Royal Caribbean Cruisers -- How Are Things Where You Are? (was "Routine" ​ 😁 ​day in lockdown... how was yours?)

[Sea Dog]

3 hours ago, h20skibum said:

You can see the relative size of the 5’s, 6’s, and 7’s in the one photo. 

Love this. Here is my speaker setup downstairs in the theater.  Paradigm Studio References that weigh over 90 pounds each and almost 5 feet high. Powered by a bi amped Anthem 300 watt amp. The sub has a 15" in it and has a 200 watt amp. It's 7.1 system and it can really rattle the place but I like lower clean volume levels. The AV receiver is a Yamaha 7.1 with 120 watts per channel. I need to go down there and listen to more music. I have not done that in a while.

[bobmacliberty]

1 hour ago, Ocean Boy said:

I could not resist this one... 

 

 

I read the word bubble at the top and immediately thought "Cat Scratch Fever", until I read the part about your BFF at the bottom.  

[bobmacliberty]

26 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

Love this. Here is my speaker setup downstairs in the theater.  Paradigm Studio References that weigh over 90 pounds each and almost 5 feet high. Powered by a bi amped Anthem 300 watt amp. The sub has a 15" in it and has a 200 watt amp. It's 7.1 system and it can really rattle the place but I like lower clean volume levels. The AV receiver is a Yamaha 7.1 with 120 watts per channel. I need to go down there and listen to more music. I have not done that in a while.

 

I built a home theater in my basement sometime around the year 2000.  I decided to spend some money and buy a system that I would keep "for the rest of my life".  I went with a B&K AV5000 amp and a B&K Reference 10 processor, and 5 B&W CDM SE speakers...2 CDM7 towers in front, 2 CDM1 book shelfs for the rears, a CDMC for the center...and a Velodyne Sub.  The sound was amazing and paired well with my at the time massive 65" Mistubishi rear projection HDTV.  I was in heaven.

 

Fast forward 20 years and things have changed.  Everything's gone digital and we don't have room for AV equipment and large speakers in our open concept floor plan.  My daughter and her fiancé have the two CDM7 tower speakers but the rest was sold for pennies on the dollar to a couple of AV enthusiasts who were very happy to get them, although the guy who bought the other speakers just wanted them for spare parts for his existing B&W speakers.  We now have a 75" TV with a Sonos soundbar and Sonos sub with rear speakers mounted in the ceiling.  They don't sound nearly as good, but they're all but invisible in the room design, which as we all know is more important 🙄.  Oh well, pick and choose your battles.  Happy wife, happy life.

[BonTexasNY]

I am in the midst of reading a "can't put this" book down.  The Housekeeper by Joy Fielding.  Categorized as a thriller.  Housekeeper ingratiates herself into the lives of an elderly couple she is caring for and the adult daughter who hired her starts to see things...amiss.  Getting ready to read more!

Edited January 16, 2023 by BonTexasNY

[mo&fran]

37 minutes ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

I built a home theater in my basement sometime around the year 2000.  I decided to spend some money and buy a system that I would keep "for the rest of my life".  I went with a B&K AV5000 amp and a B&K Reference 10 processor, and 5 B&W CDM SE speakers...2 CDM7 towers in front, 2 CDM1 book shelfs for the rears, a CDMC for the center...and a Velodyne Sub.  The sound was amazing and paired well with my at the time massive 65" Mistubishi rear projection HDTV.  I was in heaven.

 

Fast forward 20 years and things have changed.  Everything's gone digital and we don't have room for AV equipment and large speakers in our open concept floor plan.  My daughter and her fiancé have the two CDM7 tower speakers but the rest was sold for pennies on the dollar to a couple of AV enthusiasts who were very happy to get them, although the guy who bought the other speakers just wanted them for spare parts for his existing B&W speakers.  We now have a 75" TV with a Sonos soundbar and Sonos sub with rear speakers mounted in the ceiling.  They don't sound nearly as good, but they're all but invisible in the room design, which as we all know is more important 🙄.  Oh well, pick and choose your battles.  Happy wife, happy life.

