Appalachian Trail

Second sunny weekend in row, I guess it will continue from here on. After spending whole winters inside home, I was so desparate to go out that took advantage of sunny Satruday, and went for hiking yet again. And spent time in woods with mother, mother nature.

After registring on Trails.com, which gives 15 day trial period and provides information about almost all the hiking trails in US, I decided to hike Appalachian trail. It came out to be whole day affair, 2 hours of drive one side and few hours of hiking. This was probably the most strainous trails I hiked so far after Mount Rainier in Seattle. And after reaching at top, I realized it was worth. Though the trail is quite long, I covered a bit of it. Thankfully, my Prius gives good mileage and I didn't had to think thrice [though I did thought about it twice] before going on 2 hrs long drive just for hiking.

Here is how NJ looks from one of the highest points in NJ.

FLAC + Zero DAC + AKG701 = pure music

In my desparation to hear pure music, which was incomplete without the DAC, I was hitting Refresh after every 5 mins on the Tracking website; I hope they have not handed my IP to FBI for increasing traffic on their site. :D The package that was shipped from China reached me in merely 3 days, and it was Friday, making the weeekend great.

After spending $200 on this DAC, which comes with amplifier also, I think it's worth. The music that it delivers along with my $250 headphones, is amazing. The sound is so clear, crisp and sharp that I realize what I was missing without an DAC. On some of the songs, I just feel that orchestra is in front of me. It did cost $450, but when that sound reaches to brain through ears, it is PRICELESS !!!!

After sitting home for last few weekends, I decided that I can't sit anymore and wait till I find someone to go alongwith. The weather was so inviting that I started finding few trails for hiking and decided to hike one nearby at "Ramapo Mountain State Forest". It was so fun to spend sometime in woods, though there were no waterfalls. And probably, that's the best time I had was in California, it has so many things to do, Napa Valley, Yosemite Valley, Lakes, Grand Canyon and not to forget Vegas. I miss California !!!

This is London Heathrow airport, once again reflection of light:

In quest of pure music

For last few weeks, I have been working endless without getting enough sleep. So, I decided to take rest this weekend. And as I got bonus for 2008, though the bonus is not much, but better than nothing :D. So, I started looking at possible options where I can spend some of it.

Though a telephoto lens for my 40D is on my list already, I have been craving for a good amplifier for to get meat out of my AKGs. So, I started my research on a headphone amplifier and I was amazed by 2 things: 1) people spend thousands of dollars on building a good music system 2) there is a huge market of hi-fi music systems. Audiophiles, as they call themselves, are crazy for pure music and after long wait I have stepped into this category.

Out of my research, which amazingly continued for 1.5 days, I found that depending on your music source, components may vary. Since, most of my music is on PC in lossless FLAC format, I first needed a DAC - Digital to Analogue converter. A DAC is almost a sound card that stays out of PC/laptop, the advantage it has over onboard soundcard is that it is free from noise of internal circuit of motherboard and hence can provide quality output. The DAC is essentially a pre-amp and its output can be fed into the main amplifier which further enhances the signals. And the amplified signal can be then be fed to the final part, i.e. speakers/headphones. If all of these components are of high quality, one can expect pure music, atleast that's what I think based on the cost of these components. DAC, Heaphone Amplifiers, Headphones, they all range from $100-$10,000, even more.

In order to get value of my $250 headphones, I need to spend another $300. I wouldn't have mind that if the best system could be afforded for say $700, but instead what I found was that even a DAC can cost 15000 bucks and same can be true for Amplifier. And most interesting part, people rather Audiophiles are buying those. Anyways, I decided not to break bank and start my quest for pure music. So, I ordered an entry level DAC, which comes with a nice amplifier, all for $150. I guess this would keep me happy till I move onto more quality stuff.

This week's image, Hardrock cafe, Warsaw