Yotsunoha OVA - Afterthoughts (Also included: Some thoughts regarding ratings)

Well... I'm not sure if there are people who still like short stories anymore. But I for one am still a lover of those, and actually prefer them over long stories that are too elongated for anything interesting to be left after a while.

And this OVA, it is a very good piece of work. So it isn't nice to see it having a rating of ~6 on AniDB.net. But there are many important (and probably most influencing) factors to consider for the generic votes:

1. Whether the series is famous/well-known - being a flock of sheeps, most humans well tend to follow whatever others are doing/saying/thinking and have their own thoughts influenced by it. And yes so everybody is watching show xxx, it's got to be good and I must watch it also.

Sadly, it's rarely the case that the most famous/well-known titles are the best. I'm sure there are many *cough* examples out there. But to avoid offending any specific Anime supporter and to keep the context recent I'll relate to the recent Red Cliff movie that I just watched a week ago. Yes many people are watching, it set record sales and had a 80m budget, aside from the rave reviews and high ratings. But I can tell you, it sucked. Sure there are excellent points, but it sucked. In fact it sucked so much it was criticized on Taiwanese forums so much that it was even featured on the Taiwanese news.

2. The genre - unfortunately this is IMO a legitimate rating skewer. As in skew-er, to give a bias to/against or distort, not skewer, as in to kill. Because our preferences differ, what one likes may not appeal to another. And romance* shows are already on the edge. Add the slice-of-life feeling, recall of past events, short story representation, and there's practically nothing left.

* Romance in this context refers to a story that focuses on relationships and its development, not one that has its main point on something else like fighting, war or weapons. Not caring to avoid offending anyone, I can say that the latter usually has near-zero fomance and if any, it is of a elementary level. Meaning I love you and you love me, period, plus usually an obscure reason for it.

I myself am aware of my own preferences, so whenever I rate I try to give a possible rating range. I will give my own rating, but will mention the point modifiers. And if asked to give a single rating for the masses, I'll take my rating, minus half of the points that were the result of the modifier.

3. There was supposed to be a third point - sadly I forgot. :P

But anyway, the point is to read the the more detailed reviews IN DETAIL - there is a review of 6.5, while being a tad low (although relatively, it's already higher than the generic vote), there are lots of compliments, but weighed down by the story. Oh yes, which brings us to the third point:

3. Background/context - again sadly (yes the rating system is full of sadness), while this is also a legitimate point modifier, nobody actually cares about the background and context unless it is related to point no. 1. But in order to appreciate the show fully one has to understand the origin - from where did it come from, how is it made and what is its purpose or audience. But then you can argue that a generic vote should refer the opinion of a generic audience - I do not question that, that's why I also consider this a modifier and remove half the modifier points for the generic vote; it's too harsh on the show if I rate it just for the generic clueless audience without giving it some credit. More on this later.

First thing before the show: The Opening

While I don't judge shows by their opening, it's usually a good gauge of how good the show is. Because it is a show of how much effort the people are willing to put in. A good song with appropriate video will give a good first impression also.
(Of course, there are cases that I either love or hate the OP a lot but not the show, because there's lots of preference involved. Take Nanatsuiro Drops' OP - that will always be on my top list. The directorship is also good, but story really sucked and weighed it down alot, and the show is only average after applying modifiers.)

This show, song is nice, normal romance Anime type but still new in some ways. Video, very nice. Especially the background. Better than average at the very least. Lines are clean, many scenes (from the game obviously). Full of details.

On the whole, another OP on my fav list, both video and song.

If I were to rate this show, I'll give it my own score of 7.5, with the modifiers:

Artwork is good. Not the best, not revolutionary, but there is nothing to complain about. It looks normal, with extra details where required. Just very pleasing.
Story - a bit short, some characters not used fully - but many other shows are also culprits of this. Setting of reunion is good and although the basic school harem is always the norm. Characters are good, each with some personality that doesn't overlap too much, although you do see the usual norm - loli, friendly (and a bit dumb?) onee-chan, tsundere. But the male protagonist is a bit openly ecchi, and that's not usual and I like that.
Enjoyment - If I can spend longer to blog than watch something, what does it says about enjoyment? It's not heavy and does not require much brainwork, just some good easy enjoyment. No rewatchability though unless you played the game.
Enjoyment weighs a lot in my ratings btw.

