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PSU is a Seasonic S12-430, YMMV
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Friday, November 27, 2009
Re:-posting
I might have reposted a few things a few times.
But that's how journalism works. Every once in a while there will be an article teaching you how to build a DIY computer, how to overclock. And on the forums you often see WOLS people thinking old concepts are new inventions.
At least what I post are hard to find, that is the philosophy of this blog. Unlike how to build a DIY computer which has so many different authors you see until sian already.
And at least I don't repeat it one-hundred-and-twenty-three times
But that's how journalism works. Every once in a while there will be an article teaching you how to build a DIY computer, how to overclock. And on the forums you often see WOLS people thinking old concepts are new inventions.
At least what I post are hard to find, that is the philosophy of this blog. Unlike how to build a DIY computer which has so many different authors you see until sian already.
And at least I don't repeat it one-hundred-and-twenty-three times
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
The Difference Between Smart And Dumb Upgrading:
If you have an open mind, you'll believe (with skepticism) most audio upgrades and tweaks
So both the smart and the dumb upgraders will eventually do the same things - audio fuses, CD mats, spikes for equipment with no moving parts, resonators, magic pebbles, de-static for grounded conductive parts (just in case, if you do not understand why this is pointless, please do a search), pulse generators, parallel power noise filters, power grid vibration dampers, and anything requiring nuclear or quantum physics (probably relativistic physics too), Schrödinger's cat, Klingons, Pikachus, and Yagami Light.
But the main difference is that the smart upgraders know where that $200 or $1k should go first. And it usually does not involve Klingons.
So, if you realize that you've been spending extra on stupid things which could be better spent on more realistic things, this is a sign for you to stop. Fortunately for you all, those who enjoy reading my blog, you most probably haven't, and for those who do realize, now you know. For those that are not reading my blog, well, they can't see this anyway.
So both the smart and the dumb upgraders will eventually do the same things - audio fuses, CD mats, spikes for equipment with no moving parts, resonators, magic pebbles, de-static for grounded conductive parts (just in case, if you do not understand why this is pointless, please do a search), pulse generators, parallel power noise filters, power grid vibration dampers, and anything requiring nuclear or quantum physics (probably relativistic physics too), Schrödinger's cat, Klingons, Pikachus, and Yagami Light.
But the main difference is that the smart upgraders know where that $200 or $1k should go first. And it usually does not involve Klingons.
So, if you realize that you've been spending extra on stupid things which could be better spent on more realistic things, this is a sign for you to stop. Fortunately for you all, those who enjoy reading my blog, you most probably haven't, and for those who do realize, now you know. For those that are not reading my blog, well, they can't see this anyway.
The Hype Cycle
As technology advances, so do the performance and value of products.
Some people get left behind due to the lack of information of the new products and too much information of the old.
A few pioneers use the new product and go and hype about how good it is. (Note: May not necessarily be true)
More people join the bandwagon, realize (or think - there's a difference) the old product is overhyped and not good, and move on to the new product, and the hype level of new product increases.
New product becomes overhyped.
Repeat cycle.
Well, this is my version for the cycle. Gartner, Inc. has another more widely-known and adopted version here:
Hype cycle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Some people get left behind due to the lack of information of the new products and too much information of the old.
A few pioneers use the new product and go and hype about how good it is. (Note: May not necessarily be true)
More people join the bandwagon, realize (or think - there's a difference) the old product is overhyped and not good, and move on to the new product, and the hype level of new product increases.
New product becomes overhyped.
Repeat cycle.
Well, this is my version for the cycle. Gartner, Inc. has another more widely-known and adopted version here:
Hype cycle - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Monday, November 23, 2009
A Thought A Day: Tubes
I've heard powerful tubes. But I've heard many more lousy ones.
And it's the lousy ones that some people like.
Tubes that do not have the so-known weaknesses of tubes don't sound good, apparently.
(tubes as in the implementation - tube amp, tube DAC)
Note: This post has to do with a newly-released product. And it has a tube inside (you could've guessed). Can you guess what it is?
And it's the lousy ones that some people like.
Tubes that do not have the so-known weaknesses of tubes don't sound good, apparently.
(tubes as in the implementation - tube amp, tube DAC)
Note: This post has to do with a newly-released product. And it has a tube inside (you could've guessed). Can you guess what it is?
Tuesday, November 17, 2009
Words of wisdom of the day:
"If a sales thread gets modified until you see nothing related to any information of the product, or worse if the entire thread is deleted after the sale, high chance there is something wrong.
If you didn't get it, don't feel too bad. If you got it, you'll know whether there is some truth to that statement."
If you didn't get it, don't feel too bad. If you got it, you'll know whether there is some truth to that statement."
Monday, November 16, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
metro.fi 150 - sold out everywhere
I knew some of the metro.fi series were discontinued, and hence will disappear in time to come
But almost everywhere I see selling the metro.fi (usually NOT earphone/audio shops, but electronics stores or Apple stores) have the 100, the 200, the 170 & the 220.
