busy roads.

The Sennheisers don't channel sweat into your eardrums like other styles, and I'm led to believe by other users that they last longer than the average 12 months or so even if you are a very sweaty runner like me.

So, what don't I like about them? Well, they're a little tight (or maybe I just have a big head) so I can't imagine running for a couple of hours in them without feeling a bit uncomfortable by the end of the run. But I hope they'll loosen up with more use.

And obviously the colour is utterly hideous (there are no other colours available). I can't help thinking Sennheiser has missed a trick there given the range of colours the iPod Shuffle and Nano come in. The green/grey combo would really only go nicely with the green Shuffle, or maybe the silver one at a push. What it definitely doesn't go with is my pretty little lilac Shuffle that perches nice and neatly on my right hip...with a stonking great attention-seeking green wire sticking out of the top of it.

Anyway - on balance - a good buy. And available at the bargainous price of £14.99 from Amazon.

I suppose it wouldn't be that bad if I wasn't blowing away every single paycheck on things.
Don't get me wrong, I need some of this stuff, but... my definition of need is really broad, haha.  I think I can justify buying absolutely anything if I REALLY wanted to.

So this is what I've gotten in the mail recently + what I'm waiting on (from the past and next two weeks):

Sennheiser HD 280 Pro Headphones:
Because I reallly hate the noise on airplanes and since I'm going to be going back and forth from New York a lot... it'll be worth it.  They're like, the best passive noise reducing headphones out there. :)

Steve Madden Aviators:
Because my other pair is too dark, and...well, I can't really justify these. :P  Oh, except they were $20.

Glasses from zennioptical.com:
Because... well, my other glasses are too small for my eyes now.  And they were $20 with prescription lenses.

And finally:
Puma Romas. :D
Awesome walking shoes, because my Vans gives me blisters..  OH, and they were $30 shipped.  :3

And that's it. :D
The next paychecks until I quit are going into savings fo' sho.

Hmm, I just had a REALLY stupid idea - what if I start something where I look for bargains for people?  I'd get the thrill of looking without having to empty my pockets...  I'll have to sit on this.

If I mention shopping online to you at all before I move to NY, stop me D:
I need to enforce my shopping ban, somehow...

Sight
My vision is better than 20/20 I don't know how good it is, I maxxed out the charts at the eye doctor. I probably don't appreciate my sight as much as I should, the only time I really think about it is when I am actually paying attention to something visual.
There was a short movie that I watched while I was really, really tired; the music was really mellow and the colors were really trippy. I felt like I was on drugs or in a dream. I wish I could find that movie again.

Touch
I like feeling a warm pillow on my face, hugging my dog, swimming, playing with my hair, taking hot showers, what can I say, touch is really important to me. I think the biggest thing I would miss if I lost my feeling is being able to feel a hug. That would be really sad.

Hearing
I would say the most important sense to me is my hearing. The louder something is that I am vibing with, the more I feel connected. Which has not done a whole lot for keeping my hearing, but what can I say, everything that is fun is bad for you.

I really enjoy listening to music, I paid for $110 for Sennheiser headphones and then $250 for Astro Gaming headphones.
The Astros are sweet because they are 5.1 but the Sennheisers are definitely more comfortable.

My favorite band right now is Tool.
Sober, Vicarious, and Lateralus are the three best songs in my opinion.

Lateralus is cool because it is heavily based on the Fibonacci sequence, where a number is the sum of the two numbers before it. 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13...

This movie explains it really well.

Below is probably my favorite part of the song.

I'm reaching up and reaching out. I'm reaching for the random or what ever will
bewilder me.
what ever will bewilder me.
And following our will and wind we may just go where no one's been.
We'll ride the spiral to the end and may just go where no one's been.

Mehr Infos zum Sennheiser HD 205 gibt es hier.

Mehr Infos zum Sennheiser E 840 S gibt es hier.

In the virtual local pub that is the interweb's many forums, a few of us gathered to pontificate about HDV audio recently.

