So the job search has been going spectacular, sent out a couple of applications and either rejected or no response, so will just have to keep sending them out until I can find something. I'm more than likely going to stay local for a year and gain some experience. Anyways, not much else going on in regards to jobs. Moving on...
Relationships are hard. Two years ago, I didn't really realize how difficult it can be. In the same vein, though they can also be fantastic! We recently went through a rough patch, but both of us came out stronger than where we were at before. I was challenged to find a new perspective and to do things for myself by many close friends around me. Find it I did! It wasn't easy but I learned a lot about myself and I learned a lot about relationships. In the last two years, even with this rough patch I've never been truely mad at anything in the relationship. For that, I'm thankful. That isn't to say I haven't been frustrated and had ups and downs throughout, but I really am in love as much (defintely more every day) as when we started dating. For that, I'm thankful as well. Now, I'm happier than I've ever been and very blessed and lucky to be in love with someone I consider my best friend and who challenges me to be better every day. To me this makes the relationship worthwhile. I've been reflecting on where I want to be in a couple years and where ideally this relationship will be. Truthfully, I've also learned a lot about the character of God and realize more than ever that it's where I want my relationship personally with him and with others to be grounded. Also, I learned to that in the upcoming year I have a lot of personal goals and things I want to accomplish. "To join the top 1% you have to be willing to do what the other 99% won't" - Andy Frisella
Life, in general, for the most part has been going well. I'm super excited to graduate this year! (Not as excited about having real adult responsibilities) At the end of 2014 I decided to really focus on health and in doing so also finally have my back checked out my a PM&R doctor. Slowly, my posture has started to improve and my back feels much better! It's a wonderful feeling to not have as much of a rounded shoulder and being able to stand straighter. Looking forward in the next couple months, I'm looking forward to being much stronger. I realized that being big doesn't matter to me as much as it did in the past, but instead getting (functionally) strong is what I want. Being inspired by the physiques of some body weight strength exercise focused individuals has shown me that I want to access the capabilities of functional human strength (e.g. having strength to hold my body up in the "dragon flag" <--- look it up, it's super cool and generally having the ability to use my surroundings to "play in".) Essentially it's parkour and having the functional strength needed, instead of just being able to move a heavy object from point A to point B.
I seem to have a knack though for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Trying to be a good employee and arrive a little early, on the way to work last Friday, I was rear ended by some ~20 year old white girl who proceeded to run leaving me to deal with the repair costs. Thankfully two witnesses who saw it happened stuck around and corroborated to the cop that the accident was 100% not my fault. Witnesses claimed she was texting while driving. More than likely, she was uninsured, which explains the running. I have absolutely zero sympathy for people. That being said, it looks like the swap will be pushed back a bit, but hopefully the motor will be swapped by summer and running.
Overall though, even with the accident, last Friday turned out pretty great with Esther turning 21 and with a (semi) surprise party at Squatter's to celebrate. Car is in the shop now getting damage fixed as well. Will be enjoying this super bowl weekend at a friend's apartment. Go seahawks!
Friday, January 30, 2015
Tuesday, November 25, 2014
Back into the blogosphere
Wow! It's been a crazy long time since I've last updated my blog. Lots of things have changed since I last posted 2 years ago. I accidentally came across a link back to my blog a few days ago browsing my Google+. I think my writing in many aspects was much better than it is now. Reminiscing on some of my old posts, I feel like I sounded very articulate and coherent compared to my writing style now. Perhaps this is due to a lack of writing.
A new year goal will be trying to write more here and get out thoughts every once in a while. Back then I wanted this blog to be dedicated to music mostly and a little bit about life (Looks like the tables have turned) and it will mostly be the opposite. I'll mention my audio setup hasn't changed in nearly 2 years now because I've been greatly enjoying the experience of the equipment I do have. I did pick up a better turntable a year or so ago though.
