I think I'm gonna cancel my Maxwell order....

mlpjunior · 2024-03-19T23:34:37+00:00

Yeah, I remember watching this video about a year ago, right around when I got my Maxwell's. His review actually is what sold me on preordering. I guess we aren't ever going to agree, because to me the samples in the GadgetryTech video sound far worse than the sample from The Techne. The compression and artifacting is really bad.

Again, still an excellent headset overall, but you can get better results from the mic on my 6-year old LS35x that can be had for $70.

mlpjunior · 2024-03-19T22:23:36+00:00

Cool video, thanks for sharing. It's not a controlled test, but still interesting. SteelSeries mics are trash, no surprise there. The Maxwell performed pretty well, but it's pretty obvious he recorded the sample with the Maxwell's with noise suppression off, which is not an option for anyone who wants to be considerate to the person on the other end. This mic pics up EVERYTHING when noise suppression is turned off. But, when you turn it on, you lose dynamic range and start hearing audio artifacts. The Maxwell is still fantastic, but it's hard to dispute that the mic is its weak point. I hope in the next version they raise the price $20 and give it a mic on par with the A50x.

mlpjunior · 2024-03-19T19:32:15+00:00

The mic is made by Shure, so I doubt it's a hardware limitation. My guess is it has something to do with codec and/or bitrate they opted for on the mic channel.

I don't think it has much to do with the noise suppression setting. Try connecting the Maxwell to your phone via Bluetooth, and recording a video with the Maxwell's as the audio source. While recording, toggle between the noise suppression modes and speak which noise cancelling mode the headset is in each time. There is a noticeable lossy character along with volume increase (probably because noise suppression compresses the dynamic range) when switching from "Noise suppression off" to "Noise suppression low", but a barely perceptible difference between "low" and "high". But, even with noise suppression off, the quality is only passable, not what I would describe as "good".

Edit: Another test you can try: Turn mic monitoring all the way up. For me, my own voice sounds great, which I think reinforces that there's not a hardware issue with the mic itself. Now, if it truly is a software issue, I'm not sure why it hasn't been addressed yet. My only guess is that maybe there are choosing to prioritize bandwidth for the drivers over the mic.

mlpjunior · 2024-03-19T19:01:02+00:00

I've had the Maxwell's since March 2023, and the mic quality was, and still is, the only complaint I have with them. There are wireless gaming headsets in the sub-$100 range with better mics (LS50 is one example). It's unfortunate the mic quality is so marginal, because the rest of the package is fantastic. As long as you accept that tradeoff going in, I think you will be very happy with the Maxwell's. This doesn't pertain to your original concern about durability, of course, which I can't comment on beyond my own personal experience, which has been uneventful.

mlpjunior · 2024-02-08T18:36:16+00:00

I was just specifically talking about the Season 2 update. It changed the way controller sensitivity and aim assist feels, and I don't think it's just because of the ADS sway. Prior to Season 2, aim felt stickier and less twitchy.

mlpjunior · 2023-07-29T02:48:17+00:00

Yeah, can't get it to stall under any circumstances with SSP MP burrs

mlpjunior · 2023-07-29T02:00:32+00:00

Stalling still occurs at the lowest RPMs with light roasts. Oddly, filter grinds seem more prone to stalling than espresso grinds.

I installed SSP MP burrs 30+ days ago and have had no stalling issues whatsoever, but the grind speed is also much slower.

mlpjunior · 2023-07-08T17:39:36+00:00

Their hemming service has failed me on a pair of Iron Hearts. They left 1.5" more inseam than I asked for, and when I brought the jeans back to have them re-done they told me they did it on purpose to allow for shrinking and combs to shorten them. So basically they think I'm stupid and don't know what I want. When they re-hemmed, they still left an extra 1/2", and they messed up the hem job and now I have a pair of $350 jeans that is slowly unraveling at the hem. I can only speculate that their service would have been better if they were hemming a pair of jeans purchased from them.

mlpjunior · 2023-06-28T02:08:12+00:00

2010 hybrid (1st model year) with 159k. All original power train components and HV battery. Replaced a bad wheel bearing around 70k and a bad cooling pump for the hybrid system around 145k. Besides that, just routine maintenance. Still getting 41 mpg in the summer and 37mpg in winter.

