u/angelsandairwaves93

I don't have much success with these coffees, and yet, I still keep buying them because I want to unlock them the way they are meant to be. My cups can be quantified as good, but something is always missing. There's no lingering sweetness or a feeling that I want to keep drinking it because it tastes so good; it just tastes like hot water with a bit of a jolt.

I mix 4L of distilled water with 1 packet of Light Roast TWW.

I use an Ode Gen 2 (grind between 3-5)

I've used Dak's baseline recipe and tweaked variables one at a time, whether that be grind size, temperature, bloom length, or even the pulsar valve timings.

Any help would be appreciated

My god, this song is so amazing.

The lyrics are incredibly beautiful. It allows me to visualize the lyrics Brandon's singing.

His voice is ethereal.

Privet Comrades!

Where to even begin this post?

I discovered this band for the first time about two weeks ago. The journey to discovery was incredible.

Through a series of chain reactions in my personal life, I discovered the existence of Kino. I feel incredibly lucky with how this worked out. It really is one of those things where things that are meant to find you will find you, through the strangest of ways.

To protect privacy, I will keep the discovery vague. A professional I see is pregnant. So I had to go looking for a replacement professional. This replacement professional speaks Russian, but her last name had me very curious because it wasn't traditionally Russian (I learned later it is in fact deeply Russian). It wasn't 'Ev ' or' Ov,' it was four letters. So when I searched it, I (re)discovered the existence of Koryo-Saram, which I had first come across a while ago when I got curious and searched Gennady Golovkin's background and discovered his mother is Koryo-Saram.

So I went down the fascinating history of Koryo-Saram. During this rabbit hole, I came across the existence of a handsome fellow named Viktor Tsoi. He had a rock band.

I don't know what propelled me to listen, but I honestly wasn't expecting much. I don't speak Russian; I don't understand the language. Sure, I've always had a fascination with Russian history and politics. But that was the extent of my Russian knowledge.

When I listened, it was instant love at first listen. They sounded exactly like the Western bands I listen to, so there was an instant familiarity and liking for their sound.

The first song I liked was Спокойная ночь. Just incredible instrumentals, and Viktor's deep voice is godly. It's just adds such an incredibly rich layer to an already exceptional song.

The second song I liked was Кукушка. Again, just a beautifully harmonious blend of the best instrumentals and Viktor's deep voice. The pacing is so beautiful on this song. It feels hauntingly beautiful. It was this song that made me a fan.

The third song I liked, Мама, мы все тяжело больны, cemented me as an instant fan, rather than just a passerby to this curious band. It's the song that I kept listening to on repeat. A song very reminiscent of the Western rock bands I listen to but with Russian flair. I love the pacing on this song. It's just put your foot down to the accelerator and go fast.

And finally, the fourth song I've liked (so far) is Вопрос (2025). I wish I was kidding, but I've been listening to this song on repeat since last week. Almost a week straight of nothing but this song, and I'm still not tired of it. Every time I hear it, it's just as amazing as the first time. The best way I can describe this song is that it's a 'rave at the beach' in my head. The part at 1:23 when Viktor's voice drops, and it goes straight to the instrumentals- my god, it feels like how I feel ecstasy would be. It's just an incredible high in my brain. It's simply incredible. I sound like a broken record at this point, but Viktor's voice and the arrangement of the instrumentals and the pacing here make this song simply mesmerizing and irresistible. I can't get enough!

What's incredible here is that I've been missing half of the value of these songs. What I mean is that I don't understand what's being sung about. It's pure love for their music. Even so, the songs transcend language barriers and have left a deep mark on me, which I'm so grateful for. Can't believe it took me this long to discover Kino.

The most fascinating discovery about this journey for me is how art can transcend the barriers of language, culture, politics, and even death. My love for Kino has brought me greater appreciation for Russia and for Koryo-Saram. It's not lost on me that I'm listening to the beautiful voice of a man tragically no longer with us, and yet, when I play any of these Kino songs, it profoundly states that Цой жив!

I'm looking for places where I can walk in the same day and pick up a premade Asian fruit or other type of gift basket, or even a crate of mixed high-quality fruit. It has to be an appropriate gift to give to someone who is Chinese.

Considering Village Grocer and T&T, but no idea if they have in-store stock. Will swing by the stores when I get a chance, but just wanted to do my due diligence here first.

