Buying HiFi music boxes

2019-08-23 ~ admin ~ 2 Comments

After repairing my gifted amplifier (Link), the next step was to get some good music boxes. My preferences are mostly metal and rock music, but also soundtracks. The first step in buying something expensive should always be some “independent” research.

Some steps before buying / trying

Check what most people are buying and recommending, and what it costs.
Which feature do you really need? What do you only want?
Cross-reference the needs and wants with the price of the products. Can you get what you need for the price you are willing to pay?
There is almost never a linear progression between quality and cost. At some point, the miniscule better quality is not worth the cost. But there is often a sweet-spot, a point where you get the most “bang for your buck”.

Candidates

Music preferences can play a role in the choice. Depending on your viewpoint between “should replicate the sound exactly” or “should sound how I like it”, some products others like are just not for you, and vice versa. Know what you need.

After researching (hifi-forum is a really good source for audio-equipment opinions if you speak german), cross-referencing, etc. there were three products I was willing to try.

Nubert nuBox 513
Canton Ergo 670 DC
Klipsch R-820F

In the end I choose none of them 🙂

All had great build quality. Sound is of course subjective; the nuBox 513 sounded a bit flat (lifeless?) at my amp in my room — it is often written Nubert boxes have a neutral sound reproduction. Seems I don’t like such sound.

The Canton Ergo 670 and Klipsch R-820F were both great. R-820F seemed to have more bass and highs, while the Ergo 670 were more “clear” with better mod-sections. Bottom line: Some music were better on the Klipsch, while others were better on the Canton…

Luckily my brother did also listen to them, and would have liked to get the Canton if I would chose the Klipsch. I was on the fence with the Klipsch, because I bought the wrong recommended pair…

Therefore my brother got the Canton Ergo, the Nubert nuBox and Klipsch got returned while my final pair was sent on its way.

The arrival and repair

The final pair was a Klipsch Reference Premiere 280 F. In hindsight I am really glad to returned the R820 and got the RP280; they sound even better 🙂

Unfortunately one of them was broken on arrival. The tweeter (which produces the high tones) was dead. But after a short email exchange with the seller, I was able to repair it. After opening the chassis and re-attaching a single cable everything was great.

Summary

Do your research, especially for higher-prices items.
Try and compare.
Buy the correct things.
Don’t be afraid to repair the things (if the warranty is still intact afterwards).

Thanks for reading

Error with wrong API version of node module

2019-08-17 ~ admin ~ Leave a comment

Intro

Some npm packages are not pure javascript. If they have some kind of binary, these binaries have to be compiled against the right nodejs version; or else the ABI is wrong. There are precompiled binaries, but sometimes there aren’t or they doesn’t fit the version you need. Especially with electron, which maybe uses different versions…

Problem

Either way, this was the error message

Error: Cannot find module node_modules/sqlite3/lib/binding/node-v57-linux-x64/node_sqlite3.node

while there was a node_sqlite3.node, but in a different /binding subdirectory.

Solution

This stackoverflow post https://stackoverflow.com/a/39463304 has guided me to a package that can rebuild to the correct ABI used: https://github.com/electron/electron-rebuild

npm install –save-dev electron-rebuild
$(npm bin)/electron-rebuild

And that was another problem fixed. Thanks for reading!

New training plan

2019-08-07 ~ admin ~ Leave a comment

After some time off training because of moving, work, injuries and laziness, let’s start anew. Some preconditions:

Squats, deadlifts, bench and overhead press are the focus
Both presses should occur more often, because I also jog and ride my bike every morning, and I intend to add pull-ups and rows.
Some hamstring exercise, because I sometimes have muscle soreness after squats respectively deadlifts. Also have to check / learn proper hip hinging.

After taking some inspiration from popular programs like 5/3/1 or Greyskull LP my own plan looks something like this at the moment:

First day

4×4 Overhead Press
4×8 Squat

Second day

4×4 Deadlifts
4×8 Bench press

Third day

4×4 Bench press
4×8 Overhead press

Additional movements, alternating after the main exercises:

Addition 1

Rows 3×10
Curls 3×10
Skullcrusher 3×10

Addition 2

Hamstring exercise
Ab exercise (wheel, leg raises)

Addition 3

Pull-ups after every training day, more than before.

Linear progression

add x weight after successful attempt.
back-off x weight after some failed attempts

Considerations

Maybe too much back exercises in contrast to abs?
Why 4×4 / 4×8? I saw it somewhere and tried it before; I liked the variety.
Why so much pull-ups? I want to be able to get 10 in a set. If it is too much, I remove something for better recovery.

How I brew a decent cup of coffee

2019-08-062019-08-06 ~ admin ~ Leave a comment

Just a short post how I make my coffee at home. In case I forget something ^^. We have a coffee automate at work, when visiting relatives I usually get ok drip coffee or horrible capsule coffee.

Therefore I like to taste something different at home: french press coffee. Additionally it doesn’t produce waste and is easy to clean.

0. Tools

Beans
French press
Grinder

The taste of the beans contribute the most to the overall taste. Therefore try different kinds to get a coffee to your liking.

1. Grinding

The granularity of the ground coffee powder determines how it should be further processed (https://ineedcoffee.com/coffee-grind-chart/). And the taste changes a bit. Again try different settings to find a granularity that fits your taste.

For a french press I aim for medium coarse. I like to have some fine particles in my coffee.

Boil the water while grinding. Both will be ready at the same time.