I swear, it’s not a blog…

Oct01
2010 Written by Johnnie

To whom it may concern. (Sticky post, always on top, new posts below this one.)

So it seems if you want to say something on the internet you need a blog…

Bash and hype.

With this personal website, (because I swear, It’s not a blog…) I would like to bash things I don’t like and hype things that I think is awesome. I might also publish totally irrelevant stuff, you know, just because nobody can moderate it. My site, my rules and I am tired of forums and community’s. My goal with this website is to try stick to generate posts that are timeless. What I mean with that is even though it by definition is a blog, I want the posts to be useful to read even when they are old and someone stumble onto one. Because of this I will probably not post every day or about things that don’t mean anything tomorrow.

Oh right, you need a portrait photo also. I had and old but awesome picture here but was told I needed to update it!

Posted in Sticky posts

10 key advices to build explosive strength

Feb10
2012 1 Comment Written by Johnnie

With this article I want to share some advices that have helped me to build up strength. This is not intended as a complete guide to success nor is it a how-to guide for beginners. It’s just 10 good advices for you if you are already “on your way there”.

 

• Achievements and the feeling of winning
Set up several realistic short-term goals every week, make it 3-4 different ones that you must complete. Short-term goals are at least as important as long-term ones because you will get the feeling of winning much more frequent. Set up weekly goals such as increasing 2KG shoulder press this week, or this week I will not eat any sugar.  Write them down in a journal or on a blog, make them your personal challenges and check them off with a comment or a gold star or something when you have completed them. Then set new goals next week in the same manner. This way you will constantly keep pushing yourself to reach new levels of strength both physically and mentally. You will be rewarded with the feeling of progress and winning.

• Team up!
Get a gym partner; preferably someone that is stronger than you but it’s not absolutely necessary. Working out with a partner will automatically make you put slightly more effort into your workout and you can spot each other while attempting to increase weights on your exercises.

• Be systematic and efficient
Always plan your workouts ahead. Choose your exercises strategically, write the exercises down on a piece of paper, select the order they will be executed in and visualize them in your head. Do 5-7 exercises every workout and spend no more then 1 hour doing them.

• Mix it up, part one
Shuffle your workouts. Don’t re-use the same old routines to often. Rotate and mix the exercises in your workouts every week and don’t find yourself get stuck in a “comfort zone” where you do the same old workout with the same old weights week in and week out. If you stay in the comfort zone your strength will also stay there.

• Mix it up, part two
Shuffle your sets. Do three weeks of lifting 5×5 (5 sets with 5 reps), then two weeks 4×7 (4 sets with 7 reps) and one week 3×10 (3 sets with 10 reps), rinse and repeat. Lift as heavy weights as possible but make sure to still be able to finish the sets. Every now and then (once a week) try for a weight increase in a few exercises with assistance from your gym partner.

• Kick-start your workout
After you’ve done your normal warm-up on the treadmill, bike or cross trainer, always start your lifting workout with a leg exercise like squat, lunge, leg press, leg extension or similar. Starting your workout with activating the largest muscles in your body will kick-start the production of endorphins, adrenaline and get the blood pumping which will fuel and boost the rest of your workout.

• Explosive high energy output training
Do circular workouts (Superset) to increase heart rate, burn fat and get more work done in shorter time. If your workout for the day contains 6 exercises, then select and group them 3 and 3. Once you have done that you execute them back-to-back without any rest in between. Perform exercise A to B to C and then back to A again and repeat until you completed all the sets in this circle. Then do the same for the next 3 exercises.

• Put your heart into it!
Do short but intense cardio sessions 3 times a week. With short I mean at least 15 minutes but no more then 30 minutes at the time.  My personal favorite is the cross trainer but the treadmill and bike is also good. Start out slow the first 2-3 minutes and then increase intensity and speed 3-4 times spread out during the session. The last increase should reach your maximum intensity, which you should keep on doing the last few minutes of the session. Alternatively do 30-60 seconds intervals where you really push it for 30-60 seconds followed by 30-60 seconds slow pace and then push it again. If your shirt is not soaked with sweat by now you did not do it intense enough! A strong body requires a strong heart.

