innerspaceboy

While I can't promise that, I did put together a Christmas gift for the Batlord.

Tonight I shot a gallery showcase of my nerd haven. Captions included. I welcome your ridicule.

Check it out!

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Key

I lvoe that you went back to that avatar.

innerspaceboy

While this week's post is not necessarily musical, it is perhaps my most exciting post to date, and I'm confident that many of my readers will share in my exhilaration.

2016 has been a monumentally nostalgic year, likely due to my age and as a bit of reactionary escapism from the seemingly endless barrage of tragedies which have befallen us this year. More so than ever before, I've been transforming my home into a palace of beloved objets d'art and memories of wonderful moments from decades (or even centuries) past. My reading has been largely cultural criticism, political revolutionary texts, and music manifestoes from my favorite periods in history, and similarly, my cinematic explorations have been a journey through cult classics from the silver screen to the present.

One classic film has always remained close to my heart - the 1960 film adaptation of H.G. Wells' The Time Machine. My father shared the film with me via a VHS copy he taped from a broadcast on AMC in the 1980s. I was captured by the regal Victorian style of the time traveler's home. I quickly adopted red velvet draperies, antique wood furniture, and fringe-shaded oil lamps for my own personal style, and have been refining that decor for 20 years.



In 2012 a rosewood Denon DP-60L vintage turntable became my pièce de résistance.



And in 2013, the film resurfaced in my life when I purchased a 1971 painting by a local artist celebrating the movie. It had been acquired directly by a reseller and comic collector when it was painted but was never owned or displayed until my discovery of the piece forty years later. And as luck would have it, there was an ornate decorative Victorian style frame its exact size sitting a few feet away in the same shop. I didn't hesitate for a moment and took them both home.



So when nostalgia crept back into my mind this winter, I went back to that fateful film and the fantastic journey of the time traveler. I began scouring eBay, Amazon, and other marketplaces for a brilliant piece of official merchandise to celebrate the film in my own home. I quickly discovered that there is actually very little in the way of official merch for this magnificent film. A seller on Amazon offers a low-res bootleg print of the theatrical poster, but a genuine copy will set you back $600 and there is nothing offered in between.



But it was off the beaten path that I found the greatest treasure any Time Machine devotee could ask for. While there are two independently-engineered advanced model kits available in the $200 dollar range, both are far beyond my level of ability to assemble and paint. However, on a humble website named Time Machine Models, a gentleman designs and handcrafts several working models of the Machine with varying levels of complexity. His latest design is absolutely breathtaking, and he offered to build one for me once he’s settled into his new home.

The latest model, based on the design of the full-scale Machine has a solid walnut base, brass rails and ornaments, and velvet seat cushions. The dish is turned with a new style motor that is built into the hub of the dish and eliminates the need for an external bearing wheel, providing a smoother and quieter operation. The control lever which activates the motor and lights is removable and comes in its own tiny display box.



And better still - The Invention is available in The Tantalus Box from the film to truly showcase the piece properly.





Here is The Time Machine in action. (All images and video are property of TimeMachineModels.com.)



The project is estimated to take twelve weeks to craft from start to finish*and will be a splendid tribute to the memory of my late father’s initiating me into the world of science fiction all those years ago.

But wait! I do have a musical connection to close this feature after all!*In anticipation of the project, I've ordered an original pressing of the dramatic score to The Time Machine!





These are indeed exciting times. Happy new year everyone.

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Zhanteimi

And this is why I voted your journal the best.

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Zhanteimi

LetsTalkMusic

innerspaceboy

My favorite headphones for the past 5 years have been the Sennheiser HD-380 Pro series. I thoroughly tested them against the ATH-M50 (their closest competitor) and preferred the Sennheiser model in every category of comparison from comfort, design aesthetic, durability, transparency of audio signature, and portability. (The HD-380 Pros ship with a wonderful semi-hard shell travel case.) You can check out my original comparative review from 2011 here.