Now the modifiers:
Short story - I myself don't penalize for short stories and I don't think anyone should, but those thinking that the story isn't enough will do it. Easily brings down the point by 1.
Background - The original games ought to be very long, as can be seen from the many events that were stuffed into the OVA. This OVA is most likely aimed at the original players, or to get new players to play. (I, for one, has been psycho-ed) Considering that, the limitation of its length, it is a job well done. +1 for background.
(Note: Background can also minus points, if the original is good but the adaptation sucks, like the famous cases of Fate, Tsukihime, Clannad and Air movies. Watching the good original will make the bad adaptation seem even worse, so take that in mind when rating, and use the modifier appropriately)
Genre - School, romance, life, the worst combination one can think of. Number of people that like all 3 together, very little if not counting the eroge cult group. Minus 2 points.

Ok, now the ratings:
In this case, I'm not affected by background and romance genre modifiers. Most of the time I try to ignore background and take the shows at face-value, although cases like Air movie and Fate can really make you throw up. For the romance genre, having read/watched the better of the love stories out there my expectation is high, so if it does an ok job, no point change. But if it does a bad job, like the obscure love relationship and/or harem, prepare to be sunk. In this case, applying the modifier actually increases the rating. However, I still have to apply the school + life modifiers, which is a +1.

So, my score is 7.5 after two +1s. So an appropriate rating for a general audience would be 7.5 - 2/2 = 6.5.

Hmm... seems like the case with that AniDB review guy. 6.5 with lots of compliments.

But seriously, I can't give it an 8, because 8 = must watch unless you really hate the genre because it's sure to be something good. I can let this one past, and was actually deciding between 7 and 7.5, but 7 feels too low by AniDB standards.

But oh well, it all ends well.

Sonic Impact Technologies gets wierder...

First, they shocked the world with their T-Amp

Then, they disappointed the world with their 2nd-gen T-Amp that cost twice as much, couldn't be powered by batteries, and had no real improvement over its predecessor

Now, even that is removed from their website, and in its place is:

Sonic Tio Board

Have they gone crazy from their lack of products and sales?

It costs the same as their 2nd-gen T-Amp and frankly looks the same to me too, now with a new major problem of drawing power from the computer PSU. The last time I tried with NeoMini USB DAC it was a complete disaster. And I connected it on its own; who knows what happens when connected with the CD-ROM drive as shown in the manual; those produce so much EMI that the static built-up can literally shock you.

And under the features, it says PCI Sound Card and Customizable Equalizer. I don't see how it can be a sound card and have an equalizer when it isn't even digitally connected to the computer.

Only thing to describe this thing is: caveat emptor.

...It Works!

...Actually the title was supposed to be "Digital cables/sources do make a difference", but I think this fits the mood better.

So far I've tried two f-ed up combinations for the transport - stock cable + on-board Realtek, and $7 cable on Audigy. Both sucked in different ways.

Finally I got the 3.5mm male to 2x RCA adaptor to use the stock RCA coax with the Audigy's fukked up digital out. And wow, it sounds very nice. I'm definitely hearing more instruments and details, and the most WOW part is that the noise in certain noisy songs (caused by interactions between instruments + use of SRS WOW effect) has reduced by a whole lot to almost nothing (but still there). Dynamics also improved back plus extras, highs feel more normal now, and the overall feel is more... natural.

Natural... why is it that the better equipments will always sound more natural? And how does it sound more natural despite the increase in dynamics? Audio is wierd.

And sadly, this isn't getting back the loss in 8khz that I'm experiencing. I've recently found my second song (or perhaps 3rd or 4th) that has a clear difference between 320kbps MP3 and FLAC - Reflectia by eufonius. And this song is very good for frequency testing because it has distinct notes at 4, 8, and 16khz. Especially the 8khz one at the chorus, which I am very fond of. Anyway, changing back to the NeoMini DAC didn't help, so I can be sure that the loss is due to my ear.

