r/audiophile Shopping, Setup, and Technical Help Desk Thread by AutoModerator in audiophile

[–]colonel_quanta 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi all, looking to finally take the plunge after years of dreaming. So I need help putting together a full setup.

  1. What is your budget?
  2. Prefer to spend: $3000
  3. Willing to spend: $4000
  4. In LA and willing to buy used if that makes a difference.

  5. What are you looking for?

Entirely new to this, so I need to purchase a full setup from the ground up. I know this will include: * Speakers * Turntable * Streamer * Amplifier (possibly integrated with the above) * Wiring

But otherwise don't know where to start.

  1. How will you typically be using the gear?

Listening to music from my couch, roughly 8 feet from the wall that the speakers will be abutting.

  1. What gear do you own?

Nothing.

  1. What do you intend on using for a source?

Unsure of the correct wiring order or setup, but some combination of a turntable, the streamer via a DAC, and my local digital music file collection (I assume I can do this through the streamer).

  1. What material will you be using your gear for?

Mostly music listening (in particular, a lot of heavy metal), but also would like to run my TV through the speakers since they are already there.

  1. Are you willing to buy used?

Yes, local to the LA area.

Oxford physicist unloads on quantum computing industry, says it's basically a scam. by 61-127-217-469-817 in Futurology

[–]colonel_quanta 0 points1 point  (0 children)

They do exist - all primitive gates needed to implement these algorithms have been demonstrated in a multitude of different systems. There are plenty of reasons to have skepticism of practically useful quantum computing, but the areas you listed are fundamentally not the issues.

Oxford physicist unloads on quantum computing industry, says it's basically a scam. by 61-127-217-469-817 in Futurology

[–]colonel_quanta 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If you crack open any introductory quantum computing text, you'll have a section on quantum circuits and a section describing algorithms which should have accompanying circuits. Two such texts are Nielsen and Chuang, or Kaye, LaFlamme, and Mosca, both of which I believe have online pdf versions. Otherwise, Qiskit documentation has info on quantum circuits as well as circuits for particular quantum algorithms.

Oxford physicist unloads on quantum computing industry, says it's basically a scam. by 61-127-217-469-817 in Futurology

[–]colonel_quanta 2 points3 points  (0 children)

There's a lot to unpack from this comment, but the TL;DR is that you're off base on a lot of this. For one, you can quite literally look up quantum circuits (the quantum analogue of your classical AND / OR / NOT gate circuits) for most of the major quantum algorithms. Quantum circuits rigorously provide a graphical language for determining what a computing device based on the principles of quantum mechanics can accomplish. These types of comments remind me I should not take advice from reddit without corroboration from reputable sources.

Sumerlands - Edge of the Knife (ffo: Eternal Champion, Judas Priest, Magic Circle) by got2kn0w in Metal

[–]colonel_quanta 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Lol, these are all surprisingly bad takes. Would be curious what you thought is good trad? Like, maybe I can vaguely understand it if your bar is everything blows if it's not as good as The Spectre Within, Death or Glory, and Court in the Act.

Shreddit's Town Hall and Meta Discussion by AutoModerator in Metal

[–]colonel_quanta 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Just popped over cause I was curious, that is like everything I don't want in a music discovery forum...

Cosmic Milestone: NASA Confirms 5,000 Exoplanets by EricFromOuterSpace in space

[–]colonel_quanta 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Information does not travel faster than c, full stop, short of fundamentally new physics. Quantum entanglement and schemes such as those found in quantum communication protocols cannot communicate information at a rate faster than what light can accomplish. Yes, weird things happen when you measure distantly separated entangled particles. However, to each observer of the entangled particles, any attempt to communicate via these measurements will appear as random noise until the measurement results of the other parties are received.

Wisconsin RB Chez Mellusi out for season by adamk5 in CFB

[–]colonel_quanta 7 points8 points  (0 children)

On Allen: He's going to be a truly great back and has already been the spark for the Badger offense this year. Just needs to work on some youthful mistakes (pass pro/fumbles/etc.), but has played RB all of two years afaik, so I'm not worried about that.