My DW was not happy when I had a surround sound setup,  trying to run wires everywhere, all in plain sight.  Now we have large sony 4k tv. don't remember exact size any more, but with the Sony sound bar and subwoofer. Problem is , I don't watch that TV, and she doesn't care as long as she can hear.  An option was bluetooth rear speakers.

Edited January 16, 2023 by mo&fran

[Sea Dog]

53 minutes ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

I built a home theater in my basement sometime around the year 2000.  I decided to spend some money and buy a system that I would keep "for the rest of my life".  I went with a B&K AV5000 amp and a B&K Reference 10 processor, and 5 B&W CDM SE speakers...2 CDM7 towers in front, 2 CDM1 book shelfs for the rears, a CDMC for the center...and a Velodyne Sub.  The sound was amazing and paired well with my at the time massive 65" Mistubishi rear projection HDTV.  I was in heaven.

 

Fast forward 20 years and things have changed.  Everything's gone digital and we don't have room for AV equipment and large speakers in our open concept floor plan.  My daughter and her fiancé have the two CDM7 tower speakers but the rest was sold for pennies on the dollar to a couple of AV enthusiasts who were very happy to get them, although the guy who bought the other speakers just wanted them for spare parts for his existing B&W speakers.  We now have a 75" TV with a Sonos soundbar and Sonos sub with rear speakers mounted in the ceiling.  They don't sound nearly as good, but they're all but invisible in the room design, which as we all know is more important 🙄.  Oh well, pick and choose your battles.  Happy wife, happy life.

Yeah I get it. When I told Linda how all my speakers were going to cost she about had a heart attack. I told her “some guys buy bass boats, some golf club memberships, won’t it be nice to always know where I am?”

 

I love B&K and also Bowers Wilkerson they are incredible!

[OnTheJourney]

5 hours ago, h20skibum said:

You can see the relative size of the 5’s, 6’s, and 7’s in the one photo.

Yeah, I recognize some of those brochures, since they're so similar for different models. My BIC brochure does not include any mention of the Formula 7s, so I'm wondering if those were introduced after '76? Once I had my 6s and the rest of the components, I really didn't keep up with what else came along after, and never upgraded any of the components other than to add the cassette deck and various combo VHS/DVD players over the years. 

 

1 hour ago, Sea Dog said:

It's 7.1 system

meaning...what exactly?  Sounds like a pretty impressive setup for sure!  I never went further than having what I bought back in '76. No home theatre, and no TV bigger than 28", no extra speakers / subwoofers, etc. At heart I'm more of a musician than an audiophile I suppose. The Kenwood has, for years, a buzzing sound when you turn it on until I jigger some of the potentiometer controls, and the turntable's speed is sometimes erratic so I've already had that apart and sprayed de-oxit on the pots. Hanging on to this old stuff, just like my '95 and '97 cars...long story on those. Have never owned a car manufactured in the 21st century, though getting closer to that point. 

 

5 hours ago, h20skibum said:

Of course, organized pack rat that I am

Hey, if you're going to be a pack rat, at least being an organized one is the way to go. 😉  It's those disorganized ones that present some problems. 

Edited January 16, 2023 by OnTheJourney

[OnTheJourney]

1 minute ago, Sea Dog said:

some guys buy bass boats, some golf club memberships,

Yep...whatever "floats your boat", as the saying goes. Still have my vintage guitars too...just too sentimental to pass them along, although I'm seriously considering listing my 70s Epiphone 6-string acoustic on my eBay site. I think that, at least for many of us, we got caught up in our parents' depression-era mentality, being only one generation removed from it. My Dad was of the 'never get rid of most anything cause you never know when you might need it'. True enough, sometimes, but othertimes can be a curse. What we own can start to own us. 

[George C]

59 minutes ago, bobmacliberty said:

 

I built a home theater in my basement sometime around the year 2000.  I decided to spend some money and buy a system that I would keep "for the rest of my life".  I went with a B&K AV5000 amp and a B&K Reference 10 processor, and 5 B&W CDM SE speakers...2 CDM7 towers in front, 2 CDM1 book shelfs for the rears, a CDMC for the center...and a Velodyne Sub.  The sound was amazing and paired well with my at the time massive 65" Mistubishi rear projection HDTV.  I was in heaven.