• Fuel the engine
Eat what you need, no more, no less. Over eating and bulking makes you fat and slow, heavy cutting of calories makes you weak and tired. Finding your base calorie need and consumption is the hard part, consult a real Personal Trainer and have him or her make a plan for you. You don’t need to bulk and over eat to gain muscle mass, and you don’t need to starve yourself to get lean. If you eat enough to fuel your base calorie need, plus what you spend on working out you will gain muscle mass, period. If you are looking to lose some body fat you should rather increase the energy output then heavily cutting your intake, provided that you’re not already over eating and are over weight because of that.

• Recovery
The magic happens when you sleep. It’s when your body is at rest as the recovery and muscle building factory inside you opens up for business for real. Get no less than 8-9 hours of sleep every night and do no more than 3-4 weight lifting workouts per week. Resting days are very important for muscle recovery and repair. It is not at the gym you build the muscles; it’s when you sleep! Without proper rest your muscles will not have time to fully recover and grow and you will not increase in strength.

 

 

Posted in Health & fitness

Apple iTV LED TV gesture control patent document revealed

Feb03
2012 1 Comment Written by Johnnie

I have uploaded a copy of the document containing Apple’s patent application for gesture control. This document more or less confirms the gesture control features that we will see in iTV which I wrote about in this product prediction article. Download the PDF document here US20110261213A1 (PDF)

Posted in Electronics & gear, Media & Internet

Apple iTV, 40 and 50 inch LED TV with gesture control

Feb02
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Johnnie

It’s time for some JohnnieFromTheBlog Apple product predictions. Last time I wrote about iPhone 4s in this prediction article. This time I want to talk about the rumored Apple iTV television set. Now keep in mind, even though I do have some reliable sources here and there, most of this article is pure speculation.

I think we will most likely see two models, either a 40- and a 50-inch or a 42- and a 55-inch. Both models will have the most recent Apple TV media device built in and obviously run iOS. Apps and add-ons will be downloadable from appstore, and some existing iPhone and iPad features such as Siri will be included out of the box. The hardware will be powered by an Apple A6 quad core processor from TSMC, and except for features such as wifi and Bluetooth it will have 64 or 128 GB of flash storage. The internal storage will mostly be used for downloaded apps and such, but also for media caching.

Now as for panel technology, rumors point towards OLED which I don’t think will be the case. Instead I think we will see a 4K QFHD backlit LED panel with the resolution of 3840×2160. This panel will still be extremely thin and lightweight even if it is not as thin as OLED. It will also have a 2-lens 8MP iSight camera integrated which except for FaceTime and such will be used for remote less gesture control making you able to pull down menus, using apps, browse photos and music all with just hand gestures in the air from your couch.

Further I expect nothing less then full integration with MacOS/iTunes, iPhone, iPad and iPod. I am assuming we will be paying a premium price at somewhere around €3000-€6000, but I truly believe it will bring value for the money.

Oh, and the picture above is obviously a concept picture.

UPDATE: I have uploaded a copy of the document containing Apple’s patent application for gesture control. This document more or less confirms the gesture control features that we will see in iTV. Download the PDF document here: US20110261213A1 (PDF)

Posted in Electronics & gear, Media & Internet

Oppo BDP-93 Audiophile grade Blu-ray player

Jan14
2012 Leave a Comment Written by Johnnie

I assume that every multimedia enthusiast out there has taken notice of the acclaimed Oppo Blu-ray players. If you’re here reading this, then you are probably one of them. The current lineup of Oppo players consist of two models, the BDP-93 being the standard player and the BDP-95 which is the fully featured high-end version. I will link you to the Oppo website below so that you can compare them both. The Oppo lineup of Blu-ray players are by many considered to be the best performing players on the market. In fact so good that a few other brands use the whole or parts of Oppo’s players to make their own. I have had the pleasure to recently test the BDP-93 myself and thought I write something about it.