Just last Wednesday I was exposed to some very loud high-pitched noise. It was some bugger knocking something off a final drive like no tomorrow. After that, my tinnitus grew to include a very obvious hissing, and my 8khz frequency band was pretty much screwed up - I definitely lost a lot of hearing of that note, although it was more like 9-10khz when I measured it using a sine wave generator software.

So fk the MO specialists and consultants for saying that tinnitus is alright, there's no problem, I'm going to sue you all when I get the chance.

While we're at it, please donate to the "Help-tinnitus-sufferers-cure-tinnitus-through-buying-a-healing-laser-Fund". Basically there is a very potential cure for tinnitus called the healing laser, which when shot at cells stimulate the release of energy which triggers and aids cell restoration and growth/division, attacking the fundamental problem of tinnitus - the nerve cells don't grow back naturally. Off course, being the guy who discovered and thought of the idea, I will be the one using it first to... *ahem* test for safety and effect. Then after that I'll be calling out to all the innocent tinnitus sufferers who got tinnitus through the fukked-up SAF and NS. And I'll cure them in place of the incompetent, complacent, and apathic doctors that we have in the army. In this way I'll gather enough support to sue and hopefully overthrow the evil organization. Everybody hates the SAF, they know that too, just that nobody. is brave enough to shout that out in the public against the human-rights lacking government that we have.

Fk the NeoMini, heck the Zero, my new hoot...

Zhaolu D2.5 DAC

Reason for getting it - I've always wanted to get the Zero DAC for a while now for its good performance and excellent price/performance ratio. And it's a nice stoppage point for audio upgrade. But the Zero costs $180 without warranty if brought in from overseas and an overpriced $240 at Jaben, compared to the original $130 it is worth. Not very worth it to buy unless you have the lobang.

Then while I was looking around echoloft buy/sell forum, I saw someone selling a Zhaolu D2.5 for $xxx (can't say out, coz you'll probably kill me).

The Zhaolu DACs is what the Zero is based on. Specifically, the Zero is based on Zhaolu D1.x (D1.3?), with cheaper components at a better price, and has a different circuitary and sound signature compared to the Zhaolus. One of the original makers of the Zhaolu DAC decided to go on his own and create the Zero DAC, which has one of the best price/performance ratio in the market. In comparison, the Zhaolus have an average price/performance ratio due to their high price, some may consider it bad because it just cannot compare to products one level higher yet only costs half a level more (e.g. Citypulse), and subjectively loses out to other DACs in the same price point, possibly due to the low cost AD1852 DAC chip being unable to fight against the clearer CS4398 in other DACs, including the cheaper SuperPro (but how the hell SuperPro could have actually sounded better beats me). It might be unfair since it's SPDIF (Zhaolu/Zero) vs USB (other DACs) and a bad SPDIF source will kill, but fact is it does sound worse in a bad set-up.

So, the Zhaolu D1.x split in its evolution path into the Zero and the Zhaolu D2.0/2.5. Sure Zero may have better design (or so they claim, but it looks just the same), and although the main chips are the same, the Zhaolu has a better transformer, an in-line AC filter (useful for all the shyt that my computer has been dumping into my already shytty power), better components, 2 op-amps instead of one for output (which also means balanced XLR output is attainable via modding),

If money is of no concern, which would you buy? Answer is obvious.

Sadly, the D2.5 I got is the cheaper D2.5A using the lousy AD1852 DAC also used in the Zero DAC, instead of the D2.5C with the CS4398 DAC. Heck, actually, the two DACs perform similarly, and the rest of the board is just as important if not more. And it's human mentality to get the lowest in the series thinking it will sound the same as those higher, that's how Geforce FX5200 and Celeron managed to sell big time.

Not a problem, since it's still all-round better than the Zero, which already pwns all the other DACs in the same price range.