Time passes crazy quick and....growing up is really really difficult. One of the biggest things keeping me motivated now though is my car is finally going to be swapped (Motor swaps ftw) and I'll probably take a breather year and work an easier job while enjoying my swapped car :D I guess i'll be talking a lot about my car and what an enormous pain this swap is. The days that it drives and the smiles I'll get will far outweigh where it is now and the days I know that it will be sad and broken in my driveway from the inevitability of something breaking. Anyhow, I'll be graduating in spring this year so I'm really excited about that! There's been a crazy amount of stuff that's happened since my last post and if I asked myself then if I'd be where I'm at now...the answer would be a resounding "Hell no!" Did I mention how difficult growing up is and having real (almost) adult responsibilities?
Anyways I'll leave this post at that! My goal is to post more here and write more! I've got some other goals I want to accomplish in 2015 as well and if all goes well I'll be posting progress and updates on those throughout the upcoming year as well.
A new year goal will be trying to write more here and get out thoughts every once in a while. Back then I wanted this blog to be dedicated to music mostly and a little bit about life (Looks like the tables have turned) and it will mostly be the opposite. I'll mention my audio setup hasn't changed in nearly 2 years now because I've been greatly enjoying the experience of the equipment I do have. I did pick up a better turntable a year or so ago though.
Time passes crazy quick and....growing up is really really difficult. One of the biggest things keeping me motivated now though is my car is finally going to be swapped (Motor swaps ftw) and I'll probably take a breather year and work an easier job while enjoying my swapped car :D I guess i'll be talking a lot about my car and what an enormous pain this swap is. The days that it drives and the smiles I'll get will far outweigh where it is now and the days I know that it will be sad and broken in my driveway from the inevitability of something breaking. Anyhow, I'll be graduating in spring this year so I'm really excited about that! There's been a crazy amount of stuff that's happened since my last post and if I asked myself then if I'd be where I'm at now...the answer would be a resounding "Hell no!" Did I mention how difficult growing up is and having real (almost) adult responsibilities?
Anyways I'll leave this post at that! My goal is to post more here and write more! I've got some other goals I want to accomplish in 2015 as well and if all goes well I'll be posting progress and updates on those throughout the upcoming year as well.
Thursday, August 9, 2012
End of Summer + lightly reflecting on it + short IBasso update
As I sit here writing this I have a piece of gauze in my mouth after coming back from the dentist and having a little tooth/extra piece of bone pulled out of it. Still a little bit numb but I'm sure the pain will come soon. The end of Summer is coming soon! :O What a summer it has been!
I initially wasn't all that excited for Summer but in the end it turned out pretty well. Honestly, from what I feel, I spent most of this summer becoming lazier and lazier. (Not necessarily a bad thing, as it's been nice to just kick back and relax) However, it has been kind of hard getting back into the swing of things in preparation of the coming school year but it's getting there. I spent most of my summer throwing money at my moneypit *cough* I mean car *cough* but will most likely drive the crap out of it in the next 6 months while I save up for what is basically my dream car (Swapped RS with WRX/STI swap!! xD) and I get to put all my cool parts on this car onto the next car I get. I <3 that Subarus are like legos. I learned a lot more about cars, but any really tired of the lack of boost. So time to go boosted! xD (Super super excited for this if you couldn't already tell)
Anyhow, between that, work, church activities and hanging out with friends, Summer turned out to be quite eventful. I went on some really cool hikes and on the days I wasn't lazy, I was able to go running early morning and see the sun rise (which is pretty much one of the most awesome things you can do early in the morning). I didn't spend a whole lot of my summer doing productive things academically and next summer I'll probably spend out of state working as a intern somewhere. *crossing my fingers for California*
The other thing I wanted to talk about separately from the rest of this stuff is the IBasso. IBasso has continued to impress me with each firmware update and the company itself is stellar. I seriously do love how it sounds and it really is cream of the crop as far as portable audio goes IMHO. There isn't really even words to describe how good the music sounds for portable use. This thing works great as a bedside rig paired with my LCD-2s. I spent a lot of summer rediscovering music I hadn't listened to in a while and hearing things I truly have never heard before. Crystal cables should be sent off to be built soon as well. (Super excited for this as well!) At this point, I may be doing some major updates to my current desktop rig (which is slightly getting the edge in sounding better than the IBasso), at the same time though as a college student I think my audiophile journey is nearing a end. I think it's time to kick back and really just get immersed in all my music all over again. :) One thing, I'm going to try to follow through the school year with that I am currently doing right now is: I wake up every day now and ask myself am I doing something to make myself better in some aspect and if I am, then I am satisfied
