Looks like my old Timex-Sinclair. I also had friends with TI 99/4A and of course Coleco Adam. I remember getting the Visicalc cart for my 48K Atari 800. And trading in the tape drive for a 5.25 inch Floppy drive. Then Happy drives, and finally a 5M hard drive.
The Apple II dated to 1977. The TRS-80 dated to 1977. The VIC 20 dated to 1980.
The Sinclair ZX-80 was released in 1980. The ZX-81 came out in 1981.
CP/M business computers were out in 1974.
1 Like
Ding Ding Ding… right you are!.. (mostly)
It was actually a Sinclair ZX-81 kit that my dad mail-ordered (yeah, that’s what we called it back then) and we built together. Lots of great memories with that machine. We used a tape recorder at first and a portable TV (a Panasonic shown in the photo) for the display. My big birthday present that year was a 16K expansion pack that attached to an edge connector at the back of the computer, and eventualy I got a thermal printer.
I had friends with Atari 400s and 800s, and the “Trash-80” was always fun to play with (and hack) at the local Radio Shack. I think the first hard drive I had was on a Mac SE. All floppies and tapes up until that point. And don’t forget the 300 baud modems! Back when you could pick out the individual characters being transmitted just by listening to the signal!
4 Likes
Yep, we missed the VIC-20 and bought in at the Commodore 64. I’m pretty sure I used the Apple II in middle school, so maybe 78/79? Memories are few and far between from that era! 
2 Likes
I still have my ZX-81, can’t count the number of hours learning and getting the darned tone just right on the cassette deck to save and load programs.
2 Likes
I used punched cards in a production environment at a large company - almost a decade before the Sinclair.
I remember getting deep into a huge sort job of thousands of cards, getting distracted and losing my place. It was a glass walled area and the people outside knew by the look on my face. Much laughter ensued.
I’d love to hear that sound again, the cards that is. There’s probably a video of it somewhere.
I was in an Explorer’s group (senior boy scouts) that got to do computer stuff and radio stuff. I do recall someone planting VOID FORTRAN instruction cards in some grad student’s card stack and enjoying the result. But it was almost as much fun learning the board at the local AM/FM radio station.
I had CP/M 256 in the Eighties. Made by Tatung Einstein. Loved it at the time.
2 Likes
Oh man, I can’t even begin to estimate the wasted hours I sat waiting for the stupid Tape Deck to load something or save a program that I had painstakingly spend all day copying out of a magazine. Then it would go tips up with 5% left to do after waiting ages.
But it made computing exciting and edgy. Lol.
So I sympathise with you @anon36506748 (Eric).
5 Likes
can someone recommend the highest fidelity tape deck for reading programs into a TI-99/4A? and the best transport so there are no read errors?
3 Likes
Tube guys I need your help.
I was all set to order a Lyr3 and a Valhalla 2 from beloved Schiit Audio.
Today I’ve been at the local store where I repair turntables and I had the pleasure to meet the Auris Euterpe.
I hadn’t the possibility of listening to it for more than half an hour and not my own headphones but with a Sennheiser HD6XX.
Great sound.
The DAC sounds good, the amplifier sounds good, aesthetic is spot on.
I’ve seen @taronlissimore uses one with various headphones, A2C included.
I watched the YouTube review by @Resolve.
It looks like it is a good piece of equipment.
I will use it with: Hifiman Sundara, Sennheiser HD660s, Aeon Noire, GS1000 and if things will go as I hope Verité Open/Rad 0 (I’m mumbling about it).
Someone else has experience with the Euterpe?
The idea of having in one piece of equipment a tube head amp and a DAC and the aesthetics are tempting me a lot.
Thank you in advance for your kind attention.
Enjoy.
P.S. I’ve seen tube rolling would be good with this guy. PL95 and EL95 aren’t the most expensive tubes and it is a plus.
2 Likes
I’ve been using an RME ADI-2 for a couple of years now. In my recent listening against the BF 2, I have found that I really prefer the R2R sound of the BF2. It’s pretty engaging and the staging is just awesome. I could not see using the BF2 for work, though, so I am putting the ADI-2 up for sale and have a Soekris 2541 on order. I’ll put an update up, or start a Soekris thread once it comes in.
2 Likes
Does anyone think it would be worthwhile having a separate “Tube purchase advice” thread? Right now, tube recommendations are all over the place, often in the thread about the tube amp itself, which is obviously helpful to other owners of that amp, but not for owners of other amps that happen to use the same tubes.
I mistakenly thought tube rolling was fairly easy when I had the Lyr 3 (which only has one 6sn7 tube), but now I have the Pendant, I have to figure out the different European and US model numbers for the same tube, gain/current differences between compatible tubes, different sound profiles for Mullard vs RCA vs Amperex etc etc. As much as I’m enjoying the research, I was thinking it would have been great if there had been one thread where people can post their impressions or ask questions, and we can therefore build up a solid database of information.
Sorry @monochromios , that wasn’t helpful to you, but maybe it will be helpful in the future if we can do this.
