In February 1993, I received my first component with XLRs, the B&K Pro10MC preamp. It was not a true balanced, "dual differential" product. It merely added a phase splitter to the analog output, to utilize XLRs.

At this time, I was barely aware of XLO's Signature series. The ads did not show the Type 5.1 speaker cable, so we had no idea what that looked like. The ads only depicted a small section of the interconnects. The ads did not show any connectors. On Friday, February 12, 1993 (the beginning of Presidents' Day weekend), my old friend ACS took the inter-campus jitney from Cal to UC Santa Cruz. Since it had rained earlier in the day, it was damp outdoors, but warm and muggy inside of my college apartment. ACS did not show the, um, connectors on her bra; she reached into her shirt, and pulled the bra out from one of her t-shirt sleeves.

If ACS thought RCAs were kinky, she sure got excited about XLRs. Since the female XLR plug received signal, ACS called it the "business end, where all the action takes place."

A major reason why XLO's Signature 2.1 balanced line-level interconnect did not experience that ubiquitous top-end roll-off was its avoidance of the Neutrik XLRs. Most other audio companies lazily used Neutrik chassis and cable XLRs. But these parts were notorious for rolling off the treble. As you can see, XLO designed and made their own XLR. When ACS saw the three holes, she poked fun: "anal, oral, and vaginal!"

ACS did giggle that the pins of the male XLR were like three identical dildos. Do note that, as originally manufactured, the pins on the XLO XLR only had a thin layer of gold plating. ACS and her housemates wanted condoms to be as thin as possible, to maximize feel. Alas, thin gold plating on the XLR's pins means that, over time, the pin can appear dull, as if the gold has oxidized or worn off. XLO kept the gold plating to a minimum, in order to maximize signal flow. Sounds kinky, but isn't.

ACS would run her fingernail over the outside of the XLR, as if it were a musical instrument. She shrugged, "If you're going to have a ribbed condom, why can't it be as fun as this?" Can your cable do this? More power to the XLO Signature 2.1. No, the ribs do not make the XLRs get stuck in chassis. Get your mind out of the gutter.

In late 1992, XLO began advertising their then-new Signature series. Production had not yet ramped up, so initially, products from the Signature line were only available from a small number (perhaps a dozen) of specially-chosen U.S. dealers.

When the XLO Signature interconnects and jumper cables rolled out, they came packaged in Ziploc-ed anti-static plastic bags [the speaker cable always came in a circular canvas bag]. For a good 2.5 years, the Signature series languished, until Jonathan Scull's review appeared in the September 1995 issue of Stereophile. That popular review caused sales of the Signature series interconnects to take off [the speaker cable's price was simply too high for most audiophiles, even well-heeled ones, so sales only modestly increased]. And by then, XLO had phased out the anti-static Ziploc bag, in favor of the corrugated plastic box (above).

Scull apparently did not have any balanced audio gear, so he did not review the balanced XLO Signature 2.1 line-level interconnect with XLRs.

I'm sorry that this box is in tatters. Let's just say that my audio friend did not take good care of the box.

However, my friend did take very good care of the interconnect itself, which is still in tip-top shape. According to him, he purchased this particular pair some time in 1996. As the pair has been in regular use between a preamp and power amp ever since its original purchase, this Signature 2.1 has seen 19 years of regular playing time. Though constructed of Teflon, the Signature 2.1, by being skinny, is flexible. It hails from a time when my then-girlfriend, ACS (who was not skinny, but could be either flexible or inflexible, depending on the situation), still worked a few hours a week at Victoria's Secret. Back then, she said that the Signature 2.1's black/magenta/gray color scheme resembled some of the get-ups displayed at VS stores. ACS also said this color scheme made "every season feel like Valentine's Day." How cool and sexy is that? I was in love ♡♡♡

The problem with Warrant's "Cherry Pie" is that it made them the poster children of the excess(es) of hair metal. Although initially a good seller, it ultimately limited their career. And that is too bad, because (a) Warrant were good live, and (b) the album Cherry Pie is more ambitious than their debut, tries to expand their repertoire, and should be given more credibility. "Bed Of Roses" sounds like a grittier Bon Jovi. The power ballad, "I Saw Red," strays from the formulaic "Heaven," and is more structured. And best of all, "Uncle Tom's Cabin" fits in between Aerosmith's "Janie's Got A Gun" and Richard Marx's "Hazard."