The guy sold it cheap for a few reasons. 1) He's moving to China and might as well sell this since he's not bringing it with him, 1a) reason because he already got a whole lot of better shitz. 2) He got it 2nd-hand from another guy, and 3) The volume control knob is stiff at around the centre volume, although not a problem for me since I don't do headamps.

And... I don't think this thing was actually used for quite long. Accordingly, the original owner only used it for 6 months (this DAC isn't very old anyway), and the seller only used it for a few months and it was under-utilized. Makes sense; a guy who would sell this off in 6 months probably has other more-badass equipment. I don't think this even had 300hrs worth of burn-in - that would require 1 hr per day for a year. If you have other 1k-equipment would you be even playing this for an hour per day on the average?

At least under me, I'll make sure it gets 1000 hours in a year.

Now, lets hook it up.

Unfortunately I do not have any decent SPDIF source installed. The on-board Realtek is known to be a POS and I'm not sure if my Audigy still works. Nonetheless I still hooked it up to my Realtek.

The sound is... muffled. There is noticable loss in the highs and the bass sounds boomy.

No wonder people say the SuperPro is better.

However, despite the handicap posed by the on-board sound, there is also more details, more instruments to be heard. And the mid-bass response is excellent. Thanks to the higher SNR of the DAC, the SPDIF transport, and the 2x OPA2604.

I can imagine what this baby can do when it gets a better transport.

However, problems:

This Zhaolu has the same clicking problem as the Zero, which is from the DAc switching on and off from the presence or absence of input signal. There is a solution for this but I have currently forgotten.

The on-board Realtek SPDIF does not allow for the control of the volume via main volume control/keyboard, and the fixed gain of the OPA2604 is very high. Meaning I have to keep the volume of my sub very low.

This is not a review, as I have nothing that comes close to this to review. Anyway there are many reviews of the Zero and Zhaolu DACs, and it's definitely good for the money. The Zero at least. And my Zhaolu which is even more bang for buck.

Believe in the power: Part II

Since the cheapo powered USB hub still resulted in some noise (possibly caused by ground loop charging), I decided to see if connecting straight to the Seasonic PSU will be better.

Turned out it was much worse than even the mainboard USB power. The highs are greatly reduced, I could even hear a few complete missing notes in one of my test tracks "Shining Stars Bless". Now that I know how power quality affects the highs, I can't believe just how much shit the computer dumps back onto the power supply.

And so, using computer power for audio is a big fat definite no no.

And sadly, there was a D-Amp that uses computer power supply. Imagine how shytty it would sound, especially when class-D amps are switching amps, and having a lousy switch before it would be... disastrous.

My brother brought home a large group of church friends...

...and left being a huge path of destruction. My brother is known for destroying things of mine - getting my PSP scratched during the first week, getting my com infected with spyware,

and yesterday (Sat) his group of friends touched and toppled some of my figurines and carried my speaker system over to their room. They probably didn't take care when carrying it, as I saw some of the clipped bare wires (I still go by those) were definitely been pulled. When I powered them up I immdeiately heard something was wrong, and after taking out the wires to check, true enough, almost all the leads were blackened to various extent and that affected the sound. One pair (or one quad since it's a Star Quad) even had its color closer to dark brown than orange.

What happen was probably this - they simply brought the speakers over and pulled the wires in the process, fraying them and pulled them off the clips a little, resulting in poor contact. The poor contact then resulted in resistance and hence heat, which caused the copper to oxidise, resulting in the darkening and SQ drop.

After spending more time to recut/strip/twist/connect the cables, the Canares are back online. Although I didn't do as good a job as my first try there wasn't any obvious sonic differences this time. And true enough, the Canare indeed sounds brighter than the Belden, and its highs performance has its pros and cons over the 1307A. Definitely less bass and hence missing frequencies due to my 2.1 setup, but there is greater harmony, as in I can hear the chords better. Soundstage is wider but thinner. Perhaps things will get better after burning in. And I'm not afraid of it sounding too bright after burning in, since after the power upgrade my DAC's highs are clear with much reduced harsh.