Just not 150.
Why the distribution?
And the 170 sells for the same price as the 150 - $79.
Did Logitech kill it because it will compete with the 170?
Why didn't they kill 200 then?
Was it too lousy and will shame Ultimate Ears in comparison?
Or is it too good it got sold out?
Being one of the few to have regularly used both the 150 and the 170, I might have the answer.
And the answer is all of them.
I'll save the review for next time though.
Oh and btw, I didn't know there was a nubox outlet in Jurong Point.
But almost everywhere I see selling the metro.fi (usually NOT earphone/audio shops, but electronics stores or Apple stores) have the 100, the 200, the 170 & the 220.
Just not 150.
Why the distribution?
And the 170 sells for the same price as the 150 - $79.
Did Logitech kill it because it will compete with the 170?
Why didn't they kill 200 then?
Was it too lousy and will shame Ultimate Ears in comparison?
Or is it too good it got sold out?
Being one of the few to have regularly used both the 150 and the 170, I might have the answer.
And the answer is all of them.
I'll save the review for next time though.
Oh and btw, I didn't know there was a nubox outlet in Jurong Point.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Why graphics cards don't need as much cooling as CPU
This idea just came to me...
While we already know that graphics cards eat much more power than CPUs...,
Why are the biggest graphics card coolers still way smaller than CPUs'?
How is this thing able to cool a GTX280?
Then I realize that gfx cards can run at much higher temperatures compared to CPU.
The amount of heat dissipated by a particular object is proportional to the temperature delta, or difference, between the object and the thing that it is supposed to lose heat to - air in this case.
The difference in temperature require to transfer energy at the rate of 1W, is called thermal resistance, measured in degrees per W
Which is the the strange °C/W symbol you see on all decent review sites of HSFs. It is a much more accurate show of performance rather than the stupid temperature which differs depending on the CPU and ambient temperature, which always differs.
Since at twice the temperature difference the object dissipates twice the amount of heat
If the air inside the case is 40 degrees and a CPU runs at 50 degrees
The gfx card can run at 80 degrees to dissipate 4 times the heat, given the same heatsink. Meaning it can either dissipate the same amount of heat as the CPU using a heatsink 1/4 as effective or twice the heat with a half-as-effective heatsink, which is what is probably happening now.
Since the most powerful CPU HSF can cool a 78W processor with only 10 degrees difference
A powerful gfx using 150W and a half-as-effective heatsink - 40 degrees difference.
Or lets go lower - a mid-range gfx card with 75W power - and a heatsink 1/4 as effective = also 80 degrees.
CPUs die at 80 degrees, so people will complain. (Anything over 60 or 65 or 70 is bad already)
GFX card can go over 80. Even 100.
Hence the lousier heatsinks.
It all makes sense now.
While we already know that graphics cards eat much more power than CPUs...,
Why are the biggest graphics card coolers still way smaller than CPUs'?
How is this thing able to cool a GTX280?
Then I realize that gfx cards can run at much higher temperatures compared to CPU.
The amount of heat dissipated by a particular object is proportional to the temperature delta, or difference, between the object and the thing that it is supposed to lose heat to - air in this case.
The difference in temperature require to transfer energy at the rate of 1W, is called thermal resistance, measured in degrees per W
Which is the the strange °C/W symbol you see on all decent review sites of HSFs. It is a much more accurate show of performance rather than the stupid temperature which differs depending on the CPU and ambient temperature, which always differs.
Since at twice the temperature difference the object dissipates twice the amount of heat
If the air inside the case is 40 degrees and a CPU runs at 50 degrees
The gfx card can run at 80 degrees to dissipate 4 times the heat, given the same heatsink. Meaning it can either dissipate the same amount of heat as the CPU using a heatsink 1/4 as effective or twice the heat with a half-as-effective heatsink, which is what is probably happening now.
Since the most powerful CPU HSF can cool a 78W processor with only 10 degrees difference
A powerful gfx using 150W and a half-as-effective heatsink - 40 degrees difference.
Or lets go lower - a mid-range gfx card with 75W power - and a heatsink 1/4 as effective = also 80 degrees.
CPUs die at 80 degrees, so people will complain. (Anything over 60 or 65 or 70 is bad already)
GFX card can go over 80. Even 100.
Hence the lousier heatsinks.
It all makes sense now.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Inside or outside?
The power supply, that is.
In an ideal situation I'd want an oversized chassis with an oversized transformer taking up maybe 1/4 of the space, the power supply 1/4, digital and analogue stages 1/4 each - just rough estimates, ideally and in real life the analogue stage will be closer to half, digital less than 1/4 and power supply in between. Assuming DAC only - if plus receiver and control and other stuff like reclocking and PLL the digital part easily becomes the biggest.