Anyhow, between that, work, church activities and hanging out with friends, Summer turned out to be quite eventful. I went on some really cool hikes and on the days I wasn't lazy, I was able to go running early morning and see the sun rise (which is pretty much one of the most awesome things you can do early in the morning). I didn't spend a whole lot of my summer doing productive things academically and next summer I'll probably spend out of state working as a intern somewhere. *crossing my fingers for California*
The other thing I wanted to talk about separately from the rest of this stuff is the IBasso. IBasso has continued to impress me with each firmware update and the company itself is stellar. I seriously do love how it sounds and it really is cream of the crop as far as portable audio goes IMHO. There isn't really even words to describe how good the music sounds for portable use. This thing works great as a bedside rig paired with my LCD-2s. I spent a lot of summer rediscovering music I hadn't listened to in a while and hearing things I truly have never heard before. Crystal cables should be sent off to be built soon as well. (Super excited for this as well!) At this point, I may be doing some major updates to my current desktop rig (which is slightly getting the edge in sounding better than the IBasso), at the same time though as a college student I think my audiophile journey is nearing a end. I think it's time to kick back and really just get immersed in all my music all over again. :) One thing, I'm going to try to follow through the school year with that I am currently doing right now is: I wake up every day now and ask myself am I doing something to make myself better in some aspect and if I am, then I am satisfied
Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Ibasso DX100 review
So I purchased the Ibasso DX100 on pre-order and man does it sound good!! It's easily in the top setups I have heard by far. Rivaling many desktop rigs which is saying something. I know the sound will change more over time but I thought I'd give it a review anyway because it is phenomenal! At this point I've probably put around 100 hours or so on it since receiving the unit. As a reference I have owned the Cowon s9 and heard the ipod -> CLAS -> DB2/PB2 setups extensively. I have also heard SR-009s, Orpheus, HD800s and the like. Anyways, onto the actual review.
I tested both some standard 16/44.1 kHz songs ripped using EAC as well as 24/192 kHz songs off of Linn Records and HDTracks and everything in between. ;) I even tried some mp3s. The UI while quirky is highly functional in my opinion though Ibasso does need to fix some items in the next firmware update to make me really happy with this product.
The only things I feel really need to be fixed are not fading in the next song when you change songs in the middle of another one playing and to fix album order and tagging of files. I use mostly .wav for my cd's so there isn't much in the form of tagging for me, however, I still am struggling to get some albums loaded in the proper order. It exhibits behavior similar to the Hifiman products in that it loads the songs based on copy order to the device. I mean seriously WTH, needs to be fixed ASAP.So it's something to take into consideration for future DX100 owners.
Moving on to sound, I've been comfortably using this as my go to portable getting something like 7.5 - 8 hours of battery life which is enough for me. On the go, I've been using the RE0s or modded Sr-60i's with it (I'll post pics on head-fi gallery soon) with it while I home I'm currently using LCD-2 rev. 1s with Moon Audio's Silver Dragon v. 3 (soon to be cabled with Crystal Piccolino :D) It's really a joy to listen and the best I think I've heard either of these. The RE0s were good enough that I'm seriously considering customs. Any suggestions?
The RE0s while it did sound good lacked a lot of depth but the soundstage is getting better day by day. The LCD-2 on the other hand is just indescribable how good this combination sounded. I'm always hesitant to use words like synergize but that's exactly what happened here and I'll try my best to describe the sound.
Overall soundstage was quite good even out of the box, yet the instruments all had a bit of 'harshness' in the sound and lacked decay on the notes. The decay on the notes to me is what gives music that life-like quality through a good source/DAC/amp/headphone. Already this is much improved through the caps just burning in. The soundstage is the best I've ever heard them on LCD-2s and really I think I just ended up with a really good pair of the LCD-2s. The sound after about 100 hours is more organic and life-like to my ears and I'm really enjoying the sound. The width and depth i'm hearing is really quite something. I'd say the overall effect I get from my LCD-2s is they sound like a pair of very good speakers with a bit less on the whole imaging front but stunning nonetheless.