The BDP-93 is a refined and upgraded successor of the popular BDP-83, which was Oppo’s very successful first generation Blu-ray player. A factory-unlocked region free BDP-93 retails at writing moment for around €800 euro, while the flag ship model BDP-95 goes for around €1350.

Already at the first look of the BDP-93 I think it’s a pretty good looking device. It only comes in black, but it’s very stylish with a black brushed aluminum front panel that looks much better in person then it does in pictures. The build quality is nice and the chassis feels sturdy and solid. When I power up the unit it is completely quiet, no noise what so ever! It’s not until now I realize that the BDP-93 is totally free from cooling fans, something I personally appreciate a lot, thumbs up for that. When I go back online to investigate I find out that the flag ship model BDP-95 on the other hand do have a cooling fan onboard, which according to rumors is quite noisy too.

Before I go on I will assume that the Oppo BDP-93 to be used mainly in two different scenarios. One of them will be as a video processor and digital audio transport integrated into a full home theater solution where the BDP-93 is connected via digital link to a home theater receiver/processor. In this scenario the home theater receiver/processor would be decoding the audio for a 5.1 or 7.1 configuration. The other scenario would be using the Oppo BDP-93 as a stand-alone dedicated media player in a stereo hi-fi setup. In this case the Oppo BDP-93 would do all the video and audio processing and downmix the 5.1/7.1 digital audio to a 2.0 analogue audio signal connected straight to a stereo amplifier. The later of these two scenarios is how my setup looks like.

Loading a disc into the player feels like loading a disc into any budget disc player, the mechanics is plastic and so is the tray and it makes some plastic-mechanic noise. However, BDP-93 makes up for that in load time. Even though it doesn’t load the disc and get to the menu nearly as fast as my HTPC does, it is far much faster than any other dedicated Blu-ray player I have tried, very nice indeed. The remote control is also made of plastic with rubber buttons and weights almost nothing. While entering the menus and selecting subtitles, making settings and such I straight away notice that the remote control leaves much to wish for. The good news is that when I used a Logitech Harmony universal remote the BDP-93 itself responded in a rapid manner, so it’s just a cheap remote, nothing serious.

As for movie playback, well, I’m going to make this simple: The Blu-ray image quality is amazing! It by far outperforms my Intel Sandy Bridge based HTPC in color, depths and the clearness of the image. Everything is in perfect balance and razor sharp. This is what they are talking about, no doubt about that! Playing DVD with upscaling is not equally impressive. It looks okay but nothing out of the ordinary. Sadly there’s no DVD upscaling user changeable filters or options what so ever. This doesn’t bother me so much though since it is in fact primarily a Blu-ray player . Besides Blu-ray and DVD the BDP-93 play all sorts of video file formats such as DivX and Matroska MKV and it does it well. I did run into an occasional MKV that I ripped with MakeMKV that did not play on the Oppo BDP-93 even though it worked fine in VLC-player on my HTPC, but I have no idea why. The vast majority of files I played on the BDP-93 worked just fine though. BDP-93 also plays a wide variety of audio formats. It plays normal CD’s, SACD and DVD-audio but also audio file formats such as flac, mp3, wma and many others. I have stumbled into issues with flac support on other devices before where it takes time to buffer or skip tracks and other kinks, but not with BDP-93. It plays flac fine, skips track nice and fast. I played media files from both eSata and USB with success from drives formatted with FAT, FAT32 and NTFS, but other advanced file formats such as EXT, MacOS Journaling, or exFAT did not work. Media streaming over network seems somewhat limited as only DLNA server streaming is supported without any possibility to stream media from SMB or NFS shares. However, DLNA worked perfectly and the BDP-93 automatically detected my DLNA enabled NAS.

