John E. Johnson, Jr.

Paiste 18″ Formula 602 Thin Crash Cymbal

John E. Johnson, Jr.

In the late 1950's, Paiste introduced their 602 series of cymbals. Everyone loved them. The big names played them. So, one might wonder, why did Paiste stop offering them, and instead, moved on to new models? Well, the answer is right there in the question: new. It's in our nature to always be looking for something different, even when what we have is just about perfect. New model is something the marketing guys love, and we, as consumers, have learned to love it too. But there is another word: Retro, and it means we like going back in time to rediscover the pleasures of things we loved in the past. And, that is the 602. The irony is that the 602 has been out of the inventory for so long, today's drummers probably never heard of it, let alone play one. Well, here's your chance, and the 602 is, . . . now what is that word I am looking for?

Cymbals

Howard Leight Noise-Blocking Stereo Earmuffs

John E. Johnson, Jr.

Most of us use portable players at least now and then to listen to our music, using earbuds. But what if there is a lot of ambient noise, such as on an airplane, or if you are in a Starbucks enjoying a refreshment while you are using your laptop, or if you are playing in a band and want to hear not only your own instrument (in my case, it is the drums), but the other musicians and a click track, while the audience is nearly as loud as you are? Noise-reducing over-the-ear headphones are the answer, and the unit reviewed here, the Howard Leight Sync Noise-Blocking Stereo Earmuffs are an inexpensive and very effective solution.

Headphone and Earphone Reviews

Zildjian 18″ A Medium Thin Crash Cymbal

John E. Johnson, Jr.

The Zildjian A Medium Thin Crash Cymbal (part of their Avedis Zildjian line) might be called a "bread and butter cymbal". If you are going to have just two crashes in your kit, and you play either jazz or big band, this cymbal would be there. Buddy Rich used one of these in his set of three (one ride, two crashes). That says just about everything that could be said. It's bright, fast, and neutral.

Cymbals

Sabian 18″ HHX Manhattan Jazz Crash Cymbal

John E. Johnson, Jr.

Sabian's HHX series is specified as "Modern Dark . . . drier, dirtier, funkier". The word "Dark" translates to lots of low frequency undertones, and I think, after having analyzed quite a few cymbals, "dirtier" means more midrange wash . . . more "SHHHHH" to the sound. The current review is of their 18" HHX Manhattan Jazz, which is classified as crash cymbal. Its medium thin weight delivers a bright, but not too bright, sound. It is suited for riding the body as well as the bell.

Cymbals

Pass Labs XP-20 Stereo Preamplifier

John E. Johnson, Jr.

After having tested a Pass power amplifier and phono preamplifier, I could not wait to get my hands on a preamplifier, to complete the system analysis. The subject of this review is the venerable XP-20, which has been in the Pass inventory since 2009. It's a fully balanced design, with separate power supply chassis for low noise. The bench test results were quite surprising. Read on to see for yourselves.

Preamplifiers

Dream 20″ Contact Crash/Ride Cymbal

John E. Johnson, Jr.

Dream Cymbals is one of the new companies whose products are manufactured in China. From what we are told, the cymbals are totally hammered and lathed by hand, directly from the cast bronze disc, rather than put through rollers to flatten them before hammering. If that is accurate, I don't think I would want to get into a fight with any of the cymbal smiths, because it must take enormous strength and endurance to perform this task from the raw cast ingot. However, the sound is very revealing, and suggests that it is so. The cymbals have a very strong wash that sustains. The Dream 20" Contact Crash/Ride Cymbal is the subject of the current review. Compared to the 20" Dream Bliss Crash/Ride Cymbal that we reviewed recently, the Contact has a higher pitch, and is, therefore, more penetrating.

Cymbals

Home Theater Movie Renter’s Guide – August, 2011

The SECRETS Movie Review Team

Source Code (Blu-ray), Amelie (Blu-ray), Rango (Blu-ray), Brazil (Blu-ray), The Smurfs (DVD), Unknown (Blu-ray), Your Highness (Blu-ray), The Blues Brothers (Blu-ray), Chocolat (Blu-ray), Fast Times at Ridgemont High (Blu-ray), Mars Needs Moms 3D (3D Blu-ray), The Big Lebowski (Blu-ray), Paul (Blu-ray), National Lampoon's Animal House (Blu-ray), Dazed and Confused (Blu-ray), Jane Eyre (Blu-ray)

Movie Reviews

Comects Neptune 4 x 2 HDMI Matrix Switcher

John E. Johnson, Jr.

Comects is a Hong Kong-based company that makes A/V accessories, including switchers. We have reviewed a few of their products, and at this point, I had stopped reviewing HDMI switchers because most receivers and processors have HDMI input switching built-in. However, the Comects Neptune 4x2 HDMI switcher is unique, in that it has four inputs and two outputs, and you can route any of the four inputs to either of the two outputs, simultaneously (meaning that it is called a "matrix" switcher). So, for example, if you have a satellite box, Blu-ray player, and media server in your home theater, and you also have an HDTV in an adjacent room, you can route the Blu-ray player to the receiver (which forwards the video to your HDTV or projector) in your home theater, while the satellite box or media server is routed to the HDTV in the adjacent room.

