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trilobite terror
Oct 20, 2007
BUT MY LIVELIHOOD DEPENDS ON THE FORUMS!

BigFactory posted:

Not for insurance. I had a couple of local artists check it out and the consensus is that it was definitely made by a trained artist but nobody who would have been known. From what I could research the church was built in the 1890s and the parish got a bump of cash in the 20s or 30s, so thats probably when it was installed.

If I were you I’d def reach out to the art history dept of my local university, there’s probably a whole history there and personally I’d love to know more about the artist who painted it

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Ghostnuke
Sep 21, 2005

Throw this in a pot, add some broth, a potato? Baby you got a stew going!


goddamn, you score that Mac at a garage sale or something?

BigFactory
Sep 17, 2002

Ghostnuke posted:

goddamn, you score that Mac at a garage sale or something?

Craigslist I think. It was a bunch of years ago but I still got a great deal

Doh004
Apr 22, 2007

Mmmmm Donuts...
Hello I'm back! I had asked earlier about a speaker setup for a finished basement that I'd like to set up an entertainment area for and got some good help. I'll be moving forward with a 5.1.4 setup to leverage in ceiling speakers that are already there and will be getting this AVR: https://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/denavrx3700h/denon-avr-x3700h-9.2-ch-x-105-watts-8k-a/v-receiver-w/heos/1.html

I was wondering if I could ask about speaker recommendations?

- The area where I'll have the TV and couches is a 8' w x 12' l x 7.5' h area. It is connected to a larger area too but I'm not too concerned with ensuring the entire basement has rear end-blasting sound.
- We're not huge audiophiles so don't want to go overboard with speakers. We'll be watching movies and playing Xbox and Switch and streaming music from Spotify. Budget wise, I'd hope to have the 5.1 speaker setup come in ~$1000.

My first uneducated pass:

2 x Sony SS-CS3 standing speakers - $456
1 x Sony SSCS8 Center Speaker - $168
1 x BIC American Subwoofer (had good reviews?) - $299 -
I have some unused bookshelf speakers that I can use for my surrounds to start things off

What do we think? Appreciate any and all help.

trilobite terror
Oct 20, 2007
BUT MY LIVELIHOOD DEPENDS ON THE FORUMS!

Doh004 posted:

What do we think? Appreciate any and all help.

I would not pay that much money for any of those speakers

Sniep
Mar 28, 2004

All I needed was that fatty blunt...



King of Breakfast
Agree those are like best buy speakers and not the premium go-in-the-room ones

BigFactory
Sep 17, 2002

Doh004 posted:

What do we think? Appreciate any and all help.

If you’re buying speakers new you should try to listen to them first, but if you’re on a budget I’d say go for used speakers. Used stuff is better anyways, who wants to throw away all that styrofoam

Jeherrin
Jun 7, 2012

Ok Comboomer posted:

If I were you I’d def reach out to the art history dept of my local university, there’s probably a whole history there and personally I’d love to know more about the artist who painted it

Honestly? I'd be surprised. It's early 20thC, a time when jobbing tradesfolk who could run a line in 'acceptable pastiche of Renaissance art for churches' were not uncommon. So common, in fact, that the vast majority of pieces like this were unsigned, in the same way that jobbing graphic designers or people drawing draughts etc don't sign their name. It's not art, it's just the job.

It's very cool to have it in your house, though, because the people doing this work were definitely skilled (pastiche is much, much harder than you might think). The fact it was probably done by a man in overalls call Fred who would never have called himself an artist doesn't make it any less neat.

trilobite terror
Oct 20, 2007
BUT MY LIVELIHOOD DEPENDS ON THE FORUMS!

Jeherrin posted:

Honestly? I'd be surprised. It's early 20thC, a time when jobbing tradesfolk who could run a line in 'acceptable pastiche of Renaissance art for churches' were not uncommon. So common, in fact, that the vast majority of pieces like this were unsigned, in the same way that jobbing graphic designers or people drawing draughts etc don't sign their name. It's not art, it's just the job.