I want to talk a bit about sound quality. Ever since Oppo released their first generation of Blu-ray players there has always been a “NuForce special Edition” of their players. With this edition the company NuForce, which are well known in the hi-fi world, has created an upgraded audio module for Oppo’s players. An upgrade that they say substantially increases the audio performance of the player. Also while lurking the web (Google) you will find several different DIY’s and/or companies that make and/or sell modifications and audio upgrades for the Oppo lineup. Why is everyone so eager to modify and upgrade the audio performance in their Oppo’s?

Well, here’s the catch… It’s needed! For being such an awesome Blu-ray player it sure performs poorly when it comes to analogue audio output. Now please remember that I conducted this test using only the stereo analogue output from the BDP-93 directly connected to my stereo amplifier, no other sound processing in between. Obviously most BDP-93 users will connect the player via digital link, may it be optical or HDMI, to their home theater receivers/processors that will be providing a way superior DAC/audio processor to handle the signal, hence they will never have this problem. But the rest of the people who intend to use the BDP-93 as a stand-alone player for their 2.0 stereo and TV may not be satisfied with the sound performance.

While watching a Blu-ray movie I didn’t at all reflect over the sound quality, in fact it was quite all right. It was as I started to play music CD’s and flac files when I first noticed how things didn’t quite sound as they do with my transport and DAC. I am not saying it sounds bad, but it’s not good either. The sound image is missing some detail and feels somewhat flat. There’s a quite noticeable roll off in the bass and nothing really sticks out, it’s just “there” but nothing more. From what I understand the BDP-93 does not have a dedicated stereo DAC but uses the same 5.1/7.1 DAC while decoding CD audio. The big brother BDP-95 does not only have a dedicated stereo DAC but it also has a much more expensive one. Hence I guess the BDP-95 performs better as a CD-player. As a test I wanted to take out the digital signal via optical cable and let my Cambridge Audio DacMagic do the analogue converting. This worked great as long as I played stereo audio or any audio files with 2.0 channels. When I wanted to play a Blu-ray using my external DAC I found out that the Oppo BDP-93 does not support digital 5.1/7.1 to digital 2.0 downmix. Only digital 5.1/7.1 to analogue 2.0 mode is supported. So unless you have an external DAC/audio processor that can downmix 5.1/7.1 you have to settle with Oppo’s internal audio decoding.

However, I realize that the BDP-93 is indeed a Blu-ray player, and with that in mind it’s by far one of the best I have seen so far. If you’re on the market for a hi-fi audio player, this isn’t it, but if you are looking for an awesome Blu-ray multimedia player with lots of bonus features, then look no further.

http://www.oppodigital.com/blu-ray-bdp-93/

http://www.oppodigital.com/blu-ray-bdp-95/

 

Posted in Electronics & gear

Copter, military grade screen protection for iPhone

Aug04
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Johnnie

The selection of protective gear such as display films and covers for your phone is now days almost endless. One of these bit more spectacular products come from a brand called Copter, which make the bold promise of “Life time warranty” on their product. Nice! The product is a protective film which is applied onto your phone to function as a slim and almost invisible coating. Apparently the Copter screen protector material is “military grade” of some kind and originally used for coating helicopter rotor blades with, hence the name. The application kit comes either in a full body or a front only version and includes a spray can of application liquid, squeegee, a small micro fiber cloth, instructions and the actual protective film.

I bought the iPhone4 full body kit which retails for around €25. The front only kit retails for about €12 if you prefer that. Applying the full body kit was pretty easy, at least on the iPhone 4 since it’s basically just 2 completely flat surfaces. The actual mounting process took me about 30 minutes in total for both sides, but then I was very careful and accurate while doing it. After that you have to leave it to dry and harden over night before you can put it in your pocket.