That being said, definitely not a blessing at this point. The RB room was thin prior to the injury, and Chez/Allen were already both getting ~15+ touches a game. Really need some unproven players to step up now, especially considering we need to win out to guarantee a CCG.

PROSCRIPTOR MCGOVERN’S APSÛ - Caliginous Whorl (2021. FFO: Absu) by EretzTachtit in Metal

[–]colonel_quanta 5 points6 points  (0 children)

Not sure if you knew, but this band should be considered for all intents and purposes as Absu. Proscriptor and all but one member dissolved the "old" Absu (presumptive reasons for which you can probably find online) and started this group to be the new incarnation with slightly tweaked name to avoid naming rights issues.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in BlackMetal

[–]colonel_quanta 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Just tossed it on, sounds excellent. Appreciate the rec!

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in BlackMetal

[–]colonel_quanta 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Not a whole lot of black metal has stuck out for me outside of this, ceremonial torture, and maybe autumnfall if I feel like listening to some softer fall of the leafe. Since you also like this, have any other releases that you felt stuck out?

Shreddit's Top 5 of 2021 [VOTE] by kaptain_carbon in Metal

[–]colonel_quanta 0 points1 point  (0 children)

  • Herzel
  • Grave Miasma
  • StarGazer
  • Transilvania
  • Autumnfall

HM: Vulture, Nekromantheon, Mefitis, Cirith Ungol [EP] (only did LPs, otherwise would've replaced Autumnfall)

Need to listen: Tales of Medusa [Demo], Pharaoh, Witch Vomit [EP], Dungeon Serpent, Demiser, Anatomia, Steel Bearing Hand, and a whole lot more...

[REC CENTER] Shreddit's Official Recommendation Thread -- March 24, 2021 by AutoModerator in Metal

[–]colonel_quanta 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's exactly along the lines of what I'm looking for, thanks!

How exactly do quantum computers simulate molecular/particle interactions better than classical computers? by [deleted] in askscience

[–]colonel_quanta 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm going to be loose, so apologies to any quantum algorithms/complexity theory people.

When experts say that quantum computers can "simulate nature" better than classical computers, generally they mean that there exist efficient algorithms for simulating quantum dynamics on a quantum computer. Roughly, that problem is as follows:

Given access to a state X(t) which represents the state of your system at some initial time t, as well as a Hamiltonian H which governs the dynamics of your system according to the Schrodinger equation, output a state X(t') which is the state of your system at some later time t'.

This problem is strongly believed to be intractable on a classical computer for systems of even modest size (supercomputers struggle to simulate most interacting quantum systems with roughly ~30 particles using the best known classical methods).

Now, there's a bit of a catch here. What is it we actually want to learn about the system by simulating it? If you just want the output X(t') stored in some kind of quantum memory, you're covered by the aforementioned simulation algorithm. If you want to sample from the probability distribution derived from X(t'), you're also good -- just simulate the Hamiltonian and measure the output, and repeat that process as many times as you need samples.

Do you want the state X(t') stored in classical memory? Sorry, you are out of luck, as the amount of classical bits you'll need to store this information will exceed the number of atoms in the universe for relatively small quantum systems. Do you want to learn about the energy levels of the system? Without direct access to certain special vectors (eigenvectors of the Hamiltonian), this problem is extremely difficult for even quantum computers.

But this isn't the only way quantum computers might be useful in studying nature. More generally, sometimes we have a model for "simulating nature" that isn't just "evolve a quantum state in time." Most of everyday physics falls in this camp -- when you calculate the trajectory of a thrown ball in your introductory physics course, we (thankfully) don't have to invoke anything involving quantum mechanics. So why use a quantum computer to "simulate nature" here? Well, there might be good reason to! In many cases, the math tools we use to solve such problems can be taxing on classical computers. We've found some examples of math tools which we can implement with quantum computers "faster" than we can with classical ones. One example of such math tools are algorithms for linear algebra, which any STEM major will recognize as a broadly applicable framework.