It's very cool to have it in your house, though, because the people doing this work were definitely skilled (pastiche is much, much harder than you might think). The fact it was probably done by a man in overalls call Fred who would never have called himself an artist doesn't make it any less neat.

I’m gonna push back on that slightly, which is why I recommended talking to somebody at the local university.

I don’t disagree that this was probably done by somebody local and unfamous, most likely a tradesperson (commercial artist?), probably a parish member.

That said, this is a really big work, taken from a place of importance within the building.

Chances are that if the artist is identifiable, then they’ve probably got a whole body of work local to the area and time—advertisements, commissions, murals, etc. Not to mention that painting at big scale like that is a specialized trade in and of itself.

If it’s somebody whose work is a known part of the historical/local landscape (ie they painted the notable mural on the bank that was demolished in 1969 but survives in photographs, they painted a portrait of the mayor, etc) then a local art historian would be a person to ask about that

BigFactory
Sep 17, 2002

Jeherrin posted:

Honestly? I'd be surprised. It's early 20thC, a time when jobbing tradesfolk who could run a line in 'acceptable pastiche of Renaissance art for churches' were not uncommon. So common, in fact, that the vast majority of pieces like this were unsigned, in the same way that jobbing graphic designers or people drawing draughts etc don't sign their name. It's not art, it's just the job.

It's very cool to have it in your house, though, because the people doing this work were definitely skilled (pastiche is much, much harder than you might think). The fact it was probably done by a man in overalls call Fred who would never have called himself an artist doesn't make it any less neat.

The first artist I brought it to was something of an expert on art in the area, and had a good understanding of that era. He was a pretty accomplished maritime/naval painter who mostly painted historical ships and did insane research into the paintings, like exactly what flags the ships would be flying at that time of day, what the tides and weather were, etc. He was a terrific artist. But he basically said it was reasonably quality commercial art, not really that dissimilar from portrait photographers or commercial graphic artists today. I like it a lot and will always have it hanging somewhere in my house but it’s not fine art.

I could probably go into diocese records and try to find out more about the artist but that’s another mess because this particular church changed dioceses in the 20th century so who knows what’s where. There was some Franz Meyer stained glass in this church which was documented and carefully salvaged, so when there was known commodity art they recorded it.

Doh004
Apr 22, 2007

Mmmmm Donuts...

Ok Comboomer posted:

I would not pay that much money for any of those speakers

Sniep posted:

Agree those are like best buy speakers and not the premium go-in-the-room ones

Okay, good to know. Is it possible to even get a "go in the room" 3.1 setup for < $1000?

BigFactory posted:

If you’re buying speakers new you should try to listen to them first, but if you’re on a budget I’d say go for used speakers. Used stuff is better anyways, who wants to throw away all that styrofoam

I'm definitely down for used but a little intimidated on where to look. Facebook Marketplace seems like a trap and I went down a hole on some secondhand audiophile selling site that was very expensive. Any others? Ebay? Any specific lines or brands you guys would recommend for my budget?

I think I'd hold off on buying new or more expensive until better sales - say black friday?

KillHour
Oct 28, 2007


Doh004 posted:

Okay, good to know. Is it possible to even get a "go in the room" 3.1 setup for < $1000?

Yes but I would honestly either do 3.0 or 2.1 to start with that budget (depending on whether you value a subwoofer or center channel more) and then fill it in later.

Personally I would do 60-70% of your budget on a pair of tower speakers and the rest on a sub.

KillHour fucked around with this message at 00:22 on Jul 25, 2022

KillHour
Oct 28, 2007


Double post

BigFactory
Sep 17, 2002

Doh004 posted:

I'm definitely down for used but a little intimidated on where to look. Facebook Marketplace seems like a trap and I went down a hole on some secondhand audiophile selling site that was very expensive. Any others? Ebay? Any specific lines or brands you guys would recommend for my budget?

