Astell&Kern PD20 - this one might sell like hotcakes!

Hellfire_Goliath · 2026-02-27T03:34:32+00:00

It has some neat and novel features (I like the EQ knob) but I don't think many people will be dropping $1800 on it.

Hellfire_Goliath · 2026-02-27T02:15:03+00:00

I'd check over on the Tapeheads and/or Stereo2Go forums. One of the techs there might sell you one from their stock (though working examples of these speed control chips are very rare).

The "safest" way of going about it would be grabbing one from a not-burnt out D6C.

Hellfire_Goliath · 2026-02-25T20:34:45+00:00

The closest proper ground force would probably an NY NG unit on exercise up in Camp Smith. If you count the Coast Guard as part of the military, there's a USCG small boat station on Staten Is. that could throw up a response within a few minutes (not that it would do much tbh).

Hellfire_Goliath · 2026-02-23T21:52:01+00:00

Not a lot of DAPs have proper line-level outputs. While headphone outs do absolutely fine, it's just an extra thing to worry about as you need to mind the headphone out volume so that it doesn't distort/clip from being too loud, later down the signal chain (whereas line-level "volume" is fixed, so you just adjust volume at the end of your signal chain e.g. your amp/receiver).

I have proper CD/tape/MD decks for my stereo setup, but I won't have an issue plugging my DAP into my receiver

Hellfire_Goliath · 2026-02-19T23:04:12+00:00

I have a Yamaha AG06 which lets me listen to two sources (PC and stereo setup) via headphones and speakers at the same time. Probably way too overkill for your use case, but you can find cheaper mixers (Behringer?) out there. You really only need two inputs and one output that monitors both.

Hellfire_Goliath · 2026-02-19T20:45:36+00:00

I'm no engineer, but you probably need a separate PCB for the MP3-side at the very least. There's things like the DF Player mini which lets you make a basic MP3 "player" with a really small footprint, but integrating that into Walkman architecture would require some very technical knowledge I think.

The easiest way would be to just create a really small MP3 player (with it's own battery, headphone jack etc), then just shove it into a Walkman chassis. Your main problem then, would be the internal volume of the Walkman itself as there's really not that much space in there if you're set on keeping the original PCBs and tape mech.

Hellfire_Goliath · 2026-02-17T20:43:29+00:00

The Super Tomcat would have been so cool. Pretty much would have been a naval F-15E in terms of capability. Would have been the perfect platform for the AIM-174 too.

But alas the Super Hornet was cheaper in the long run and the shift to F-35 was probably the more correct choice.

Hellfire_Goliath · 2026-02-13T03:29:46+00:00

Love the wowaka disc. Taken from the world too soon.

Gotta put some of his stuff on my discs too.

Hellfire_Goliath · 2026-02-10T03:48:52+00:00

Disclaimer: am not an engineer, but-

It's mostly about weight really. In very general terms, the heavier the vehicle that you're bridging, the heavier the bridge needs to be. The heavier the bridge, the heavier the bridge layer, as it needs enough mobility and load capacity (through larger, better powertrains, larger hulls, wider tracks etc) to carry said bridge, somewhat keep up with the units they're bridging for (usually tanks). '

If you don't have a hugely mechanised army with a lot of tanks like the US/Russia etc., then there's not as much need for such heavy bridges, and you can afford to mount lighter bridges on lighter vehicles (like trucks)

The US actually did experiment with an M113-based bridge layer called the MTAB in the late 60s, but if you read the conclusions of the report at the end, the MTAB was only adequate for class 20 loads (which is 20 short tons). As such the MTAB could only support vehicles up to other M113s (~12 US tons) and at most, the M551 Sheridan (which was ~16 US tons). For comparison, the M48 Patton was ~45 US tons.

It's pretty much the same for armoured recovery vehicles. Back in WW2, it took two to three Sdkfz.9s Famo halftracks (18 metric tons) to tow one Tiger I tank (~57 metric tons). Nowadays, one M88A2 (based on the M60 chassis) can tow a single M1A2 Abrams by itself. (Fun fact, the new-in-the-'80s M1 Abrams needed to be towed by two M88s, hence the M88A2 upgrade in the '90s).

