Author: DOuG pRATt

Don’t Call Them Earbuds

I’m abusing the headphone jack on my laptop PC by playing two different pairs of In-Ear-Monitors, or IEMs, at the same time. I’m abusing my ears by going back and forth between them.

Positive reviews on AudioScienceReview for inexpensive “Chi-Fi” IEMs made me curious, resulting in this post from a month ago.

In One Ear, In the Other

A guy in Singapore who goes by the handle Crinacle is a leading reviewer of these products. His influence extends to him collaborating with manufacturers to evaluate and fine-tune the sound of their IEMs.

After listening to the BLUE set with his name on it, I was curious about the RED set. The models are identical in design and construction except for the sound, with the RED tuned to Crinacle’s preference. As expected from the reviews, it’s more balanced sounding than the BLUE.

That would typically be my preference, but I feel that something of the baby was thrown out with the bath water, and I actually prefer the brighter BLUE with its excellent deep bass. The extension piece on one of the cables is a bass boost for the RED that I think muddies the sound like the loudness buttons that used to be standard on amps and receivers.

Unlike some other hobbies and pastimes, where the next generation of fans failed to show up (stamps, coins, bowling, et. al.), many young guys are actively involved in appreciating audio and music. Being young, there are some snarky reviews of IEMs on YouTube, but the overall tone is positive and fun. As is seen here, where the youngsters are questioning an elder audio expert, while remaining respectful.

Follow-up: Both of these IEM’s are keepers. The extra $5 for the RED edition seems to be for the booster adapter. Curiously, on the Lenovo laptop it makes the sound a little muddy, but with my phone it seems to have no effect. Maybe it’s an impedance thing.

American Idiots Assemble!

I didn’t watch Green Day’s performance on New Year’s Eve, but kudos to Billie Joe and the band for knocking the MAGA crowd.

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/green-day-maga-agenda-lyric-american-idiot-1234938852/

I’ve given up trying to understand people who want to see Trump back in the White House. They can’t see that it’s a case of, “fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice shame on me.” They’re idiots, and I say that admitting Trump probably would have been re-elected in 2020 if not for his incompetence in managing the pandemic. Incredibly, based on recent polls he stands a very good chance of being elected again.

My purity test for Trump supporters:

    1. What is your level of education?
    2. Did you watch The Apprentice?

The mess we’re in goes back to Reagan, who was “Goldwater Lite,” saying government is the problem. What’s astounding to me is that, in the 60’s, both Reagan on the Right and the Hippies on the Left had the same message at the same time. They were both against government intrusion in the lives of Americans, but with very different ideas of what that meant.

Shecky’s Perfect Joke

[Last week was I going to publish this post about a joke by old-school stand-up comedian Shecky Greene, but then I put it off. Now I wish I had published it, while at the same time being glad I didn’t, because Shecky died today.]

It’s a perfect joke for multiple reasons:

    • It was based on an actual event
    • It’s very short, with a minimum of only ten words, maybe even nine
    • It requires a certain knowledge, albeit dated, but perfect for its intended Las Vegas audience
    • It’s self-deprecating while also sticking it to someone else
    • It isn’t dirty and there’s no swearing.
    • It’s funny in a way that could have made club management uncomfortable

The joke:

Frank Sinatra saved my life…
He said, “that’s enough, boys.”

Ten words. Boom. Perfect.