Of course, DV audio is all nice and dandy, and HDV has a little taint about it because it is compressed. Oh, I can feel hackles rising and feathers fluffing from here. Purists want 'anything with pretentions of broadcast or film-out' to have separate sound recorded onto a proper device. Now, I've got no problem with HDV sound for voice, on the basis that I usually record HDV audio at a little higher level than is considered polite for DVCAM (e.g. I allow levels to simmer around -12dB rather than the more conservative -18dB). But then again, we all know that most people set the level in any format so that the little red dot doesn't get lit. Whatever.

Lots of beard stroking about dynamic range, frequency response, preponderance of ear wax, and so on. But just before it all got too boring and sounding like a pitch shifted playground conversation, somebody piped up that today's HDV camcorders have audio systems with dynamic range that supersedes Nagras of a decade ago. And yet Nagras are still insanely popular and make great recordings used on the silver screen to this day.

There's more to good sound than its recording format. In these enlightened times, lots of boxes in the chain (radio mic transmitters, receivers, mixers, camera inputs, ingest methods, audio out in edit, compressed audio in final output) can do lots and lots of helpful things to prevent you from buggering up your audio, but at the same time, their automatic helpfulness can sometimes hide big problems under the virtual carpet. Alarm bells don't ring, but the audio sounds muffled because... oh. Right. Now you remember - you lent your wireless dongle to somebody who's upped its levels for mic use, and now you're plugging in a quiet line level from a sound feed. Sounds a bit fluffy - must be the feed.

No. It was the limiters in the wireless TX. Working hard to make sure that the cloth-eared wouldn't notice that it was being fed the equivalent of molten lava and passing on pure spring water.

And hopefully my HD25 cans will be repaired soon. Monitoring sound on iPod ear buds is like monitoring video wearing cheap scratched sunglasses.

Bose noise reducing around the ear headphones. I use these when I want to tune out the other noise going on around me. Very good balanced tonal quality.

Sennheiser HD435 open air headphones. The sound on these are incredible. They have deeper base and still reproduce crystal clear highs. They are open air so you can hear noises around you. 

Itunes. I have each album in it's own playlist and just scroll through my collection by album.

My  CD purchases are  basically all through Amazon. I can save usually a couple of bucks on each CD, and their quality of shipping is the best. I transfer the artwork and CD to a plastic CD sleeve that protects both (check out Jazz Loft CD sleeves)  These are great space savers. I also keep my MP3's backed up on disk.

So, come to think of it, it was not propably very wise to buy Sennheiser's MX 55 VC Street earphones. They have not only one, but two pieces of rubber that can come easily off, I today realized. Yes, the smaller rubber thing above the actual earphone secure the earphones very snugly into my ears, but the whole thing is going to be pretty useless, if they go missing.

Fortunately the box came with lots of spare parts. They might actually last a few weeks (and then I'll have to go buy another pair of headphones).

Sennheiser PXC350

As far as noise-canceling headphones go, Bose and Sennheiser dominate the top-end of this product range. While there are a few exceptions to this rule, it makes sense to gravitate to the veteran brands in the market. Although I did consider Bose to begin with, one major negative to their entire line of NC headphones was that audio transmission folds in passive mode, so once your batteries go flat, you’re basically left with a nice looking void.

Sennheiser’s high-end line includes two products: the PCX 350 and it’s slightly more tricked out older sister, the PXC 450. Both headphones are circumaural and offer Sennheiser’s advanced NoiseGard technology (which was originally developed for use by pilots). The PXC 450 offers to cut out up to 90% of ambient noise (as opposed to the PXC 350’s 85%) and also offers a feature called Talk Through, which allows the listener to momentarily activate tiny microphones on the exterior of the headphones and by thus doing enables the listener to communicate with, say, a flight attendant, while still wearing their headphones. With the exception of the above, and a distinct aesthetic look for each, the specifications of the two products are identical.

