Pete's Write

The appeal of music, played through a stereo setup, with a pair of good speakers, be it floorstanders or bookshelves with a good source and a solid amplifier, is a nice experience that does not get as much exposure these days with the draw of home theatre. It takes some time to wind down, sit down with a good book or drink, turn the lights down a little and play something that will keep you happy for hours. There has always been a stereo amplifier in my setup, and the day it came to replace the Marantz PM 11S3, which I have been keeping for quite a while, I was at a loss, it was almost like losing a family member. It was also the last of the Reference amplifiers with an analogue power source, and one that had the feedback of their guru, Mr Ken Ishiwata. ( https://peteswrite.blogspot.com/2014/04/marantz-pm11s3-review.html ) In my journeys, I have reviewed quite a few amps as replacements, and I had to be particular, as the Dynaudio Confidence Platinum C1 that I use them with do apprecia...

It was 1986 when Top Gun hit the big screens and led to a frenzy of people who joined the US Navy as "aviators", it also sealed megastar status for Tom Cruise. Since then, he has gone from strength to strength, with a Mission Impossible Franchise under his belt. However, he has always been keen to make a sequel to the original movie that really set the world ablaze and helped send him into the stratosphere.  The thing about sequels, is that not every sequels works. Some just cash in on the nostalgia or ride the interest wave and try to milk the good feelings for the original.  However, you also have movies like Aliens, Terminator 2 which have not only done well at the box office, but also improved on the original.  More than 30 years later, you can add Top Gun 2 Maverick to this short list. Yep, it's good.  So the plot isn't going to win any Oscars, the same idea of cocky pilots, some facing inner demons, and some very spirited flying which will definitely inspire a ...

Brad Pitt once acted in a Guy Ritchie movie which had a multi-threaded plot, that all tied up in a climax, and this action comedy effort from the director of John Wick has a very similar feel... Bullet Train isn't an original movie by any stretch of the imagination, and it borrows from many movies about fights, with many people after the same objective, ala Smokin' Aces. In this case, the prize is a briefcase, and it all happens on a bullet train in Japan on it's way to Kyoto. Many people have to slug it out, cheat, kill, maim and plot to get it, with revenge as as well money on their minds as the train hurtles towards it's destination, the movie also climaxes with a reveal as well as the final showdown.  Whilst it's not original, it has a nicely paced plot, with plenty of good action, humor as well as decent surround scene all interspersed, letting you forget yourself for the two hours or slightly more of the movie run.  Even though it's in Atmos, the bass and ...

SVS started out as an online only company more than a decade ago, and has developed a reputation for high value with good subwoofers at a good price. I bought my first SVS, a gigantic behemoth  of a box the PB 13plus, years back, and it took a couple of mates to help me get it into my den and position it well. But before their large power ported subs became their mainstay, SVS as well as Hsu were famous for their cylindrical subs, which had a small footprint and a relatively light weight. These cylindrical subs used the shape to provide great strength whilst keeping the weight down, which was very important for reducing shipping costs. Thankfully, SVS has kept a couple of models in this form factor, and the PC 2000 pro is the lower of the two. The Pro version is very different from the older one, with a new driver, amp plate and the most exciting of all for me, the new app to control the settings from the comfort of your seat. Some important points to know: Soundpath...

How many audio products do you know come from the little island of Singapore? The last I recall were the Roberton Audio speakers, from almost two decades ago. They were pretty good, but were not well known outside of the island. Now we have another company that has begun selling speakers, and whilst they are actually made in Thailand, the company is from Singapore and the product is pretty interesting.  This is their website  https://soundkraftaudio.com/  and the blurb says:  This Soundkraft Enigma is their first project and it comes in single, a stereo pair, passive and active options. There is also a mini version too.  Exquisite Works of Art We are a manufacturer of compact Hifi Bluetooth speaker. Our story begins with a Indiegogo project back in March 2021. All our speakers are designed and built in Singapore. The spherical cabinets are handcarved in Thailand by local artisan, making each one of our products unique piece of art. Their product is called the En...