The final result turned out pretty nice even though it’s not completely “invisible”. The fit is perfect and if you took your time during the application process to make sure there are no bubbles or dust underneath the protective film, it will be hard to see that it’s there. The touch and feel of the phone is totally different with the protective coating and I did not like the somewhat rubbery feeling it gets. The touch screen response is not affected in any way and works just as fine as without the Copter film, but sliding your finger across the screen as you often do on an iPhone, generates more friction and also a slight rough feeling. With the full body Copter film on the iPhone it makes the whole phone less slippery and provides a much more secure grip, but also makes the whole phone sensation feel less luxurious.

The protective functionality is great and I was deliberately trying to make scratches on the surface with keys and coins without any damage done what so ever! When I had been using my iPhone with the Copter film for a few weeks, taking the phone out of my pocket surely 20-30 times a day, the protective film slowly started to peel on the corners. When that started to happen it didn’t take long until the corners started to collect pocket lint and peel even more. Up to this point I had been using it for about 3 weeks and I was expecting it to last much longer than that. Over all I think the product is hyped and overpriced. The idea is good but poorly executed.

http://www.copter.cc/

 

 

Posted in Electronics & gear

KEF Q-series speakers

Jul28
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Johnnie

British speaker brand KEF last year launched their new and improved Q-series speaker line. According to KEF themselves the Q-series is built around the experience that KEF learned from building the state of the art Concept Blade speakers. KEF Claims that the Concept Blade speakers are “The leading edge of acoustic technology” which sets the expectations very high for the Q-series. The Q-series includes a total of nine different models: two bookshelf models, three floor standing models, two center channel models, one wall mounted dipole ambience speaker and one subwoofer. I will link to them all separately at the end of this post. As usual, I went to audition them and had the opportunity to listen to the biggest bookshelf model Q300 and the middle model of the floor standers which is the Q700.

The two models I listened to are reasonably priced at €600 for the Q300 bookshelf speaker and €1250 for the floor standing middle model Q700. The biggest floor stander Q900 which I did not audition retails for around €1600 while the smallest bookshelf model Q100 retails for €500. This wide selection of model sizes and prices makes it possible to easier match the size of both your budget and your listening room.

The build quality on the Q-series is good and the cabinets feel very sturdy. KEF has gone back to the conventional straight line box construction on the cabinets rather than the curved back and sides which the iQ-series had. This will most likely make the cabinets easier and cheaper to manufacture, but also obviously increase the enclosure volume which will result in deeper bass.  The wood imitation finish looks kind of cheap and only come in 3 dark and boring colors, Black Oak, Cherry and Walnut which will be hard to match in many modern homes. I’d really love to see them in colors such as Light Oak, Light Mahogany or White lacquer.

I started out with listening to the Q300 bookshelf model which has the 6.5-inch Uni-Q driver array equipped with the 1-inch aluminum dome tweeter in the center of the driver. The Q300 soundstage is wide and detailed with everything in perfect position. The midrange and treble is perfectly balanced to each other and play with a stunning resolution. The low frequency response is amazing with powerful and tight bass that is almost physical without breaking up or sounding strained. The Q300 sound and act like they were much bigger than they really are. I see no problem what so ever for the Q300 to fill out even pretty large listening rooms.

Switching to the floor standing Q700, which is equipped with the exact same 6.5-inch Uni-Q array driver as the Q300. Additionally the Q700 has a 6.5-inch bas driver mounted in between two identical looking 6.5-inch passive radiators. The Q700 cabinet is a sealed enclosure which is divided into two chambers inside and each chamber is vented with a passive radiator instead of a bass reflex port. One of the passive radiators is used for the chamber with the Uni-Q driver and the other is used for the chamber with the bass driver. The Q700 sound much like the Q300 mostly because they use the exact same Uni-Q driver with the same tweeter. The biggest difference however is that the Q700 are much more physical and powerful because of its dedicated bass driver and bigger cabinet. They really impress with their massive yet firm bass which feel like they could tear up the demo room I was in. The midrange is in a way just slightly fuller on the Q700 then the Q300 which may be because of a bigger enclosure for the Uni-Q array.

