Portable Listening

I have always been a fan of headphones. We have been using in-ear-monitors on stage since 1994 and I have used Stax headphones when I work on an album for almost as long. Over the years I have accumulated quite a few headphones for listening to music when I am not in the studio.

But, I have a new favorite way to listen, and I have used this new setup a lot in the past six months, while I am finishing two albums to be released by SSRI this Spring.

This is it:

I put ALAC (Apple Lossless Audio Codec – 16bit/44.1kHz) files on my iPhone. I bypass the iPhone’s digital-to-analog converter (DAC) and headphone amp by plugging the Lightning-to-USB cable into the ADL X1, a Japanese DAC + headphone amp. Finally I connect the Audeze LCD-2 headphones to the X1 and enjoy great sound. One can also plug a USB cable into one’s computer and in that case the X1 will work with files up to 24bit/192kHz.

The LCD-2 headphones sound really natural to me. I don’t hear the unnatural boosted highs and bass that so many headphones push out. The bass is rich, but not flabby or tubby. The treble creates a clear and beautiful image, but without that biting brightness that fatigues the ears, and the mid-range is luxurious. I can listen to these headphones for hours, and have many times. My new absolute favorite pair of headphones!

It is not exactly a cheap setup – I have seen prices for the X1 range between $399 and $645 and the LCD-2 seems to go from under a thousand to around 1,200 – but this can easily become a person’s only stereo system. These days I can’t imagine spending many thousands of dollars on a regular, non-portable, hi-fi system. Mobile is the way to go, I think, and with this setup I am not sacrificing anything!

German Apple Pancakes

A few people asked me for my German apple pancake recipe. Here it is:

Ingredients:
2 apples – I love Pink Lady apples
cinnamon

150g (about a cup) all purpose flour + 60g (about 1/3 cup) semolina flour
1 cup milk
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
vanilla extract

3 tablespons unsalted butter

Method:
Cut apples into thin (1/8-inch thick or smaller) slices. Soften the apple slices in a pan with a tablespoon of butter & some cinnamon. Set aside and let cool a little.

Whisk together the flours + salt in a large bowl. Add a cup of milk while whisking, then add the eggs, whisking well.

Heat a tablespoon of butter in a skillet (I use an enamelled cast iron pan from Le Creuset) over moderate heat, then add half of the batter, spreading evenly to cover bottom. Cook on medium heat and turn pancake over with a thin heatproof spatula, until golden on both sides.

Pancake1

As you notice, no rising agent (baking soda or baking powder) is used. I also do not add any sugar, and prefer to add a tablespoon of maple syrup (grade B or, even better, grade C) to the pancake on the plate.

Pancake2

Studio

I uploaded a few photos I took in my studio this afternoon to my photoblog. This photo shows the Flamenco guitar reflected in the electric guitar. More pics here.