Thank you.

I'm a fan of TOYPAJ. It's been years since I've listened to the album. Some of my favourite blink songs are from this album.

On Spotify, I recently created a prompted playlist using 'Songs from artists you've loved for years that you haven't played enough' as the prompt.

The first song at the top of the playlist was/is 'Time to Break Up' - blink-182.

I figured, "huh, don't think I've heard this song before," so I pressed play.

Holy shit...

It was love at first listen in only the way a blink-182 song can provide, and it's been on repeat upon subsequent listens. It's such an incredibly phenomenal and catchy song. It's sort of like a time machine that takes you back 25 years (!), to a band that was already at or on the cusp of the peak of their powers (depending on where you define their peak). The best blink-182 songs, like this one, transport me back to the year the song was written. This song reminds me of when malls were the social spot. There's sort of a retrospective innocence to the whole thing.

'Time to Break Up' is now vintage blink-182 at their absolute best. I can't believe they've become a heritage band where they now have 20-30 year old albums; how rad is that?

Now I'm upset this song was kept away from us for this long.

I saw in the megathread about the 'new' conversion method for 36 months of ultimate.

3 ea play (12 month) codes + 3 gamepass core/essential (12 month) codes + 1 month ultimate should have converted to 36 months of gamepass ultimate. I only got 26 months.

Here is how much I paid (in CAD)

Total Investment: $447.97

If I had paid for 26 months of Game Pass Ultimate at the standard retail price of $25.99 CAD/month, I would have paid $675.74.

• Total Savings: $

227.77

I spoke to MS support, and they mentioned I didn't get 36 months because MS changed the EA Play 3:1 conversion to percentage-based

From MS Support:

Please keep in mind that subscription conversions are no longer calculated using the previous ratio-based model. Instead, they are now based on percentage-based conversion rates.

In particular, EA Play no longer converts to Game Pass Ultimate using the previous 3:1 ratio. Under the current conversion model, EA Play time is converted based on a percentage of 25% equivalent Game Pass Ultimate value, which results in a different amount of converted subscription time than under the previous system.

3 12-month EA Play

3 12-month core/essential

1-month Ultimate

gives you...

Using the percentages of conversion you can get that the 36 Months of Game Pass Essential were converted to 16.2 Months of Game Pass Ultimate (45%) and added to the EA Play which is 9 Months (25%) it adds to the total 25.2 Months of Game Pass, plus the once Month that you redeemed.

I used eneba to buy the codes. I would STRONGLY encourage you to buy codes in your country's region and not global codes. They advertise codes as global, but they will region-lock your Microsoft account to a country different from your own country region, which will prevent you from upgrading to ultimate. I spent 2 days trying to fix this. Eneba is a marketplace and will not refund your keys if you've viewed them. So be aware.

The conclusion of the 3-day trial

This is a sooner-than-expected update to my previous post: https://www.reddit.com/r/BowersWilkins/s/CJ7GaOhhpm

How soon?

I only lasted 3 days before I got major price remorse. For context, I paid $1,128.87 CAD (all in).

I really tried justifying the cost, but for my single-use case (sound output for PC only), it wasn't a smart financial choice, not at all.

Once returned, I went online shopping for a similar but more wallet-friendly replacement headphone. I turned over every headphone rock, including consumer headphones. Everything wireless was under consideration. I've spent my evenings this week just in some sort of heavily research-induced dilemma about not being able to find the right headphones.

I only realized today why I couldn't pull the trigger on a replacement.

The realization at the top of the mountain

I realized I wouldn't be able to find a replacement because I had already reached the pinnacle, the summit (for me, anyway) of the wireless headphones mountain. Standing on the peak, for 3 days, I drank from the nectar of the ultra-premium, flagship end-game, headphone gods.

You don't drive a Lambo and then go back and get a hankering to drive a commuter, Honda. Once you've had a taste of the endgame, it lingers in your thoughts and in your heart. In the end, I couldn't find a replacement simply because in my mind, there was none that came close. Not even a Prime Day deal for the PX8 at $607 CAD was enough to sway me.

So, today, I purchased them again. Same price. I thought I was done. I had the justifications made. But then I got price remorse again, and I cancelled the order, luckily before Amazon could ship it. I realized I simply couldn't justify spending over $500 on headphones.