I really enjoy the KEF Q-series judging from the Q300 and Q700. They’re engaging and alive and I never felt that I would get tired of listening to them. Other than the slightly dull finish I have absolutely nothing negative to say about them. In its price range I think there will be very few alternatives that will measure up to the same performance and sound quality as the KEF Q-series and I really recommend that you audition them if this is the price range that you are looking into. In fact, I might even get the Q300 for myself!

Bookshelf
KEF Q100: http://www.prisjakt.nu/produkt.php?e=721549
KEF Q300: http://www.prisjakt.nu/produkt.php?e=721551

Floor standing
KEF Q500: http://www.prisjakt.nu/produkt.php?e=721553
KEF Q700: http://www.prisjakt.nu/produkt.php?e=721552
KEF Q900: http://www.prisjakt.nu/produkt.php?e=720402

Center channel
KEF Q200c: http://www.prisjakt.nu/produkt.php?e=721550
KEF Q600c: http://www.prisjakt.nu/produkt.php?e=721555

Dipole
KEF Q800ds: http://www.prisjakt.nu/produkt.php?e=726091

Subwoofer
KEF Q400b: http://www.prisjakt.nu/produkt.php?e=721554

Posted in Electronics & gear

Dali Zensor, budget line speakers that delivers

Jul18
2011 2 Comments Written by Johnnie

Dali, also known as Danish Audiophile Loudspeaker Industries recently released a new series of speakers called Zensor. The new Zensor series is supposedly replacing the previous concept-series in the Dali entry level segment. The Zensor lineup includes one bookshelf model called Zensor 1, two floor standing models called Zensor 5 and Zensor 7 and a center channel speaker called Zensor Vokal. Currently there’s no subwoofer released in the Zensor series but my guess is that there will be at least one subwoofer just like there was in the concept-series. As usual, I went to audition them!

Considering the price on the Zensor models I must say that the build quality is absolutely amazing! The drivers have baskets made of stamped steel and sport a quite big ferrite magnet. The picture below shows the tweeter and the 5-inch driver. Even though the cabinet finish is vinyl veneer wood imitation they definitely look and feel much more expensive than they really are. They are available in black ash or walnut finish and the front baffle have high gloss piano lacquer. All models are 2-way constructions and they all share the same 1-inch textile dome tweeter. The bookshelf speaker has a single 5.25-inch bass/mid driver, the two floor standers each have dual 5.25-inch or dual 7-inch bass/mid drivers and the center speaker has dual 5.25-inch bass/mid drivers.

My local Hi-Fi dealer had the Zensor 1 and the Zensor 5 up for demo while the Zensor 7 was not in stock at the moment. I started with the bookshelf model and was quite surprised about how big and self-confident they sound! The bass from Zensor 1 is far from massive but they do pack a lot more punch than I had expected. In a small stereo setup you could very well manage without a subwoofer if you don’t crave the night club bass levels. The treble and highs are somewhat soft and rolled off but other than that the whole sound image and character is open and well balanced. Switching to the floor standing Zensor 5 instead and you right away get the same sound character, only a bit larger soundstage and a lot more power and deep bass. I can only imagine the authority that the Zensor 7 would perform with. Over all I am very impressed with the sound and the performance of the Zensor series. The Zensor’s really deliver good performance and value for the money and I highly recommend you give them an audition if you are looking for a good all-round speaker for decent money!

The retailing prices are as follows:

Zensor 1 (Bookshelf) €200 http://www.prisjakt.nu/produkt.php?p=923605
Zensor 5 (Floor standing) €500 http://www.prisjakt.nu/produkt.php?p=923606
Zensor 7 (Floor standing) €600 http://www.prisjakt.nu/produkt.php?p=927835
Zensor Vokal (Center) €200 http://www.prisjakt.nu/produkt.php?p=923607

Posted in Electronics & gear

B&W PM1 high end mini monitor

Jul15
2011 1 Comment Written by Johnnie

B&W has very recently released a new high end mini monitor called PM1. The PM-series is placed in between the mid class CM-series and the flagship Diamond 800-series and will for now only feature this single mini monitor model. At writing time we don’t know if or when there will be a floor standing PM-model, but with the XT-series discontinued I am guessing there will be.