In the late-80s and early-90s, my friends would get together for sports. Somebody would bring a boombox, and we'd groove or go berserk to music. Our get-togethers peaked in the summer of 1992, when all of us were back home in S.F. from college. I think we were playing basketball at West Sunset Playground, when Patricia and two of her girlfriends were sitting on a ledge, and swayed to Warrant's "Heaven." Hot damn! You could read the guys' "I want those girls" body language and facial expressions.

As we were packing up, Skull had the cassette single of "Cherry Pie." But he told us to wait, flipped it over, played the B-side. It was killer! 'Twas way better than "Cherry Pie" itself. Upon further inspection, we learned that this drivin' rock song was called "Thin Disguise." Why it was not included on the album, or released as its own single, was beyond us.

Some of us decided to walk the 8 or so blocks to the coast. That day was actually fog-free and relatively mild. Still, the wind coming off of the Pacific Ocean was its usual stiff self. It slowed us down a little bit, as we walked down what could have been Ortega Street. Patricia put on her shades, faced the oncoming wind, soldiered on. The wind occasionally blew her chest-length wavy hair back, exposing her collarbone, throat, and good-looking face.

I hope you have not forgotten that the Simaudio 750D utilizes one 20mm slow-blow 0.200A fuse. At this low current, if you don't have a favorite after-market fuse at 0.200A itself, 0.250A and 0.300A will work. You just cannot use a fuse of lower value (than 0.200A).

When the Synergistic Research Quantum Red points to the nearest side wall, the sound becomes much cleaner. But where's the mid-treble? Where did it go?! Quite clearly, this is the wrong or incorrect direction to point the fuse.

When pointing away from that nearby left side wall, the Quantum Red, versus the stock fuse, evens out the tonal balance. There is greater treble extension. The music is cleaner, exhibits more energy, and isn't dragged down. It's like walking with the wind at your back.

The soundstage has width and height, but not depth. The images are also nebulous, with width and height, but not depth. Also, image outlines are poorly-defined. Somewhat oddly, the images from bass to treble all seem to be about the same size. That's just kind of weird, where a large-sized instrument is only slightly bigger than a small-sized one. Snare drum, though not blunted or down-tuned, needs more focus, stability, body, power, and punch. So while the overall sound is fast and energetic, it could use more pop and solidity.

Overall, with the Synergistic Research Quantum Red, the 750D sounds modern and glossy. There are many other after-market fuses. But I suspect that many 750D users, sick of the usual dreary SA warmth, bloat, drowsiness, coloration, and lifelessness, will overall rank the Quantum Red at or near the top.

Oh, other than the "Cherry Pie" single, you could not get "Thin Disguise," until The Best Of Warrant came out in 1996. Dude, on the back cover, Warrant look like they are trying to copy Patricia's look, as she walked against the wind, down Ortega Street.

During the summer of 1992, my friends came over to my house rather frequently, and often stayed overnight. One Saturday morning, we heard some commotion across the street, at Japantown. We walked over, and discovered that there were performances and speeches in front of the Peace Pagoda. The streets were closed, filled with booths. In the middle of Post & Webster, by that overhead walkway, the festival erected a stage. Local acts performed there.

As she often did, Patricia donned her thin white knit sweater. In the late afternoon, the fog was starting to approach. So there was a mix of sunshine, wind, fog, BBQ smoke, and general dirt and soot. All of those things combined with the noise and shadows, to reduce visibility. There was a kind of unique haze permeating and swirling at street level, and above the buildings. And then, whichever band was up onstage performed Fleetwood Mac's "Rhiannon." With that dirty white sweater, and her wavy, chest-length hair, the slender Patricia was like a poor man's Stevie Nicks!