After 5 years, I’ve replaced the earpads once, but the replacements are third-party aftermarkets and have already separated from the frame after only a few months. I’m considering investing in a new pair and am exploring alternative models.

In April of last year, I picked up a pair of AudioQuest Nighthawks - the company’s flagship headphone. Aesthetically they are absolutely brilliant and precisely the style I’m after. They wed both vintage and contemporary design with their liquid wood finish, biometric diamond-cubic butterfly latticework grills, and retro-style dual headband. (Check out my featured images and more design details from this entry to Innerspace.) But of course, what matters most with headphones is their sound signature, and I quickly found that while the Nighthawks deliver a punchy and powerful sound for live and rock recordings, that they were somewhat lackluster in their delivery of classical, ambient, and electroacoustic works.



The features I most desire in a headphone are supraaural closed-back leather earcups, detachable cables, passive noise cancellation, and studio-style sound signatures which focus on transparency rather than colorization. These will primarily be used in my listening room and in bed, which are both low ambient noise environments. Comfort is another key factor as I do not want fatigue to distract from first-listens to subtle and nuanced recordings like ambient, space, and drone works. I’m eyeing the Sennheiser Momentum 2.0 cabled headphones as a potential upgrade.



But before I jump into a new pair, I’m going to hold off until I pick up the AudioQuest Dragonfly Red USB DAC. Universally acclaimed as the finest portable DAC at its price point, the device has been sold out from all licensed distributors twice since November of 2016, so I am just awaiting the next replenishment. I am hopeful that the Dragonfly Red will correct the somewhat disappointing (but fully understandable) performance of my Android cell phone, Chromebook, and my desktop in playback of FLAC and 320CBR audio from my server.

Stay tuned!

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The Batlord

I'm looking into getting a new pair myself, and am surprised that so many good headphones are actually reasonably priced (around $150). I listen to primarily metal and rock and need something that focuses on long-term comfort, as I kind of live on my computer and wear headphones pretty much 99% of the time even if I'm not listening to music. Any recommendations or suggestions on what qualities to look for?

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innerspaceboy

My latest entry prompted several headphone recommendation requests, and the first was resolved with great success so I will share it here for anyone interested in the same market.

A friend was interested in activewear headphones for use while exercising at the gym. Bluetooth was a key feature as they wished to pair the cans wirelessly with their iPod Touch. Her budget was $200. She wanted an on-ear style as IEMs inevitably fall out of her smaller-than-average ears.

I related to her my experience with Sennheiser behind-the-neck style on ear headphones and did some research to see what was available in Bluetooth in that format.

Sport behind the neck on-ear wireless headphones with Bluetooth technology is an incredibly tiny, tiny niche market. As such there is very little in the way of articles or features showcasing the best models. Matters are further complicated by the fact that behind-the-neck Bluetooth cans are not listed among all the other headphones on Amazon, but instead are tucked away quietly under Cell phone accessories.

But exploring that small category quickly revealed that there are very, very few models available with the behind-the-neck on-ear build and that most of those which qualify have only a handful of customer reviews on Amazon. The average cell phone accessory headphones are IEMs and have only 1-300 reviews, which did not instill any degree of confidence as to their quality.

Surprisingly, there was one single product which is the diamond in the rough of this otherwise quiet market. The Kinivo BTH240 headphones have a 4-star average review from over 5,100 buyers who each sing its praises in great detail. The 240 series was apparently a significant improvement over the previous Kinivo model in several categories, including improved battery life, a sleeker new design, increased number of pairings, and an added micro USB charging port.



The model is incredibly lightweight at only 73g, is foldable, and comes with a velveteen storage pouch. It works with the iPod Touch and a variety of other devices, and the battery is good for ten hours of active use. Users with smaller than average heads and ears expressed that they wear them with incredible comfort and that after 45 minutes of intense running the headphones hadn’t budged an inch. They are also incredibly resistant to sweat and are fantastically durable.



