A while back I saw Rick Beato in a YouTube video where he was part of a CBS Saturday Morning story on AI in music. The prompt he gave Suno was minimal, and the song it produced was actually quite good—good enough that listeners were asking who the artist was and how they could follow them. That stuck with me. Since then, I set up a Suno account and started playing around. I published a few songs that have had zero listens other than me, which is perfectly fine—it was more about experimenting than anything else. Fast forward to…
Category: Audio
Audio reviews and observations
Reviving a Classic: HIFIMAN HE-400 Custom Cable Adapter Project
In July 2025, I picked up a pair of HIFIMAN HE-400 planar magnetic headphones at a flea market for $20. At that price, it was worth the gamble—but what I didn’t expect was just how good they sounded. The HE-400 delivers that classic early planar sound—solid bass, smooth presentation, and an overall musical signature that still holds up today. But like most older HiFiMAN gear, it came with a couple of issues that needed attention. The Challenges 1. Aging Ear Pads The ear pad mounting rings were dry-rotted and falling apart—pretty typical for headphones of this age. That was an easy…
Scratching the Audio Gear Itch at Cause for Paws
It seems like Friday afternoons might be the sweet spot for thrift store hunting. This past Friday I stopped into the Cause for Paws store and came across two items that, at their price, I simply couldn’t pass up. One of them I didn’t even fully understand at first glance — it looked like a black geodesic dome with a Bang & Olufsen (B&O) logo on top. Price: $7.99. Into the cart it went. The second find I recognized immediately: a Sony BDP-S570 Blu-ray player for $11.99. That one I knew was worth grabbing because it’s one of the Sony…
Thrift Store Find: Refurbishing a Pioneer PD-F507 25-Disc CD Changer
Every once in a while a thrift store run turns into a small audio adventure. That happened recently when I spotted a Pioneer PD-F507 sitting on the shelf for $16.99. For someone who enjoys vintage audio gear and still spins plenty of CDs, a working multi-disc player at that price was hard to pass up.What followed was a fun little project—part thrift store gamble, part light refurbishment—that turned out better than expected. The Thrift Store Test – When buying used CD players, especially changers, there’s always a bit of risk. Mechanical complexity is usually the downfall of older units. Before committing to…
Sony CDP-209ES – A $16 ES Gamble That Paid Off
The Pawn Shop Find Several months ago I bought this CD player at my local National Pawn shop. It was listed for $19 and I think I paid $16 out the door. I verified the tray opened and closed before I bought it, but I didn’t have a CD with me to test playback. For $16, I felt it was worth the risk. Once home, I loaded a disc and waited for the familiar whirring spin-up… and nothing. Nada. Zilch. 🙁 We were heading to my in-laws for dinner, so I didn’t have time to dig into it. I took…
KZ Axas IEM with M2 USB DSP Cable
I recently purchased the KZ Axas IEMs. I originally opted for the 3.5mm cable, but I ran into some mic issues during Microsoft Teams calls for work. I ended up ordering the USB-C DAC/DSP version, and the difference is noticeable. The USB-C cable features a built-in DAC with four EQ modes, indicated by an LED-backlit KZ logo on the plug. Switching modes is easy via a small gray button: Green: Slight bass roll-off, but fuller than the Red mode. Blue: The “Bass Head” setting—maximum bass boost with a slight treble reduction. Red: Leanest bass response with a slight boost to…
Music Experimentation
Over the holidays, I created several songs using Suno to mark birthdays, meaningful people, and personal milestones. While some may argue that these are not “true” musical creations, the reality is that many drafts were discarded before the music finally captured what I was trying to express. The collection begins with chamber-leaning instrumentals rooted in classical textures and gradually moves toward more modern, neo-ambient interpretations to close the set. None of the pieces were titled during the process. It was only after listening back—following a couple of long, twelve-hour workdays—that I realized what I had thought were darker prompts had…
Growing Headphone Collection
It’s been a couple of good months for adding to my headphone collection. The most recent acquisition is a pair of Meze 99 Classics from Picasso Pawn. The markdown wasn’t quite in my normal range, but it was fair, with all sales final. These sound great and have a very balanced output, with boosts where I like them, and they are very clear with good separation. The only problem noted is that one ear cup has a short that I can ignore for the most part unless something bumps the connector on that cup and the sound momentarily drops from…
Sony MDR-Z7m2 Headphones Pawn Find
I am a discount audio shopper finding much of my budget audiophile gear at local pawn shops and on Marketplace. These Sony headphones are my latest find from a local “National Pawn” shop and purchased for $125 after a little haggling. I probably had seen these in the case and they didn’t pique my interest based on them being from Sony, but when they showed up in the clearance case, I gave them a second look. I got out my cheap Lightning to 3.5mm dongle and pulled up Subsonic and replayed my last song which turned out to be “Easy…
Subjectivity of Senses
This quote from Carl Jung conveys what I believe about the abilities of human senses, especially when applied to human hearing, which should be considered by reviewers before attempting to wax eloquently about audiophile equipment on an empty stomach or desiring of a soothing beverage. It is not easy to grasp this point. But the point must be grasped if we are to know more about the ways in which the human mind works. Man, as we realize if we reflect for a moment, never perceives anything fully or comprehends anything completely. He can see, hear, touch, and taste;…
Amazon Music Listening on Linux
From what I can tell, the options to get an Amazon Music player running under Linux is limited with the end of support announcement from Nuvola Player at the end of 2022. Plus, I have not been able to get Nuvola working with Ubuntu 20.04. One quick fix to try in Linux is a user agent switcher. If you are like me, you visit the music.amazon.com site with Firefox only to be told the version is not supported and you need to upgrade to the latest version. The only problem is the latest FF for Linux is installed. Working in…
Topping DX3 Pro+ DAC
I was trying to locate something more than a headphone amp for listening to my CD-Player (old Cambridge Audio DVD89), my laptop via USB for high-res streams and other devices I might connect digitally to the inputs. The Topping DX3 Pro+ has a good number of inputs. The least used for me is the Bluetooth, but it’s a nice convenience when I am not concerned about audio quality. I finally figured out how to get sound from the unit when I make a Bluetooth connection from my stereo receiver which is sending LDAC. The Sony receiver’s Bluetooth TX works with…
Audio Snake Oil – /ˈsnāk ˌoil/
Snake Oil/ˈsnāk ˌoil/noun informal•North American noun: snake oil; noun: snakeoil – a substance with no real medicinal value sold as a remedy for all diseases. – a product, policy, etc. of little real worth or value that is promoted as the solution to a problem. “the new tax plan was denounced as snake oil” Over the past few years I have looked at updating and upgrading my headphones, audio devices and getting back into to listening to music with a more critical ear. As I started on this journey, I found there were either cheap, inexpensive, budget conscious, expensive or…