Some recommendations for fellow DX100 owners to try is Susan Wong's 'Someone Like You' and 'Chopin & Lizst' by Annelean Leaneats (Both can be found on Linn Records site in 24/192 kHz). Something I've noticed that I find neat is you can easily tell different concert halls from each other and really get a sense of the depth of the hall with the DX100 -> LCD-2 combination. You can actually really also hear the singer's breath into the mic and things such as fingers moving up and down the frets on a guitar. Definitely adds to the music and quite a neat experience. The next section is going describe the sound as I'm hearing it through the LCD-2s.
The bass was very well extended and very detailed in my opinion. I really enjoyed listening to Hans Zimmer's work to see how the bass sounded. The movie soundtrack for Inception sounded gorgeous. The bass had great impact and the sound was very surround.
The mids on this were very lush and full of micro details that I swear I've never heard before on some cd quality recordings. (To think it gets better :O) I think the sound here can be best described as very open and airy but at the same time highly intimate through the LCD-2s and I can't state enough how much of a joy it is to just listen to the music. I just love how rich and full the mids sound.
Finally, the highs. The highs were sparkly and extended extremely well and on well recorded albums really did just sparkle. There isn't really much else I can say about the treble.
I'm going to have to cut my review short here as I have finals coming up and some homework to finish but once my crystal piccolino's are in and the DX100 has had some more time to burn-in I'll post additional thoughts and add some more to this post. In the meantime, I'm going to get working on some homework and just enjoy my music. :) Pics coming soon as well.
I tested both some standard 16/44.1 kHz songs ripped using EAC as well as 24/192 kHz songs off of Linn Records and HDTracks and everything in between. ;) I even tried some mp3s. The UI while quirky is highly functional in my opinion though Ibasso does need to fix some items in the next firmware update to make me really happy with this product.
The only things I feel really need to be fixed are not fading in the next song when you change songs in the middle of another one playing and to fix album order and tagging of files. I use mostly .wav for my cd's so there isn't much in the form of tagging for me, however, I still am struggling to get some albums loaded in the proper order. It exhibits behavior similar to the Hifiman products in that it loads the songs based on copy order to the device. I mean seriously WTH, needs to be fixed ASAP.So it's something to take into consideration for future DX100 owners.
Moving on to sound, I've been comfortably using this as my go to portable getting something like 7.5 - 8 hours of battery life which is enough for me. On the go, I've been using the RE0s or modded Sr-60i's with it (I'll post pics on head-fi gallery soon) with it while I home I'm currently using LCD-2 rev. 1s with Moon Audio's Silver Dragon v. 3 (soon to be cabled with Crystal Piccolino :D) It's really a joy to listen and the best I think I've heard either of these. The RE0s were good enough that I'm seriously considering customs. Any suggestions?
The RE0s while it did sound good lacked a lot of depth but the soundstage is getting better day by day. The LCD-2 on the other hand is just indescribable how good this combination sounded. I'm always hesitant to use words like synergize but that's exactly what happened here and I'll try my best to describe the sound.
Overall soundstage was quite good even out of the box, yet the instruments all had a bit of 'harshness' in the sound and lacked decay on the notes. The decay on the notes to me is what gives music that life-like quality through a good source/DAC/amp/headphone. Already this is much improved through the caps just burning in. The soundstage is the best I've ever heard them on LCD-2s and really I think I just ended up with a really good pair of the LCD-2s. The sound after about 100 hours is more organic and life-like to my ears and I'm really enjoying the sound. The width and depth i'm hearing is really quite something. I'd say the overall effect I get from my LCD-2s is they sound like a pair of very good speakers with a bit less on the whole imaging front but stunning nonetheless.
Some recommendations for fellow DX100 owners to try is Susan Wong's 'Someone Like You' and 'Chopin & Lizst' by Annelean Leaneats (Both can be found on Linn Records site in 24/192 kHz). Something I've noticed that I find neat is you can easily tell different concert halls from each other and really get a sense of the depth of the hall with the DX100 -> LCD-2 combination. You can actually really also hear the singer's breath into the mic and things such as fingers moving up and down the frets on a guitar. Definitely adds to the music and quite a neat experience. The next section is going describe the sound as I'm hearing it through the LCD-2s.