I use Craigslist and shop local estate sales. I probably should use Facebook but I closed my account years ago and don’t want to do that again. But the prices I see there aren’t any worse than Craigslist. Some deals and some outrageous prices. eBay wouldn’t work unless you’re only looking at local sales and even then the prices are too high.

Pitwar
Jul 19, 2008

Who's your mate?!

Brain Issues posted:

Your setup looks nice but man that turntable location is inconvenient enough that I would never, ever want to play records.

Ha, I know what you mean. Unfortunately, as far as having it in the lounge goes that's the only place it fits.

I've made a little stand which holds the lid up when I'm playing records, otherwise I'd have to hold it as it doesn't have enough room to lock into place. Not an ideal solution, but it works for now. One day I'll convince my wife that a separate unit for the turntable is the way to go.

Doh004
Apr 22, 2007

Mmmmm Donuts...

BigFactory posted:

I use Craigslist and shop local estate sales. I probably should use Facebook but I closed my account years ago and don’t want to do that again. But the prices I see there aren’t any worse than Craigslist. Some deals and some outrageous prices. eBay wouldn’t work unless you’re only looking at local sales and even then the prices are too high.

I ventured into Craigslist and found these guys for $300: http://www.audioreview.com/product/speakers/floorstanding-speakers/phase-technology/pc-500s.html

Reviews say they’re great for surround sound setups and less so for stereo setups which works for my situation. Worth going for? I’d then have money for a bass and/or a center around my budget.

BigFactory
Sep 17, 2002

Doh004 posted:

I ventured into Craigslist and found these guys for $300: http://www.audioreview.com/product/speakers/floorstanding-speakers/phase-technology/pc-500s.html

Reviews say they’re great for surround sound setups and less so for stereo setups which works for my situation. Worth going for? I’d then have money for a bass and/or a center around my budget.

I’ve never heard them but those were pretty expensive speakers 20 years ago. I would suggest a try out or some haggling but you might like them.

Just fyi, looks like those speakers have foam surrounds and 20 years isn’t too long to have them start to get trashed. Definitely pop the grills off and check them out or ask for pics

BigFactory fucked around with this message at 16:21 on Jul 25, 2022

CAPTAIN CAPSLOCK
Sep 11, 2001



Doh004 posted:

I ventured into Craigslist and found these guys for $300: http://www.audioreview.com/product/speakers/floorstanding-speakers/phase-technology/pc-500s.html

Reviews say they’re great for surround sound setups and less so for stereo setups which works for my situation. Worth going for? I’d then have money for a bass and/or a center around my budget.

Just get some JBL A170/180/190s. I think they are even on sale at Crutchfield now.

Doh004
Apr 22, 2007

Mmmmm Donuts...

CAPTAIN CAPSLOCK posted:

Just get some JBL A170/180/190s. I think they are even on sale at Crutchfield now.

Appreciate the brand/model suggestions! Those fit in my budget and I've known of JBL for a while now but didn't know how to separate out the "best buy speakers" vs "go in the room" ones.

DoesNotCompute
Apr 10, 2006

Big Wiener.

KillHour posted:

Yes but I would honestly either do 3.0 or 2.1 to start with that budget (depending on whether you value a subwoofer or center channel more) and then fill it in later.

Personally I would do 60-70% of your budget on a pair of tower speakers and the rest on a sub.

I agree with this for the most part but if you're doing a sub I would just get nicer bookshelves with that tower money.

trilobite terror
Oct 20, 2007
BUT MY LIVELIHOOD DEPENDS ON THE FORUMS!

Doh004 posted:

Appreciate the brand/model suggestions! Those fit in my budget and I've known of JBL for a while now but didn't know how to separate out the "best buy speakers" vs "go in the room" ones.

There’s a lot of stuff at or near your budget that’s way better than the junk-tier Sonys you were gonna buy.