 

Fast forward 20 years and things have changed.  Everything's gone digital and we don't have room for AV equipment and large speakers in our open concept floor plan.  My daughter and her fiancé have the two CDM7 tower speakers but the rest was sold for pennies on the dollar to a couple of AV enthusiasts who were very happy to get them, although the guy who bought the other speakers just wanted them for spare parts for his existing B&W speakers.  We now have a 75" TV with a Sonos soundbar and Sonos sub with rear speakers mounted in the ceiling.  They don't sound nearly as good, but they're all but invisible in the room design, which as we all know is more important 🙄.  Oh well, pick and choose your battles.  Happy wife, happy life.

My brother in law did something similar he bought a brand new 2 bedroom condo in heart of Boston about the same time bought a state of the art tv etc , he is now selling the condo he told me that was the worse investment he ever made , he ran a couple of mutual funds for a living . 

[OnTheJourney]

9 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

I went with a B&K AV5000 amp and a B&K Reference 10 processor, and 5 B&W CDM SE speakers...2 CDM7 towers in front, 2 CDM1 book shelfs for the rears, a CDMC for the center...and a Velodyne Sub.  The sound was amazing and paired well with my at the time massive 65" Mistubishi rear projection HDTV.  I was in heaven.

You totally lost me! Not familiar with a single name that you mention with the exception of Mitsubishi, which I only identify with the automobile brand! 

Edited January 16, 2023 by OnTheJourney

[OnTheJourney]

7 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

the rest was sold for pennies on the dollar

Yeah, just depends what it is. If you find the right buyer for just about anything, they're willing to pay. Other times, with a few of my eBay sales, you almost pay someone to take it off your hands depending on where it's being shipped! DW is always talking about cleaning out / even looking to downsize at some point. I totally get it, and we have unloaded some of the stuff unlikely to use anymore, but lots more could go. 

Edited January 16, 2023 by OnTheJourney

[OnTheJourney]

35 minutes ago, mo&fran said:

trying to run wires everywhere,

LOL...in our living room there are holes at various places (concealed under furniture) where, at one time or another, I drilled through and ran wires down through the floor, across the basement drop ceiling, and back up to speakers that were in different locations over the years. They're no longer at any of the locations I once used, so now I look back on having gone through the trouble. Oh well, it served its purpose at the time. 

 

Too preoccupied with retro I suppose. Up until about 2 years ago, our living room tv was still a big Panasonic CRT. Those old tvs are so heavy. It went to our local electronics recycling center. Replaced it with a 28" LG. Love it. Can't go any bigger since it won't fit in the entertainment cabinet. Big wall (or floor) tv would surely be nice I suppose, but just not really into it all that much and no idea where I'd go with it.  Most of the time when the tv is on we're both reading and 'sort of' watching it, unless we put in a movie that we really want to watch with fairly undivided attention. 

Edited January 16, 2023 by OnTheJourney

[HBE4]

Combining 2 popular topics, cats & out-dated A/V equipment, here is Leonard playing with a ribbon. And for those eagle-eyed viewers, that is an actual future collectible,  a DVD/VCR combo player in the background. 

 

FWIW, there is no battery in the remote & it is not hooked up to the TV. it's basically a shiny dust collector. 😃

 

[George C]

I’m getting ready to throw out my dvd/vhs player and my remaining vhs tapes  , I think I still have one beta tape someplace 😁😁😁, I also threw out my Kenwood receiver decades ago.  Still have hundreds of albums and maybe a hundred 45s .

[Ozark_Kid]

We have been loading our pics from our phones to our NAS to make room on our phones before we cruise this weekend.  So glad I set it up RAID 1.  It has two 3 tb drives.  When we save a pic on the nas the pic is copied on both drives. Last night the nas started beeping and flashing while Sharon was loading pics.  I of the drives failed!  I will need to replace the drive when I get home.  Since I have never had to replace a drive on it yet,  I hope it is easy.  

I did not realize the nas is 10 years old already. 