As some of you know, my audiophile colleagues and I have owned, lived with, and reviewed our so-called "Big 3" CD players: the dCS Puccini (up to $18,000), Simaudio Andromeda ($13,500), and Wadia 781i ($15,000). Well, we can now add the Simaudio 750D ($14,000) to that roster, creating a "Big 4." For weeks, many of you have been asking how the 750D stacks up to the other 3. Without tweaks, the 750D kind of splits the difference between the Puccini and 781i. That is, the 750D has the Puccini's image size and soundstaging, and the 781i's professional rendering of detail. Sorry, while the 750D and Andromeda are in the same high-performance category, they do not sound alike. The Andromeda is the most "alive" source I've had the pleasure of experiencing. Instead of music being "played back," the Andromeda is the unique player which actually makes you anticipate the music. For example, on The Outfield's "Your Love," you take a breath, before belting out, "Josie's on a vacation far away." The 750D does not sound alive, but it scopes out micro details, which the Andromeda often glosses over.

If you equip the 750D with a Pranawire Maha Samadhi with Oyaide M1/F1 plugs, it will follow in the dCS Puccini's footsteps. That is, the 750D will recover recorded soundstage depth, and sound kind of hazy, mystical, and of a mythical place. However, by having sharper image outlines, and drier textures (which are more accurate), then the 750D will surpass the Puccini. If the Puccini is watching Patricia wafting at the street fair, the 750D is like fighting your way through the crowd, standing next to her, and having her dance with you.

At the Japantown fair, Patricia wanted yakisoba noodles. But her friends preferred sushi. So they went their separate ways, to the food booths of their preference.

With the Andromeda and 750D, I can see two lines forming. Fans of popular music love the Andromeda, will find it without equal, when it comes to recreating that sense of energy, emotion, flesh & blood, spirit, and "being alive." That goes over the heads of fans of acoustic or orchestral music. These latter music lovers are going to gravitate towards the 750D, with its poise, smoothness, mapped-out soundstage, and incredible low-level resolving powers.

The Wadia 781i has big, 3-dimensional, solid, yet focused images. While many audiophiles complain about CD players "micronizing" the images, the 781i takes the opposite approach, and enlarges the images by a small percentage. It's like taking the 5'2", 110-pound Patricia, and blowing her up, so that she's 5'5", 135-pounds. No, it's not so dishonest, as to give her big boobs. The downside is that the 781i does not have a particularly wide or deep soundstage. Thus, what soundstage there is seems crowded by those larger-than-they-should-be images. There just isn't enough space and distance between those images.

The 750D has the same electron microscope resolving power as the 781i. But as you feed more discs, streams, sources, and downloads to the 750D, you find that its images are not as overblown as the 781i's. Moreover, the 750D's imaging is not a one-size-fits-all phenomenon. I've had several girlfriends who were also 5'2" like Patricia. But no two had the same body smell, feel, athleticism, strength, size, type, color, or shape. The 750D does a better job at telling you what each recording's image qualities are like.

Patricia and I were not setup. We were merely introduced to each other, along with several other friends. While all of the friends were together, Patricia and I gravitated toward each other. If you come across the Simaudio 750D, it may not scream out with the positives. However, its relative lack of negatives could mean that the 750D gravitates toward, rather than rushes to, you.

With the high resolution of the "Big 4" CD players, audiophiles have a greater margin of error, in getting away with making amplification mistakes. But in order to take advantage of the Big 4's exemplary sound, you need amplification which is high on transparency, and self-effacing neutrality.

The SAs are going to be pissed. If you have a Simaudio 750D, you can get some receiver, Kimber Timbre and 4TC, and some cheap but room-appropriate speakers [e.g., for tiny rooms, the (formerly $220) NHT SuperZero]. This slapped-together system will outperform 3/4 of all systems, regardless of price, out there.

Richard Marx's Rush Street came out in Fall 1991, in time for the holiday buying season. BUT. Thanks to "Smells Like Teen Spirit," the grunge revolution had begun, thus drowning out adult contemporary.