Opting for the PXC 350, I decided that as long as the noise canceling was sufficiently impressive, I could be content to live without the extra gadgetry. And so, we hit the road.

Pulling these out of the box, one is immediately impressed with is how sleek and solid these headphones are. The padded headband is adjustable and offers an axis from which the cups may be rotated (useful when folding flat for transportation). It’s nice to see that Sennheiser has also designed this product with the future in mind, making both the cord and the cushioned cups replaceable. Another feature to note is the indiscernible positioning for the battery compartment, which is integrated into the earcup and is virtually invisible when being worn. The noise canceling feature is activated by a small switch located toward the base of the left cup, with its status indicated by a red led light.

Comfort: Initially slipping these on, the feeling can be equated to clothing your head in silk. The headphones are easy and swift to adjust, and despite their solid construction, are remarkably lightweight. This inspired sensation however, is somewhat short lived. When wearing the headphones over a prolonged period of time, a distinct pressure builds around the head and detracts completely from the comfort rating. This is additionally compounded by the effect of the noise-canceling, which creates what feels like a shift in altitude for your ears. Thus when you remove the headphones, a cool rush imminently sets, inviting a slight “ear-popping” sensation and an unexpected gap in comfort.

Performance: Whilst the noise canceling feature is activated, sound reproduction with the PXC350s is suffused in a gratifying combination of the treble and the bass. The crisp clarity is able to reflect marvelously clean acoustics, with a rich tonal range from the lows through to the highs. Music selected for this review included Hella (math rock), Thelonius Monk (jazz), Jane Birkin (French chanson, live) and Estradasphere (wide range of genres). The bass was felt to be lacking height somewhat in the jazz genres, but apart from this, the details detectable in the sound output were impressive. Sound leakage is exceptionally minimal, and the sound quality remained distortion free even at high volume. With the noise canceling deactivated, however, there is a massive and evident loss of audio quality. The music suddenly becomes palpably flat, with the warmth and depth that was originally present waning to a dull meander in the audiophile park.

Noise canceling: Stepping into the world of noise canceling means that if it’s done well, you’re effectively able to remove the sound of your own footsteps as you walk. As my aeroplane flights are not till July, I tested the headphones’ noise canceling ability in a couple of “noise jungle” environments. a) train/tram: mechanical train sounds were drastically reduced. I was especially interested to see whether the noise-canceling would prove effective at the lower volumes, and happily the headphones did not disappoint. Loud voices of course could not be entirely removed from the audio-landscape, but the reduction of ambient noise in general was highly impressive. b) the city: becomes dangerous when you are wearing a pair of these headphones. The noise of the city droned consistently behind the music, but there is no comparison to ordinary headphones to these Sennheiser’s. Tip up the volume slightly and your world becomes completely oblivious to the pounding of 200 pairs of feet slapping against the pavement beside you.

While I am not casting my final vote till I validate my boarding pass, so far, these headphones have been an agreeable, if not wholly satisfying, purchase. With one of the reasons of opting for the Sennheiser over the Bose being their ability to function in passive mode, it was disappointing to see that the headphones’ sound quality went head-first down the deep ravine as soon as they were forced to function without the battery boosted noise-canceling function. Comfort wise, the headphones don’t quite hit the mark, yet they are perfectly fine for short bursts of time. Noise canceling ability is five stars. Stay tuned for future updates.

]]> http://cockyboy.wordpress.com/?p=46 Sun, 25 May 2008 20:30:21 +0000 cockyboy http://cockyboy.wordpress.com/?p=46

Ca fait maintenant un mois que j'ai acheté un casque de chez Sennheiser, le HD 457. J'y connais rien en casques donc j'ai pris le premier qui m'est tombé sous la main pour mon lecteur mp3.

