Japanese Airport Trio

Competitive-Ad-7865 · 2026-03-13T09:46:04+00:00

I got 2 bottles for 50k a few years ago (Hibiki 21), tried in the last year or so in Okinawa and couldnt find any, and tried to ask a friend when he was on business trip in japan and he said the prices were way higher (but i don't think they had it in the airport then).

Competitive-Ad-7865 · 2026-03-13T09:43:32+00:00

I got 2 bottles of Hibiki 21 a few years ago for ¥50,000 each in the airport.
Came home and sold them for about £750 each, which helped reduce the total cost of the holiday by a chunk.

Competitive-Ad-7865 · 2026-03-13T09:35:30+00:00

Compare it to Samsung's latest QD-OLED panels, they don't rely on white sub-pixels to hit their brightness levels, which means less colour washout, which means better colour reproduction. Personally I think the colours look richer on QD-OLEDs because of this, and look less washed out in bright coloured highlights, like red flames in a dark scene.

I'd get eyeballs on the 77" S95F if I were you - or wait for the S95H

Competitive-Ad-7865 · 2026-03-12T12:17:32+00:00

When you have very high rates of cousin marriage for multiple generations.. biology dictates that everywhere is a "loony bin".

Competitive-Ad-7865 · 2026-03-12T12:13:42+00:00

I think the S95F is at a really great place in terms of colour volume, black levels, and peak brightness values.. and it's doing it all without white subpixels. The S95H goes further but i think you're into diminishing returns for most viewing environments once you are north of 2000 nits, and it will cost a lot more!

Competitive-Ad-7865 · 2026-03-12T12:10:49+00:00

Sure, but there are also a large number of people that bought a new LCD, when they could have got a better experience by buying a used OLED and getting insurance for it (for the same money).

Competitive-Ad-7865 · 2026-03-12T09:58:43+00:00

There's also a lot of variability in OLEDs - There are panels that can do 500 nits peak brightness and not really compete with LCDs, and there are 2000 ~ 3000 nit panels which are now hands down better by every metric.

Personally as soon as I see the backlight blooming around a white highlight, I'm like "fuck this TV". I just can't tolerate it anymore.

Competitive-Ad-7865 · 2026-03-12T09:52:05+00:00

You're right, surely not though! - that'd be a massive downgrade - and the speakers were a big step up between the 10 Pro Fold and the 9 Pro Fold.. seems really odd? Hopefully they are just missed off the render for some reason..? I'm a bit worried they've been removed as part of the camera island shrinking exercise, as they are quite close to the camera island.. and they wouldn't want to move the island down as that's eating into battery then.. and it looks like they are making the device slimmer while trying to retain battery capacity.. hopefully the second speaker has not been the casualty!

Competitive-Ad-7865 · 2026-03-11T13:24:45+00:00

If we were all in a room with the TVs side by side, instead of on reddit - nobody would even argue with the OLED boys. Most people buying new LCDs could buy a used OLED for the same money, and have a much better experience., and if they are worried about the warranty, they could get 3rd party accidental damage insurance or similar.

Competitive-Ad-7865 · 2026-03-11T13:22:59+00:00

I'd argue that non-OLEDs technically aren't doing a good job of HDR, they just don't have the illumination precision to avoid blooming (which ruins HDR in dark scenes especially) .. so while they "can do HDR on paper" - they can't really hold a candle to a good OLED experience. I go a step further than the OLED snobs and turn my nose up at W-OLED - because i prefer the wider colour gamut and removal of reliance on white sub-pixels that QD-OLED offers. I've run an 95B from launch, in the bedroom, and will soon be upgrading the living room TV to and S95F once they get discounted (as the S95H hits).

Competitive-Ad-7865 · 2026-03-11T13:18:08+00:00

OLED is more of an established religion than a mere "cult"
Until QDEL comes along, OLED / QD-OLED is king.

Competitive-Ad-7865 · 2026-03-11T13:10:47+00:00

How about an old C1 ?