But that's for DAC of course. For simple amp with only analogue stages, half pre half power, or a little pre full power, anything. Still I'd want an oversized chassis with a badass transformer and lots of capacitors.
But what if one doesn't have the luxury of a large casing - just a small or tiny one.
Just enough to fit a small transformer.
Would you rather use half the space for a small transformer and enjoy the benefit of a beefier, lower-impedance power-source that requires less capacitors to work well, or use a wall-wart with the entire space in the casing for more and better parts?
One thing I do know for sure, is that I can't choose - I already have one of those small China amps. With the transformer inside. And on the other hand, the Lepai T-amp is wall-wart-powered.
An external power supply via a good power brick would be the best choice. But at $40 for a good one, the cost doesn't add up to the benefits, if you're using or building something that needs to care about this problem.
No picture of my Chinese class-AB amp though, I'm not at home right now. Here's a picture of the Lepai:
It's pretty sexy considering its price and size
In an ideal situation I'd want an oversized chassis with an oversized transformer taking up maybe 1/4 of the space, the power supply 1/4, digital and analogue stages 1/4 each - just rough estimates, ideally and in real life the analogue stage will be closer to half, digital less than 1/4 and power supply in between. Assuming DAC only - if plus receiver and control and other stuff like reclocking and PLL the digital part easily becomes the biggest.
But that's for DAC of course. For simple amp with only analogue stages, half pre half power, or a little pre full power, anything. Still I'd want an oversized chassis with a badass transformer and lots of capacitors.
But what if one doesn't have the luxury of a large casing - just a small or tiny one.
Just enough to fit a small transformer.
Would you rather use half the space for a small transformer and enjoy the benefit of a beefier, lower-impedance power-source that requires less capacitors to work well, or use a wall-wart with the entire space in the casing for more and better parts?
One thing I do know for sure, is that I can't choose - I already have one of those small China amps. With the transformer inside. And on the other hand, the Lepai T-amp is wall-wart-powered.
An external power supply via a good power brick would be the best choice. But at $40 for a good one, the cost doesn't add up to the benefits, if you're using or building something that needs to care about this problem.
No picture of my Chinese class-AB amp though, I'm not at home right now. Here's a picture of the Lepai:
It's pretty sexy considering its price and size
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Headphones...
...and why I hate them
I almost forgot about this reason. It's not the warmth, it's not the stress on the ears and surrounding regions,
It's how the sound changes depending on how you wear it. How front, how back, how tilted, how tight. This is before talking about mods such as distancers and sponges and whatnots.
Very irritating if you want your music to be consistent.
One good reason why you tend to see speakers instead of headphones being used for mixing. But there are many good reasons.
Still, you'll always need headphones in the recording studio. For recording purposes.
I almost forgot about this reason. It's not the warmth, it's not the stress on the ears and surrounding regions,
It's how the sound changes depending on how you wear it. How front, how back, how tilted, how tight. This is before talking about mods such as distancers and sponges and whatnots.
Very irritating if you want your music to be consistent.
One good reason why you tend to see speakers instead of headphones being used for mixing. But there are many good reasons.
Still, you'll always need headphones in the recording studio. For recording purposes.
This deserves a photo:
From this:
To this:
In less than one hour
Hello revision
This is just for the quiz on one subject, expect the one for 2 subjects, full test to be much more epic.
To this:
In less than one hour
Hello revision
This is just for the quiz on one subject, expect the one for 2 subjects, full test to be much more epic.
Monday, November 9, 2009
The best things feel short and long at the same time -
Short because you're enjoying it, long because it's meaningful.
Sunday, November 8, 2009
This is what happens when you don't practise self-control when posting:
The best sounding audio integrated opamps - diyAudio forums
Though I'm not one to talk... but hey, I use my own blog. He doesn't.
Though I'm not one to talk... but hey, I use my own blog. He doesn't.
Contradiction of the day:
"yeah..the caps mostly improve the stagesound of the whole setup while minimizing the changes to the sound signature..which mean you still get the sound signature you like..while having more extension and bigger stagesound.."
Needless to say which forum I got this from...
Needless to say which forum I got this from...
Sunday, November 1, 2009
New school of thought:
"There's never too much of something, only too little of something else."
And it's so true. When a speaker has too much mids, it's because it does not have enough bass and highs.
A HD3850 on Athlon 64 (my setup) - it's not too much gfx power, but too little CPU power.
This is based on the fact that there is never enough of everything. Even for fat - not because you eat too much, but because you're not burning it fast enough.
And there's never such thing as too much gfx power.
And it's so true. When a speaker has too much mids, it's because it does not have enough bass and highs.
A HD3850 on Athlon 64 (my setup) - it's not too much gfx power, but too little CPU power.
This is based on the fact that there is never enough of everything. Even for fat - not because you eat too much, but because you're not burning it fast enough.
And there's never such thing as too much gfx power.
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