The bass was very well extended and very detailed in my opinion. I really enjoyed listening to Hans Zimmer's work to see how the bass sounded. The movie soundtrack for Inception sounded gorgeous. The bass had great impact and the sound was very surround.
The mids on this were very lush and full of micro details that I swear I've never heard before on some cd quality recordings. (To think it gets better :O) I think the sound here can be best described as very open and airy but at the same time highly intimate through the LCD-2s and I can't state enough how much of a joy it is to just listen to the music. I just love how rich and full the mids sound.
Finally, the highs. The highs were sparkly and extended extremely well and on well recorded albums really did just sparkle. There isn't really much else I can say about the treble.
I'm going to have to cut my review short here as I have finals coming up and some homework to finish but once my crystal piccolino's are in and the DX100 has had some more time to burn-in I'll post additional thoughts and add some more to this post. In the meantime, I'm going to get working on some homework and just enjoy my music. :) Pics coming soon as well.
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Musings ramblings and been a long time since I've updated..so here it is :)
So in the last month or so I've gotten kinda overboard on spending (mostly audio related) and realized... I kinda suck at money management :S. Oh well, the IBasso DX100 is coming sometime in the next week and I'm crazy excited for it to show up. The DAC is top notch and from initial reports, it sounds like this DAP will be an endgame solution for me. Also, on the way is a crystal piccolino (99% silver 1% liquid gold injected into the "cracks" in the silver bonds). I'll review both of these products when they come in but for now I'm super excited is all I can say really. :) (I can see the light at the end of the tunnel on my audio spending ;) ) Basically after this spree i'm planning on quitting until I graduate and I'm almost certain I won't be unhappy with the combo (Hi-rez music ->IBasso DX100 -> LCD-2 w/ 5 ft. SE crystal piccolino as the cable.)
In regards to school...Spring Break is coming and the weather is really nice outside right now. With balancing work and school, life has been kind of difficult but it's been quite the experience and I'm enjoying every moment of it. Recently, I've decided I want to work harder on getting better at the musical instruments I already know and learn violin (basically based on hearing the emotion a youtube artist was able to get out of the instrument) I've even found some in great condition for decently cheap so it seems viable actually. :)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_profilepage&v=aHjpOzsQ9YIThere is the video if any of you care. :P
Considering everything I've learned this year I still think computer science is the right path for me but everything is getting really tough. Not much else is going on right now really...just school and work. I did get braces though and they ARE quite the pain. I'm hoping I can get them off in about a year. The results WILL be worth it. Also I've been really lazy recently and just need to get back on track. Starting the 18th of March I plan on really starting to run hard and bulk up as well (I am planning on running the SLC marathon; hopefully will be able to this year and if not this year then next year for sure) The motivation has always been there but as I've said I have been lazy. A motto, "Work hard now, play hard later. Play hard now, pay hard later", that my friend lives by has really inspired me & pushed me to work towards the above goals more than ever. I'm hoping 9 weeks from now I can look back on this post and be proud of what I will have achieved in 9 weeks. In 9 weeks time, everything I've done, every meal, every sacrifice will hopefully be worth it. On a tangent I found out Utah has quite a good selection of food challenges. I plan to best all of them as a goal by the end of this year. I'd been eyeing this particular challenge for a while and have sat through plenty a painful bowl (yet delicious) of curry in hopes of besting this challenge
http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/news/51379418-78/sooksri-diner-challenge-curry.html.csp^^ It's going down Spring Break '12.
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
I suck
At updating. Life has been crazy the last 2 months and I've been meaning to update for a while and never really got around to it. Finals week is only a couple of days away. X( But then there's winter break!! :) Over the last couple of months I've decided computer science is truly something I want to pursue so I am quite happy with where I'm at.