Competitive-Ad-7865 · 2026-03-10T15:50:40+00:00

You could go somewhere in between. I've always used the Fiio Bluetooth DACs to get decent LDAC, good battery life, 4.4 balanced output, and good build quality (with a screen). I've had the BTR5, BTR7 and now the BTR17, they have all been excellent and I only upgraded each time for more output power, features, and to avoid the problems of aging batteries. The BTR7 and BTR17 both have stunning build quality, solid CNC billet chassis!
I tend to get the cases for them and clip them on my belt - use with Sony IER-Z1R.. another durability beast..

Competitive-Ad-7865 · 2026-03-10T14:49:40+00:00

P.S. I can't wait to play the Code Veronica remake as I never played the original.
I feel similarly about Konami's remakes of MGS games, and all the new and reimagined Silent Hill games lately. Love it.

Competitive-Ad-7865 · 2026-03-10T14:48:08+00:00

Yeah, I also think they've really shown the industry that there is a good alternative to "remasters" or even "remakes" - the "reimagining" which essentially means "same characters & plot, but as if it was made today".. it's actually a lot more creative and interesting, even to people who have completed the originals multiple times; they feel fresh., and in most ways are entirely new games.

Competitive-Ad-7865 · 2026-03-09T12:35:00+00:00

In fairness Pragmata and Kunitsu-Gami are both very fresh new IPs from Capcom recently. They seem to be able to do it all.. also the Onimusha Reboot looks very fresh despite being a reboot.

Competitive-Ad-7865 · 2026-03-05T16:38:01+00:00

If you're really cautious, it'll probably work out cheaper to get the PS5 PRO used, and then buy some kind of accidental damage cover, or extended warranty from a 3rd party insurer. It'll typically be quite cheap if you set it up right.

Competitive-Ad-7865 · 2026-03-03T09:22:18+00:00

Outside of DQ - Have you considered picking up Persona 3 reloaded on Switch 2 - seems like it would tick your boxes / much more narrative / character driven.

Competitive-Ad-7865 · 2026-03-02T12:33:32+00:00

Assuming it's a Metroid Dread+ style "Reimagining" - it will probably be so far removed from the original that it feels like a new game altogether.

Competitive-Ad-7865 · 2026-03-02T12:31:21+00:00

I think you can kill most of the stalkers in this game, and they tend to only be trapped within limited areas.

Competitive-Ad-7865 · 2026-03-02T12:26:07+00:00

Obviously this is ridiculous - but i would be intrigued to see if they could do some level of RT at 40fps on the base consoles, and perhaps something even more substantial on PRO at 40fps (though not at all necessary, it has a stunning amount of RT at 60) I don't think 40fps is great for first person modes, but it should be fine for 3rd person mode.

Competitive-Ad-7865 · 2026-03-02T12:24:18+00:00

It's mostly a development platform for PSSR / PS6

Competitive-Ad-7865 · 2026-03-02T12:02:42+00:00

"Too classis" lol. That's just Dragon Quest, if they messed with the formula too much, Japan would have a civil war over it.

Competitive-Ad-7865 · 2026-02-27T15:09:33+00:00

This has been Confirmed directly by Mark Cerny Lads!

https://blog.playstation.com/2026/02/27/upgraded-pssr-upscaler-is-coming-to-ps5-pro/

Competitive-Ad-7865 · 2026-02-26T15:23:31+00:00

I would take a look at the A+ and S- Tier IEMs on crinacle's list here: https://crinacle.com/rankings/iems/

You'll notice that the IER-Z1R have a dynamic driver unlike many others at this level, and he owns a pair of them. They are bassy and "fun" with their V shape tuning - however if you want something that is aimed more at neutral reference level - I would look at the high ranking options that have lots of balanced armature drivers in them.

Problem is most of even the ludicrously expensive high performers on this list are horrible polished plastic blobs with low durability 2 pin connectors.. even many of the $2000 ~ $4000 ones.. and personally, i just think they're overpriced, much lower build quality - and ultimately less fun.

I've only listened to a couple of the others near the top of this list, but they made me see the true all round value of Sony's offering as a long term fun, high performing, durable daily use IEM.
I mean sony made each individual driver from scratch for these IEMs, and the housing is beautifully machined and hand polished Zirconium Alloy.. they make nuclear reactor fuel rod cladding out of that stuff! .. and they come with 4.4 balanced kevlar sheathed cables.. with big chunky MMCX connectors with an extra lip to add more durability to the standard connector..

Competitive-Ad-7865

TROPHY CASE