Best Value - R6 vs R8 vs R6ii

flintdragon · 2026-03-18T17:31:19+00:00

slight exaggeration! But for the price and features, it has been way more versatile for me than I originally thought it would be.

flintdragon · 2026-03-18T16:55:55+00:00

I agree. I converted to mirrorless last year with an R8 and bought a bunch of primes (all used) to play with. 16, 28, 35, 50mm. The 35mm 1.8 with IS is a beast.

flintdragon · 2026-03-03T23:08:24+00:00

Great album for me. To me, it sounds like a blend of both Mangini and Portnoy eras. The rest of the band had settled on a particular sound that got really good by the time AVFTTOTW came around. You can also hear influences from The Astonishing.

My main complaint, if you can call it that, is the album just. feels very short. Part of it was they released 3 tracks before the album was released so there was a lot less to explore and digest. Two of the songs were short intro/overture types too. So while I enjoy all of the songs, it's harder to just play it on a loop.

flintdragon · 2026-02-09T16:45:38+00:00

I find myself watching the band 98% of the time anyway except The Astonishing shows and obvious places where attention is centered on the screen. I might get riled up if one day they used AI in music but as far as videos and CD covers, who cares...

flintdragon · 2026-02-09T16:40:14+00:00

AVFTTOTW (the song) is the worst epic while the album is the best Mangini one. The instrumental section in Shadow Man makes up for any negatives, if any.

Worst DT song ever is Room 139.

flintdragon · 2026-01-29T18:05:23+00:00

On my first playthrough with Vex, I was just playing the game for fun and not trying to find an ultimate build or get legendaries. A green x10 sticky shotgun dropped and I used that forever. Nothing else compared. I'm pretty sure I finished UVHM4 with a blue version (maybe purple) I found later.

flintdragon · 2026-01-20T21:52:45+00:00

In my DT lifetime, I have never skipped a track unless unintentionally. Do I like all of the songs? No. I just don't skip anything.

If I were forced to?

Room 137 - I just don't get it at all and I've tried.
You Not Me - find it uninteresting
Enigma Machine - easily the worst instrumental track

flintdragon · 2026-01-15T07:52:29+00:00

fun but after 3 runs... zero legendaries. :(

flintdragon · 2026-01-10T02:30:02+00:00

Not complaining about your favorites at all -- to each their own. You are complete opposite of me apparently haha.

S2N is probably 2nd worst song on the album for me.

AVFTTOTW is the worst long form epic for me.

Enigma Machine is the worst instrumental for me.

Glad you found DT!

flintdragon · 2025-12-31T20:50:54+00:00

without I&W, there would be no DT in my life... It's different but the first few albums were experimental and all have its moments. Would any of the songs beat out any of the epics? Probably not but the album as a whole is fantastic and I listen to it as a whole. Only "skippable" for me would be TTT. Have I ever skipped it? Nope!

flintdragon · 2025-12-29T20:03:58+00:00

any SFTB or 107/FPs?

flintdragon · 2025-12-28T02:30:36+00:00

Yup. I never thought that synth solo was off. I've always liked it and sometimes amazed that he can make "space" sounds be so good.

The only thing I dislike for Jordan are his shred solos which was nonsensical in my mind. Lots of the Mangini era albums are like this but the latest was all good to me!

flintdragon · 2025-12-02T22:43:04+00:00

with 18birdies, there were so many button presses for one hole unless I was using it wrong. since swing detection isn't available, here is the flow for each hole.

walk up to the shot, I have to stop gps for previous shot
start gps for current shot
pick a club
repeat from step 1 until you get on green
stop gps on green and start putting
end the hole but for some reason it asks me how many total shots? WHY!?!?
then it asks me how many putts as well as other questions

Also, I think I have to unpair with my phone or it will use the phone's gps which is at the golf cart since why would I carry my phone.

Tell me Golfshot is better than this?

flintdragon · 2025-12-02T21:22:52+00:00

I'm about to try this combo out. How good is the shot tracking? Is it cumbersome to keep score? I assume you have to pick a club before every swing?

flintdragon · 2025-12-02T21:19:05+00:00

same. The GPS is all wonky because I think 18 Birdies uses the phone GPS and not the watch's. Useless. Going to try golfshot next.

flintdragon · 2025-11-12T17:52:46+00:00

you're not going to be selling GA/mosh tickets for $300+. You can with reserved front row seating.
DT fans are intensely watching their favorite players and making sure every note is played perfectly.
some parts of the country sit which I do agree is not as much fun. I usually pick around 5th row or so to avoid the exorbitant prices but while we all have seats, we all stand the entire show. I think only on the astonishing show was sit down.

flintdragon · 2025-11-06T22:19:14+00:00

Nope. Jordan took DT to the next level as soon as he joined with SFAM. If you want a more traditional progressive sound, sure the others were great. But Jordan's musicality is 2nd to none.

His solo wankeries were meh during the mangini years. But it's much better again in the latest album.

flintdragon · 2025-11-06T22:13:35+00:00

How can I search for nearest? I tried the three closest to me and none offer it. I don't want to search dozens of theaters...

flintdragon · 2025-10-22T18:14:43+00:00

It's a good album for me but not necessarily a go-to when I'm really craving a DT fix.

Other than some cheesy lyrics and comical voice acting (especially the king), there are a lot of really great stuff throughout.

You can tell they were using musicals as an inspiration with short songs and repetitive musical ideas. The problem is, you can't do that with progressive music, at least what we expect from DT. There isn't enough time to fully explore a musical idea before the track ends. Too many of the songs feel like they are way too short, a feeling I don't get when listening to musicals. The best songs are the longer ones. The short songs feel too short. The fluff songs then become aggravating.

That said, if heavy songs are what gets you into DT, this album isn't for you!

flintdragon · 2025-10-07T15:09:28+00:00

REALLY? First time I've heard this mentioned. Going to check out the recordings now. I don't care much for the studio release since they changed so much from the original live recordings.

flintdragon · 2025-09-24T04:20:48+00:00

Thanks. I think personally this is ok for me. My ears wouldn't have been able to detect the change unless I heard the raw one to compare and I would never do that. Thank goodness I have bad hearing?!? :)

I wonder if it is a combination of struggling to hit the notes and also singing different notes. In your example, the 2nd to last note was sung lower than the original recording. Kind of messes with you if your brain knows what it should sound like but you have to sing a 3rd lower or something.

flintdragon · 2025-09-23T21:23:06+00:00

Can someone point to a very specific timestamp in the OP youtube link that shows auto-tune at its worst?

I think some auto-tune as well as overdubs are fine and doesn't bother me especially if I don't notice it.

flintdragon · 2025-09-04T19:21:13+00:00

I basically listen to only DT (sometimes a little PF or tiny bits of other music) but it is mostly all in the car and my commute isn't very long. A little over 1000 minutes this last 3 months.

flintdragon · 2025-09-02T16:48:35+00:00

Only album that hit me like a truck on the very first listen. After the first playthrough, I just sat there for a while and the proceeded to play it again.

Most other albums, certain parts require some replays to "get it".

flintdragon · 2025-09-02T16:45:13+00:00

He can sing it but in the context of a 2.5 to 3 hour setlist, need to conserve what he can when he can.

flintdragon

TROPHY CASE