Lets review external sound card ESI GIGAPORT HD+, which can work with 8 independent channels or with 7.1 channels surround sound and supports sampling rates up to 96 kHz and 24 bits per sample precision. Its frontal panel has : USB port, through which it is powered and communicates with computer; power, USB connection activity and all 8 channels activity indicators; 2 TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) outputs for headphones with gold-plated contacts ( one of them plays mixed sound of all 8 channels, the other one plays only sound of 1st and 2nd channels – it can be used as monitor output ). Its back panel has 8 analogue RCA outputs with gold-plated contacts.
External sound card ESI GIGAPORT HD+ ( rear view )
For sound card drivers are released for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 8.1 and 10 with support of ASIO 2.0, WDM and MME interfaces, in Mac OS X it works without additional drivers and supports Core Audio interfaces; via these interfaces it tightly integrates with modern DAWs : Steinberg Cubase, FL Studio, Cackewalk Sonar, REAPER, Avid Pro Tools, Ableton Live and others. It is supplied with Image-Line Deckadance LE software, used by DJs. Its sizes are 120 ( width ) x 70 ( depth ) x 20 ( height ) mm, its body is made from aluminum. Package contains : ESI GIGAPORT HD+ sound card itself, USB cable, optical disks with drivers and software and user’s guide. This card is designed for playback of many independent sound channels ( for example, on concerts ) and for 7.1 channels surround sound playback; if sound card will be bought for this purpose, then this device will handle these tasks very well; if there is need in more functional studio audio interface, then it is better to buy device with such functionality of Steinberg, Behringer, Focusrite, ESI itself or other manufacturers.
Lets review external sound card Infrasonic Amon, designed for studio work. It supports sampling rates up to 96 kHz and 24 bits per sample precision. Its frontal panel has : TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) microphone input without phantom power +48 V plugging in ability, its amplification level control knob and clip indicator; TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) instrumental Hi-Z input, its amplification control knob and clip indicator; USB connection indicator, TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) output for monitor headphones and volume control of sound card’s outputs. Its back panel has : USB port, through which it communicates with computer and receives power from it; MIDI input and output; and linear RCA inputs and outputs.
External sound card Infrasonic Amon ( rear view )
For it drivers are released for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 and 10 and Mac OS X 10.3 and newer with support of ASIO 2.0, MME, DirectSound and Core Audio interfaces, through which it tightly integrates with modern DAWs : Avid Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase, FL Studio, Cackewalk Sonar, REAPER and others. It performs analogue to digital conversion with : 102 dB signal to noise ration, 102 dB dynamic range and -97 dB THD; digital to analogue conversion : signal/noise 108 dB, 108 dB dynamic range and -97 dB THD; wherein channels isolation is 100 dB. Card’s body is made from aluminum. Package contains : Infrasonic Amon sound card itself, USB cable, optical disks with drivers and software and user’s guide. From one side : this is a good sound card, which can perform its work and has MIDI connectors; from the other : its sampling rate is not the biggest, it has no balanced inputs and outputs and digital inputs and outputs and it does not support phantom power plugging in to microphone input. So, this card can be recommended for purchase only if it costs much less than more functional cards of Steinberg, Behringer, Focusrite, ESI and other manufacturers, if it costs at comparable to them level, then it is better to buy device of one of these manufacturers.
Lets meet in optical part with wide-angle light powered standard photo lens Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f/1.4 for Leica M mounts. Its 40 mm focus is fixed, aperture can be set in f/1.4 – f/16 range ( its light power is very high ) with use of 10 diaphragm blades, field of view is 56 degrees and minimal focusing distance is 0.7 m. 7 lens elements in 6 groups are built into it, there are lens variants with single-coating and multi-coating of optical surfaces; 43 mm optical filters can be attached to it. Its body made from metal, focus and diaphragm are set manually and it has no optical image stabilization. Package contains : Voigtlander Nokton 40mm f/1.4 photo-lens itself, frontal and rear caps, 1-year warranty card and user’s guide. This is a good wide-angle light powered standard photo-lens for Leica M mounts, it is good for portrait and area photos with small magnification.
