Lady Elanore

"Are you saying Gasly will push Ocon out? Doesn't speak too well for Ocon if that's the case regardless of whether Gasly can bring big bucks or not. I'll have a virtual wager with you, of a virtual 'pie and chips' (with gravy) that Russell will get the seat over Gasly " and I wish to exercise this clause... "Virtual peas and carrots are optional" Nom nom nom nom

They do a very nice fridge, with weighted and realistically moving knobs https://marshallfridge.com/products/black-edition-4-4-marshall-high-capacity-bar-fridge

Nobody spent this kind of money on cables and interconnects when recordings were made, that's pretty much a guarantee

If I wanted to listen to some music it would be cheaper to hire a band than buy one XLR. I'd need 2 cables for my amp anyway, so I could hire a support band as well!

What!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! https://www.fanthorpes.co.uk/cables/audio-cables/xlr-cables/atlas-mavros-xlr-interconnect/ £2,600!! for an XLR! .

It says something that they offer trade-ins against a cable!! Perhaps there is indeed something to commend yesteryears hifi over this modern Emperors clothing

Further to my mini rant over cost of things like cables, I found this.... (and its a special offer price) https://www.richersounds.com/-1623776428.html If only people realised that the stuff they listen too wasn't recorded using cables as (allegedly) good as these. Sometimes it's battered mics and bell wire (and yes this is proof that everything is better when battered...or is that a different thread?)

I think it might be a teeny bit too big for your needs It's probably bigger than your microsystem. But on a positive note, it's quite heavy

I've got a nice Onkyo TX RZ800 I'm going to be selling soon, that would be perfect for you needs, you wouldn't notice it's even there

Still, it meant they didn't forget me (and I was tying to get a spot in OBs so it didn't do me any harm) and as I bought the crew some beer afterwards to make up for my faux pas, I think it helped me fit in with them. Even if they did give me stick for it...for several years!

Yes I agree. I have a pile of Neutrik Quad XLRs and they take some beating...in every sense of the word. Huge prices for digital cables are just ripping off HiFi junkies who can't help themselves. I consider it very cynical and more than a touch of Emperor's clothes to the whole thing. I'm not endorsing buying the cheapest bit of crud, but there is a sensible balance that can be achieved and I reckon most people instinctively know, roughly, where that is. Many years ago at the start of my career I wanted to impress the crew I was working with, so collected a drum of starquad and a pile of XLRs from our operational stores. I sat at home in my own time, and started to make up around 30 XLRs. 5-10 meter lengths in general. I stripped the ends etc, laid everything out and figured I would be done in no time thanks to my efficient and systematic preparation. Unfortunately, I had been slurping the odd spot of alcohol to help with the tedium... The next day I present my cache of beautiful. newly made cables to the crew and wandered off to complete my duties on site. After a short while I got called back by the boss. "Excellent work Amanda, I commend you for your abilities and great work ethic", at least that's what I thought he would say. Actually what he did say was "why the hell have you made up 30 odd, various lengths, double males and double females" Yes, I had made 30+ gender bender cables! .

Amen to that I was looking at some short XLR interconnects on a website the other day, £125!!!!!! I've got dozens of them (admittedly not oxygen free copper) lying about and I doubt you could hear the difference. I am pretty sure I couldn't hear the difference and it's sort of my job to hear stuff Mind you, it helps to be realistic about your own hearing and at my age (not telling) I have undoubtedly suffered some hearing loss, especially at the top end.

I must admit I'm still attached to my M22s, but the top end of the MA100s has made me realise that the M22s don't quite have the same control at higher frequencies (and thats with the new tweeters I fitted recently). Bass extension is obviously better than the MAs, but I value the MAs clarity and control of mid and high frequencies over sheer bass. This is why I would like my accountant to let me buy the 200 Golds (and lend me the money too )

I thought the MA Silver 200s & 300s were getting pretty rave reviews? At the moment, there are a huge number of hifi outlets doing deals on ex demos of these. Richer Sounds amongst them. RS doing the 200s for £675 down from £1,000 Just seen Sevenoaks doing them for £600 I'd like to hear the Silver 200s beside the Gold 200s but suspect the pleated tweeters (or tweeter accordions as I like to call them) of the Golds would win me over.

Blimey, I thought he was staying in America partly because his wife was settled there?

A studio I worked in replaced its speaker tie lines in the roof grid from 'EP' standard sockets, for the 100V line speakers (before speakons), to standard XLR 3 pin. Unfortunately these 100V XLR tie lines were adjacent to the Mic tie lines and neither was labelled as to its purpose. So several people plugged mics into the wrong tie line....ooops!

They were designed for OB use originally, hence the LS3/ part of their designation and the handles (you probably knew this), but found their way into many editing channels indoors as LS5/8s were considered a bit expensive and overkill for the task of 1/4" editing.

I edited many radio shows on LS3/7s and Quad amps Did yours still have the handles on? They were useful to hang things off

I find it so annoying that people are so selfish. We didn't use to be, at least I remember when I was young, as a society, we weren't anywhere near as self centred.

Working at football stadiums full to capacity again has me more than a little worried. I witnessed, in the space of 30 seconds, two guys showing how as a species we are incredibly stupid sometimes. One was coughing lumps up without even placing his hand over his mouth, the other simply sneezed a couple of times straight forward and with enough 'juice' you could see the spray. No handkerchief, no hand over face, not even turning away from the crowd. Honestly, how many world changing killer pandemics do these morons need to show a bit of common courtesy. The Victorians figure all this out over a hundred years ago.

Crikey, I just looked up the Kef 103s! They seem to be a beast of a bookshelf! I doubt many bookshelves would take the weight Very unusual shape. I wish I'd heard them. Having spent decades listening and working with reference monitors and such like, I prefer a simpler mechanical approach to speaker design, careful matching of compnents and extreme quality control can give so much.But a lot of the newer innovations in manufacturing and design, seem to be producing speakers that appear to outperform their dimensions and shapes. I still think I'll end up with a 3 way floorstander at some point (obviously I already own a pair with the M22s, but they aren't quite clinical enough for my ageing ears :D), just because I like the bass extension and although I run a decent active sub, it's never quite the same as a one box solution that has been designed by experts. Were the Crestas a bit like the BBC LS3/5s ?

It was meant tongue in cheek

I'm very disappointed in you

Kef are on a little bit of a roll at the moment. Making some nice speakers, especially the K3 You can keep well-built speakers going for years in the crossover components are still in good order. My M22s are still structurally solid as the day I bought them and now I've given them new tweeters they sound pretty good once more

Hamilton has called them out for getting the mandatory 2 laps minimum to avoid fan refunds (he might have sung a different tune if he had 'won' of course?).