Still, for anyone still listening, "Hazard" was perhaps Marx's most serious song to date. Although Nebraskans probably hated it, it did garner critical praise.

In the summer of '92, before MLB had interleague play, we saw the video for "Take This Heart," which featured the Oakland A's and Chicago Cubs in the World Series. Uh, why are both teams wearing their home whites? Uh, why is the Cubs' home game played at Detroit's Tiger Stadium? Why are Marx and his band playing at the Oakland Coliseum stadium [I live just two BART stations from here, which is now O.co], and not Wrigley Field or some other Chicago venue? Whoa, is that a young and clean-shaven Greg Maddux, still with the Cubs?!

It's the 9th inning. The Cubs have two outs, and Marx, the batter, is in an 0-2 count against A's closer, Dennis Eckersley. Eck shakes off the catcher, throws a fastball, which Marx hits out, over Rickey Henderson. Okay, this was at the pre-Mt. Davis Oakland Coliseum. As the home team, the A's still would have gotten to bat in the bottom of the 9th. Still, it was a cool dream.

Incidentally, my friend Larry was at the 8/31/92 A's game, where Jose Canseco was in the on-deck circle, but, without any announcement, was pulled. This was before internet and cell phones. Larry and fans did not know that Canseco had been traded.

Used on the Simaudio 750D, the (Cooked) Pranawire Vajra with Oyaide M1/F1 plugs blows up Mt. Davis, returns us to the summer of '92.

You might not need to have the strength of Jose Canseco, but the Vajra is heavy, so use care, when situating it on the 750D. If you do use the Vajra, you will experience a refreshing and long-awaited lack of sonic negatives. There is no:

• altering of detail
• shrinkage or warping of the recorded soundstage
• bloat
• artificial warmth
• alteration of tonal balance
• funhouse mirror imaging
• veiling
• gumming up of movement
• free notes

The 750D is now free to read/decode whatever you feed it.

I attended UC Santa Cruz from 1989-1993. During that time, the campus' AC was terrible. While it did not, AFAIK, make lights flicker, it wreaked havoc on electronics, including computers, televisions, stereos, and microwave ovens. This was also the time audiophiles went through growing pains, trying to accept powerline conditioners.

In June '91, I completed my finals, packed up, and left the dorms. When I got home to San Francisco, my brother and I went to one of the Tower Records stores. We saw OMD's Sugar Tax. But with its generic and anonymous black album cover, we were not sure if this was the same old OMD we had grown to love. Not really. While it was OMD in name, it was really just an Andy McCluskey solo project. And what a bland, boring, uninspiring, disappointing set of techno. Consequently, no one knew about Sugar Tax, which (deservedly) did not sell at all.

July 4, 1992 was a Saturday. After playing sports during the day, many of my friends wanted to wash up, grab a bite, and then go to San Francisco's wharf area, to catch the fireworks. Perhaps because it was a weekend, the whole northern waterfront, and the streets leading to it, were packed. Remember, those were the days before internet, cellphones, and even pagers. So it was easy for friends to get split up, and lose each other, in the crowds. After the fireworks had ended, it was kind of a bummer, facing daunting trips to our respective homes across the City. I think Patricia lived somewhere out in the Outer Mission or Ingleside. I offered to accompany her home. Instead, she tagged along with me, back to my place.

Patricia had been over to my place before, but there were always many other guests. This was the first time she was my sole visitor. She did not have a change of clothes, so after showering, she borrowed one of my t-shirts. She was having her period, and did have extra pads in her little shoulder bag. Since it was late at night, it was quiet. Patricia strolled over to my CD rack. In the nighttime silence, and without other people around, she got to peruse my CDs in peace. When she came to OMD's Sugar Tax, she exclaimed, "Hey, I have this!" Not only that, she was one of the few who actually liked it. Instead of going to bed, she wanted to hear Sugar Tax on my NAD 5000 CD player.

The lights were down low, and "Was It Something I Said," seemed to bring out the calm in us. But it was "Neon Lights," a Kraftwerk re-make, which got Patricia going again.