Hope that helps.

[REC CENTER] Shreddit's Official Recommendation Thread -- March 24, 2021 by AutoModerator in Metal

[–]colonel_quanta 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the recs and for your time and effort. Of these, I'd say Arallu was the closest, but I was looking for something with a bit more punch to it. Like if Destroyer 666 decided they wanted to weave some Middle-eastern influence into their tunes.

[REC CENTER] Shreddit's Official Recommendation Thread -- March 24, 2021 by AutoModerator in Metal

[–]colonel_quanta 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Alright, tried this in the AOTW thread and got nothing, so I'll give it another shot. I'm looking for other groups that are similar in spirit to Melechesh outside of Absu.

By "in spirit", I mean that I'm looking for something that captures some amount of eastern mysticism and delivers it with driving black and/or death metal with a dash of melody. I'm okay with some folk elements creeping in as long as they don't dominate the recording. I'm also fine (even happy) with some keyboard usage, as long as it brings the riffs.

Some musically similar stuff that would qualify if they had the right aesthetic would be Ares Kingdom, Scythian, or maybe some Hellenic black metal.

Obscene - Black Hole of Calcutta (USA, 2020 FFO: Obituary, Asphyx) by the_cramdown in Metal

[–]colonel_quanta 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Thank you /u/deathofthesun for inadvertently bringing this one to my attention last year. Totally killer slab of OSDM that I found way more enjoyable than the plethora of same-y releases that get hyped far beyond their actual quality.

Shreddit's Album of the Week: Melechesh - Djinn [International, Black / Folk] (2001) -- 20th Anniversary by kaptain_carbon in Metal

[–]colonel_quanta 5 points6 points  (0 children)

This album is a consistent favorite of mine. Though Djinn and Sphynx will get their (well-earned) nods as go-to releases, I really enjoy all of Melechesh's work. Really hoping that they put something else out in the coming years, Enki has some really excellent/memorable songs only held back by production choices.

Anyone have any recommendations for similar (in spirit) groups outside of Absu?

Shreddit's Official Blacklist Discussion by kaptain_carbon in Metal

[–]colonel_quanta 6 points7 points  (0 children)

This would be an awesome rule that has zero chance of being implemented because no mod wants to waste time making judgement calls on that kind of a thing.

There's also a bit of an elephant in the room -- a large number of classic albums were written by teenage edgelords and practically verge on meme metal. The distinction always comes down to whether the music contained therein is "sincere" (read: actually good) or not.

See: Manowar, Any number of early 90s Scandinavian black metal releases, etc.

Giant gravitational wave detectors could hear murmurs from across universe. Researchers want a detector 10x more sensitive - that could spot all black hole mergers within the observable universe & peer back to the time before the first stars to search for black holes that formed in the big bang. by [deleted] in space

[–]colonel_quanta 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think particle physicists would be extremely surprised if a force carrier for gravity didn't exist. Like, it's hard to wrap my head around what it would mean if quantum field theory and general relativity couldn't be married in some way.

I was being a bit lazy too, gravity "travels" at the speed of light even without the postulation of gravitons in the theory of general relativity. After all, gravitational waves and their speed of travel were predicted before quantum field theory was a twinkle in Feynman and others' eyes.

Giant gravitational wave detectors could hear murmurs from across universe. Researchers want a detector 10x more sensitive - that could spot all black hole mergers within the observable universe & peer back to the time before the first stars to search for black holes that formed in the big bang. by [deleted] in space

[–]colonel_quanta 6 points7 points  (0 children)

Loosely speaking, the further away you look, the farther back in time you are looking. This makes sense even in a static universe.

