Do you indulge when listening to your rig?
Extreme moderation is excessive, and bad for you (I think, although I've never done in moderation personally I've known people who live that way...sad...*sniff*...). Opium is also great for listening to music, but opium for smoking has been hard to get since about 1915, and is NOT non toxic. So forget I even mentioned it...please...sorry...damn...where did I put that glass of Wild Turkey? Around here somewhere... |
"n a related subject, i read about a clinical test somewhat recently, with MDMA suggesting that a very small amount of this drug can elevate ones connection and enjoyment to music quite quickly." If I'm not mistaken that's the same drug they call Molly, which has been all over the news for dehydrating kids, basically making their blood boil and killing them. I'll stick with the slow death. |
:" Xiekitchen For me, more likely fresh ground "coffeefool" pure Kona distilled water non-bleached filter brewed through a Technivorm MoccaMaster coffee maker. (Just a brief plug) Going from a Krups to a Technivorm is the equivalent of going from a mid-fi receiver to a serious $5K pick-your-brand power amp." This has me laughing out loud as it describes my partner to a T. Loves the Technivorm and has coffee flown in directly from Koa Coffee Plantation in Hawaii - peaberry Kona mostly.... For me, I hate coffee, but like the looks of that coffee maker, love tea and white wine. |
I have a Technivorm also, a Black Moccamaster KBT-741. It's a great machine but a mess to deal with. Lately I've been enjoying the convenience of our Keurig and guests love it. The Keurig makes green tea almost instantly for enjoying while watching news and it's also great for quick coffee, especially when there is only time for one cup. I have a dozen types of K cup coffee and brew with bottled spring water. When guests come for music like tonight, they can choose whatever appeals to them. Starbucks, Green Mountain, Barista Prima, Emerils and Newmans Organics for example. The best part, nothing to clean up and no waisted coffee. Sometimes on music night I would brew a pot, a couple of people pour a cup and the rest went down the drain. |
Based on what I hear from the "kids these days", "E" and "Molly" are more for jumping around like a maniac for hours to thumpy music performed by an overpaid kid with a computer, not necessarily "active listening" (my new favorite audio geek term). Very few people die from smoking a little pot and sitting on my couch, although stranger things have happened. |
Just for the record, and I'm surprised that nobody has mentioned this yet: Alcohol is a highly permeable neurotoxin that is carried by the bloodstream to all cells in the body, including the hair cells and sensory nerve endings of the inner ear. Even a single drink temporarily impairs hearing. This is particularly well-known to sufferers of age-related or noise-induced hearing loss and/or tinnitus. Having said that, I frequently enjoy a nice single-malt while I'm listening, fully aware of the tradeoff I'm making. |
For my coffee consumption, I use a 42 ounce Frieling French Press. I hand grind Jamaican Blue Mountain beans in a Kyocera CM-50 with a modified lower bearing to assure consistency of grind. Coffee is one of the things the U.S. just can't get right. We're getting better but it's a slow process. Too many people drinking too much bad coffee. If you've ever been to Italy or Costa Rica you quickly realize that Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts are bad coffee. |
Donjr For my coffee consumption, I use a 42 ounce Frieling French Press. I hand grind Jamaican Blue Mountain beans in a Kyocera CM-50 French press is indeed better than most automatic coffee makers. My son has several of them and demonstrated what each offers. The Kyocera is interesting. After trying multiple hand and electric grinders I settled on this: Kitchen Aid Pro Too many people drinking too much bad coffee.That can be said of beer, scotch and wine as well :^) |
I'm a habitual ice cruncher so beverages "on the rocks" like Wild Turkey (my favorite foul based beverage) cause me to crunch away while listening, thus messing up the experience. I still think a non toxic sense enhancer like decent pot works better for me, although if I'm listening to heavy classical and the pot is too strong I do get scared and wonder if I'm gonna die soon, or why the world is so sad, or where I put those cookies...so there's that. |
To all but especially to mapman.. I really admire all of you that do not drink or smoke while listening to their systems and the music you guys have much more self control and are far more responsible then I am. Having said that I just get into the music and forget I am listening to a system and enjoy it so much that I am really enjoy a glass or two of fine Oregon Pinot ( ok I lie, the whole damn bottle ) Might as well enjoy myself and I enjoy wine almost as much as music. |
For my coffee consumption, I use a 42 ounce Frieling French Press. I hand grind Jamaican Blue Mountain beans in a Kyocera CM-50 with a modified lower bearing to assure consistency of grind.I find with French Press, can never get the water hot enough and it cools off too fast. Is there a trick? My main coffee is Trader Joe French Roast using Krup Burr grinder and drip coffee maker. As I'm writing, enjoying a bottle of Shiraz, roast duck with Carmen McRae in As Time Goes By. |