The $14,000 Simaudio 750D is a long way [no relation to "Pandora's Box (It's A Long, Long Way)"] from the $499 NAD 5000. The 750D does not have neon lights. My cameras could not properly capture the blue LEDs which adorn the internal outer ends of the drawer slot. So while the top cover was removed, I took this photo of one of the LEDs, which is attached to the finger-like circuit board.

In that summer of 1992, I did not have any powerline conditioners. The audio/video system was plugged into one of those hardware store powerstrips. Because of the 750D's high resolution, it is "sensitive" to AC outlets, powerline conditioners, and powercords.

Audio systems plugged into an Oyaide SWO-XXX often exhibit tight image focus, and no upper midrange and lower treble roll-off. These characteristics suit the Simaudio 750D well. Avoid the awful SWO-GX, which will bloat the upper bass, roll off the treble, suck out the air, extinguish the sparkle, and artificially warm up the mids.

Choose your powerline conditioner carefully. Again, avoid the ubiquitous PLCs, which bloat the mids, slow down the music, and roll-off the top end. An excellent choice is the Power Wing, with Oyaide SWO-XXX outlets.

On that night of Independence Day 1992, once we had showered and brushed teeth, Patricia and I were relaxed, not in a hurry. We were not going to meet up with our friends until afternoon the next day, so it was okay, that she and I were up way past midnight. While chilling on the living room couch, we had the lights off. But the lights from outdoors, the stereo, microwave, alarm clock, and other electronics created a pleasant hue. While Patricia's wavy black hair blended into, and even complimented and enhanced, the darkness, those low-level lights acted like candles, giving Patricia's pale face a pretty glow. For the first time, I thought Patricia had crossed over into "beautiful" category.

"Neon lights, shimmering neon lights."

Too many audiophile powercords will dull or even turn off those shimmering neon lights.

Here, the Pranawire Satori CF powercord elevates the Simaudio 750D into elite status. The 750D now has more "relaxed" imaging. The music flows with less restriction, stuttering, and tension. With the music more firmly anchored in space, the 750D's resolving power is allowed to unfold. General noise and distortion are lower, so your brain can dig down into, and concentrate on, the music. Without grunge covering the instruments, the music, when appropriate, finally crosses over into "beautiful" territory.

No, the 750D with Pranawire Satori CF is not as enchanting and ethereal as it is with the Maha Samadhi M1/F1. But the Satori CF has power, poise, and lights-down-low romance.

Leave it to Patricia, to get me to derive at least some enjoyment from OMD's Sugar Tax. Once again, leave it to Pranawire's powercords, for being able to extract the most from audio components. Still, I wonder if the Pranawire Satori with the Oyaide M1/F1 plugs will preserve more (a) space between images, (b) air above the instruments, and (c) "ting" and "ping" of the treble. This would be more akin to walking arm-in-arm with Patricia, during a balmy afternoon at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk.

In the summer of 1992, my college-aged friends were home (San Francisco Bay Area) for summer break. To play sports, we loved going to and checking out San Francisco's playgrounds and parks. Since we actually had enough head count, we could actually play softball. On a fine late morning on an early Saturday in June, there were plenty of other people at the diamond, so my friends and I asked if those other people wanted to play softball against us. My friends and I gathered in the "dugout," really just a chained-off bench. Via boombox, we were getting amped up, by listening to hard rock and heavy metal. After rocking to Lillian Axe's "True Believer," our pitcher, Patricia, tied her hair back, re-tied her shoelaces, grabbed her mitt, and led our team to the field. Yeah, we were going to kick some ass!

Despite enthusiastically taking the mound, Patricia was shelled, and we didn't have enough offense, to comeback. I think we ended up losing by 5 or 6 runs. Through all 9 innings, Patricia stuck it out, dutifully followed our catcher's instructions. She never barked at or got frustrated with our defense; never got discouraged, from some of the bullets and bombs she gave up; never let the opposition's trash-talking and show-offish antics bother her. For a 19-year-old, she displayed poise and sportsmanship. The Simaudio 750D also displays poise and sportsmanship. But it retails for $14,000, so it better!