Lets continue reviews of headphones of KEF and look on new M400 monitor model; manufacturer stays true to itself and from real technical characteristics names only following facts : 40 mm drivers are built into them ( they would have been set larger drivers for Hi-Fi basses reproduction ) and they are moved by neodymium magnets. And keeps silence about their : reproduceable sounds frequencies range, sensitivity, impedance, signal to noise ratio and maximal power input. Also it tells fairy-tales about “unique” “technologies”, that are built into them, which technical sense ( its existence is under big doubt ) is known only to manufacturer itself, and asks 250 USD for this device. This is a classical example of marketing money pumping from customers with use of Placebo effect. So, these headphones are not recommended for purchase and it is better to buy more than 2 times cheaper professional studio monitor headphones, which will surpass this device in all respects, or 5 – 7 times cheaper high-quality consumer monitor headphones of Sony, Philips and other manufacturers with known technical characteristics, which the most likely also surpass ones of this model.
Lets review MIDI keyboard Akai Professional Advance 61, which has full functions spectrum for professional music creation. It has : 61 velocity-sensitive keys with aftertouch; 8 velocity and pressure sensitive drumpads with RGB backlight; color 4.3″ LCD display with specialized buttons for instruments control; 8 large endless-rotation knobs; specialized buttons for control of drumpads sounds banks, transport and octaves; buttons for note-repeat, time-division, arpreggiator and tap-tempo; ruberized pitch and modulation control wheels; inputs for expression pedal and footswitch.
MIDI keyboard Akai Professional Advance 61 ( rear view )
After purchase there is ability to download from manufacturer’s site following sounds packs : AIR Music Tech Vacuum Pro, Loom, Hybrid 3, Xpand!2, Velvet and Transfuser; SONiVOX Eighty Eight Ensemble and TOOLROOM RECORDS Launch Packs. Keyboard is supplied with Virtual Instrument Player, to which VST plugins can be connected and controlled with use of special keyboard buttons. It works in Windows 7, 8 and 10 and Mac OS X 10.8 and newer without additional drivers and integrates with modern DAWs ( FL Studio, Cackewalk Sonar, REAPER, Avid Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase and others ), their instruments and VST plugins. Its sizes are 914 ( width ) x 293 ( depth ) x 88 ( height ) mm and mass is 5.44 kg, there are also 25 and 49 keys modifications of this keyboard. It is good MIDI keyboard, which has all functions and controllers for professional music creation, and it worth its money, especially if it will be bought with discount.
Lets meet with external sound card Terratec Aureon XFIRE 8.0 HD, it is designed for 7.1 channel sound playback and supports 192 kHz sampling rate and 24 bits per sample precision. Its front side has : USB port, through which it communicates with computer and receives power from it, and digital optical TOS link input and output. Its back panel has : gold-plated RCA connectors for front channels and nickel-plated 1/8″ mini-jack connectors for side, rear and subwoofer/center channels. Its side panel has 1/8″ mini-jack connectors for linear input, microphone and headphones. On its top volume control knob is placed.
It plays sound with signal to noise ratio 108 dB and THD ( Total Harmonics Distortion ) -90 dB; and records it with signal/noise ratio -85 dB and THD 106 dB. Card can be used for sound recording, there are even drivers released for it with ASIO 2.0 and Core Audio interfaces support for integration with modern DAWs, but it is not its main use, because its microphone input does not have phantom power +48 V and it has no instrumental Hi-Z inputs; mainly it is designed for multichannel sound playback. It has drivers for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 and 10 and Mac OS X 10.7 and newer; also additional software and plugins can be downloaded for it. Package contains : Terratec Aureon XFIRE 8.0 HD sound card itself, USB cable, 2 optical digital TOS link cables, RCA – 1/8″ mini-jack adapter ( with connector ), the same adapter with socket and user’s guide. All in all, this is a good sound card for multichannel sound playback, if it will be used for this purpose, then there is ability to choose between this device, similar devices and AV receiver; but if it will be used for professional studio work, then it is better to buy according device of Steinberg, Behringer, ESI and other manufacturers.