It doesn’t actually have to be all estate sale poo poo and it’s really weird that so many people recommended exclusively looking there, especially these days when so many people will price their stuff based on a wish and a 5 minute EBay search and getting a steal of a kit for dirt cheap is increasingly rare.

I would look at KEF’s Q series (you might be best off waiting for Black Friday to get these much cheaper), the aforementioned JBLs, Triangle’s Borea range, Klipsch Reference Premiere series (currently doing a “Christmas in July” sale), ELAC, Q Acoustics, Emotiva (their speakers are ugly but quite decent for the money), SVS (do they still make speakers?), Monitor Audio (maybe a bit of a reach but Crutchfield does discount them during big holiday sales and the fit + finish is premium AF), and Wharfedale

As for less expensive poo poo, I might as well throw in a plug for Jamo. If you need a full 5.0 set of speakers or a 3.0 or whatever and don’t want to spend a bunch of money, and can’t be bothered to do the Estate Sale grind, these will do an admirable job of “Home Theater” for under $400- and often under $300 and even $200 depending on what combo and when you get it and whether you independently upgrade the center or the L/R or whatever (Don’t spend $500 on a 5.0 bookshelf set or pair of floorstanders, they go on sale all the time, pretty much whenever Amazon has a sale).

These will blow those crap Sony speakers out of the water for like a third of the cost and their fit + finish is way nicer and more attractive. I wouldn’t recommend them as a suitable replacement over the more expensive brands mentioned above but if you need something relatively temporary (let’s say 1-4 years while you save up for your dream endgame system or while you live in a rental and save for buying a home or whatever) or you want to outfit a second system/garage system or affordably give some home theater speakers as a gift to maybe a young renter who has an empty apartment or like your elderly parents who are using a mismatched set of speakers that were lovely 25 years ago or don’t have any system to speak of, this is a suitable upgrade for $200-400 all-in.

KillHour
Oct 28, 2007


Couch finally came in


KOTEX GOD OF BLOOD
Jul 7, 2012

This could be the most tasteful thing in the thread

Hippie Hedgehog
Feb 19, 2007

Ever cuddled a hedgehog?

KillHour posted:

Couch finally came in




NGL that looks pretty sweet.

I would have put up the same movie posters, if I had a line on them.

Animale
Sep 30, 2009
Finally posting the updates. By updates, I mean, I have the same gear as before, just in a different place.



More of a wide angle view of the space.

BigFactory
Sep 17, 2002

Animale posted:

Finally posting the updates. By updates, I mean, I have the same gear as before, just in a different place.



More of a wide angle view of the space.


What’s your preamp? Or is that an integrated amp with the tubes?

Animale
Sep 30, 2009

BigFactory posted:

What’s your preamp? Or is that an integrated amp with the tubes?

It's an integrated, it's a Billie Amp from Heaven 11. I did a Kickstarter and got it pretty cheap. https://heaven11audio.com/billie-amp-features/?v=7516fd43adaa Of course now there's a MKII which is more powerful and has a remote but it's also over 2x what I paid for mine.

BigFactory
Sep 17, 2002

Animale posted:

It's an integrated, it's a Billie Amp from Heaven 11. I did a Kickstarter and got it pretty cheap. https://heaven11audio.com/billie-amp-features/?v=7516fd43adaa Of course now there's a MKII which is more powerful and has a remote but it's also over 2x what I paid for mine.

It’s a slick looking unit. I like your space. The artwork isn’t my thing but it’s a cohesive look. Nice work!

Mozi
Apr 4, 2004

Forms change so fast
Time is moving past
Memory is smoke
Gonna get wider when I die
Nap Ghost


And a couple of these behind


In my defense... most of this was either used, B-stock or some sort of deal.

Hippie Hedgehog
Feb 19, 2007

Ever cuddled a hedgehog?

Is thas some kind of messed up 10-string gutar? Zither? Electric lute? ... I'm stumped.

Edit: vvv Thanks!