Donc après un mois de test je peux vous dire que je suis globalement satisfait. Le son est très bien restitué et on est bien isolé des bruits extérieurs. J'avais précédemment un Sennheiser et je peux vous dire que concernant la qualité d'écoute c'est toujours top. Le son est puissant et les aigus sont clairs, par contre on se rend compte que la restitution des graves est trop forte et ça cause parfois un déséquilibre qu'il faut corriger soi-même. Il faut noter qu'une personne extérieure entend le morceau qu'on écoute dès qu'on met le volume aux 3/4 maximum. Ca en gênera certains, d'autres moins.

Le casque est très robuste et léger malgré le fait qu'il soit en plastique mais le design n'est pas top. Le casque tient bien sur la tête et il est très confortable même après de longues minutes d'écoute. Après ça dépend de la morphologie du crâne de chacun (prenez-moi au sérieux je vous en prie).

Pour finir, je dirais que ce casque est avant tout destiné aux musiciens, aux guitaristes, aux professionnels quoi. C'est pas un casque adapté à l'écoute mobile déjà à cause du cable très long qui fait 3 mètres (il est cependant livré avec un enrouleur de cordon) et de part le design du casque qui est bien trop gros pour être emporté partout (même autour du cou ça reste gênant). L'été il tient trop chaud aux oreilles et on transpire, croyez-moi (par contre l'hiver ça doit être super).

Pour une même tranche de prix et pour une utilisation mobile on a le JVC HA-NC80 qui est vachement sympa, je vous le conseille.

Sennheiser HD 457 - 39,98€ à la Fnac (vous trouverez bien moins cher sur le net bien entendu)

Cocky Boy

Well, sometimes it's not worth a damn - sometimes it's worth everything. It just depends on who you are. Either way, once you look into it, you won't see a thin veil of magic marketing and superficial shadows on the wall - you'll see a tremendous drive and passion for pushing the limits of the human experience.

The Taste

For some people, salt is just salt. It goes on sale occasionally at Albertsons for $0.04/oz. Well, this almost ubiquitous seasoning is also one of the most sought after seasonings in the world. Walk outside the US and It comes in almost a hundred different ways which can range from your traditional table salt by Morton ($0.06/oz.), to Camargue's Fleur de Sel from France at $2.16/oz. It can come from Peru, Hawaii, Himalayan, Maine, New Zealand, and all the various oceans, each finely gathered and closely guarded with their own distinct flavor. Try pouring Morton's on your $90 4 oz. Japanese Kobe beef and most likely the executive chef will chase you out with a butcher knife.

The Smell

Back when I worked at Starbucks, all employees are forced to go through coffee tastings to better understand, appreciate, and market the various types of coffee. The first eight coffees I had gone through had "it tastes like coffee" under the "taste" category, and "it smells like coffee" scrawled in the "smell" category. After about six more however, I started to notice subtle differences. Nut. Oak. Sweetness. Cherries? Apples? How does one pick up a cherry smell from a coffee bean is beyond me, but I swear it smells like cherries. For a step above, all you need to do is look to your local wine merchant for an even more intense and extreme form of olfactory sensory perception. The very best "winos" as we call them, can tell the grape of a foreign wine they've never had from just a brief whiff of the 'nose', some being able to even tell the year and vineyard in which the wine came from, with 99% accuracy. If they've had the wine before, the accuracy creeps closer to 100%.

The Sight

Back in the day, a black-and-white TV picking up basic channels out of the air was frighteningly "lifelike."  Good enough?  Hell no.  If you compare an HD broadcast to an old TV on airwaves, the TV looks like a disgusting mess of scrambled eggs.  The same goes with DVD and slightly less so, Blu-Ray.  We've exponentially multiplied the number of pixels from 345,600 (old TV) to 2,073,600 (HDTV,1080p) in a single frame.  Sure, HDTV looks great, but we haven't even scratched the surface of digital visual reproduction.  When is it going to be enough?  Researchers estimate that it'll take about 15,000,000 pixels to make it indistinguishable to the human eye...so...we have a ways to go.