[Ozark_Kid]

3 hours ago, DaniDanielle said:

I had an expensive lunch today.  An egg sandwich!  🥚 

[Sea Dog]

1 hour ago, OnTheJourney said:

 

 

meaning...what exactly?  Sounds like a pretty impressive setup for sure!  

7.1 is 7 separate channels plus subwoofer. Surround sound movies are encoded with 7 channels.

[Luckynana]

8 hours ago, Arzeena said:

Thanks Debbie.

Hope things are great with you and all yours. Finally re packed and ready to drive to FL this afternoon.

Safe travels, Arzeena!

[Sunshine3601]

9 hours ago, Arzeena said:

Thanks Debbie.

Hope things are great with you and all yours. Finally re packed and ready to drive to FL this afternoon.

Safe Travels....Have a great time🥰

[bobmacliberty]

27 minutes ago, Sea Dog said:

7.1 is 7 separate channels plus subwoofer. Surround sound movies are encoded with 7 channels.

 

Adding to what Greg said...a typical home theater setup is 5.1, meaning 5 channels of sound plus a subwoofer for the low frequency sound (the subwoofer is the .1).  The 5 channels are front left and right, rear left and right, and front center.  This lets you hear sound coming from all directions.  When you step up to 7.1, you add two more channels of sound which are typically middle left and right.  That makes sound even more immersive.  

 

 

The latest technology is called Dolby Atmos, which adds the concept of height to sound.  You either add more speakers in the ceiling pointed down, or add speakers that are up firing (aimed toward the ceiling) so that sound bounces back down from the ceiling.  The latest Atmos enabled soundbars have up firing speakers in addition to speakers in the left, middle, and right.  Either way, it enables some sound to appear to be above you, like a helicopter flying over your head or a bird chirping in a tree. 

[bobmacliberty]

53 minutes ago, Ozark_Kid said:

We have been loading our pics from our phones to our NAS to make room on our phones before we cruise this weekend.  So glad I set it up RAID 1.  It has two 3 tb drives.  When we save a pic on the nas the pic is copied on both drives. Last night the nas started beeping and flashing while Sharon was loading pics.  I of the drives failed!  I will need to replace the drive when I get home.  Since I have never had to replace a drive on it yet,  I hope it is easy.  

I did not realize the nas is 10 years old already. 

 

That's the beauty of RAID 1...should be easy to pop in a new drive and everything should be automatically mirrored after a while.  You probably already know this if you have a RAID 1 NAS, but don't bother making the new drive bigger or faster...the NAS performance will be limited to the smallest and slowest drive (at least for writes).

[Sunshine3601]

58 minutes ago, Ozark_Kid said:

I had an expensive lunch today.  An egg sandwich!  🥚 

Last week I made egg salad for lunch and when asked what I brought in for lunch by a fellow co-worker I told her the new type of caviar🤣    or at least costs as much

[Sunshine3601]

Question for anyone that has used the full face snorkel masks.    

 

When you go fully underwater, how long do you stay underwater?

[bobmacliberty]

Sorry if I'm getting too geeky, but I had to share this demo video of Dolby Atmos.  It works best if you're wearing headphones or earbuds but also works well on a mobile phone with stereo speakers on either end (which most recent models have).  For best results, hold the phone in landscape mode and cup your hands so that the sound is reflected back towards you, like this.  Don't block the ends of the phone with your palm or you'll block the speakers.

 

This technique also works well to boost the volume of sound from your phone if you're in a noisy area since more sound is directed to you rather than spreading in all directions.  Here's the Dolby Atmos demo video.  Enjoy.

 

 

[Luckynana]

We took a ride down to Bonita Beach Rd which brought us through Bonita Beach to Ft. Myers Beach.  So much devastation from Hurricane Ian this past September.  It is so sad to see what is no longer there..remnants of homes and hotels, debris piled so high.  Just horrific.  It reminded me of Superstorm Sandy which hit us in NY and NJ back in 2012. 

Just watching the heavy rain and flooding in California...not to mention the roads and highways breaking apart.  I feel for you, our many CC friends, @sea2shiningsea, @Coralc, @Tree_skier, @NHProud@Taznremmy and anyone I may have missed.🙏🙏🙏