The B&W PM1 is 2-way mini monitor with a 5-inch Kevlar mid/bass driver and a 1-inch aluminum dome tweeter which is housed in the same top mounted nautilus tube as used in the 800-series. Except for the actual Nautilus tube the tweeter has nothing in common with the expensive Diamond tweeters in the 800-series but resembles more of the tweeter in the middle class CM-series. The 5-inch mid/bass driver is apparently the same as used in the CM1 model*. The cabinet is built around the Matrix bracing system and the front baffle and the top is molded in one piece from some sort of plastic composite. The build quality is amazing but personally I am not very fund of the design on these. The B&W PM1 retails for around €2.000 and Bowers & Wilkins themselves tell us that we should think of PM1 as a smaller version of the discontinued 805S.

I had the opportunity to audition the PM1 in a good listening room together with the massive Denon PMA-2010AE integrated amplifier. The PM1 have a wide and convincing soundstage and handle bass surprisingly well for its size. There’s not much deep bass to talk about, but the low-mid is accurate and powerful. The treble is detailed and the midrange is smooth and open, delivering the music with a very pleasant and somewhat warm character. Bowers & Wilkins compare PM1 with the 805S monitors but personally I think they sound much more like the CM1 model. The PM1 are great speakers, but with the price tag at €2.000 and the fact that they perform and sound only slightly better than the CM1 which retails for €700, I would probably choose the CM1 instead.  But if you really want that last extra little micro step up from the CM1 or really love the design and have no problem with the €2.000, then I definitely recommend the PM1.

* Correction: I have been enlightened with the fact that the 5-inch driver in PM1 is not at all the same driver as used in CM1. The PM1 driver has apparently undergone several improvements during the development of the PM1.

Posted in Electronics & gear

Marshall Major Headphones, what is major about them?

Jul14
2011 Leave a Comment Written by Johnnie

Marshall, known since the 5o’s for their massive and effective guitar amplifiers and speakers used by rock n’ roll bands all over the world. I am very much into rock n’ roll and heavy metal myself, so when Marshall released these headphones it caught my interest right away. Marshall Major, just the name itself made me excited to listen to them!

Marshall Major Headphones are manufactured by the Swedish company Zound Industries. They are currently retailing for around €95 in stores and about €80 plus shipping online. I went to my local hi-fi dealer to check them out and to give them a listening session.  The first visual impression is very pleasing with its matt black finish, soft vinyl cushions, the white Marshall logo and the very handy spiral cable. Very cool looking actually! The build quality is nice, they are somewhat foldable for easy transport and they feel durable. The Marshall Major is a closed on-ear construction and they sit fairly comfortable onto your head and ears.

When I go and listen to headphones I always bring with me the same music source which is my iPod and my iPhone, because this is the way I use headphones. My listening experience with the Marshall Major was not what I had hoped for and I am not impressed with the sound quality. The sound stage is messy and straggly without much of feeling for room and space. They do have a punchy and powerful mid-bass but lack almost everything in the lower bass. They sound very rough and have a huge and noisy midrange while they roll off very quickly in the treble. I skip through song after song but listening to my favorite rock and metal with Marshall Major was partly boring but mostly painful. I said to myself, “What is major about them?”

If Marshall Major Headphones retailed for €12 I might have bought a pair just for their awesome looks as street wear headphones, but at €95 I would really not recommend them! Sure, go and have a listen at them, but if you are willing to spend €80-100 on headphones in the street wear category I strongly recommend you to go look for something else. Even at modestly €45 the AKG-518 DJ headphones outperform the Marshall Major easily. Too bad Marshall, I was expecting much more.