The Sound

Take a standard pair of headphones such as say, the headphones on your iPod.  Sure, they sound pretty good.  You can hear the music right?  Well, by audiophile standards, the standard iPod headphones are pretty horrendous in sound reproduction.

Take a quick peek around, and you'll find yourself easily forking over $80 to $120 for a decent pair of earbuds that will do your music justice.  Right around there, you start running into your second barrier:  the mp3 file sound quality.  A standard mp3 comes in 128 to 192 kbps, but to really make use of your earbuds and push the limits of your iPod, you'll need to find a source cleaner than that.  Getting a song encoded in 256 or 320 kbps is the first step, the next is lossless (i.e. FLAC), and for the hardcore, the old-school *.wav file that'll turn your normal 3.5 Mb file into a 44 Mb one.

Once you get a lossless album pumping through your iPod, you reach a third barrier: your headphones... again.  Unless you're really attached to earbuds and don't mind paying up to $650 for custom earbuds perfectly molded specifically for your ear, you'll probably move on to full headphones called 'cans.'  Strange sounding companies such as Grado and Sennheiser make studio or reference versions of these that cost upwards of $800.  But just as you're feeling pretty good about your hard-core set of cans in your music backpack, you run into barrier number four:  your iPod.

Your iPod is a pretty good at reproducing sound, but it's noisy due to it's compact circuitry and construction.  To minimize this, you'll want to turn the volume to the absolute minimum, and then buy a high-quality amplifier that has less noise than your iPod.  These amplifiers are slowly getting more portable, and start at around $200 and go easily into the thousands.  The standard audiophile listening pack carries a high quality music source, a powered amplifier, and a good set of cans.

But eventually, even the minimum amount of noise on the iPod is just too much, and the reproduction isn't good enough...so you got to ditch it.  This is where you hear people talking about how analogue sources such as record players "sound better" than digital sources such as CD players.  Some hardcore audiophiles will go back and build their own fully insulated analogue players with vacuum tubes (because they sound better than today's transistors).  As my college Physics TA once said, "normal hearing is around 20Hz-20kHz, so most sound devices shoot for this range.  About 10% of the population can hear around 15hz-22KHz, and they will pay thousands of dollars for super-accurate hardware that will allow them to hear those ranges."  For some, any pair of headphones or speakers will do - for others, the extra couple hundred dollars is completely worth it for audio nirvana.

The Speed

In this day and age, not many people ever need more than about 100 horsepower in a standard roadcar to safely maneuver their way to their destination.   This includes accident avoidance, overtaking, and quick-starts off the shoulder.  So why would anyone ever need 300 horsepower, which is standard on most $45,000 cars?  It goes well beyond practicality and almost into bragging rights right?  Well, for some, that sense of power is bit more sublime.  The speed of a roadcar is akin to the pace of the human technological frontier.  The passion and pursuit of speed is a bit like how you try to go higher and higher on a swing as a kid.  It's not necessarily about bragging rights, it's just exhilarating in pushing the limits of yourself and the swing.  Cars beyond $250,000 are not much more luxurious or comfortable than ones at $80,000.  In fact, some are much less so.  So what are you getting?  It's this pursuit of speed that is so strong in us, it keeps companies such as Ferrari, Lamborghini, Bugatti, and Porsche in business.  Think $250,000 is too much for a 640 horsepower Ferrari?  Consider $1.4 million for a 1,001 horsepower Bugatti Veyron.  And yes, they are street-legal, normal roadcars that you could use everyday.

Vormittags bin ich zu Willi Dammeier gefahren, um noch meine 4x12 Box und meinen Amp aus seinem Studio abzuholen. Willi und seine Praktikantin Sabrina sind gleich mitgefahren, um mal zu sehen/hören, was wir so machen. Ausserdem war Willi so nett, uns ein paar seiner SENNHEISER Mikrofone zu leihen, die für Gitarrenaufnahmen hervorragend geeignet sind. Gitarrensoundcheck ging gegen Mittag los und dauerte ca. 4-5 Stunden. Während Olli einen ausgedehten Spaziergang gemacht hat und auch mal bei IKEA shoppen war (ist gleich um die Ecke), haben wir diverse Boxen mit diversen Verstärker-Kombinationen ausprobiert, die Boxen, mal hier- und mal dorthin gestellt und viel 'rumgefrickelt.

