Pete's Write

I found some old pics of my first system which I bought way back in 2007. This Monitor Audio Silver based system served well for home theatre and start me on my journey in a dedicated room. That was an old Pioneer 507, with the Marantz SR 12 - which I still keep. Wonderful amp for music. I used it in a really tiny room, barely 3.5 by 3m!

I remember hearing the Gold Series at my friend's home more than 15 years ago, and that first impression set off a journey which involved one set of Bronze, two sets of Silver and one set of Gold series..  The first set, the Bronze BR series is still working, and playing in a friend's home, still giving sterling service. Their main proposition, value for money. Monitor Audio has been producing speakers which are very competitive for their price and their shift to a manufacturing base in China has helped to allow low prices with fine cabinets. The immediate predecessor of the new Bronze series has been around for more than five years, a long time in the speaker world. But despite being long in the tooth, it has been selling well and was very well reviewed. So does the new series compare well? It's the Covid times and many places are under lockdown. But I have managed to get a pair of the Bronze 100 and the Centre for a review. I must add that these are the pre-...

The review of the Music series began with the 1 here: https://peteswrite.blogspot.com/2020/03/dynaudio-music-1-review.html We have transited from large multiple box sound systems to small more compact systems. We also demand cuteness, Wife Acceptance Factor (WAF) and yet want good sound.  Many traditional speaker makers have risen to the challenge, and now offer options exist for all in one sound systems which can playback music from sources like your phones with down quality, but what if you want a system that sounds good, can integrate into an entire sound ecosystem and is also a smart radio.  Dynaudio, a company more renowned for its high end speakers used by many audiophiles has turned its attention to the wireless streaming market and has come out with not just one but four options.  The One and Three are portable whilst the Five and Seven require power to operate. The Seven also features a HDMI port with ARC as well as an optical inp...

A while back, those who experienced hearing loss were those who listened too loudly on their headphones or perhaps went to too many rock concerts, but these days it can also occur elsewhere.  As we go into multi-channel, with some hobbyists having more than a dozen speakers, a couple of subwoofers all blasting away, it's very easy for things to go loud. We want to enjoy our hobby and yet be able to hear our spouses (well maybe...) and our kids' voices, so let's make sure we keep our ears healthy. I am linking to another site, because those guys explain it very well: Hearing Protection and Listening Safety This article about safety is just as pertinent: AV Tip: Safe Listening Levels WATCH YOUR SOUND DOSAGE ____________________________________________________________   I have no financial interest or other interests in any of the items / events I write about.

Latest news Reuters reports about rumors of a new National Car Project by the new PM. Previously touted by the last PM, who was a big proponent of a national car. However that car was basically put together using parts and engines from other companies. The first version, the Proton was reasonably successful, as it was cheap and cheerful, with an engine bought from Mitsubishi, but the quality of assembly and the cost of manufacturing it meant that it was no viable to sustain. Finally Proton was sold to Lotus and has been sold again to Geely from China.  However despite the rather ignominious ending to the last project, it seems that the Prime Ministers of Malaysia just cannot get over the idea of building a national car. We have heard news of yet another car project being bandied in the corridors of power at Putrajaya and the noise level on this has been too much to be hushed.  Given the uncertain economic times, and the massive drops in crude oil prices, the new Prime ...