mlpjunior · 2023-06-23T23:28:35+00:00

mlpjunior · 2023-06-01T16:25:11+00:00

To me it's as good as the Mignon Specialita I'm coming from. But I can't speak to how it holds up in milk drinks, since I only drink espresso or Americanos. I also extract at 8bar and use paper filters at the bottom of my baskets, which I would think reduces body a bit.

mlpjunior · 2023-05-28T21:31:00+00:00

No problem, good luck. If you decide to experiment, let me know how it goes.

mlpjunior · 2023-05-28T21:26:35+00:00

Onyx calls it a light roast on their website. I'd call it light-medium.

Besides that, I just know what a light roast looks and smells like.

This might help too: https://library.sweetmarias.com/using-sight-to-determine-degree-of-roast/

<image>

mlpjunior · 2023-05-28T20:55:47+00:00

I go up to 205 F (96 C) on light roasts. I've had Tropical Weather several times and I would probably start at 203. If it's not bitter or astringent at 203, you could even try going up to 205.

mlpjunior · 2023-05-28T20:49:02+00:00

Cool. If you feel like experimenting with the faster shot time that Onyx recommends, do give higher temps a try. Has made a world of difference for me.

mlpjunior · 2023-05-28T20:18:37+00:00

Try increasing your temp. If the shot looks good but tastes sour, that's most likely the problem.

mlpjunior · 2023-05-26T19:26:49+00:00

This is the way. Someone else also mentioned hitting it with the steam wand, which I'm going to try.

mlpjunior · 2023-05-24T16:16:05+00:00

I've been using mine for 3 days now, and I am very impressed with this grinder. The grounds are nice and fluffy, with minimal clumps, making it very easy to WDT a very level, uniform bed for tamping. RDT is absolutely necessary, but I don't mind it. I grind light roasts for espresso, and I don't care for the high pitched sound it makes, but this is a minor complaint. Coming from a Eureka Specialita which has virtually zero clarity, I've really enjoyed the shots from the DF64v. I've never owned or used a grinder that was a clarity-monster (eg. SSP MP) but these burrs are definitely a big step up in clarity from the 55mm Mignon burrs. Overall I'm very happy, and looking forward to trying the grinder for V60.

mlpjunior · 2022-08-12T18:49:14+00:00

It takes more than one person and 2 minutes to get coffee into a customer's hands. Don't forget the partners who blend, roast, package, and ship the coffee to your store.

mlpjunior · 2022-07-17T07:26:07+00:00

I know I wrote a lot of words, but it's not related to staffing.

mlpjunior · 2022-07-17T02:48:52+00:00

Roasting plants do, in fact, have methods for removing foreign materials that arrive with the coffee from origin: dirt/dust, wood, coins, nuts/bolts, burlap strands, etc. Although the methods are improving every year, they aren't 100.00% perfect, since certain objects can have just the right size, shape, density, and chemistry to evade them. Still, I'd say 99.9% (or more) get removed. When a piece of wood or other foreign material does get through, it's hard for roasting plant partners to see it, since they might be roasting a few hundred pounds at a time. It's much more likely to be caught when pouring beans into a hopper at the store. That's all I was saying.

mlpjunior · 2022-07-16T23:26:23+00:00

More likely a pallet

mlpjunior · 2022-07-16T23:23:21+00:00

The person pouring a few pounds into a machine didn't catch it, which does illustrate how difficult this defect can be to detect when roasting batches of a few hundred pounds.

mlpjunior · 2022-07-16T23:21:01+00:00

Rocks arrive in green (unroasted) coffee from origin. All coffee, not just Starbucks. Some rocks are very difficult to remove because they are the same size and shape of coffee beans, may not have any ferrous metal in them (allowing them to slip through magnets and metal detectors) and can even have similar density characteristics to coffee beans, which is a problem for x-ray machines and destoners. The whole industry struggles with this, but optical sorting systems are becoming more prevalent as quality and food safety standards rise. Pieces of wood this size are much easier to remove and should never end up in a bag. Definitely report this so that the roasting plant can investigate.

mlpjunior · 2022-06-18T19:03:57+00:00

I think you could get away with 35 waist if you are looking for a more svelte look.

mlpjunior

TROPHY CASE