What did you buy today? (Part 2)

[JAnonymous5150]

Okay, so I had like $74 in credit on my ebay account and I was cruisin’ around on there the other night and found a pair of Hifiman HE400i that were going for real cheap and looked to be in good condition. I thought they would make a good cheap set of planars for listening in my shop/garage while working so I threw out a low bid and, to my surprise, I actually won. I got them for $68 shipped.

They came today (only two days after the auction closed) and I’m surprised yet again because they are basically new. The pads aren’t even broken in and they still have that new headphone smell. Nice little pick up if I do say so myself!

[CTOXmas]

probably worth it just for a decent headband from hifiman lol

[JAnonymous5150]

Haha! This headband is seriously comfy too! I’m one of those nuts that didn’t like the Sundara very much and I remembered at the time I was looking into budget planars originally before I bought the Sundaras that some people were saying that the HE400i was a touch warmer and such. I ended up selling my Sundaras a long time ago and never got around to finding another cheap planar to replace it.

When I saw the HE400i on ebay I figured I’d give them a go and if I didn’t like them I could sell them and get my money back fairly easily. I don’t think I have to worry about that because I’m listening to them and they’re right up my alley. They sound nice and natural with a good bit of detail to boot.

Now I’m gonna need to do that grill mod that I did on my HE6s a couple years ago. The question is do I go with black, chrome, or gold for the grill color?

[CTOXmas]

I feel like gold sticks out a bit much, silver would match the logo

[Mobileaudiophile]

Great level

Thinking pragmatically, golden color is very probably just a paint job and might start to chip away in the future.

I say black in this approach.

[zenstrata]

@thoohil

I’m in the gambling mood today.

A 16TB SSD for 34 dollars eh? Well if that doesn’t work out, i’ve got a sure thing for you! This bridge happens to be for sale! It’s in the middle of the bustling city of New York! Sure it’s a little old, but it gets loads of traffic. Imagine the residuals! I wouldn’t be selling it but i’m in a tough spot financially from all the new audio equipment I had to buy ;D

Here’s a recent picture, great investment property! I’m selling cheap to make a quick turn-around. Only 200,000 dollars!

(hehe, the old bridge ploy! They'll never see it coming.)

[CTOXmas]

does it come with a bridge troll, otherwise not worth lmao

[ScuddaHoo]

I didn’t buy it today, but the QKZxHBB from Linsoul arrived yesterday. Hokey smokes, but this single DD IEM sounds great! Proves you don’t have to pay $$$ for terrific sound. Congrats to Hawaii Bad Boy!

[Sgtdap]

Picked up the black and gold Z12 and Shanling UP5 ( I like my wheel volume knob!).

So far I’m really enjoying the Z12s, first planar IEM and has more bass and the treble isn’t too sharp.

[zenstrata]

These are books that J.R.R. Tolkien never finished but his son Christopher Tolkien (J.R.R.'s son) worked on over the course of his life and finished. They are on a good price at amazon at the moment.

(Stay away from amazon’s new ‘rings of power’ show - it’s boring, new-age, agenda pushing drivel.)

• Do get the books by Tolkien and his son, those books are great. If you haven’t read those yet, or at the very least seen the Peter Jackson LOTR movies, what are you doing?! You are missing out on the greatest fantasy story of all time! Go get them!

Of course the original Hobbit and Lord of the Rings stories are the best - J.R.R. Tolkien was a genius. Read those books, or at least get the audio versions. Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings movies are pretty amazingly good too. Though, If you watch the movies, watch the Lord of the Rings series first, and if you enjoy that, then the hobbit movie after, (Peter Jackson did a great job with the Lord of the Rings movies, the hobbit… not so much, but it’s still good)

(these history of middle earth books are separate and only if you really love it and want to get nerdy with history of that world.)

The History Of Middle-Earth Boxed Set: Tolkien, Christopher, Tolkien, J.R.R.:...

A noodle stopper - Who doesn’t like a good noodle stopper? And she’s really cute!

Amazon.com: Furyu Hatsune Miku Noodle Stop PVC Figure (Villain Version) : Toys...

And then there’s this clock, I thought it would make a fun gift for someone for Christmas, so I picked one up.

