March 9, 2011

  • Headamp GS-1, Part 10

    San Leandro is known as Cherryland.  A hundred years ago, much of the land was home to cherry orchards.  Those trees have since been moved inland. 

    While there are no cherry trees in San Leandro, there are very few other fruit trees, as well.  But we have a crabapple tree, whose spring leaves are rapidly developing.  They do remind me of the real cherry trees surrounding my dorm at UC Santa Cruz.  There, I learned firsthand why such trees may not be a good idea in urban areas.  You see, my fellow dormmates would pick the fruit, and then throw them against the white stucco walls.  Obviously, the cherry juice leaves permanent stains.      My crapabbles are so small and dry, they don't leave any stains.  Whew!

    20 years ago, R.E.M. came out with Out Of Time.  The reviews were, at best, mixed.  Led by "Losing My Religion," Out Of Time did ride the "alternative" wave, and was popular among my fellow college students.  While Out Of Time wasn't my cup of tea, I did enjoy "Shiny Happy People," featuring the B-52's Kate Pierson on backing vocals.

    At the same time, all those established audiophiles were trying to get everyone to like their vinyl/tubes/loud music.  Those aren't my cup of tea.  Those aren't anyone else's cup of tea.

    At the same time, I went into UC Santa Cruz's computer labs, and discovered...the mouse!  The PCs had those DOS-based word processing programs, such as Word Perfect.  I think we had to press F7, in order to kick the file to the dot matrix printer.  Those early 90s PCs were as bad as audiophiles' vinyl/tubes/high SPLs.

    But the Mac labs had visual word processing programs like the MS Word we all know, like, and are accustomed to.  The Mac's word processor was light years better than the electric typewriters we used in our cramped dorm rooms.  Because of the Mac's word processing application, my writing prowess exploded.  And what did I write about back then?  Audio.  So now that you've read my blog and posts on other audio sites, now you know.

    In 1991, I wasn't aware of headphone amps.  But I was aware of pucks, feet, and cones.  The AudioQuest Sorbothane pucks under my Discman were a lifesaver.  They prevented the sensitive Sony D-10 from skipping.  Furthermore, they made the D-10 sound less harsh.

    Well, the feet under the Headamp GS-1 suck.  They will not stick to the surface you place the unit on.  So every time you plug or unplug something, turn the volume pot, or flick a switch, the unit will slide.  My advice is to use something adhesive, which will prevent the GS-1 from sliding around.  Now where did my AudioQuest Sorbothane pucks go?