Daddyjt

I’ve been watching this series on Amazon Prime while (anxiously) awaiting the next season of Man In the High Castle to arrive. It it took me a couple of episodes to “let go” of my visions of Harrison Ford and Alec Baldwin as Dr Ryan, and embrace John Krasinski in the role. I’ve just started season 2, and as someone who’s read more than a few of Clancy’s books, I can say that THIS is how the stories of Jack Ryan’s adventures should be told on the screen. I’ve always thought that Clancy’s books were just too detailed and in-depth to translate effectively into a 2 hour film. The 8-10 hours afforded by a season format on one of the streaming services (Prime in this case) is the ideal format. The production is well done, with a very good mix of action, drama and character development. It’s gritty when it needs to be, violent when it needs to be, and presents a few ethical dilemmas that are salient and thought provoking. It also steers clear of taking a political stand, which is challenging given the content. The real gem, in my opinion, is the chemistry between Ryan and Grier. Acting is solid throughout, and it’s leaving me wanting more. 2 seasons so far, with more planned. This could be a real “brand builder” for Prime. Highly recommended!

While the intention of this thread is to highlight great, but somewhat unknown movies, I feel compelled to issue a warning about a recent “off the beaten path” film that I saw yesterday. The film is called The Lighthouse, and It is billed as a terrifying psychological thriller starring Willem Dafoe and Robert Pattinson, and is receiving rave reviews from critics and viewers alike (92% on Rotten Tomatoes from critics, 70% from audiences). The film is shot in a narrow 4:3 ratio, and is in black and white. These two factors made me feel cramped and unsettled from the get go - a great way to start a horror/thriller. Unfortunately, that’s about as close as it came. I will say that the film is masterfully shot - the textures and contrast in the black and white presentation are rich and well controlled, and the cinematography is outstanding. Shot selection and framing are superb, and perspective is used fluently to communicate with the viewer. The big miss, and the reason I encourage you to avoid this film, is the story (or lack thereof). This is one of those films that I really think people don’t understand, yet are reluctant to admit they don’t understand, so they go the other way, and rave about it. They extol it’s virtues of “mysticism” and “deeper meaning”, all the while hoping no one calls their bluff. This in turn causes more people to jump on the bandwagon, for fear of being left on the outside, and not “getting it”. Well I most certainly did NOT get it, and I’ll freely admit it. I was so confused, I went on line after, thinking I must have missed something big in the film. Nope. If you read the reviews and comments, it’s clear that no one really “gets it”. I did find a description that sums my own feelings up pretty well:

That’s a tough call. For flat-out stunning sound, the Klipsch with a 500t is pure magic, BUT only with about 5% of my music. The pairing is SO transparent, that poor or even fair recordings are completely underwhelming. However, with superb source material, the duo is dazzling. For the other 95%, either the Legacy’s or the NHTs. The Kappas are awesome, but it takes a pair of 1.0t mkII to stretch their legs.

Left to right: Carver ALIII, NHT 2.5i, Polk LS70, Klipsch RF7, Legacy Focus 20/20, Infinity Kappa 9, and Polk SDA SRS 1.2.

Welcome to the forum, Chris. We have quite a Canadian continent - @Brian_at_HHH , @4RUNNER , @DrummerJuice Just to name a few. For the first time in my life, I too now have two dedicated spaces for gear, one being a HT. I'm pretty sure the laser can be replaced in your DTL - I think Kevin ( @kve777 ) May know the scoop, if I recall correctly. Anyway, kick back and enjoy!

Well here we are, just about one year after construction started, and the basement is starting to come together. When I had the chance to have Tim over last week we needed a space to set some gear up, so we ended up using the future theater room. I have been messing around, throwing systems together in there all week, to the point that my wife actually asked “I thought this was going to be a theater room, not a music room” (God bless her for knowing the difference!). Yes, it will eventually be the theater. In fact, I got the tv on the wall today, and it still works! (It hasn’t been plugged in since the move 3 years ago). I also tried out the B&W bookies I bought for a steal a couple years ago. They sound really nice, but the sub needs a much better fine-tuning. Tonight also marked the debut of the 10 Octave preamp into my system. My mistake was putting a pair of speakers I’ve never really listened to, AND a preamp I’ve never listened to into the system at the same time. I was hearing a lot of things I liked, but I need to use the pre with speakers I know, and vise versa with the B&Ws. (I will be doing a full review on the 10 Octave soon!) I also snapped this while I had all the speakers out. This is all the towers, except the Mirage (in my sons room) and the NHT S4 (in the upstairs family room). I doubt I’ll wrangle all the bookies for a group photo, lol.

Lol - I run Klipsch RF7 in my HT, and they don’t require anywhere NEAR 250w! 100 quality watts, and they’d drive you from the room if you laid into it! That said, more power always = more headroom, and that’s always a good thing...!

Technically yes, it is “cheating”, LOL! By their very nature, Greatest Hits albums are supposed to have nothing but great songs on them. That said, I’ve heard many a “Greatest Hits” album that was anything but... Oh, and that IS a great album, BTW👍

Congrats Charlie! PM me and let me know what color LED you want, and how bright you’d like it to be. We can also discuss any other options you’d like, while it’s still on the bench...;-)

I was literally just listening to this today, thinking the exact same thing.

Of course!

Ok Dick - the Brown Dogs will be here Monday or Tuesday. I’d do the drawing today or tonight, then the winner and I can chat about anything additional they may want to add...:-)

Agreed. +/- 30mv is my “worry point”.

good god😲 711 lb squat is hard to comprehend...