Bargains - not CDs!

[johnb]

If Spotify's volume normalisation isn't disabled the dynamic relationships are well and truly scrambled and the quiet passages sound much, much louder than they should.

[John Wright]

Not sure that this is a 'bargain' but a 78 collector on another forum has just paid over 200 US dollars for this. Although Grieg recorded this in 1903, the double-sided disc is a re-press made I think in the early 1920s. The other side has Joseph Joachim playing Hungarian Dance in D Minor (Brahms)

[Zucchini]

Aldi Corale baked beans - 29p.
Better than Heinz.

Lidl microwaveable Pilau, Basmati, Egg Fried or Long Grain rice - 24p.
Better than Tilda.

[teamsaint]

Lidl microwaveable Pilau, Basmati, Egg Fried or Long Grain rice - 24p.
Better than Tilda.

that tilda stuff is unspeakably horrible.

tastes like chemical with a touch of chemical.

[Cockney Sparrow]

Apparently the market for headphones dwarfs that for other audio equipment. If you feel the need for headphones, it seems that the AKG550 are highly regarded (as are others, I know). Currently on offer at the river people, and Richer Sounds for £109, and have gone for a usual price around £250.
I'm not in a position to describe them, but I have just ordered a pair.......

[Dave2002]

LIDL in some parts have Bluetooth headphones currently for £19.99. I don't know if they are any good, or if they could be coupled with iPads.

They also have 10x50 Bresser binoculars, which some say may be good for astonomy - for £16.99. Apperently there are checks to be done to make sure one gets a good pair.

[teamsaint]

Just bought this.

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/9105858.htm

have tidied away any amount of Quilts, pillows, clothes and general soft stuff.

Take up about a third of the normal space, work really well, loads in the pack.
£15 .

[Dave2002]

Just bought this.

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/9105858.htm

have tidied away any amount of Quilts, pillows, clothes and general soft stuff.

Take up about a third of the normal space, work really well, loads in the pack.
£15 .

Good luck with them - I hope they work for you. We had some - not necessarily those ones - and over time they leaked and the bags gave out, so there wasn't such a great storage benefit after all. Also might depend where you put them.

[Dave2002]

I found this - http://www.vodafone.co.uk/shop/dongl...q/ijfj/dvyn/d2

Vodafone have an R602 MiFi unit which in PAYGO mode costs £22 with 2 Gbytes loaded. If that's real, it seems like a good deal. It costs more on a monthly plan and the total cost over a year - which I'm unlikely to want/need - would be more. Loading it up more doesn't seem too unreasonable either, given the circumstances and constraints.

I'm currently struggling with mobile WiFi - using MiFi devices, and getting **** service from Three. The Vodafone offer could get me out of a jam.

I paid for a 3 Gbyte SIM card from Three for my MiFi unit, supposedly to last up to 3 months, and it didn't even appear to be activated or have any allocation on it at all. After a very lengthy phone call with a support guy a few weekends ago, which probably used up £20 worth of phone time with another provider I got it working, but it's still showing less than 1 Gbyte, and an expiry date of 26th August. There was some confusion, because there may also have been a problem with the Three SIM card in my iPad - which I hadn't expected. That one IS on a contract.

I've been using Three for years with my iPad - and mostly had good service from them - but now rethinking.

I don't know of any other providers right now who do MiFi units at reasonable prices, with reasonable mobile broadband charges. Due to house moves and general relocation, and the inability of network providers to get anything more permanent - e.g. land line + broadband - installed for the next 20 or so days am currently "relying" on mobile communications, and re-discovering that these can be rather problematic.

Sometimes one just has to have to have various dongles etc., and pay up for the mobile services, as a few years ago, when I collected a Three, a Vodafone, and an O2 USB dongle, with appropriate SIM cards. Usually happens when one has to move, or if there's a family emergency, someone in hospital, or very ill etc.

[Dave2002]

Following on the mobile theme from msg 39, I also found this for getting 0800 numbers free (but check the conditions, marked *) on mobilies - http://www.0800buster.co.uk/

[umslopogaas]

On the subject of headphones, I was forced to listen to music on them for twenty years while I lived in a very small flat, so as not to annoy the neighbours. As a result, I now have tinnitus. Be VERY careful with the volume levels.

I have just bought a 10 CD set of the works of Hanns Eisler, for around forty quid. I reckon that is a bargain. It is tough going, but I shall persevere.

[Dave2002]

On the subject of headphones, I was forced(??) to listen to music on them for twenty years while I lived in a very small flat, so as not to annoy the neighbours. As a result, I now have tinnitus. Be VERY careful with the volume levels.

I agree with the warning, but the causal relationship may be questionable. High volume levels are a real no-no, though.

I use headphones sometimes, and I wonder if simply wearing them, even without having them turned on, causes problems. Like Tony Hancock in the Radio Ham - they warm your ears up!

[umslopogaas]

Dave2002, agreed, I cant prove it was the cause, but I'm highly suspicious. Isnt it the case that a lot of rock musicians suffer from tinnitus, thought to be the result of all those sessions standing in front of deafening loudspeakers? And I think hearing specialists will warn you that if sound is making your ears ring, its not doing you any good.

Another cautionary tale. I once knew a guy who in his earlier years had coached rifle shooting. He hadnt worn ear protection and as a result was very deaf to the middle frequencies. Since these are where most speech occurs, he was permanently straining to hear what people said. You just had to remember to speak a bit louder. Neither he nor his doctors were in any doubt that the sharp noise of a firing rifle had done the damage.

[umslopogaas]

Oh, and yes, I wasnt literally forced to wear headphones, but I knew there would soon be complaints if I started playing Wagner at the right sort of volume!

[teamsaint]

So..... er.....I hope nobody got caught up in the fighting , on the way to nabbing a Black Friday bargain.

http://www.theguardian.com/business/2014/nov/28/black-friday-fever-police-battle-shoppers