In mid-July, at Rossi Playground, we had played basketball, football, and softball since the foggy morning. By now, the dirt, sun, wind, bugs, detritus, leaves, and salty air had enveloped us. I think we had lost a softball game, and our pitcher, Patricia, sat in the bleachers between me and one of her girlfriends. She was fond of wearing this thin knit white sweater. It was 3/4 sleeve (or maybe she just outgrew it), and did not close in the front. She used her arm to wipe across her nose, then removed the sweater. She lifted one arm, pulled back the t-shirt sleeve, sniffed her armpit, and winced, "Eew; smells sour."

Patricia squeezed her arms against the sides of her body, as if to prevent the stench from emanating.

Versus the Simaudio 750D's stock OEM powercord, the Acrolink 6N-P4030 with Oyaide P/C-046 plugs gives tighter image focus, a more chiseled midbass, somewhat blacker backgrounds, better resolution, and a subjectively more extended top end. However, those images are a bit jittery, not firmly anchored within the soundstage. And since those images are bunched together in the space between your loudspeakers, the overall sound is like the slender Patricia fixing her arms to her sides, closing off her armpits, trying in vain to prevent her B.O. from getting out. She looked like a wilting flower.

Remember, I was sitting next to her. The guys, who had been sweating, and rolling in the grass and dirt, were many times stinkier than Patricia. Hell, I smelled way worse than she did. Girl, just let it out!

During that summer of 1992, we liked staying indoors, to listen to music, play video games, challenge each other with Truth Or Dare, watch TV, rent VHS tapes, and sleep on the couch. Regardless of the hours spent indoors, we let ourselves out, too. On a kind of cool weekend, some of us were at the end of the Embarcadero Center, across the street from the Ferry Building, near the Vallaincourt Fountain. A precursor of today's farmers market(s), booths were set up. And there was a DJ playing dance music. Patricia and two girlfriends were sitting on a ledge, when the DJ played Janet Jackson's "Escapade." Patricia squared her shoulders, and did a funky, disjointed dance. Clearly, she had no moves, but kudos to her, for letting it out. I can't dance. Patricia's two girlfriends just sat stoically. Apparently not liking the music, some middle-aged guy, who most likely was a white-collar professional, condescendingly frowned upon Patricia, and had that dismissive "Harumph; teeny-bopper" look/attitude against Patricia. Geez, he must have been a Stereotypical Audiophile.

A little while later, the DJ slowed things down with Stevie B's "I'll Be By Your Side."

Now, when you dance with someone you've only recently met, you commonly stay at arm's length. Nevertheless, Patricia stood up, brought me close, and slow danced with me. With the fog reaching over Nob Hill, and fingering around around the piers, and with the petite Patricia pressed against my chest, it was a mystical moment.

And that brings us to the Simaudio 750D powered by a (Cooked) Pranawire Maha Samadhi with Oyaide M1/F1 plugs (retail $5000). No surprises here. As expected, the Maha Samadhi reproduces music with a genteel, classy, finessed resolution. Textures can feel gossamer-like. The soft midbass makes the music slightly wobbly in the knees - kind of like slow dancing with Patricia, for the first time. If the recording has air and treble extension, the Maha Samadi-equipped 750D will sound somewhat misty and ethereal, as if the daytime temps are mild, but the diffuse fog is approaching, starting to envelop you. If this is your idea of a good time, go for it! Free to sound enchanting, the 750D delivers.

On our summer 1992 trip down the central California coast, Ken, Roy, Patricia, and I stayed at a hotel in Monterey. After we came back to the room from dinner, Ken and Roy removed their jackets, shoes, and socks; brushed teeth; and basically crashed. Patricia and I showered that night. The hotel provided just one small bar of bath soap. In the morning, Ken and Roy complained that Patricia and I had used all the soap. So they had to use the little square soap from the sink.

When I took receipt of the Simaudio 750D, its previous owners had already been using it since late 2012. The manual says:

The performance of your 750D will continue to improve during the first 400 hours of listening. This is the result of a "break-in" period required for the numerous high quality electronic parts used throughout this preamplifier.