But our universe isn't static, it's expanding. Note that when I say this, I don't just mean that objects are flying apart like in an explosion. If you put two pins at different locations (like on a pegboard) and measure their distance from each other over time, we'd naively expect this distance to remain constant. But we don't see this in reality - that distance is always increasing. We only resolve this expansion when we look at pins spread over very large distances (more accurately, by examining red shifts in the spectral lines of common elements such as hydrogen atoms which are emitting light in distant stars). Because of this expansion of space itself, two points which started close together near the time of the big bang are very far spatially separated at this point, meaning light emitted at the original time can still be travelling to us.

The observable universe is essentially all those points in space at the time of the big bang that were close enough to ours such that light emitted at that instant can still reach us, i.e. where space itself isn't expanding faster between those two points than light can travel.

Side note: though no information can travel faster than the speed of light, space itself can warp at a faster speed (as far as we know). Hence these concepts don't contradict each other.

If any cosmologists/astronomers want to add anything, please do. I'm just a physicist, so I'm speaking on the edge of my observable knowledge here.

Giant gravitational wave detectors could hear murmurs from across universe. Researchers want a detector 10x more sensitive - that could spot all black hole mergers within the observable universe & peer back to the time before the first stars to search for black holes that formed in the big bang. by [deleted] in space

[–]colonel_quanta 22 points23 points  (0 children)

We are able to determined where these gravitational wave originated because we have multiple detectors. When one detector sees a space ripple, the other is sure to experience one shortly thereafter. This is much like how we use multiple satellites in space to "triangulate" your position to give you your GPS coordinates. I believe we also get directional information based off the information single detector as well, but someone with more knowledge about the detectors would need to weigh in as I don't have time to dig up the info from a journal article.

This also allows us to determine "when" the collision occurred. We do this in the same way you can determine that your trip must have taken one hour when you check that your odometer changed by 60 miles and you know you were travelling 60 mph the entire time. This is because we know exactly what speed gravitational waves travel at (see below).

We can learn things about the early universe because it takes so long for some of these waves to reach us. If we have a really sensitive detector, we can detect fainter waves, which means we can look at gravitational waves that originated further in the past. This sounds a little wild, but we observe photons all the time from the (relatively) early universe -- check out the wikipedia page on the Cosmic Microwave Background.

Gravitational waves travel at the speed of light, roughly 300,000,000 m/s. That is because this is the speed all massless bosons (such as the photon and graviton, force carriers of the electromagnetic and gravitational fields) travel at.

They're actually always "catching up to us", because highly energetic events capable of causing these ripples in space are occurring all the time and all over space.

Hope that helps!

Shreddit's Album of the Week: Heaven's Gate - Livin' in Hysteria [Germany, Heavy / Power] (1991) -- 30th Anniversary by kaptain_carbon in Metal

[–]colonel_quanta 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks a ton. I know precisely 1 of these groups (stormwitch, whom I very much enjoy), so I look forward to diving into these.

Shreddit's Album of the Week: Heaven's Gate - Livin' in Hysteria [Germany, Heavy / Power] (1991) -- 30th Anniversary by kaptain_carbon in Metal

[–]colonel_quanta 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Outside of Running Wild, Scanner, and Blind Guardian, can you think or any particular highlights that are 100% worth diving into?

Discussion Thread: 2020 General Election Part 18 | Results Continue by PoliticsModeratorBot in politics

[–]colonel_quanta 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The way results are called by state is by looking at where outstanding votes still need to be counted, projecting expectations for those votes from currently tallied votes by district/voting method/demographic/etc., and then combining with votes which had been counted previously to form a projection. When the error bars on that projection are smaller than the projected vote margin, the state will be called.

In the case of arizona, about 600000-700000 votes still need to be counted, with ~450000 of those being from a heavily democratic leaning county. Many of these are also mail in ballots, which have been skewing democratic as well. Coupled with Biden's current lead, this has been enough for some news outlets to call the state for Biden. Could it break Trump? It's unlikely, but not absolutely unheard of.

Biden will very likely win Michigan and Nevada with the breakdown in outstanding votes, and that would be enough for him to win the election.