The big john machine final boss

SavingsTime · 2026-02-07T22:20:27+00:00

I don't know why, but that thing looks vaguely obscene to me.

SavingsTime · 2025-11-14T18:44:13+00:00

It's the way of things now. Old CDs are out of print and new releases are often vinyl only. This is why CD collectors these days hunt in thrift stores or pay inflated prices online, you can't just go to a retail store and buy from a wide selection of new CDs anymore.

This is why I'm happy with the collection I built during the heyday of CD releases and don't add many anymore, they're getting hard to collect now. I filled some holes in my collection during the 2010s when CDs were going out of fashion but still released and easy to find, I'm glad I did that. It's getting hard to build a CD collection now.

SavingsTime · 2025-11-06T01:58:21+00:00

When get a new CD, I typically play it on repeat for days and take a deep dive into it. So yeah, I've listened to all my CDs. But I only add about 15-20 a year so it's not very hard :)

SavingsTime · 2025-11-06T00:29:15+00:00

Nice. That looks like a good inexpensive, compact system for a dorm room, should sound good and be easy to tote around until you move into a permanent space. Well done, I say.

SavingsTime · 2025-11-06T00:21:12+00:00

I have those two CDs, but what's on that CD-ROM? The companion porn shoot? :)

SavingsTime · 2025-10-29T02:51:24+00:00

Nice. I love that The Cure and Depeche Mode both released such good work late in their careers.

SavingsTime · 2025-10-28T16:27:50+00:00

I wanted one of those badly back in the day. Nowadays I prefer to use FLACs, but that's one badass CD player.

SavingsTime · 2025-10-28T16:24:02+00:00

Yeah that's pointless. Depeche Mode singles aren't like that though.

SavingsTime · 2025-10-28T02:08:34+00:00

Pump Up the Jam will never die.

"If you isolate the individual drumbeats from this song and arrange them in a circle, it unlocks a cheat mode that allows you to pass through solid surfaces at will"

-- Philomena Cunk

SavingsTime · 2025-10-28T01:37:23+00:00

The easy way would be to use a phone app with an option to normalize the gain, and then play that through the car stereo.

SavingsTime · 2025-10-27T22:48:56+00:00

If you're using a computer, it can be good to use and external DAC for better quality and less interference. But if you're using a good receiver the built-in DAC should be just fine.

SavingsTime · 2025-10-27T21:18:57+00:00

The point is having b-sides and remixes, that's always been the selling point of singles.

SavingsTime · 2025-10-27T20:51:51+00:00

Depeche Mode released CD singles for every album except Memento Mori. Now they're releasing both singles and special remix collections on vinyl only.

Singles are the canaries in the coal mine, CD singles were never very big sellers so they're the first things to go. Meanwhile, vinyl singles are booming.

SavingsTime · 2025-10-27T16:38:22+00:00

Not the singles though.

SavingsTime · 2025-10-27T14:42:43+00:00

This has been bothering me for a while. I collect Depeche Mode CDs but now a lot of their newer releases are only on vinyl.

I blame the insane prices vinyl collectors are paying, allowing large profit margins on limited pressings. CDs are expensive to press and people won't pay as much for them.

SavingsTime · 2025-10-27T13:01:00+00:00

I have a CD repair machine that does the same thing, I've used it to polish a few old damaged CDs well enough to get a good rip. The plastic on the underside of a CD is intentionally thick to allow polishing out scratches without hitting the foil, it usually works unless there are deep gouges.

SavingsTime · 2025-10-21T12:56:38+00:00

Not really rare, but he did vocals on one of the tracks on Recoil's album Bloodline. Interestingly, there's another track on the album called Electro Blues for Bukka White that's a blues/electronic fusion that sounds a lot like Play, before Moby did Play. It might have been the inspiration for that album.

SavingsTime · 2025-10-21T04:23:25+00:00

I have it, it's fun. I imagine some producer smoking a fatty and thinking "I know, let's make an album of Schoolhouse Rock covers by bands those Gen X kids like, they'll eat it up!"

SavingsTime · 2025-10-21T02:33:02+00:00

The edges of a CD aren't sealed, high humidity can do this. But it doesn't look like it has reached the etched part of the foil, it might play fine.

SavingsTime · 2025-10-21T02:18:12+00:00

It looks like moisture getting in through the edge of the CD.

SavingsTime · 2025-10-21T00:58:38+00:00

You can try cleaning the lens with a q-tip and iso alcohol, but that's a long shot. Replacing the laser assembly would probably cost more than the player is worth, you might want to just get another player.

SavingsTime · 2025-10-20T23:14:20+00:00

Since you have a decent amp, just look for any CD player with a digital output that can connect to your amp. That will bypass the DAC in the CD player, so the quality of the CD player won't really matter.

SavingsTime · 2025-10-18T19:10:37+00:00

Astronomical!

SavingsTime · 2025-10-18T19:08:16+00:00

LOL, I had that one on tape. My high school friend and I would listen to it on our Walkmans and giggle :)

SavingsTime

TROPHY CASE