Yesterday morning was cold, temperature oscillated near -10 degrees on Celsius, I did not wanted to wait till Spring and rode to White Stone now, and then to Berezovaya mountain. Without problems I arrived to Zuzelka village, after previous rendezvous I associated landscapes, that I saw, with satellite map and found junction, on which I followed in wrong direction. This time I chose right way and managed to White Stone, road to it is not hard : there is need to carry bicycle on oneself for 3 – 4 km through snowdrifts and the same distance and the same way back, at its southern part even forest road goes on, on which cars periodically ride even now ( it seems, that it starts in Severskiy or at northern part of Zuzelka ). Rocks of White Stone are relatively big, but they are located not very high ( 200 m above sea level max ) and even not higher than forest around them. On the rocks I made some photos, drank hot tea from thermos and then navigated the same way to Zuzelka. From it I again rode to Azov mountain and after it to Berezovaya mountain.
White Stone rocks
This time way to the mountain was easier in some respect, because all puddles and clay at last have been frozen, I did not drenched my boots and knew where and how to ride. Also, I accounted experience of previous ride and took off frontal wing from bicycle; through this road even now cars periodically ride, probably, foresters and hunters. Day was without a snow and Berezovaya was seen from a distance, while nearing to mountain; in one place on downhill clay road is fully covered with ice and there is need to walk on it cautiously to not to ride down on the tail bone for 100 – 200 m on the ice influxes. Cars ride only on the tracked bulldozer road and to the mountain itself there is need to walk on the snowy forest way for 200 – 300 m, carrying bicycle on oneself. This time there were fresh prints of boots on the snow and my footprints with wheels protectors tracks on the side after previous ride.
View from White Stone
I walked up to the mountain on the same way, at previous trip I noticed that bark of aspens is raged, at that time I did not looked on this for too long, but this time I figured out what is this : this not looks like claws traces, this looks like teeth prints, like somebody gnaw rounded it; it seems that it is so : elks, deers or roes come here and gnaw bark from aspens. They do this not the first time : under fresh marks there is raged wood, that dries for some years. This time I uplifted bicycle higher and locked it to tree, as previous time. Then ascended to rocks, made a couple of photos and moved to highest rock : to look on this view and to record it. I made photos and videos, then drank hot tea and stood there for 20 – 30 minutes : mountains, indeed, change people from inside, when sky is so close and landscapes around are so open, something changes inside and I start to feel happiness and mirth in the life. This is worth it, to overcome all difficulties and ride and walk here. I even do not want to go from here, but freeze, wind and evening hours make a hint, when time comes to descend and go in a returning way home.
White Stone rocks
I managed down from the mountain without any problems, unlocked bicycle from tree, hung and locked my bag to it and went to the road, here now is a small forest trail, so now it is much easier to go down from mountain and up to it, than at previous time. On the snow-drifted road wheels did not stopped and icecrust did not formed on them, so I walked through this area much faster. Before dusk I managed to rolled road and rode on it on the bicycle, walking on foots only through the icy areas; it started to dark only when I arrived to road between Zuzelka and Large Lavrovka. Periodically it is cleaned from snow and it is rolled by cars, but it is not sprinkled by road salt; on it I rode to Polevskoy and then to the home. At winter time, when long-distances are hardly rideable ( with the returning and not freezing something to oneself condition ), to not to bore and to not to sour, as soon as weather is warm enough, I’ll ride mainly to Azov mountain and here to Berezovaya mountain; and at a Spring time, as soon as temperature will go upper than zero and everything will melt, I’ll ride further, higher, stronger and faster! See you on the next bicycles event!
