Posted by the dood on Wednesday, February 25th, 2009
I was in Nanaimo for the day yesterday, installing some cables at my fiance’s parents place for her Father’s new Hi-Fi stereo system. He decided to finally buy himself an upscale stereo, and it sounds fantastic. Anyway.. I decided to stop by District in Nanaimo and see Ryan, who’s probably one of the best guys I have ever dealt with in a clothing store.
Its obviously a slow season for everyone, District included. February is also a slow month for fashion in general because not a lot of new stuff comes out, added to the lack of selection. But they had some really good deals there with lots of stuff 40% off, including some True Religions, Diesels and Rock and Republics for Men. The Women’s selection is bigger of course.
Anyway, I saw a Selected Homme double breasted Peacoat for 70% off, and it was a perfect fit on me.. last one too. At 70% off $250, it was a steal, and given that I needed a slightly dressed up outer jacket, I had to get it.
At any rate, If you are in Nanaimo, and you’re looking for some steals and deals in fashion, there are tons of Ed Hardy on sale for 50% off, with tons of jeans from 25-40% off. District is the only place to shop in Nanaimo.
Posted by the dood on Saturday, February 21st, 2009
Decided that I would do a video of my hi-fi system for you guys to see how it’s set up and what not. I really enjoy the way it sounds, though it might be a little “live” in my new house. My old place was significantly more dampened, and I think the acoustics were a bit better. Now I have a bit more echo but it is still very palettable.
Audio System:
Gershman Acoustics X-Cube Speakers
Odyssey Extreme Monoblock Amplifiers
Linar Pre-2 Preamplifier
Bel Canto CD-1 CD Player
Pro-Ject Xpression 2 Turntable
Ortofon Kontrapunkt A Cartridge
Pro-Ject Speed Box II
Pro-Ject Phono Box SE
Monster Power HTPS 7000 Power Conditioner
Furutech eTP60 Power Conditioner
Posted by the dood on Saturday, February 21st, 2009
I host this blog on Media Temple, and moved it there for it’s perceived reliability. It has been less than reliable, but granted it is very fast typically. Right now, Media Temple’s own site is totally down, and it crashes my browser when I try to go to it. Very annoying. My own sites are flakey as well, and I am surprised I can even make this post.
I am hoping that these issues will resolve themselves, but Media Temple is not living up to the standard that I would expect from a $40/month host given that I pay for a MySQL Gridcontainer as well.
UPDATE: It is not media temples fault.. apparently one of their upstream providers is having some sort of a problem with one of the pipes that connects a lot of Canada to their site, causing intermittent connection problems to all of the media temple network for a few of us folks here north of the border. Not MT’s fault.. i’ll excuse them this time.
It seems like these days everyone and their dog is buying up Nudies. Whether it’s the allure of something different, or the novelty of being able to wash and distress your own jeans, people are buying this stuff up like hot cakes. It used to be a cult following, but now it seems like everyone denim store carries them.
Posted by the dood on Wednesday, February 11th, 2009
There are a few hidden gems in the world of audiophile mystique, and many of those gems come from China, usually under-marketed and under-prestiged. One of these brands that has consistently put out top notch products is Jungson. In particular, their Solid State and Hybrid Amplifiers are exceptional performers, and at very reasonable prices. A few years ago, Jungson decided to release a series of speakers as well.. which they call the BD, or Beauty Deity speakers. The ones I picked up are the BD-1 speakers, and they are very exceptional speakers given their modest price.
As you can see, the lacquer finish on the wood veneer is beautifully done, with thick solid cases, weighing almost 30lbs per speaker. Not bad given that they are 6.5″ woofers i a two way bass reflex design. I also picked up the custom stands which are very good, and match the speakers perfectly.
Trebles are extended, but not too much so, with a lush full bass that is not too boomy, as I experienced with the Aurum Cantus Leisure II SE’s. These speakers are a bit harder to drive, and require a decent amp. Specs recommend 20-200W, but I am feeling that they do better around 75W+. I felt they were performing best with the Jungson Amplifier that pumped out 120W, as weaker amps can sound thin.
The tweeter and driver on these speakers are from Morel, and a perfectly matched. Not for a second is this speaker fatiguing to listen to, quite the contrary I find it very engaging and realistic in it’s presentation of the female and male vocals, especially. Again I have to comment on the Bass.. it is extremely detailed and tight for such a small speaker.
5 way binding posts on the back are quality, and the overall construction completely belies its cost. It still blows my mind how good the stuff out of China is for the money. Not that everything from China claiming to be HI-FI is great, but I would have to say most of it is very impressive, and none of it is poor value. Jungson is a company worth taking a look at. These speakers won’t replace your Sonus Faber, but they will give them a run for their money!