Yes, the 750D's manual really does say, "preamplifier." Perhaps newer units come with a revised and corrected manual.

Because I do not have experience with brand-new units, I cannot tell you how a new unit sounds, as it burns-in. After I hooked it up, my unit sounded fine. After 2 months of my use and music, this 750D does not sound radically different from when I first hooked it up. If anything, it is a tad more focused, clean, and definitive, with a slightly more open and expansive soundstage.

If you read the published reviews, despite outstanding test bench measurements, the 750D's tonal balance as a one-box CD player is a tad down-tuned. Certainly, if you use the stock [Cooked or not] OEM powercord, that is what you'll get. Just like the hotel not providing enough soap, the 750D does not have enough treble.

But ah, if we investigate further, we find that the 750D's internal CD drive is to blame for the mild top-end curtailment. Note that this roll-off or buffering is nowhere near as severe, as in Simaudio's own CD-3.3X and Neo 260D. The digital inputs have ruler-flat frequency response, favoring or short-changing no part of the spectrum. In terms of tonal balance, the digital inputs will simply mirror what you feed them.

Before embarking on our road trip, Patricia anticipated not liking the hotel shampoos. Thus, she smartly brought her own relatively small (13 oz.?) bottle of Herbal Essences shampoo, which, at the beginning of the trip, was maybe 2/3 full. The idea was that that amount was not too heavy, but more than enough for an extended trip. Ken, Roy, and I ended up using Patricia's shampoo, instead of the hotel's. After it got the salt out of his hair, Ken remarked, "Hey, this stuff is pretty good!"

Likewise, you are going to want to ditch the OEM powercord, and bring your own. In future posts, I will show some of the after-market powercords we have used on the 750D. My only advice is to avoid powercords which roll off the treble.

In June 1992, my friends introduced me to Patricia, who had just finished her freshman year at S.F. State. She had that common 5'2", 110-pound Asian girl body type. On a scale of 0 to 10, with 0 being total wuss, and 10 being gung-ho Rambo, the sweet, mild-mannered, and friendly Patricia was...still a 4.0 to 4.5, perfectly normal, average, close to median.

That summer, we went out to play sports quite often. I really did not know how fast Patricia truly was or could be. I never saw her bust tail, or push herself to run fast. When trying to beat out a ground ball, she was maybe two steps faster than your stereoptypical plodding catcher. Was that Patricia's max speed? I could not tell. Could she, with motivation and effort, run faster? I know not. At least she took the correct path to 1st base, and ran through it (or, upon getting a base hit, made the turn). She did not meander, or quit 3/4 of the way. Her apparent lack of speed and balls-out effort masked the fact that her baserunning was fundamentally sound.

On defense, because Patricia did not appear to have much range, or a cannon for an arm, she was our softball pitcher. Our cerebral catcher used his mitt, to show Patricia where to throw the pitch. Lo and behold, Patricia plainly understood the catcher's targets, and faithfully tried to execute each pitch. She was more consistent and accurate than most other players we had.

I usually played 3rd base. From there, I got a decent view of what happened one afternoon, when the opposing batter hit a chopper up the middle. It took kind of a funny hop, and hit Patricia above her pelvis, but below her stomach. I had previously never witnessed Patricia cuss or swear, but this time, she let out a "Fuck!," slammed her mitt to the ground, huffed, "Give me a miscarriage, why don't you?!," and keeled over, bent at the waist.

The batter was safe at 1st, but by fetching the ball, I prevented him from advancing to 2nd.

Patricia shook off the pain, wiped her forehead, and breathed, "At least it didn't hit my ovaries." She opened her drawers pulled her waistbands (belonging to her shorts and panties) away from her tummy, peeked into her pelvic area [sigh, if you must know, because Patricia was standing a foot away from and angled towards me, yes, I saw some of her pubic hair. You really need to get your mind out of the gutter], and checked to see if the softball left a mark.

Yep, that was the summer I learned that hitting a girl in the ovaries is like hitting a guy in the nads. But I had never seen the good-natured Patricia have an outburst, a reaction so lightning-quick, like that.