Since October, lots of happened. Notably, gigantic party at my house for Thanksgiving and I bought some floor standing speakers on Black Friday the day after and was super super poor for a while. I realized they didn't work in the space I had in my room so I sold them to someone at a profit! :) Black Friday was great this year and I got some seriously good deals. hahah
On that note I've also gotten quite a few friends addicted to good sounding gear (yay!) and the beginning of a never ending journey of upgrading gear. (Until I get a Stax it'll never end XD)
Anyways, I guess I'll leave it here for now. Next post will include lots of pictures of what's been going on the last two months.
Since October, lots of happened. Notably, gigantic party at my house for Thanksgiving and I bought some floor standing speakers on Black Friday the day after and was super super poor for a while. I realized they didn't work in the space I had in my room so I sold them to someone at a profit! :) Black Friday was great this year and I got some seriously good deals. hahah
On that note I've also gotten quite a few friends addicted to good sounding gear (yay!) and the beginning of a never ending journey of upgrading gear. (Until I get a Stax it'll never end XD)
Anyways, I guess I'll leave it here for now. Next post will include lots of pictures of what's been going on the last two months.
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Chinese music + Judging debate + Fall break
So this weekend has been super hectic and have spent the majority of it judging high school debate. I guess one of the coolest things about debate is the atmosphere at competitions and judging debate brings back both good and bad memories. I got back to my dorm super late from judging yesterday night which was kinda not cool. :( Anyways, moving on... Fall break is this week. I have no idea what my plans are yet but even on break there is a lot to do this year. Sadly I'm spending the first part of it maxing out my hours at my job so I make maximum profit. Yay! :) Just time consuming...haha.
Which brings me to Chinese music... another time consuming thing, although I quite enjoy spending my time listening to music. Chinese music, in my opinion, is better produced and recorded at a much higher quality than most pop music produced in the U.S. today. I'm always finding new songs that I like and feel that most songs have more meaningful lyrics than crappy "top" of the charts music in the U.S. (Yeah, I'm looking at you Ke$ha and actually just most pop...blah). Even Chinese pop music sounds better. Anyways, two songs that I've currently been listening to on repeat that i'm addicted to right now are:
"Still In Love With You" 依然愛你 - 王力宏 Wang Leehom + Wong Fu Productions (woot!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StCtPtPtmkc&feature=feedu
(A couple of my facebook friends posted about this one and it's just ridiculously good.)
"A Beautiful lost" 遺失的美好 - 張韶涵 Angela Chang
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZV4_w5KUKFc&feature=related
(The lyrics for this one are really pretty if you understand the lyrics...feel free to comment here or PM me on head-fi if you want a translation) :)
Although both of these songs are super sappy, I'm going to emphasize the point that it's just plain superior to modern American pop music. Out of vocal music, female Asian singers are some of my favorite vocalists. I'm going to end this post here.
I think I'll spend my fall break just relaxing, listening to Chinese music, and sleeping. I'll update again at the end of break and post any exciting adventures during the break.
Till then.
Which brings me to Chinese music... another time consuming thing, although I quite enjoy spending my time listening to music. Chinese music, in my opinion, is better produced and recorded at a much higher quality than most pop music produced in the U.S. today. I'm always finding new songs that I like and feel that most songs have more meaningful lyrics than crappy "top" of the charts music in the U.S. (Yeah, I'm looking at you Ke$ha and actually just most pop...blah). Even Chinese pop music sounds better. Anyways, two songs that I've currently been listening to on repeat that i'm addicted to right now are:
"Still In Love With You" 依然愛你 - 王力宏 Wang Leehom + Wong Fu Productions (woot!)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=StCtPtPtmkc&feature=feedu
(A couple of my facebook friends posted about this one and it's just ridiculously good.)
"A Beautiful lost" 遺失的美好 - 張韶涵 Angela Chang
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZV4_w5KUKFc&feature=related
(The lyrics for this one are really pretty if you understand the lyrics...feel free to comment here or PM me on head-fi if you want a translation) :)
Although both of these songs are super sappy, I'm going to emphasize the point that it's just plain superior to modern American pop music. Out of vocal music, female Asian singers are some of my favorite vocalists. I'm going to end this post here.
I think I'll spend my fall break just relaxing, listening to Chinese music, and sleeping. I'll update again at the end of break and post any exciting adventures during the break.
Till then.
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