Am frühen Abend waren wir dann Aufnahmebereit, als mir dann noch folgendes passierte: Matze hatte seine Effekte auf seinem "Stressbrett" mit Kabelbindern festgemacht und musste an seinen Verzerrer ran. Ich also mein Schweizer Messer gezückt (Abt. "Lass' mich mal machen.") und den blöden Kabelbinder durchgeschnitten. Leider erfolgte der Schnitt so abrupt, daß sich die Messerspitze -schwups- in meine linke Handinnenfläche bohrte, mit der ich den Verzerrer festhielt. Der Schnitt war zum Glück weder sehr tief, noch sehr lang. Es fing nur gleich zu bluten an, aber der gute Hans-Martin hat mir umgehend ein Pflaster geholt und dann war's auch gut.

Voller Einsatz für TERRY HOAX!

Wir hatten uns entschieden, beide Rhythmusgitarren gleichzeitig aufzunehmen, weil's einfach wilder 'rüberkommt. ;) Der erste Song war "Shake Your Head" und nach einem kleinen Gitarrenwechsel ("Spiel die Tele, Matze! Die TELE!!!") haben Marcus und Matze echt gut losgerockt. PUNK-fuckin'-ROCK! Danach folgte gleich "Love Madness", der von den Gitarren her noch irrer und noch heavier war. Guitar-madness im Hause TERRY HOAX!!! Boah! Als dritten Song hatten wir noch "Don't Talk It Over" angefangen, aber es war echt schon zu spät, um eine halbwegs gute Performance hinzulegen. Da wir alle schon ziemlich kaputt waren, haben wir dann Schicht gemacht und sind schön nach Hause gefahren. Mit dem Song machen wir heute weiter.

Das hat echt richtig Bock gemacht gestern! Ich freue mich schon auf heute!

Kleine Anekdote am Rande: Olli wollte gern das Champions-League Finale auf SAT 1 gucken, aber die Satelliten-Anlage im Peppermint Park Studio konnte tatsächlich SAT 1 als einzigen Sender nicht empfangen! Alle anderen 500 Programme kein Problem, aber SAT 1... - Fehlanzeige! Somit musste uns Kai immer via Liveticker im Internet auf dem Laufenden halten. :D

Zum Glück sind ordentlich Gitarren da.

Soundcheck mit Marcus und Matze

True Metal - mit 'ner Junior!

Olli - Kekse mit Milch

Matze - schont weder Material noch sich selbst.

Rock Power!

Marcus beim Fussballgucken.

Kai bereichtet uns live - via Liveticker im Internet.

Alles wieder gut.

http://europe.nokia.com/bh-903

When I first got this headset to trial from WOMWorld/Nokia I was ready to throw it back into the box as SOMEONE had set the language to German (Well I did have the N810 to play with), but with a little help from Google Translator I soon managed to change the language to English, and am I glad I did.

The BH-903 fits around your neck with normal looking earphones, but has a control unit with a lcd display which lets you know which song or radio station (It has built-in FM Radio) you are playing and also displays the caller when you receive a phone call. The little unit has the normal music controls for play, pause, stop, next, previous, FF, FB and a iPod like touch scroll key for the volume.

Sound quality is the best I’ve had from Nokia earphones (Will never beat my Sennheiser PX-200’s, but they are plugin not BT) and the volume is quite loud, even in a noisy environment. I’ve tested out in the office, in the car and on a busy street.

Calling using the headset couldn’t be easier, you can use voice dial or access your phones Dialled Calls, Received Calls or Missed Calls direct from the control unit and the call clarity is very good as well.