In the 80s, mass market CD players opened, closed, and loaded with great speed, leaving vinyl and cassettes in the dust. But when high-end audio manufacturers made CD players and transports, they took f------ forever to load [in my review of the Wadia 781i, I reported about its 30-second load time. You just wanted to kick it in the nads]. This contributed to audiophiles ditching hard disk formats.

Speaking of opening drawers, I reviewed Simaudio's own Neo 260D, and found that its 8-second load time was faster than average. Well, the 750D loads in 6 seconds. This is the fastest since some California Audio Labs players/transports of the mid-90s.

Like other Simaudio CD players, the 750D is Redbook-only. But its tray is dished, so that it will also play 3" CDs.

Incidentally, if you turn off a connected digital source, the 750D will display "N/A." So let us take a look at those digital inputs. Sigh, back in the mid-90s, my friend ACS equated digital inputs with "oral, anal, and vaginal." She proceeded to shove mockingly a finger in her mouth, moon, and muff.

If Patricia did not follow through on her pitch, it would land short of home plate. Most AES/EBU digital cables and transmissions are like this, coming up short, rolling off the treble. Well, the 750D's AES/EBU input does not exhibit any of this treble curtailment. Hooray!

Some of you will grouse about the lack of multiple S/PDIF inputs. Furthermore, some of you will grouse about the lack of a BNC connector. But rest assured, this lone RCA digital input is excellent. Get the best RCA-terminated digital coaxial cables you can find.

OMG! With the Lifatec Silflex, the 750D sports the best sound I have ever heard from Tos-link. It is faster and more detailed than we ever gave Tos-link credit for. Who knows? Maybe Patricia, who is now in her 40s, was and/or is faster than what she showed during that summer of '92.

When I was at UC Santa Cruz, the on-campus housing provided Twin XL (extra long) mattresses exclusively. These were appropriate and fine for the individual and still-growing students. But ah, college-going teens and young adults are going to sleep together. On a Twin XL, two college kids (even small ones) could not really lie side-by-side. The two had to lie on their sides, in the spoons position.

On a fine Saturday afternoon during the Winter 1990 quarter, I was hanging out a few doors down, in Nora's dorm room. I don't know what brought up the subject, but she remarked that a couple in the spoons position were "tidally locked." She joked that the person behind "always faces the same side of the moon."

You are going to have to face the 750D's front at all time. So you better choose the color pattern (of 3) which best suits your aesthetic tastes. You can get the 750D in all-black, which is ugly, and apparently not all that popular. There seems to be demand for the "two-tone" pattern, where silver-colored cheeks bookend a black center faceplate. But just so you know, KJ dislikes the "two-timer" pattern, and calls it "half-assed." Or, just get the 750D in the best-looking, and most popular, all-silver.

You have seen me review a number of Simaudio CD players: CD-3.3X, Neo 260D, Supernova, Andromeda, and now the 750D. Though not the same as facing the same side of the moon, the latter four have similar front panel button arrangements. In fact, the Neo 260D and 750D are identical.

Starting from your left, you will find the Standby button. In my college days, there were no internet, e-mail, cellphones, tablets, smartphones, streaming video, or other such distractions, to put lovers on standby. As we covered earlier, the main power switch is on the 750D's rear. Since the 750D uses only 25W when idling, does not make noise, and runs cool, you may leave it fully ON all the time.

As with all of Simaudio's Evolution models, the 750D's dot-matrix display is one of the industry's best. It is visible and legible from afar. There are 3 brightness levels, as well as full off. The foreign 230V version can be ordered with a blue display (I snagged the above image from the internet), which, IMO, is prettier than the red (below).

Wisely and fortunately, the 750D has all four time modes: elapsed track time; remaining track time; elapsed disc time; and remaining disc time. No, there is no minus sign.

Spoons position or not, college kids are known for getting, um, ramped-up. The 750D's fast search is of the "ramp-up" variety, starting slowly, then getting faster. Do note that, while in fast search, the 750D's audio output is semi-muted, with a lot of dropouts.