Shows that involve religion can be very straight jacket affairs or the presence of a church is just a background setting for someone in it, or a tool in the fight of good versus evil. That last one is often used in shows of a supernatural nature but here, the new Netflix series "Midnight Mass" actually depicts a fairly accurate portrayal of the ongoings of a typical Catholic church, set on an island called Crockett Island and what follows after a seemingly new priest comes to the island. Once the new priests comes in, many usual and supernatural things happen, and very soon, the inhabitants realise that there is more than meets the eye. Some horror shows rely on the shock or slash factor, but this miniseries is a much slower burn, with plenty of character development, from the drunk driver prodigal son who returns, the pregnant single mum to the aforementioned priest and many more. These days, there must be an obligatory LBGT angle and there's a doctor who plays a very im...

Prior to this movie, I enjoyed a Netflix production called Sea Power and it described the Battle of the Atlantic, with the wolfpacks fighting against a few destroyers guarding their flock of merchant vessels.  It harkened back to the old days when real wolves hunted sheep in packs and the danger here was equally real. Many lives and ships were lost before the tide turned simply because the Americans were able to produce more ships than the Germans could sink. The setting of this movie is in the early days of the war in 1942, and the U boat menace was at it's peak, with Wolfpacks picking off merchant ships, and the escort ships fighting a desperate battle to get the convoy to safety. It was never about getting everyone across, it was a numbers game. Get as many across, and lose as little ships and escorts as you can. Tom Hanks headlines this Apple production and its a gripping tale of the hunter and the shepherd as they each try to fulfil they roles in this battle of wits ...

Hi folks Covid days mean more days spent in the den, so I did some tweaking and also updated some gear. I finally swopped out the JL Audio Subs, I've owned four of them, but I've decided to return to SVS and updated my system too. Also swopped the rear surrounds for a newer generation of the Silver FX. Living room TV: https://peteswrite.blogspot.com/2021/12/sony-x85j-85-tv-review.html Sony X85J LED TV Denon Heos Bar with subwoofer Denon Heos Bar Review Sony BDP 6500  My Den: Sony ZD9 75" ( Sony TV review) Denon AVC X8500H ( Denon AVC X8500H review ) Dynaudio Confidence 1 Platinum (  Dynaudio C1 Platinum Review  ) Sony UDP 1000 ES ( Sony UBP 1100ES Review  ) Dynaudio Confidence C1 and Centre Platinum front and centre Dynaudio Special 40 side surround Dynaudio Special 40 review Monitor Audio Silver FX (Gen 6) in dipole mode for rear surrounds SVS PC 2000 Pro ( https://peteswrite.blogspot.com/2020/02/jl-audio-e112-review.html ) ArtNovion Corner Bass trap (https://www.ar...

This is one of the largest movies to come out of Netflix, with around 200 million spent making this and it treads a rather familiar path, a sort of Jason Bourne mixed with Craig-esque Bond elements and a healthy dose of XXX action mixed in. So does it work? The spy genre mixed with the hero fighting against the odds is a tried and test plot, and this movie does not do much to advance the genre, however what it does, I feel, it does well. It tries to spice it up with some human elements, it also throws in some quiet humor, with Ryan Gosling playing the strong silent type pretty well, and he does continue the Neil Armstrong act, with few words, but some elements of quips and one liners thrown in for good measure.  Ana De Armas does try to play a counterfoil to him and it is her second espionage outing after the last Bond movie. As with the current trend, she is less femme fatale and more action stronglady trying to match Ryan blow for blow. However she does not stand out much and the...

24 was a very successful TV series, with a tight plot, and an equally tight timeline of essentially 24 hours. You could not believe the number of things that could go wrong and need to be fixed within the same day. It went on to another few seasons, all with the same premise and there have been many that have followed this formula. This new Prime Video series follows in the same vein, albeit with a much longer timeframe. There is still a pressure of time, and some of it is due to (spoiler alert) a growing tumor in the protagonist's head. Chris Pratt must have signed on for a few movies / series for Prime, and he has played a military person for two of them already. So in the first episode Chris plays a Navy Seal commander who loses his team in a mission that went down poorly, but as it develops, there is something far more sinister and he spends the rest of the series hunting down the people who causes all the death. The plot is simple, brutal, but it is punctuated with some f...

The success of Raiders of the Lost Ark has spawn countless imitations, and of the better ones, there was Romancing The Stone, National Treasure and even Tomb Raider. The key ingredients were a good chemistry between the leads, mixed in a lot of good fun and action, humor and a smattering of romance without being too saccharine sweet, then mix it all together for big bucks at the box office. However that's easier said than done and not every treasure hunt action movie rakes in the dollars and positive comments.  So The Lost City walks in the footsteps of hallowed predecessors, treading a nice line between action, comedy and romance. Let's not forget the importance of a good villain, someone you detest enough yet remains charismatic.  Whilst not breaking any new ground, the combination of Channing and Sandra do generate enough laughs and despite Sandra being in her fifties, she does still look very good and does the romantic bits without missing a beat. Her forte is physical com...

