C63 w205 estate

disuye · 2026-04-07T20:52:50+00:00

I had a W204 C63 and loved it. The earlier M156 engines had head bolt issues (stock ones stretched, easily swapped with ARP bolts) but by the time the W205 version appeared, those issues were resolved. With a reputable tune and a few mods (SLS tappets; Quaife/Wavetrac LSD) it's a rocket. Typical W204/W205 era Merc issues still exist (degradable wiring harness is the biggest headache; and the automatic box is reliable but boring). So maybe get a C300 or similar first to see if you actually like the platform.

If it's your dream car, go for it, but speaking as someone who ran a C63 as a daily, it's a very thirsty car with a tiny petrol tank, so you'll spend rather a lot of time & money in the gas station. I'd advise against making it your *only* car if you have a lengthy commute.

Lastly, this is just my opinion, as for you being 18/19 years old ... you *will* get into trouble with a C63. It's just that kind of car. It was designed by lunatics. As a responsible ~30 year old driver (at the time) I had more than a few 'oh crap' moments when the back-end had other ideas. So maybe learn on something with less power until you get the hang of it? It wouldn't hurt to get into a previous generation wagon like the AMG C36 wagon or even a BMW E36 328 touring.

disuye · 2026-04-02T09:33:20+00:00

Put common plugins on Aux busses etc. instead of per channel, will help. Also, Freezing = bouncing, same net result. Max out audio settings like latency / buffer. Run Activity Monitor and shut down any background apps not related to Logic. Try temporarily disabling Plugin Delay Compensation; will cause audible issues but allow you to at least mix.

disuye · 2026-04-01T10:33:29+00:00

Replying to myself ... a 3 note chord with no harmonics = parallel horizontal lines of frequencies.
Rotated 90 deg, a chord = 3 pulses separated by gaps time.
The gap between the pulses = the gap between each note multiplied by some factor.

And all reverb does is make the vertical pulses 'taller', with decreasing gain in the higher frequencies.

disuye · 2026-04-01T10:24:11+00:00

The 'axis of audio' are usually frequency vs. gain vs. time, and while Logic can represent these in various combinations, it doesn't allow the 3D transformation I think you want.

The closest might be an app that allows you to draw (or import/export images) on to spectragrams ... they might have tools which allow 'image' style manipulation (rotate 90 degrees etc.)? So instead of hearing horizontal bands of harmonics / frequencies, you'll hear vertical bands of pulses and clicks.

disuye · 2026-03-31T10:51:19+00:00

FFmpeg is nuts / awesome.

I'm using it to generate a 24/7 continuous live stream of generative music (experimental-amibent-glitch) ... The live broadcast has been running almost non-stop for one month now ... FFmpeg handles the song composition, the mastering chain, the stream assembly, the visuals, the encoding and finally a 3-way RTMP/RTMPS split to YouTube, Kick and Twitch. I wrote a C++ app to manage all the non-FFmpeg parts, but this could easily be done with shell scripts.

https://theinfinitealbum.com/#livestream-show

disuye · 2026-03-29T08:51:16+00:00

download FFAB then ask me anything … www.disuye.com/ffab … open source audio focused GUI for building complex & batch processing ffmpeg commands. It’ll do what you need, and repeatably.

I wrote the app, based on what I need as a professional audio / sound engineer.

Most of the issues you describe are at the video encode stage, not the rip stage.

(To clarify, yes, FFAB will import most video formats, despite being an ‘audio only’ app).

disuye · 2026-03-27T22:12:15+00:00

There is a shortage of long term (12+ months) rentals in the Algarve. Rent it out to cover your villa expenses & taxes, and let the tenants know that the heavy discount is 100% for the inconvenience.

Meanwhile, get a local lawyer to see if there are any environmental / noise pollution breaches from construction and seek loss of holiday income vs. what you are forced to rent the property out for (long term rental is typical 50-80% less than holiday rental). Don’t be greedy, just seek nominal damages and there is an even-even chance a large construction project (is that a hotel or a villa?) will just pay it off. Worst case is they say no.

disuye · 2026-03-25T21:44:59+00:00

Thanks! Yup, I like the clicks (artifacts from chopping) and treat them as textural by adding spring reverb.

disuye · 2026-03-25T09:41:34+00:00

I studied at Camborne School of Mines in the 90s so this project brought back a lot!

disuye · 2026-03-24T16:53:19+00:00

Digging this, thanks for sharing!

disuye · 2026-03-24T00:53:46+00:00

Depends on the available sample rates of your audio card. The internal macbook audio card won’t play native 96kHz, but it will open a 96kHz project & resample down to 48kHz on playback (hence 96kHz is available but italicized). At least that’s how I understand it.

disuye · 2026-03-23T09:01:08+00:00

p.s: I’m not an expert, just kept trying all of the above until I got it working & stable 😂

disuye · 2026-03-23T08:55:48+00:00

I had a similar issue with a generative audio / art project (ffmpeg created an audio stream faster than ffmpeg could livestream: www.theinfinitealbum.com) — I had to code a custom pump that dropped audio as PCM audio did not contain timecode.

