Pete's Write

Hi Fi Shootout May 2010   The gathering at Francis’ home was more of a chance to catch up with old friends and make new ones, share info and tips and finally listen to speakers which we normally won’t be able to do so in showrooms. Kudos again to Francis, who is the forum’s all round gentleman and friendly bro, for opening up his home to us.   And also to all the bros who brought food, and more importantly their speakers and for wizard for his “human remote” thankless job!   Now a few thoughts on the speakers I heard during the demo:   The thumpers:   PSB – This is a tower of power, and offers a sonic experience not unlike a gale force. Truly this speaker was built for the big moments in music and especially for HT, with a bass that makes you ponder if a subwoofer is still needed.  Much like a V8 muscle car, it does best in showing off the powerful moments, but subtlety and finesse are not its strong point.   Monitor Audio RS 6 – Another tower of power, bu

    There are few people who can be as closely associated with the word “blockbuster” as Jerry Bruckheimer (JB), who has been responsible for producing more summer popcorn hits than almost anyone around. His collaborations with director Michael Bay are the stuff which gets long queues snaking round the block and from Beverly Hills Cop all the way to the Pirates trilogy, Jerry has amassed a wonderful repertoire of summer hits which have enthralled audiences around the world. JB aka "Mr. Blockbuster", has made more than 13 billion in movies and continues to impress with Prince of Persia.   JB has the art of the summer blockbuster down to a pat. POPATSOT will never win any Oscars, and delivers a fun-filled rollercoaster ride which seeks to thrill, humor, and excite young and old all around the world with a simple almost flaky storyline, of a street urchin who is adopted by the king of Persia and is raised as a prince and he sprinkles the obligatory deceit, murder, hot

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B001LMSP2Q/ref=oss_product   After one too many movies with just bass, explosions and lots of killing, a change was needed. Something to show off the finer qualities of the home theatre system, and its musical qualities. I chanced across this disc whilst getting a few more of the usual action fare off Amazon UK. This was a blind buy after reading some reviews.   The Vienna New Year Concert is an annual affair and this comes in the Blu Ray format, and is recorded in lossless DTS-MA 5.1 or stereo LPCM. The 5.1 is more immersive and you won’t find your subwoofer going to sleep either. The sound quality is truly fabulous and you can feel part of the audience, and yet you have no difficulty picking out individual instruments but the soundscape is immersive and smooth.   The picture quality is equally breath-taking, even though it is 1080i “only”. Check out the grain on the instrument stands and the floor boards. The colours are vibrant and yo

Korea has come up with some interesting shows which have been trailer-blazers that have lit up the movie world and have led to sequels, copycats both domestically and remakes by Hollywood. One of their most successful was a show called "My Sassy Girl", a show which appealed to both men and women. It had some romance, albeit in an awkward way where the man was often subject to physical violence by a woman, who was a stranger and somehow love grew out of this. This show was the top grossing movie before the current one came about. For those who know Korean culture, this is quite removed from reality, as men dominate Korean society and you will see women walking a few steps behind or men simply walking to the head of a queue and the women quietly accepting this. My colleague had her butt pinched on a subway train over there too. I guess watching a movie where women wear the pants appeals since it is something the Koreans, and the women in particular can only fantasize ab

3-dimensional (3D) entertainment, either in the form of video or even print has hit Singapore and the rest of the world in a big way this year. You see ads for 3D movies and for new 3DTVs vying for your attention in electronic stores. However before we surrender our hard-earned money and follow the hordes, only to be disappointed with the results back home, we should take a long hard look at the current state of 3D.   Manufacturers, and movie productions thrive on new technology. It helps to sell TVs, movie tickets and software. This generates revenue for the companies since the newer the technology, the more justification for higher profit margins. However there are some issues with this. Firstly, 3D movies do not always look good. Some animations like Avatar with a high quality computer graphics animation unit, have showcased what the best 3D can look like. Others employ some hurried post-production alterations to cash in on this phenomenon, and look similar if not worse than t

Delayed gratification can mean that we take the more scenic route, but it does not mean we lose faith in attaining what we want, instead we take time to experience life, smell the roses, feel the prick of the thorns and finally all the gifts He bestows upon us. If we fuss about hurrying along to the destination, ultimately we sometimes forget its all the same destination, wise or foolish, happy or sad, rich or poor. So why not take time to enjoy the ride?

The trouble with 3D - what you should know before you buy 3D is a new fangled thing which seems to be going almost viral. Each new movie wants to go 3D just to make a few more bucks, and the same goes with almost all the mainstream home theatre companies, both source and display makers as they see it as an easy way to make the extra profit. 3D involves buying new equipment and the makers are salivating at the prospect of owners digging deeper into their pockets to buy into this new technology. Well actually it has been around in some form or other since the 1950s. The concept has not changed that much, with the idea of creating three-dimensional images out of flat video. The technology behind this varies, both active and passive methods exist and you can find out much on the net. But before we all get caught up in the rush to buy the latest and greatest gadgets to feed this frenzy, I found this article by the renowned critic Robert Egbert quite useful and another fro