Amazon.com: GUAZI STORE Imitation Nixie Tube Clock RGB Creative Clock 16 Million...

[ToneDeafMonk]

Ambient light for behind my monitors making my Pink Floyd session epic!

C$ 34.24 40%OFF | LED Light Bar RGB Pickup Rhythm Night Light Music Bluetooth APP Remote Control Bedside Desktop Computer Game TV Atmosphere Light
https://a.aliexpress.com/_mMm4OCu

[Ohmboy]

@zenstrata

(Peter Jackson did a great job with the Lord of the Rings movies, the hobbit… not so much, but it’s still good)

Agree I’m just playing the Silmarillion audio book for the missus (read it years ago along with the unfinished tales) as she likes all the films but wouldn’t put the effort in to read it

PS I went and visited Tolkien’s grave at Oxford when I was still at collage

[zenstrata]

@Ohmboy

Agree I’m just playing the Silmarillion audio book for the missus

Yep! The Silmarillion is reads like a dictionary, it was never really meant for wide publication. That was meant just to give an extremely broad overview of things in the world. Basically the Silmarillion is just a selection of Tolkien’s original notes that he used to put the other stories together.

Go for the original Hobbit and LOTR books first, they are the actual grand story epic that made the world so popular.

If you want a great version of that, There is a leatherbound tome that contains all three Lord of the Rings books in it, commonly referred to as “The Red Book of Westmarch” (that’s a reference to the name of the book that Bilbo wrote to chronical his adventures, which he then gave to Frodo, and eventually passed on to Sam to finish)

This was the last printing that I feel really deserves that name. It’s like some sort of giant wizards tome. It is the first version I read as a kid. and it’s flipping huge.

This is the version printed in the 1980’s and it is very high quality compared to the modern reprint. But because it is so old now, it’s very difficult to find this version new. It was what I read personally when I was very young, my parents had a copy of this version that had been read so many times it was falling apart, but was a great book for young me.

When I got older, I worked in a bookstore for a while and happened across this same book still brand new in it’s original wrapping, I bought it and that sits on my shelf to this day, unopened from it’s original plastic cover. Someday i’ll pass it on to a passionate reader to enjoy.

https://www.amazon.com/LORD-RINGS-Fellowship-Towers-Collectors/dp/B00M0NFYTC/

There is a modern re-make of that version, but there was substandard quality control, and several people received copies with issues, which drives the ratings down. If you can get a good copy though, people seem to like it quite a bit.

https://www.amazon.com/Lord-Rings-Special-J-R-R-Tolkien/dp/0063274736/

If I were giving this as a gift to a Tolkien lover, those are the versions I would look for. If you want a copy that is more traditional in size, this is the one I would get for people who had not read the stories yet and would want something easier to read.

https://www.amazon.com/Hobbit-Lord-Rings-Boxed-Set/dp/0008376107/

[captainhook]

[hit_the_right_note]

The first and only planar in-ear that actually sounds natural to me personally.

An outstanding earphone in every respect, which is currently setting standards in the high-end sector.

[Sonofholhorse]

Universal Supermoon?
Are you on a tour, or is that an international version? IIRC there is no normal universal version, right?

[rattlingblanketwoman]

Giving closed back headphones another try I guess - bought a used pair of ATH-M40x. I think I’ve talked myself into the idea that I actually have a use case for these, but I’m struggling to think of it besides my inner ear getting plain old tired from listening.

[hit_the_right_note]

@Sonofholhorse

there is no normal universal version, right?

There are a handful of Universal specials, one of which was made for me.

Overall, however, the response is extremely positive that it could probably go into series production.

I’m expecting another special production like this shortly, a Trifecta, which was only produced 333 times anyway, but in a transparent blue shell, not in the conventional clear shell.

One of these is also on its way to me to complete my collection.

I was recently able to test the Trifecta with the Odin at home in peace,

and for me personally the winner was very quickly and very clearly determined.

[John_W_Clark]

I have the first gen faux nixie tube from NovelLife, and really enjoy it. That one seems like a nice price, and the half size seconds are cool.

[JAnonymous5150]

Did I miss where you shared what it was? I’m really curious yo know what “unconscious you” bought lol!