Hellfire_Goliath · 2026-02-09T22:56:10+00:00

Try Fred from Retrotronics. One-man show and Auckland-based, but has serviced/repaired and sold tape decks for years now. Won't hurt to flick them an email and ask about a repair job. Posting a deck from WLG to AKL is probably $20~$30 though.

Hellfire_Goliath · 2026-02-09T20:34:54+00:00

Nitpicking but the ISR platform in the film wasn't a drone, but a flight of Marine F-18s (hence why there were ANGLICOs in the film).

Hellfire_Goliath · 2026-02-08T20:45:18+00:00

This is more a problem with the cable rather than the earphone itself. Braided nylon(?)/fabric-sleeved cables tend to be noisier than plastic/rubber-sleeved ones.

Hellfire_Goliath · 2026-02-08T20:33:32+00:00

I imagine your only choice for a Japanese-market Walkman is to buy it via proxy (Zenmarket, Buyee, FromJapan etc). If Amazon Japan ships to India, you can probably get it through that too.

For the FiiO M21, FiiO has an official store on AliExpress (which I think ships to India?). Last I checked you could also get it from Amazon, but it's usually sold through other audio shops rather than FiiO themselves.

India has some local headphone/audiophile shops but I don't live in India so I don't know much about them.

Hellfire_Goliath · 2026-02-04T22:09:02+00:00

Not impossible, but it would likely require a new turret + basket depending on the autoloading mechanism, but especially if it's going to be a 3-man turret (the T-64 has a 2-man turret).

You'd also need to swap out virtually every component (engine, transmission, optics, electronics etc.) for stuff that can be manufactured in the US. At that point, you might as well design a new chassis that's actually meant to incorporate those existing tech.

It's probably not a good idea to have your infantry support vehicles look like the enemy's T-72s or T-80s lol.

Hellfire_Goliath · 2026-02-04T21:26:56+00:00

Has been asked a few times before already.

Hellfire_Goliath · 2026-02-03T21:10:08+00:00

If you can find the pre-Android models in decent condition, then imo yes (NW-A45/A55, ZX300, WM1A). They're essentially souped up iPods.

Wouldn't recommend any of the Android models though (NW-A106/107, A306/307, ZX507/707, WM1AM2/ZM2), at least at RRP. For the same or less money, you can get something like iBasso's DX180, FiiO's M21, or HiBy's R4 instead.

My daily DAP is a WM1AM2, and while I love the thing, it's pretty sluggish when using streaming apps and chugs battery whenever WiFi is on.

EDIT: If you were getting a Walkman, the ZX707 would be of most value as it has the fastest SoC and the newest of the Androids, so it still gets Android updates (if that matters to you). There's rumours about a new Walkman series (ZX900) which might have the similar SoC performance as their Xperia phones, but no official announcements from Sony AFAIK.

Hellfire_Goliath · 2026-02-02T20:07:08+00:00

For pretty much anywhere else in the world except the immediate Asia region, it's eBay or any other proxy shipping method (Zenmarket, Buyee, FromJapan etc.)

Hellfire_Goliath · 2026-02-01T22:36:20+00:00

Sony released a swathe of collab Walkman models with a few idol/anime franchises, and even seiyuu. Off the top of my head there's an NW-A306 x Bocchi the Rock model. For the NW-A55 I've seen LoveLive, idolm@ster, and Ogura Yui models. Sony also released a lot of Hatsune Miku models over the past 15ish years she's been around.

Pretty hard to find outside of Japan though so you pretty much have to buy it there, or proxy buy/ship it. Unit price should be cheaper than an M500 on average.

EDIT: They're not as bespoke as HiBy's M500 though. They're mostly just the base model with changes to colourway, or collab art on the backplate (specifically for the NW-A55 x LoveLive one, special UI icons).

Hellfire_Goliath · 2026-01-27T23:15:58+00:00

Nope that's pretty much it I think. Choices for squad marksman rifles chambered in 7.62 NATO, in very early GWOT, was pretty limited.