AKG K 518 DJ: http://www.prisjakt.nu/produkt.php?p=156013

Marshall Major: http://www.prisjakt.nu/produkt.php?p=800452

Posted in Electronics & gear

The top worst weight loss mistakes

Jul12
2011 1 Comment Written by Johnnie

None of the following are by any means new or revolutionary information, you’ll find similar all over Internet. First off I want to explain that I am not a nutritionist or certified personal trainer (yet!), but I do have extensive experience in training, nutrition and weight loss and want to share some personal experiences of my own. That is why I wanted to make this list about the worst weight loss mistakes, some advices and hopefully add to someone else’s experience and success. I guess you could write endlessly about it but I will only cover the few things that I think is the most common mistakes. Let’s get to the list.

• Eating too much.
This is a no-brainer and the reason for overweight in the first place. Eating too large meals containing more energy and calories then you can spend, will result in overweight. Except for the size of your meals it is also important to know what foods to eat. This is the key to everything! Energy in, energy out and balance!

• Eating too little.
Yes, it’s true, eating too little for several weeks may cause your metabolism to slow down and go into an energy saving mode. (See also my article about VLCD) This can make your weight loss come to an almost complete stall. It is generally much better and more efficient to increase your energy output rather than lowering your energy input. For example, if you are on a 1500KCAL diet and you do not get as good results as you expected, it will give faster result to powerwalk 20 minutes to spend another 250KCAL rather than lowering your intake to 1250KCAL which is too little. Make sure you consult a nutritionist to make calculations for how much you need to eat and stick to that.

• Not having set any goals.
Without goals set there’s no obvious progress or feeling of winning. It is important to set short and realistic goals to keep aiming for. It’s better to often set many short goals rather than one huge and almost unreachable goal. Having small goals week by week will make you feel the progress success. Make goals like, “This week I am going to powerwalk 3 mornings before breakfast” or “This week I am going to avoid all sugar”. Make up your week by week goals as if they were personal challenges. When you complete them note them down as achievements that you have completed, perhaps on your blog, your diary, or on a white board on your refrigerator.

• Believing that it’s hard.
Being convinced that it is hard or that you are not going to make it will not help. Yes, it is hard work, but it’s not hard. It’s all about well proven and easy nutrition science. Make up your mind, get your plan, set your goal and stick to it! That’s all!

• Making too big changes at once.
This is a very common mistake! Making grand plans to change your entire life, stop eating sugar, stop eating fast food, exercise every day, only eating healthy foods, go on a diet and start biking to work and so on. It’s too much at one time! Losing weight and to keep it off is a lifestyle, it’s something you need to change for the rest of your life and not just temporarily. That is why you need to change a few things at the time and find a lifestyle that you can live with for the rest of your life. If you start changing everything all at once and go out too hard about it then you will most likely exhaust yourself and you will get tired of it and eventually you will give up and let it go, back in old tracks again.

• Expecting quick results or hoping for a quick fix.
There is no such thing as a quick fix, at least not one that lasts. Weight loss takes time and everyone is different. Some may experience faster results than others. Losing weight by just changing your diet is a good but slow method. Expect somewhere around 1-3 pounds a week. If you add medium effort continuous exercise 4-5 days a week for 30-60 minutes, such as biking, powerwalking and aerobics you can expect somewhere around 3-6 pounds a week instead.

• Not sticking to the plan or changing plan too often.
Get help from a professional to form your diet plan and exercise schedule and stick to it! Your body needs time to adjust into your new higher rate of metabolism and the first few weeks may be really slow. You’ll get there soon enough, don’t break the plan and go try the latest week-magazine-hyped weight loss method. It’s a common problem that people try one method for a week and when they haven’t got a fitness model body within that week they’ll drop that, give up or and go try another method. Give it some time, be persistent and always stick to the plan!

Posted in Health & fitness, Lifestyle
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