And the price? The MSRP is $49.99 but Amazon offers the BTH240s in a variety of colors for only $24.99. My only gripe with these headphones was not the product itself but that, curiously, all colors were priced the same except for pink, (the color my friend was excited to find), which was not 24.99, nor the MSRP of $49.99, but THREE HUNDRED DOLLARS. eBay reflected the same price, and the only two sellers Google returned with a lower price were red-flagged by uBlock Origin as being less than trustworthy merchants. The fact that "lady tax" is still an issue in 2017 is appalling, but my friend will settle for the standard black model.

So if any of you are interested in a quality Bluetooth sport headphone, give these a try.

I'd be more than happy to assist, Bat! There are several factors to consider. If you'd like, shoot me your answers to the following and I'll look into it for you.

1. What build style are you looking for? IEM, on-ear, or supraaural (over-the-ear)?

2. Are you interested in noise cancellation, either active or passive? Do you have a preference between the two? (If your mother's basement is fairly quiet then this may not be an issue.)

3. What is your budget?

4. What model(s) have you preferred in the past?

5. Do you prefer a heavily colored sound signature (mega bass or peaked highs and lows), or are you looking for studio headphones with a flat signature (good if you'll be doing any mastering or digitally transposing analog recordings).

6. Are there any other features you're interested in, such as wireless, Bluetooth, durability, portability, rich aesthetics, battery life, etc?

7. What is your content source? Listening directly from your PC? Is it mostly 320CBR or lossless? Are you using a dedicated DAC?

Let me know and I'll be happy to make a recommendation.

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The Batlord

Oh snap, I was just hoping for a sentence or two. You don't have to go through all that trouble but I'm not gonna look a gift audiophile in the mouth.

Over-the-ear.

Nah. Little noise in the house.

I'll tell you when I have one lol, but definitely no more than $200.

I know next to nothing about headphone models.

Uh... I honestly don't know as I don't have the best ears in the world for sound differences, or at least I haven't owned enough pairs of headphones to be able to know. But I imagine I'd prefer something with enough bass/peaked highs and lows/whatever-I-don't-know to make a thrash metal song ****ing thump. Sorry I can't be more help here.

Not really. Except like I said long-term comfort.

PC, 320, and wtf is a DAC?

Right on, bro. Thanks for any help.

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Tristan_Geoff

I noticed the last picture on your Imgur album mentioned a recording studio?

Didn't know you make/use to make music dude! What instruments do you play and could you produce some pics of your studio? I'm going more seriously into production and want to do something with audio production for a living (despite not having much skills as of yet beyond lo-fi).

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Emo/Pop Punk Journal

Techno Journal

innerspaceboy

You should know by now that brevity is a foreign concept to me. Ask for a sentence, you'll likely get a dissertation.

But based on your answers, the answer is clear - you want a pair of Audio-Technica ATH-M50x.

For years they've been acclaimed as a favorite over-ear headphone and one of the best-performing models in their price range. While I personally favor the HD380 Pros over the M50s, it's because I preferred the transparent sound signature of the Sennheisers to serve as studio monitors for ambient music and analog-to-digital transposition.

You are looking for something entirely different in a pair of cans. And the M50s deliver exactly what you're after. Their sound signature is "V" shaped, with clear and pronounced highs and punchy, subwoofer-sounding lows. If you had no discretion and just wanted muddy, overwhelming bass, I'd tell you to get a pair of Dre's Beats and call it a day. But I give you far more credit as a listener, and the M50xs will reward your ears with quality performance and dynamic, lively sound.

Their build quality is universally-lauded so you don't have to handle them with kid gloves. When you spend over a hundred dollars on headphones, they should give you many years of value, and these will certainly do the trick. And comfort is one of the highlights of this model. You can leave them on for hours with minimal fatigue.

The x is the newer version of these headphones, which you can pick up new on Amazon for $139 or certified refurbished for $109. They are the #1 best-seller in the DJ Headphone category. The x upgrade also means you can detach the cables, which is great if you ever need to replace a damaged cord. With 3,548 customer reviews
and an average score of 4.6 out of 5 stars, you can buy with confidence that these will really serve your needs well.

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