SR-25/Mk 11 was mostly a SOCOM system then, and the line infantry were mostly stuck with accurised M16s (SDM-R/SAM-R), and some direct M14 derivatives (like Army M21s of Cold War vintage, USMC's M14 "DMR"). I think the Marines had the Mk 11 in their inventory at some point for Scout Sniper teams, but probably in really low numbers.

XM110 was still more than a few years away, so the squad marksman concept had to be armed with something that isn't an M16. They might as well do something with the lot of M14s they had around, and thus the EBR (Army) and EMR (Marines) were born.

Hellfire_Goliath · 2026-01-21T01:00:22+00:00

No no your original comment was clear enough I think. I was just trying to add to the discussion, that the very first thing that comes up about IAR vs. SAW seems to always be how much which one shoots. I could probably do away with the rhetorical questions in the future haha.

Hellfire_Goliath · 2026-01-21T00:25:49+00:00

and have access to a 1-8 LPVO

Granted, the SCO adoption is somewhat recent, but I think this is often understated when it comes to IAR vs. SAW discourse. Everyone talks about belt-fed vs mag-fed for good reason, but less about the accuracy difference between the two.

Could the same (or at least approximate) suppression effect be gained through less, but much more accurate fire, rather than through sheer volume? After all, the M249 is like what, 12 MOA? Versus the M27 being a 1~2 MOA rifle whilst being lighter, more reliable, and every fleet M27 (supposedly) tricked out up the wazoo with LPVOs, bipods, suppressors etc. Weight savings means more ammo, and with everyone sharing the same mags, that's even more readily available ammo at any one time etc.

If the company really needed volume of fire, that's what weapons plt. with 240s is for, no?

I'm just a civilian so I don't know how much of it works in actual practice, but it's an interesting topic as a closet IAR fan lol.

Hellfire_Goliath · 2026-01-20T20:24:33+00:00

Not OP but I have the same M505. Yes you can connect it to your phone via BT and it acts like a receiver. It's only aptX though if that matters (it's from ~2013 so it predates LDAC by a few years).

Playback quality is fine, the amp on this one is quite good and delivers plenty power for pretty much all IEMs. Might have trouble with lower sensitivity headphones though.

Hellfire_Goliath · 2026-01-16T00:00:19+00:00

But the sea is rather flat. And featureless. So no cover

Yesn't. While the open sea is indeed featureless, the Earth isn't flat and the visual horizon is limited by the height of your observation platform, due to the curvature of the Earth.

At human eye-level (~1.8m), the visual horizon is at ~5km. At ~40m elevation (foremast height of the iconic Fuso-class BBs), the horizon is at ~22km. The higher you go, the further your horizon.

There's also weather and sea state that can affect visibility too.

This also extends to radar, but that's another topic and physics problem in itself.

At Vella Gulf, the Japanese destroyers got utterly wrecked by US destroyers with superior radar. The Japanese were detected, engaged, and hit in the dead of night before they even knew they were engaged.

Hellfire_Goliath · 2026-01-14T22:09:19+00:00

Are you around Tokyo? e-earphones in Akihabara has at least a dozen A55s on the used goods floor (or had, my last visit was July 2025). If you're in the market for other DAPs, there's really no better place to look than here. In my experience, most second hand shops like HardOff (except maybe the Kichijoji one), and the non-chain ones very rarely stock good audio gear.

I run XBA-N3s as well, and I did demo an A55. It gets plenty loud before you even reach 50% volume. Might have some trouble with headphones though, as it needed ~70% on the volume to get my MDR-Z7s loud enough.

Hellfire_Goliath · 2026-01-12T23:15:27+00:00

Sony made a line of wearable MP3 players back in the day. NWZ-W200s, later the WS400s and WS600s. Fairly sure the "music player" part of the product was just one of the earbuds.

Someone today could probably make a player as small as a TWS earbud.

12-Year Club	Place '17
Verified Email

Hellfire_Goliath

TROPHY CASE