3of5

I had this burst for a few years. Sold it here about 2-3 years ago.

That Mira is calling to me. I. must. resist.

My college faves, The Plimsouls and their singer and songwriter as a solo act, Peter Case.

I guess I have real fortitude. I got 17 seconds into it before I had to shut it off.

Can't believe this one wasn't suggested yet. So here it is.

Hard to beat this.

George's solo in the Beatles' "Carry That Weight". Short, slow, simple and cool. A guitar haiku.

I feel a kinship. He must be related to me somehow.

ZZtop. Late 70's. Don't remember the name of the album. Doesn't matter, don't care. What a buildup that record had. Actually, my brother bought the album and saved me the indignity. We listened to the first two songs and then sampled a bit of all the others. We thought "this must be the soundtrack in hell", then lifted the record off the turntable, used it to scoop our puke off the floor (metaphorically speaking) and threw it into the trash. We both despise ZZtop in every way shape or form.

Thank you all. Me and the missus are heading out for some fancy eats.

I got a microwave with a carousel for $29 at Target a couple of years back. It is all I need in a microwave oven. My wife and I are both serious home cooks so the mw is mostly for defrosting or rewarming any leftovers that are leftover to warm over. Mw is good for streaming vegetables. Very fast. An average size artichoke is steamed in about 8 minutes. If covered, you only need a tiny amount of water so you lose few of the vitamins. Most of the vitamins are lost in the cooking water and steam. That being said I prefer vegetables grilled outside or stir fried in a wok.

This may be pushing the envelope. Perhaps a bit too attractive?

http://youtu.be/A5wNL29kdek

I have an essentially unused Crate Power Block I would be happy to sell. PM me if you are interested. Have a Tech 21 Tri-AC too.

Delighted to hear that.

Mathman. Make sure you use coated strings. As Haynie said, try the goofy color coated strings or the elixer strings. I certainly could be wrong, it may not be a nickel (got it right this time) allergy. But, if you use steel strings you will not have gained any information if your problem persists. I don't think the frets are really a problem because you don't touch them much and you certianly don't grind your fingers into them like you do with the strings. Good luck.

Looks to me like it could be contact dermatitis. You may have a nickle allergy. Many people, predominately women, are allergic to nickle. You can cheaply test this theory by changing to a coated string. Just changing to stainless steel strings may not be sufficient because many stainless alloys have nickle in them. Hope this helps.

JohnnyB, Just installed my MM-8s. A good sign. I didn't know they were on at first until I turned them back off. Then I realized what I have been missing all these years. Don't have much time to listen to these until I return from vacation in a couple of weeks. Thanks again.

JohnnyB, Once again thank you for your advice. I really appreciate the detail. I think I am going to order the MM-8s this weekend.

I love this place.

JohnnyB, You are amazing! Thank you for all of this great info. I'll need to do some research but my first thought is to just go with the dual MM-8s as you did. Space is an issue so I like the small size. I have never heard a 2 sub system vs a 1 sub system but I think I will just trust you on this. The great thing about my speakers is they sound good most everywhere in the room and I don't want to compromise that. I am not current with hi-fi technology but where I left off it seemed to be accepted that 1 sub placed most anywhere in the room was just fine since deep base is not so directional. I don't have plans for a surround sound 3D system. Don't watch a whole bunch of movies and don't need complicated multiroom and switching capabilities. I just want good music in one room and the ability to play audio for movies. Heck, I don't really even need a remote control. This Marantz amp seems to be a good fit for me I have a slab floor and 14' by 24' room if that factors into the decision. I am guessing that if the 2 pre-outs are used for the MM-8s It won't compromise my ability to play my Blue-Ray through it for movies? One other question. I take it that you want one sub near each speaker? Many thanks.

JohnnyB, Thanks for the review. I am in the market for a new amplifier. I'm starting to lose the right channel on my 1987 Proton D540. This Marantz seems to be a significant step up over what I have. I have a pair of Ohm Walsh 2 Speakers. I love these speakers but they could use some enhancement in the base department. Do you have a suggestion for a reasonably compact subwoofer that would work well with my speakers and this amp? Thanks.

Nathan of Brainfertilizer Fame "I am saying that fighting against illegal downloads is a waste of artists' time. I am also saying that the fact that there is a huge market for legal downloads, and a huge market for illegal downloads, is a moderately unambiguous sign that many artists are overpricing their product. Many (but not all) artists have a choice: illegal downloads or zero downloads. Meaning, the value of their work is not even $1/song. They need to face it. Other artists have a choice: illegal downloads or cheaper downloads. They need to use whatever level of fame they have to add value to a download if they want to maximize the price. If they want to just make music and not be bothered with marketing, they must accept lower pricing. But there will always be some theft, because some people are always thieves. You can't price candy bars cheap enough to never have shoplifting." There is a serious flaw in this argument that artists are overpricing there product. If almost anyone can steal a product, any product, with almost complete anonymity and no almost no chance of being caught, then the value of that product will be zero. Any price would be too high, even 1 cent. It is still easier, faster and cheaper to steal than to pay. Actually in this case it may be safer to steal than to pay because you don't have to reveal your credit card number. I work with a fair number of teens and young adults and the prevailing attitude now seems to be that if you paid for music then you are just dumb.

I've been telling people for twenty five years that retirement too, was a short term fluke. An anomoly of our brief, incredible, prosperity and egalitarianism. Historically people have worked until they physically could not. For myself, I know that I am going to be working into my 70's.