Tubes Everywhere
Tube stores also predominate in the used audio market.
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111 Wussiest Songs of All Time
Some questionable calls here. "Daydream Believer?" Did Boyce and Hart ever write a wussy song? Also some good advice: "Waltz time is a direct, foolproof route to wussiness."
Your ebay Article of the Day
Own the 12" acetate of <I>The Velvet Underground with Nico</I> for only $110,000. For that price <I>I'd</I> at least want an intact banana sticker.
The Used Audio Market
All the way across town from the audio market is the area where used equipment and parts are sold. Many small shops are specialists, such as this transformer kiosk. Not only can you buy thousands of transformers, but you can pick up plates and wire and roll your own.
Sheng Ya Means Good Listening
Actually, I have no idea what Sheng Ya means, but at the Sheng Ya showroom, I felt right at home. There were audiophiles hanging out, listening, and, of course, yakking when we walked in. The sales guy was <I>really</I> into what he was doing and immediately began playing these interesting looking speakers made by Consonance.
Floobydust Is Also Universal
Down the street, we found a store running an active demo that had these strange devices flanking the loudspeakers. Seated on their own speaker stands, they had thin wires connecting on the positive inputs of both loudpseaker and super tweeter.
Some Things Are the Same All Over
We went to the "audio district" of GuangZhou—in China, all shops of similar character tend to group together, so the audio district is where all the hi-fi shops are. Actually, they're there twice: many store have display showrooms in the central mall and listening rooms ranked along a nearby alley.
Music In Your Pocket
An audiophile's nightmare?
CT-1 AC Tester
Plug the CT-1 into an outlet and it will measure the THD+N noise carried on your line. You can plug headphones into the output to <I>hear</I> the noise pollution, or you can measure it with a test instrument. The CT-1 will also alert you to DC on your line.
Dussun
Dussun was showing a line of power conditioners (500W, 800W, and 1200W) that offered waveform shaping, regulation, isolation, and DC suppression. Oh yeah, and they offer 85% efficiency. The X-1200 retails for $2500.