I left my phone in my jacket and used the BH-903 for the whole morning, walking around the office listening and controlling my music and radio, taking calls and dialling the wife now and then. Nokia should have included this headset in the box for the N95 8GB, it would have been a sure-fire winner.

Price? Well the cheapest I’ve seen for this headset is £99.99 from play.com, maybe a nice birthday present for the Nokia geek in your life? “WIFE are you reading this?”

Akhirnya tanggal 18 April 2008 kemaren, selepas jam kantor saya jalan-jalan ke Poins Square di deket Lebak Bulus yang ada toko komputer dan aksesoris yang lumayan lengkap. Setelah mengunjungi beberapa toko, akhirnya saya memutuskan membeli di bhineka sekalian membeli memory 1 GB untuk laptop saya.

Saya harus mengeluarkan 455 ribu Rupiah untuk meminang Sennheiser PX 100 dan menyandingkannya dengan Compaq Presario V3725AU. Dan ternyata memang hasilnya jadi luar biasa dahsyat, meskipun setelahnya membelinya, langsung jatuh bangun aku mengejarmu miskin.

Berikut fiturnya yang langsung saya ambil dari sini :

• Dynamic stereo mini headphones
• Great for travel and outdoor use with mobile sources such as CD, MD or MP3 players
• Fold and flip: registered design allows the ear cups to be turned through 90° and fold the headphones closed (headphones will lock in open and closed positions)
• 1.4 m Kevlar-reinforced OFC copper cable with 3.5 mm stereo jack plug
• Fits into the shirt pocket: rugged transport case with cord take-up (145 x 75 x 27 mm)
• Excellent sound quality for mobile audio sources
• High-resolution sound due to Sennheiser “Duofol” diaphragms with spiral embossing (reduces and spreads eigenforms)
• Strong Neodymium magnets for extremely low distortion
• High efficiency and powerful reproduction
• Balanced and detailed sound image for all types of music
• Crisp and fast bass response due to system “twin damping” with 80ppi polyurethane and special perforated elements
• Special baffle (based on the legendary HD 414) ensures very balanced sound
• Lightweight: only 60 g without cable
• Comfortable: headband with split padding
• Rugged and durable: robust steel headband with metal joints, steel-reinforced headband ends, connection to the ear cups tested for durability
• 2-year guarantee

Dan sekali lagi saya membuktikan bahwa harga memang sebanding dengan kualitas dan kepuasan yang ditawarkan. ***Duhh...kapan mo nabung buat nikah ya, kalau gampang tergiur kayak gini!!!

"Sennheiser está buscando su propio sonido corporativo, al estilo de grandes marcas como THX, Apple, Microsoft o incluso Coca-Cola o McDonals. La competición se abrió el pasado 17 de Enero, pero aún queda hasta el 17 de Julio para que presentes tu propuesta sonora. En juego hay 5.000 euros ? aunque en caso de que Sennheiser decida adquirir sus derechos para uso ilimitado, el triunfador se llevará a casa otros 30 mil euros. Para obtar a ellos, debes crear un sonido no mayor de ocho segundos con el que la marca se sienta identificada, convertirlo a un MP3 estéreo de 128kb/s de 10MB como máximo, y subirlo a la web del concurso http://www.se-soundlogo.com/. Quienes obtengan del segundo al décimo lugar podrán elegir entre los mejores audífonos de la marca ?el modelo HD 650?, o equipar su sala de ensayos con el sistema de microfonía inalámbrica ew300 G2 de la serie evolution wireless pues masters manos ala obra y que alguno de nosotros puede ser el creador de la nueva firma auditiva de esta importante marca"

Si necesitas más info, puedes visitar la página del concurso.

The Dieline posted this yesterday (Looks like they found it from the Design Muse) and I had to share with all of you as well. It just goes to show that eco-friendly packaging can also be beautiful. From Design Muse: The packaging is made from cardboard and is 100% recyclable - no nasty plastic clam shell to clog up land fills. Nice work all around. More Images after the jump