I spent a weekend watching the Netflix series entitled: "The Movies That Made Us", which showcased some of the landmark movies and some of them were made almost on a dime... (Now that's a series worth watching) Some movies make it big with very little money but a lot of talent and luck. Others not so much.. So after that series, I saw that a new movie had appeared on Netflix and it was entitled "Interceptor". It even had a few recognisable names from blockbuster hits.  The premise is simple and has been used many times before. A tough hero / heroine fights against the odds to defend against a larger group to prevent worldwide destruction. In this case, Chris Helmsworth's wife plays this lead, and she has to use her wit, her strength and grit to over come another Aussie, Luke Bracey in his attempt to send Russian nukes to blow up America. Sounds like "Die Hard"? Yep, you could call this Die Hard On A Floating Missile Base.. and the premise whilst we...

Some tips about plumbing: - either use brass - more ex throughout - or good PVC plastic - use large bore copper pipes to carry the water in, you won't regret it and you'll enjoy the hotel like experience of good water pressure  - don't use cheap tin plated water closet pipes, which will corrode and leak make sure the pipes are accessible and easy to change too As for the cistern flushing systems use a modular one that's easy to find and change. You'll be shocked about the cost of a replacement module for a fancy brand Likewise for the water heaters, expose them, or make sure the access panel is large enough and there is a light source Its best to get a storage tank heaters and you may wish to have a few around instead of a central one, so if it goes bust you can always use the other toilet / heater Storage tank heaters won't affect your water pressure unlike instant heater, and make sure the power switch is 20A enabled and in a dry area  _________...

Had some down time and I decided to give these a spin, but why do some of the best Atmos movies come with some really awful plots? The mysteries of life... Moonfall This one is another effort from the director of Independence day, and whilst the plot has more craters than the moon, the sound does not disappoint. Bass, surround effects and Atmos sounds fill your soundscape. This should make HT fan happy enough to forget how bad the plot is. The King's Men  This third instalment has a weaker plot than the prior two, and some strange villains, but you won't feel aggrieved after trying out their detailed enveloping Atmos track. Definitely worth a rental, and for the sound, it is good enough to be a demo disc.  Ok, here's another in the long line of big dumb fun: Resident Evil, Welcome To Raccoon City - Somehow the producers couldn't decide if this was a thriller, horror or just a scifi show and decided to blend all three in for the reboot. Throw in protagonists with nostalg...

Each year without fail, even during the current epidemic, manufacturers have to introduce new features to entice us to part with our money for their latest models. However, how do we filter through the information thrown at us in the info brochures and by the sales staff? Firstly ask yourself, what is your viewing diet? GIGO - garbage in, garbage out is the advice, so if your source is more low res, you can't make pearls out of pigs ears.. even the best video chips can't make a DVD look like UHD. Are you mainly watching youtube videos, or subscribe to the basic Netflix tier which does not have 4k streaming for example.  To give another example, if you're merely watching or actually listening to the news, a top tier TV may be a pure waste of time.  Then see what's your viewing distance, and make sure you use the TV to it's best performance. Using a 40 inch TV at 10 feet will not give you the kind of resolution and picture quality you are asking for. Also, using a vie...

A few years ago, everyone was using discs as the source of their movies in their den. But DVDs, Blu Ray and UHD discs are now the preserve of collectors and enthusiasts. Many now rely on a set top media box or just rely on the inbuilt apps in their smart TVs to stream movies. Let's consider some important points: If your viewing diet consist of the mainstream ones like Netflix, Disney+, Prime etc, then see if your smart TV will support them. However some budget TVs use an operating system that is laggy and the system is subject to crashes. Other TVs cannot support the apps you like and all these are easily sorted by adding a streaming device.  Budget For under 100 dollars, you have many choices already, so see what are the important aspects that really matter and are they worth paying for.  Remote: A necessity in my opinion, even if there may be apps for your handphone. Backlighting will be a nice touch, and if the remote uses proper AA or AAA batteries, I find it superio...