So in the end, end, I decided to be fiscally responsible and pocket the cost of these PX8 S2's and make Louis Rossman smile for today by $30 buying replacement pads for my QC45, which have no real defects and just need a tuning.

The begrudging descent down the mountain

The PX8 S2, in absolutely gorgeous in Midnight Blue (a colourway I was willing to pay $441 more for, compared to the PX8 prime day deal for $607 CAD ), immediately fit on my head the way Cinderella's slippers fit before the stroke of Midnight. The fit was immaculate, delicate, and it was just a joy to put on and take off. Zero complaints, all the praise. It was like a caressing hug for my ears every time I had them on.

The build was why I paid so much for them in the first place, and they lived up to the expectations. Interestingly, about the colourway, one takeaway I had was that you really don't get a chance to view them because they are on your head 90% of the time you're using them, so in the end, does colourway really matter?

To my untrained ears, was the sound breathtaking? No, it just was. I spent most of it wired via the USB-C cable hooked to my PC. I didn't mess with the EQ, but I'm sure I would've gotten used to the sound or found what I liked with some tuning.

The app was a major let-down. At this price point, it should be as every bit as good as the headphones themselves and an extension of the premium experience. It felt very barebones, something you would see on $300 headphones.

In short, I loved my time with the PX8 S2 and would purchase it again in a heartbeat, but for around $500-$600 CAD.

Budget and location - Canada - Preferably under $500 CAD, but can go to $600 for something worth it.

Source/Amp - PC (so preferably something that comes with a USB-C cable)

How the gear will be used - Indoor desk use only. A good mic is non-negotiable

Preferred tonal balance - I don't know what I want. Booming wide soundstage that you get in the theatres?

Preferred music genres - Pop-punk, Indie/alt - think blink-182, Death Cab for Cutie

Past gear experience - Just returned the PX8 S2. I loved everything about them, but got buyer's remorse because of the price ($1,128.87 CAD), which is why they got sent back. Although I didn't really mess around with the equalizer, I wish they sounded wider rather than near my ears.

Anything else?

-Current gear: Bose QC 45 with dented earpads and shortened battery life, AirPods Pro (gen 1).

I would prefer something with a bit of a premium build at this price, but I also understand that at this price range, they tend to use a lot of plastics.

I've been listening to this album, front to back, non-stop.

This album (finally) cemented my place in the DCFC fandom. It's been a strange journey to get here.

Before this, I was a little wanderer type of fan. Little nibbles of DCFC, here and there, even reaching Great Heights with Postal Service, but then I moved on to other things. I considered myself a passerby of this curious band, reading tidbits like "oh, the singer dated Zooey Deschanel at one point? How did he pull that off?" You can see my journey below in the screenshot.

I first heard Black Sun on the radio. I thought it was great, but it didn't open the door. Here to Forever, Pepper (acoustic) and especially Little Wanderer, each left the door slightly more ajar. I built you a tower, kicked the door wide open.

When they had initially released Riptides and Punching the Flowers, I thought this was going to be another passerby event. I didn't like any of these songs. Then I heard Stone over water, and something changed. I had hope again for the album.

For me, the hallmark of a good album is finding 2-3 songs that I can play on repeat because I like them so much. The hallmark of a great album is finding the 2-3 favourite songs, but then having the dilemma of not being able to decide your favourite song because it changes with every listen.

The most difficult ranking decision was trying to decide what to put at 1. Any of the top 3 could be number 1 for me. They are interchangeable and have shifted many times. After the top 3, it starts to slip. Trap door is great, but then it just progressively gets worse for me. 5-9 can be in any order, really. 10-11 are immediate skips. I really don't like some of these songs, but I love this album. I even bought the vinyl already.

Disclaimer: these are my personal rankings, so it's ok if you disagree.

1. Pep talk

2. I built you a tower (a)

3. Stone over water

4. Trap door

5. The Flavor of Metal

6. Punching the Flowers

7. Full of stars

8. Riptides

9. How a Heavenly State

10. I built you a tower (b)

11. Envy the Birds

https://preview.redd.it/3xt9letoty7h1.png?width=868&format=png&auto=webp&s=b9548bd6899dcf75b91c6981088c49980b5bdf48

I will be leaving now.

Goodbye.

Something Something, Sam Houser is KING (to bypass the rules)

Every GTA game has had a genre-defining feature that's completely changed gaming forever.