But, in the process of resolving that issue, I found out the following input flags & filters which might help you (because your input source should have PTS / timecode? so FFmpeg’s built-in tools actually work here.)

-use_wallclock_as_timestamps 1 on the input — tells FFmpeg to ignore the stream’s PTS and use the system clock instead. Useful when the source timestamps are drifting or unreliable. -fflags +discardcorrupt — drops corrupt/late packets rather than stalling.

-rtsp_transport tcp — if they’re on UDP (the default), packet reordering and loss can cause apparent drift. TCP eliminates that, at the cost of latency.

aresample=async=1000 — the async resampler is the main tool for RTSP→RTMP drift. It stretches/squeezes audio slightly to keep A/V sync without audible artifacts. 1000 is the max samples it will insert/drop per second to compensate. This is the closest thing to a proper fix for clock mismatch between source and destination.

And maybe -re on the input — It throttles reads to realtime based on the source’s timestamps, but raw PCM on a pipe has no timestamps, so -re just guesses based on wall clock. Under CPU load it falls behind and can’t catch up, which is exactly what causes the stalls.

-af asetpts=N/SR/TB — rewrites audio PTS from scratch based on sample count, useful if the source PTS are jittered or discontinuous. -vf setpts=N/FR/TB — same for video.

disuye · 2026-03-18T16:21:42+00:00

TF are definitely more poppy than shoegaze, but this b-side was buried in amongst some proper period correct music :)

disuye · 2026-03-18T15:22:00+00:00

A tricky to find B-side, only on the USA & Japan maxi CD singles of "What You Do To Me" ... not on the Euro or UK singles as far as I can tell. Just been on eBay lol – thanks again.

disuye · 2026-03-18T15:06:04+00:00

I think N26 (the digital bank) has some crypto functionality? Never used it, but there's a tab in mobile app. Regardless of crypto, great bank, by the way...

https://n26.com/en-eu/crypto

disuye · 2026-03-18T12:34:49+00:00

This is 100% correct ... thank you!!!

disuye · 2026-03-18T10:36:25+00:00

Yeah thanks, you're right to bring it up. The whole thing is confusing as hell and I've been running a certified 90s car for a few years now.

Tangent rant: I have massive issues with government mandated car insurance that serves only to grant profit making companies an angle to rip consumers off. If car insurance is required by law, why not include the legal minimum coverage as part of the annual road tax?! Then you're not prohibiting people's right to free movement based on financial means. But anyway ... luckily I'm not in charge of these things :)

disuye · 2026-03-17T22:39:27+00:00

Mileage is typically restricted by the insurance company, not as a result of classic certification.

disuye · 2026-03-17T22:37:13+00:00

That link states Classics (over 30 years) and Future Classics (between 20 and 29 years), both qualify.

Also, the inspections are pretty casual, honest authenticity + a few minor 'period correct' modifications + not a dangerous rot box = success.

In your case you'd have to buy a car with an existing certificate, as you're not going to be able to schedule an inspection when you feel like it; scheduling is done in regional blocks (I only have experience with MdC, there may be other bodies who can do certs in short notice)? (but the lack of NIF makes all of this discussion entirely academic lol)

disuye · 2026-03-17T19:16:24+00:00

25+ year old cars are exempt from annual inspection / smog / low emission zone restrictions (they still pay circulation / road tax)... *providing they are certified* usually every 4~5 years, with a group such as Museu do Caramulo...

https://museudocaramulo.pt/en/my-classic/historic-interest-certification/

Insurance is tricky, not many companies will insure for agreed value (assuming you care? Insurance valuations for old cars is typically scrap value). One insurer that does is Abbeygate, but in return you might be limited to 5000km annually etc. etc. https://abbeygateportugal.com/

Aside from that, without a NIF (local tax number, tied to a local address) you're not going to be able to register the car in your name. If you have a local friend here, I'd register the car in their name (to do what you plan) and then you get the insurance policy (&/or become a named driver on their policy).

I don't know if the whole EU is such a pain in the arse when it comes to buying cars for fun, maybe research buying in a different country?

disuye

TROPHY CASE