I agree that coffee use is behind the global curve when here, in America, but there is hope. I recently got hooked on freshly roasted whole beans (2-3 days old) thanks to someone who used to sell his coffee at a local open market. He went away which led me to search out a great coffee roasting company not 2 miles from where I live and now I get some of the best, fresh roasted coffee in Los Angeles. They even coarse grind it for my french press but I do miss the ritual of grinding my own in my Hario hand grinder. Kinghifi, I don't know what to recommend for getting the water hot enough but simply boiling it in a kettle works for me. I have to let it sit for a minute lest I burn myself. Once you've tried fresh roasted, whole bean coffee, store bought, Starbucks, and the rest all blow, big time. For anyone interested in the place where I go, here's a link: http://www.groundworkcoffee.com/ and they have another site: http://supremebean.com/ They can mail it to you if it's too far a drive but the cost may negate the bargain. But if you love a good cup of Joe...... All the best, Nonoise |
Our Tuesday night music session begins with dinner at Matt's Ranchero Martinez in Lakewood section of Dallas, not far from my home. To avoid getting our car doors nicked we park across the street at: The Coffee Company Premium coffee beans in huge sacks line the entry way by the front of the store. An antique looking German coffee roasting machine is roasting when I stop before dinner for a bag or two. My current favorites are Monsoon Malibar and Kenya AA but truthfully, all their coffee is excellent. |
Kinghifi, do you want that active or passive? LOL :-) On another note for coffee drinkers, the guy who used to sell me the whole beans at the farmers market told me that just this year, in Columbia, they will start to separate the beans by province instead of combing them all in bulk. It will be something like what wine makers do with their grapes. The growers now realize that not all coffee tastes alike depending on where it's grown. All the best, Nonoise |
My most meaningful and intense hifi "drug" is the warm blanket of self satisfaction that envelops me when I listen to my rig and bask in the knowledge that I assembled it all by myself and since it is SO good, I must also be good. This by itself feels amazing, although it is highly addictive and might not be for everybody. |
Kinghifi "I find with French Press, can never get the water hot enough and it cools off too fast. Is there a trick?" The trick is actually the Frieling press. All others pale in comparison. It's fully insulated, even the top. The coffee only has to steep for 4 minutes so it's very hot when you pour it. I boil water in a LeCreuset kettle on the stove. Read the reviews of the Frieling on Amazon. |
The trick is actually the Frieling press. All others pale in comparison. It's fully insulated, even the top. The coffee only has to steep for 4 minutes so it's very hot when you pour it. I boil water in a LeCreuset kettle on the stove.Donjr, My unit is not insulated so by the time it's ready to drink, it has cooled. Frieling looks interesting so will pick one up. Thanks! |
Kinghifi, You won't be sorry. The entire unit is stainless steel. Not one plastic part. It's built like like the company gets what we want. It's very expansive but from what I can tell, it will last forever. The reviews (if you read them) are fully justified. It's only too bad you have to spend that much money to get a well though out unit. It changed the way I drink coffee. I grind 42-44 grams of coffee for it. The Cuisinart auto drip is retired. One thing is that it reveals bad coffee so experiment and find your favorite. |
FWIW, another plug for the value of roasting your own beans. One of the things that had always bothered me about commercially roasted beans was that in order to avoid the acidic and burned flavor of strong black coffee you had to drink it hot. Like drinking ice cold beer. The high (or low with beer) temp covers up a lot of flavor (Sometimes good flavors, sometimes no so good.), as does the roast times used to get 'dark' roasts cover up a lot of not so subtle flavors available in the different beans using substantially less time (Medium or light roasts). I'm now roasting most beans to a 'medium roast' (there are a lot of gradients and technical terms, just like audio) and can easily enjoy my coffee to not only my taste, but to the last drop, even when it is very cool. No acid/bitterness! When you get bored with pursuing the last measure of audio perfection, if you love coffee this is a very worthwhile pursuit and it is a considerable challenge, but not nearly as expensive. Albertporter, FWIW I don't find the Technivorm drip pot all that messy and it certainly makes a great pot of coffee in 5 to 6 minutes. Much is made of bean grinding and the equipment used. I agree but it is IME an area where one should keep an open mind. I have two high quality burr grinders, but still prefer my old Kitchen Aid (made in India) blade grinder. I think it is because the mix which includes more fines than one would get with a burr grinders to be used for a drip brewer. For those folks interested, but challenged and not up to roasting yet, don't think that having a scale to weigh your beans and a brew system that produces 200 degree water is a waste of time, just as having a vacumm pot to transfer the brewed coffee to immediately after it is done. It makes for consistent results and forms a basis for easy experimentation with various coffees, brew times, and grinds. |