White Stone rocksAspen bark, raged by elks, deers or roesBerezovaya mountain rocksView from Berezovaya mountainView from Berezovaya mountainBerezovaya mountain rocksView from Berezovaya mountainView from Berezovaya mountainView from Berezovaya mountainView from Berezovaya mountainView from Berezovaya mountainBerezovaya mountain rocks
Lets review new in-ear headphones KEF M100. And begin with the fact, that manufacturer among technical details names only facts, that they have 10 mm drivers, that are moved by neodymium magnets, and does not tell information about sounds frequencies range, that they can reproduce, impedance, sensitivity, signal/noise ratio and maximal power input. In the same time manufacturer names lots of “unique” “technologies”, which have little to no technical sense. Price, that manufacturer asks for this device, is 150 USD at the end of Autumn 2015, for 5 – 7 times smaller sum there is ability to buy in-ear headphones with known technical details ( with very good technical details there is need to note, which given model does not have ). So, these headphones KEF M100 and all other devices of this manufacturer are not recommended for purchase, because they are marketing money-pumping from customers for devices, which does not worth them and which has now technical advantages, that are adequate to their price. So, they are not recommended for purchase and it is better to buy in-ear headphones of other manufacturers, which name all technical details of their devices and do not overprice them.
Lets meet today with external professional studio sound card Focusrite Scarlett 2i4; it can work with 96 kHz sampling rate and 24 bits per sample precision; to its microphone inputs Focusrite preamplifiers are connected. Its frontal panel has : 2 combined XLR/TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) inputs, which can work in linear, microphone and instrumental Hi-Z modes, their amplification levels control knobs with backlight, linear/instrumental switches, and PAD switch with backlight; phantom power +48 V switch for these inputs with backlight and MIDI and USB connections indicators; TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) output for monitor headphones, their Direct Monitor function switch, headphones signal sources switch, stereo/mono switch for Direct Monitor and volume control of main sound card outputs. Its back panel has : Kensington Lock slot; USB port, through which it is powered and communicates with computer; MIDI input and output; 4 linear unbalanced RCA outputs; and 2 linear balanced TRS ( 1/4″ jack ) outputs.
For it drivers are released for Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8 and 10 and Mac OS X with ASIO 2.0 and Core Audio interfaces support, through which it tightly integrates with modern DAWs : Avid Pro Tools, Ableton Live, Steinberg Cubase, FL Studio, Cackewalk Sonar, REAPER and others. Noise level of its microphone inputs is -120 dB; linear -90 dB with 100 dB signal/noise ratio; and instrumental -87 dB. Dynamic range of analogue to digital conversions is 105 dB and digital to analogue is 104 dB. Card’s body is made from scarlet anodized aluminum; its sizes are 210 ( width ) x 140 ( depth ) x 48 ( height ) mm, and mass is 890 g. Package contains : Focusrite Scarlett 2i4 sound card itself, USB cable, optical disks with drivers and software ( DAWAbleton Live Lite 8, Focusrite Scarlett plugins package, software Novation Bass Station and Loopmasters sounds samples package ) and user’s guide. It is good professional sound card, it is weaker than Steinberg and Behringer devices in sampling rate respect, but it has balanced outputs and MIDI connectors; so, sound card of this manufacturer and others for purchase should be chosen, based on specific task, for which it is bought, and prices of available devices.
Lets review new monitor headphones KEF M500. Lets start with the fact, that manufacturer tells not much about their technical characteristics : they can reproduce sounds in 20 – 20000 Hz range ( which is not much for asked price ) and they have built-in 40 mm drivers, which are powered by neodymium magnets; and there is no information about their sensitivity, impedance, signal/noise ratio and maximal power input. At the same time there is large amount of loud names of different “technologies”, which mean not much in technical respect, if they mean something at all. Manufacturer asks 300 USD for this device – for more than 3 times lower price professional studio monitor headphones can be bought, which are far superior to these ones in all technical respects, and for even smaller price there is ability to buy headphones with known technical characteristics of Sony, Philips and other manufacturers. So, in respect of these headphones KEF M500 there is ability to say, that they are marketing money-pumping from customers with use of dull loud names of different “technologies”, so, this model is not recommended for purchasing and it is better to buy other headphones with known technical details for 3 times and even more smaller sum.