Grand Theft Auto (1997) & GTA 2: Introduced the top-down sandbox style gameplay with the ability to roam as you pleased.

GTA III: 3D open-world sandbox that arguably created the open-world genre as we know it. Also, the introduction of a living city that you could roam as you wished.

GTA Vice City: An incredible soundtrack/radio system that grounded you in the 80's era. Introduction of helicopters, motorcycles, boats, and the ability to buy properties.

GTA San Andreas: RPG elements (fitness, GF, etc), incredibly vast and lived-in world with massive amounts of side content. Vehicle customizations.

Grand Theft Auto IV: Euphoria engine. Introduction of the phone for in-game activities and the bones of GTA V's multiplayer.

Grand Theft Auto V: The introduction of 'Live service' games into the industry, through its persistent, massive-scale online multiplayer (GTA Online). They create a multiplayer system that no other publisher has come close to being able to replicate.

GTA VI: ?

I'm quite looking forward to finding out what this genre-defining feature(s) will be.

This is probably the wrong sub to ask this (confirmation bias), but I've read some objective opinions on here, so here goes.

I also understand that worth is subjective.

For a bit of background, my QC45s that I got for free from a job a few years ago are signalling to me that their time is running out. The earpads need replacing and I figured it's time for an upgrade. If need be, these are still more than functional enough for me to go into next year with them.

I've circled the drain so many times on my next pair of headphones. I considered the XM6 but waited for the M5 reveal. I then decided on the XM6, but couldn't justify the $600+ price. Both these headphones are what I consider 'steep' in price, but well within my budget (I have money saved up). Nothing against them, but they feel very 'consumer grade,' which I guess they are.

When I was browsing this sub (I think), someone posted a pair of headphones that have since ruined every other headphone for me. Aesthetically speaking, the PX8 S2 in Midnight is exactly the aesthetic I love. I haven't been able to stop thinking about it or looking at pictures. When I try to wrap my head around even another B&W model, I can't remove the thought of the Midnight Blue's.

For this use case, my headphones are the primary audio output for my PC. I use them mainly for Netflix, video calling/meetings (so the mic is important), listening to Spotify, and some casual gaming. I don't have speakers, just headphones. I don't take my headphones outside at all; I use AirPod Pros for that (for now). So they are very much on my desk headphones.

I'm caught in a dilemma of spending an amount that would be overkill for audio needs, but would somehow be able to justify it because of the aesthetic and materials, not even getting to the sound.

I have $280 in work benefits left, so all in, it would cost me about $780 out of pocket, which is much more stomachable than $1048.85.

Thoughts?

Disclaimer: I didn't connect with this album at all when it came out. I liked some songs, but overall, I moved past it quickly and found it largely unmemorable.

As is often the case, I revisited the album and found a gem I had missed on my first listen.

My god...

One Night Stand is so catchy. The best I can describe it is pure sugar. It's so sweet, so good, and you can't get enough. You want more of it.

As the best blink songs often do, It starts out of the gate on full throttle and doesn't let up. The earworm harmonies shifting between Mark and Tom are reminiscent of the best songs they've done together. It's absolutely vintage Blink. It's so good.

I had to put it on while making this post (on repeat, of course). What an absolutely gorgeously hollowing, and depressive song.

Incredibly visceral lyrics, brooding contemplation and reflection, a sombre melody about a particular moment in life, against the background of seemingly the most perfect instrumentals and composition for the song. It's DCFC at their best.

It now holds one of my favourite lyrics ever in any song (for the time being):

"How I wish I could say,

That I am immune to the mirror

With temples fading to gray

I can see the end drawing nearer"

This is so simple in theory (aging), but harrowingly captivating because it's about Ben staring down the barrel of turning 50, half a life lived, only half a life to go. Death is getting closer, and him reflecting on that in a manner that dredges up regrets.

For reference, I've been listening to Pieces by Turnover on repeat this entire week. I figured it would be a long time before something else came along and usurped it. When I first heard Stone over Water two days ago, it was immediate love at first listen, the same as it was when I heard Little Wanderer, but even more so.

What a song.

My favourite music is music that moves your soul. Music where you feel the energy of the artists.

'Pieces' is incredible in that regard. The instrumentals are phenomenal. It moves my soul when I listen to it. Got it on repeat.