6 Likes
No problem @PaisleyUnderground. That’s a very good idea in order to organise infos in the best way possible.
Thank you for sharing.
1 Like
Not a bad idea but the huge caveat is that tubes are very fickle and are very dependent on a number of variables: what other tubes you running, what dac, what cans, etc.
Bloody things can look identical but sound different. Plus issues like is the tube worn out, are the pins oxidized is the amp you have even supposed to run that tube? With vintage tubes drying up the chance of finding true NOS is harder and harder so we may be talking about used tubes of unknown strength. This all may be less of an issue if we get into new production tubes.
I’m not saying this to cast shade on the idea, the folks who know know I love tubes, it just can be a complicate issue to sort. But then so is this whole audiophile business so what the hell am I actually saying here 
.
8 Likes
Long time listener, first time caller. Fairly new to the hobby but a lifelong collector of hi-res audio of all genres.
I’m in the process of looking for a DAP and an enjoyable set of IEMs. After reading tons of different reviews, (quick thanks to JRockwell who posted phenomenal reviews going back to the IEM shootouts of a year ago and all the updates since. I loved the info— Well done!!).
Anyway, after reading many,many reviews, I was hoping for some advice. I’m looking for IEMs that can really show off some classic late 50’s/early 60’s Hard Bop jazz, Blue Note stuff, smoky club stuff, Piano trios, Miles Davis, Oscar Peterson, Art Blakey, you feeling the vibe? Also love Beatles/Allmans/CSNY/Floyd, and the more contemporary post-rock stuff like Talk Talk (Spirit of Eden and Laughing Stock speaks to me), Sigur Ros, Radiohead, Steven Wilson so hopefully that helps build a profile. My budget for the IEMs is under $2000 but staying under $1,500 would be ideal unless it’s like night and day.
Without having been able to demo anything (thanks to our lovely pandemic), I liked what I read about the Andromeda, Solaris, Mest, and Final 8000 as they seem to be well thought of.
I’m not looking for anything strictly technical/analytical, I just want something that lends to an enjoyable experience, and reproduces acoustic instruments with as much detail as possible. I love the idea of reproducing low frequencies as needed to serve the music, but not looking to imbalance or favor bass to distract from an otherwise balanced sound. That said, I love a slightly emphasized shimmery/sparkling treble as it makes the music sound a bit more “live” to me.
Hope that helps in some way. Also important to understand a matching DAP. After looking, I was thinking about DX300, Hiby R6 2020 or R8, M8, A&K SE200 (was thinking about Kann Alpha too but too many bugs it seems with streaming). My perfect DAP has streaming functionality (for Tidal on the go and MQA), preferring Droid 9.0 (so end of life isn’t an issue) and would love Google Play access so I can add UAPP. Not specifically tied to AK/ESS/Cirrus as it seems like the total build is probably more important and I don’t have enough experience to make a value judgment.
I just want to have something that can drive the IEMs well, is portable as opposed to transportable, is “current” enough to have good streaming access to Tidal, Tune In, and my SD Card for when I’m traveling, and a nice UI to have easy access to at least 600-700gb of music. My leaning is toward the DX300 because of the new tech onboard, the higher power (moreso than most anyway), and new amps that may be even better in the future. Still, that gold wheel though. Ugh. Also like the Hiby R8 as it looks fairly sleek but is it powerful enough or worth THAT much more than the new R6 2020? Also, I hear about hiss as it relates to CA IEMs with the Ibasso and Hibys- is that a thing?
Oh well, that’s enough words for now, would love to hear any thoughts?? 
7 Likes
Welcome, great first post too @RobbW. I concur, @jrockwell really is a great guy to ask regarding both Iem’s and Dap’s. @antdroid too is a great font of knowledge too. I will be interested to hear just which route you go down.
8 Likes
laughing stock is the best f-ing album
3 Likes
Thanks for the shout out man! Honestly in my opinion what you want is the VE Elysium-- it’s wheelhouse is exactly what I think you’re looking for (seductive midrange, peerless instrumental timbre and naturalness, intimacy etc.). Here is my review of it if you’re interested. They can be had on sale right now for just over $2k and are sometimes available used for ~$1800. The only real caveat is that you need (imho) a relatively powerful source to drive them.
4 Likes
Thanks for the kind thoughts. I’ve been OCD’ing on as much content as I can read but figured that by finally creating a profile and explaining my personal music leanings, I can crowd-share the wisdom on this site in a bit more tailored way. (Besides, I’m starting to feel like I know everyone here). hahaha
This all comes after listening to a wealth of YT reviews, the best of 2020 Headphones pod, reading Head-Fi, Bloom/Moon/other retailer reviews. Sort of left me with analysis paralysis. LOL.
In closing, I’m just trying to do this right the first time (as my wife probably won’t give me a 2nd chance). 
. (Full disclosure: I’m also building a profile and spending equal time in the forums related to building false cabinet bottoms so I can start to work on hiding my future purchases). 
8 Likes