Vivid Sydney 2014

Sydney held a light show called the Vivid Sydney at major attraction site in the city. I got the change to go there with my wife and a friend to have a look and take some photos.

It wasn't really crowded on the first night (23rd May 2014) and we were lucky to enjoy the show without too much of a hassle.

A trip to the Grand Pacific Drive

A day trip (19-04-2014, with my wife) to the south of Sydney. Start from the Royal National Park travelling down to Kiama. Below is some of the photos took along the way.

It's a good trip and I will do it again if my family or friends come visit me in Sydney. Next time, I will make this a picnic trip because the view is just worth to stay a bit longer with a good sandwich in hand. :D

Philips Golden Ears - How to beat frequency band challenge

You need 2 browser tabs for this challenge. Open 1 tab in training mode and the other in challenge mode.

First, is to identify the whether the modified music is a boost or cut by switching on and off the effect. A certain jumps in volume is a boost and vice versa.

After identifying boost or cut, then simplify the frequency band change into either bass, mid or high change (You will still need some listening skill for this). Example, a difference in bass can be easily spotted either boost or cut. Then I will be looking into the region of 65, 125 and 250.

Then, re-confirm the answer by switching to the other tab in training mode and confirm the sound is identical in the challenge. That's it.

After getting passed that, the rest will be quite easy. Have fun.

PS: I hope Philips won't strip off my title after reading this. :D

Philips Golden Ears Challenge

Bought an expensive headphone / hi-fi system recently? Why not put your listening to a test or have some challenge on your sound listening skill. Take on the Philips Golden Ears Challenge or have some fun with it.

I'm currently at the final stage and stuck at the frequency band part. This challenge requires me to identify the modified sound on which part of the band has changed. There are 18 answers to choose from and it's hard to differentiate between 2 close band (e.g. To choose either 8k or 16k which sound similar).

Seriously, I'm not a sound engineer and identify the frequency band does not really improve my day to day listening because I hate using the equalizer. Rather, having to modify the music listening experience using equalizer in the software/hardware, I am better using a good quality headphone or hi-fi system.

In the end, it's Silver Ears for me. I might come back another day to finish the challenge, but I won't probably spending too much time on it or cheat my way through just for the Golden Ears title.

PS: By the way, my blog wasn't all about headphone/earphone/hi-fi system, so taking the challenge is mainly just for fun. My tools for the challenge are Creative Aurvana Live, Cmoy amp and a laptop.

Update: I just received my Golder Ear title after beating frequency challenge with a "workaround" I have written below.
Philips Golden Ears - How to beat frequency band challenge

Fixing the wrong spot

The bus was late today on my way home. One bus missed the schedule and caused me to wait for another half hour for the next bus. Then the bus came and surprisingly it's brand new.

Anyway, I think the transport company should fix the schedule system rather than putting new buses because I think all the passengers traveling with me in that new bus will agree with me.