Switchers

NuForce NE-700X Earbuds

John E. Johnson, Jr.

NuForce is a small company that has recently become quite visible due to their special editions of the venerable OPPO Universal Players. But, they also make their own products, including DACs and earbuds. The latter, namely the NuForce NE-700X earbuds, are reviewed here. They are inexpensive, fit in the ear canal in the most comfortable way I have ever experienced, and have low distortion. The price? $65.

Headphone and Earphone Reviews

Supernatural 18″ Divine Crash Cymbal

John E. Johnson, Jr.

Supernatural Cymbals is one of several small companies that have emerged during the past few years, who are based in Turkey, and who still make cymbals the way they have been made for centuries (except for the electric motor that turns the lathing machine). The cymbals start out as cast bronze discs, which are heated, rolled, cut into the desired diameter for the cymbal, hand hammered, and hand lathed. There is no machining at all. The results are quite distinguishable from machine hammered and lathed cymbals. It is not that one way is better than the other, but rather, you now have several additional choices in sound, and some of them are due to the old world ways of producing them. This review covers the Supernatural 18" Divine Crash. It has a very fast response, and somewhat higher pitch than the Supernatural Universal Crash Cymbal we reviewed a few weeks ago.

Cymbals

Home Theater Movie Renter’s Guide – July, 2011

The SECRETS Movie Review Team

The Adjustment Bureau (Blu-ray), Happy Gilmore (Blu-ray), Red Riding Hood (Blu-ray), The Outlaw Josey Wales (Blu-ray), Hall Pass (Blu-ray), Blue Crush 2 (Blu-ray), American: The Bill Hicks Story (Blu-ray), 13 Assassins (Blu-ray), Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Extended Edition) (Blu-ray), Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (Extended Edition) (Blu-ray), Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Extended Edition) (Blu-ray), Ocean Wonderland 3D (3D Blu-ray), Sharks 3D (3D Blu-ray), The Eagle (Blu-ray), Source Code (Blu-ray)

Movie Reviews

Bryston BDP-1 Music Server and BDA-1 DAC

John E. Johnson, Jr.

Media servers usually contain a hard drive on which you store your music (ripped CDs). Bryston's new BDP-1 Music Server utililzes USB thumb drives or external USB hard drive. This way, you can carry your music around with you on a thumb drive and use with multiple devices to play the music. This music server is actually a computer with full operating system, and can be connected wirelessly to your iPod or iPad to choose and play albums. In fact, it really is designed to be used that way, so that the server itself can be a low profile component in your equipment rack. In this review, we test the BDP-1 along with Bryston's BDA-1 DAC, which is capable of handling 24/192 bitstreams.

Media Servers

Marc Audio Red Line (Signature) and Black Line (Reference) RCA Interconnects and Red Line Speaker Cables

John E. Johnson, Jr.

Marc Audio - Update:  Black Line RCA Interconnects - The Reference Line.

Marc Audio is another new audio cable manufacturer that has just set up shop in October. I received a sample of their first product, an RCA interconnect that is going to be their mid-level line of audio cables, called the Red Line (as of June, 2011, they renamed them as the Signature Line). I thought it might just be more of the same. But, it turned out this one is different, and it is not even their top model. For one thing, it is totally a USA product.

Audio Cables

Zildjian 19″ K Custom Hybrid Crash Cymbal

John E. Johnson, Jr.

Cymbal makers are always looking for new ways to give their customers more sound options. The "Hybrid" refers to the body of the cymbal being treated differently at the inner region vs. the outer region. In this case, the Zildjian 19" K Custom Hybrid Crash Cymbal is hammered near the bell, and hammered as well as lathed at the perimeter. Besides producing a crash sound that is unique, riding the two regions gives two very different sounds, one that has plenty of wash (the outer region), and one that has a dry sound with a strong ping (near the bell).

Cymbals

Supernatural 22″ Universal Ride Cymbal

John E. Johnson, Jr.

Supernatural Cymbals is one of several small companies that have emerged during the past few years, who are based in Turkey, and who still make cymbals the way they have been made for centuries (except for the electric motor that turns the lathing machine). The cymbals start out as cast bronze discs, which are heated, rolled, cut into the desired diameter for the cymbal, hand hammered, and hand lathed. There is no machining at all. The results are quite distinguishable from machine hammered and lathed cymbals. It is not that one way is better than the other, but rather, you now have several additional choices in sound, and some of them are due to the old world ways of producing them. Here, we review the Supernatural 22" Universal Ride. It has a clear ping that always stays above the wash, but also, the wash is intense with a long sustain, typical of hand hammered cymbals.

Cymbals