[hearditontheX]

That's good. Take them.
Cats can learn as long as the're incentives for them.
Constanza only sits on the Yggdrasil when I forgot to provide a warmer night spot.

Does the Yggdrasil sound better with the royal feline accessory?

 

[Pietro Cozzi Tinin]

Does the Yggdrasil sound better with the royal feline accessory?

That depends on the position she takes.
Ass north means more bass, face north means too much female vocals.
Classical music gives a snoring second voice to the choir.

 

[TylersEclectic]

These are going to Jason but down the road I will get back to you.

Sounds like a plan, no worries if it doesn’t work out =)

 

[GearMe]

I have drunk many pots of that. And I currently am getting my custom, single source freshly roasted beans at Walmart, from a obscure almost esoteric roaster, Eight o'Clock, 100% Columbian, complete with the likeness of Senor Juan Valdez logo.
I was told my ears were more Brass than Bronze. and my Palate is quite attuned to situational awareness and logistics. To wit: If the hopper on my $27 Bellegrind is empty, I must venture over one-mile from my cavern home to the Walmart and buy more...and under stress I might add. The $19 Mr. Coffee cost slightly more than a permanent stainless stell basket filter with Micro holes.
I feel so pedestrian, almost vulgar, such a Plebeian...

Gonna have to get me some Eight o'Clock. My Grandpa used to drink that stuff (and only that stuff).

Remember him getting it from the grocery store (A&P if I recall) with a box of Marlboro's. Navy Vet, Bricklayer...Tough guy with a heart of gold!

 

[Robert Padgett]

Gonna have to get me some Eight o'Clock. My Grandpa used to drink that stuff (and only that stuff).

Remember him getting it from the grocery store (A&P if I recall) with a box of Marlboro's. Navy Vet, Bricklayer...Tough guy with a heart of gold!

I got fed up with the stuff that they were shoveling to sell me on 12 oz of some endangered rainforest, blah, blah custom roasted beans and sealed with the previous 72 hours--for $17.95 per. I get 40 ounces of Eight O'Clock Beans for $10 at Walmart...call me cheap but don't call me late for dinner.

 

[Rensek]

I got fed up with the stuff that they were shoveling to sell me on 12 oz of some endangered rainforest, blah, blah custom roasted beans and sealed with the previous 72 hours--for $17.95 per. I get 40 ounces of Eight O'Clock Beans for $10 at Walmart...call me cheap but don't call me late for dinner.

I buy 2 lbs of Tim Hortons whole bean coffee at Sam's club for 12 ish. Good stuff. The Starbucks & Caribou stuff is not 6-7 dollars better then the Tim Hortons. I'll have to try the eight o clock brand. I'll be passing near an Aldi this weekend as well. Will be interesting to see how their coffee rates.

 

[GearMe]

I buy 2 lbs of Tim Hortons whole bean coffee at Sam's club for 12 ish. Good stuff. The Starbucks & Caribou stuff is not 6-7 dollars better then the Tim Hortons. I'll have to try the eight o clock brand. I'll be passing near an Aldi this weekend as well. Will be interesting to see how their coffee rates.

For drive-thru coffee, I'd stop at Tim Horton's when given a choice over other brands (McD's, DD, etc)...nice, smooth coffee.

Aldi's overall selection is still pretty limited at our store. Their bag coffee is mostly Barissimo (their own brand?). The Fair Trade, Single Origin, Organic Whole Bean coffees from Peru or Honduras ($5) are worth a go.

That said, we usually buy bag coffee at local roasters (when we're in their neighborhoods) or surprisingly at TJMaxx/Marshall's/Home Goods stores. They are a decent place to look for coffee at $4 to $6 a 12 oz bag. Selection varies from week to week but they carry whole bean & ground varieties including Starbucks, Seattle's Best, Joe's, Lavazza (occasionally), Torani syrups (if you like flavored coffee ), etc. They also carry organic Tea and a hodge-podge of food/supplement/condiment products.

 

[bosiemoncrieff]

The longer shots I’m pulling with ek are rounder and more enjoyable than I thought possible. 45g is delightful.

 

[Robert Padgett]

While we are on the topic of coffee, let me interject that I have found that my new Modi 3, fed by coaxial SPDIF and powered by the 5v clean LPS called Wyrd, really makes the Magni 3 HP amp sound marvelous.
The little Schiit Stack, for under $250 blows away the competition. (In this case Burson Playmate DAC/HP amp, and Audio-gd R2R-11--which are both in excess of $350 USD)

Eight O'Clock beans seem to be consistently good for the price, and maybe I just am not as sophisticated a coffee consumer, but often "Good Enough" is sufficient.

 

[Rensek]

but often "Good Enough" is sufficient.

It sure is.

Until you find something better, that you feel comfortable spending money on. Whether more or less. It makes me extra happy when I find something as good or better for less.

This only ever happens to me with beer, whisky, coffee. Never with audio gear.

 

[PioBeer]

Anyone got a good recommendation for a full manual lever operated espresso machine without breaking the bank? I know I may be grasping at straws here, but worth a shot (pun intended)

 

[Balthazar B]

Anyone got a good recommendation for a full manual lever operated espresso machine without breaking the bank? I know I may be grasping at straws here, but worth a shot (pun intended)

Assuming you mean a home-friendly lever machine and not a commercial spring type, IMHO you can't do better than this beauty at anywhere near the price:

https://www.cafelatstore.com/products/robot-espresso-maker

Superbly designed and executed, and capable of turning out excellent shots. A super bargain. Next step up would be something like an Olympia Cremina, at many, many times the cost (unless purchased used, in which case it would merely be many times the cost of the Robot). A Pavoni would be cheaper than an Olympia, and it's pretty, but then you'd have to live with some number of operational challenges.

Come to think of it, there's a certain similarity with purity of design between a Robot and a Schiit component.

 

[bosiemoncrieff]

I'm still struggling to get a perfect distribution. There's often two streams or side channeling in the early phases of the shot. Nevertheless, these visual indicators of a less than ideal distribution of grinds in the portafilter has not adversely affected the taste. With the case of my most recent acquisition, El Progreso, 19g in and 45g out gave a rather pleasant shot that did not overwhelm as sharply as perhaps some of my previous 22g in and 29g out did. I imagine it's because EK43 is able to grind finer.

https://www.vervecoffee.com/collections/single-origin/products/el-progreso

I am aware, after several inner shower screens and one screw from the Breville Dual Boiler broke, that choking the machine is probably not a good idea, but if I can achieve 9 bars (900 kilopascals) of pressure by dialing the grind finer and the dosing down, and have found the flavor profiles decent. This morning, of course, was more dilute than I'm used to, so perhaps that explains why I found it a touch blander than I expected. One has to adjust expectations.

I may be taking El Progreso to work for French press and pourover, which Breville SmartGrinder Pro has been demoted to. Apparently Square Mile Coffee's recent Honduran espresso is very nice, so I'm excited about busting it out for the home rig. https://shop.squaremilecoffee.com/products/mujeres-de-hichozal

 

[Whazzzup]

I pushed a button this morning

 

[NoahFence]

How I met Schiit
Late to the discussion, but this inspired me:

Until you find something better, that you feel comfortable spending money on. Whether more or less. It makes me extra happy when I find something as good or better for less.

This only ever happens to me with beer, whisky, coffee. Never with audio gear.

Long a fan of Tyll Hertsens, I still use one of his preamps, his musings on Inner Fidelity introduced me to Head-Fi and other friends. Shortly before that I had bought a well regarded s-d DAC for $900, easily transportable, that I was sure would serve me for 4 or 5 years before becoming obsolete (DACs were maturing). On Head-Fi I encountered great reviews of the Bifrost multibit, and then one which made the 'ridiculous' claim that it absolutely smoked my wonderful new DAC. Impossible, but I had a second application which warranted a better DAC, so why not try it? I was stunned when indeed Bifrost mb did smoke my other DAC. I no longer even use that DAC for travel (I use mumby). So I had a much better DAC that cost 1/3rd less.
Well, once you've heard Bifrost mb there is Yggy. But $2400 for a DAC that will be obsolete in 5 years is not my mug of java...until...there's an update and it costs only $500 to stay up-to-date. I'm fortunate enough that this doesn't break my bank.
So yes, finding Schiit I found better equipment that costs less, and that discovery has only cost me a few thousand $$.

Let me add that I have been by the Schiitr a couple of times and seen newbies introduced to quaility hi-fi. I've seen the amazement on their faces. What this company is doing is great.