Hippie Hedgehog fucked around with this message at 22:02 on Aug 24, 2022

trilobite terror
Oct 20, 2007
BUT MY LIVELIHOOD DEPENDS ON THE FORUMS!

Hippie Hedgehog posted:

Is thas some kind of messed up 10-string gutar? Zither? Electric lute? ... I'm stumped.

pedal steel

BigFactory
Sep 17, 2002

Mozi posted:



And a couple of these behind


In my defense... most of this was either used, B-stock or some sort of deal.

Cool jrad poster. The speakers are sick too

Mozi
Apr 4, 2004

Forms change so fast
Time is moving past
Memory is smoke
Gonna get wider when I die
Nap Ghost
Thanks! My previous setup was an old Vizio soundbar so it's safe to say it's an entirely different world. Was just one thing leading to another once I had picked up the fronts but I think it's complete now and with any luck should last for as long as I have ears to listen. And yeah I love that poster too, I was a big Duo fan back in the day and it's signed which is a kick for me.


Indeed - very difficult but beautiful. Only been at it for about a year and it can be so very frustrating but also equally rewarding. A little snippet for the curious.

trilobite terror
Oct 20, 2007
BUT MY LIVELIHOOD DEPENDS ON THE FORUMS!

Mozi posted:

Thanks! My previous setup was an old Vizio soundbar so it's safe to say it's an entirely different world. Was just one thing leading to another once I had picked up the fronts but I think it's complete now and with any luck should last for as long as I have ears to listen. And yeah I love that poster too, I was a big Duo fan back in the day and it's signed which is a kick for me.

Indeed - very difficult but beautiful. Only been at it for about a year and it can be so very frustrating but also equally rewarding. A little snippet for the curious.

I’ve been low-key obsessed with getting into lap/pedal steel ever since I saw a shoegaze/midwest emo/math rock band using one in lieu of a synth for pads

Mozi
Apr 4, 2004

Forms change so fast
Time is moving past
Memory is smoke
Gonna get wider when I die
Nap Ghost
Lap steel is orders of magnitude cheaper, lighter, and simpler but is still a lot of fun to mess around with so I'd definitely recommend trying that and seeing if you like it or not.

DoesNotCompute
Apr 10, 2006

Big Wiener.
Updated the Blu-ray player with a Sony UBP-x800m2, so far very happy with it. Years of streaming had almost convinced me that weird awful banding and clunky dark gradients were unavoidable. Now to just spend a fortune on physical media.

Rest of the setup is a Pioneer Elite SX-s30, PMC db1i speakers, Kanto SX22 stands full of 30lbs of sand, a Rel T zero “subwoofer”, technics SL-1200 mk2 turntable with Hana El cartridge and a Rega Fono MC preamp. TV is an ok Qled Samsung 43” guy (it’s a small room).

BigFactory
Sep 17, 2002

DoesNotCompute posted:

Updated the Blu-ray player with a Sony UBP-x800m2, so far very happy with it. Years of streaming had almost convinced me that weird awful banding and clunky dark gradients were unavoidable. Now to just spend a fortune on physical media.

Rest of the setup is a Pioneer Elite SX-s30, PMC db1i speakers, Kanto SX22 stands full of 30lbs of sand, a Rel T zero “subwoofer”, technics SL-1200 mk2 turntable with Hana El cartridge and a Rega Fono MC preamp. TV is an ok Qled Samsung 43” guy (it’s a small room).



Nice deck

Violator
May 15, 2003


DoesNotCompute posted:

Updated the Blu-ray player with a Sony UBP-x800m2, so far very happy with it. Years of streaming had almost convinced me that weird awful banding and clunky dark gradients were unavoidable. Now to just spend a fortune on physical media.

Very true, every time I watch a Blu-ray I’m shocked at how good the picture is. I’m so used to garbage streaming and rips.

And I hate that I know what you’re watching just from that single abstract frame. :gonk:

DoesNotCompute
Apr 10, 2006

Big Wiener.

Violator posted:

Very true, every time I watch a Blu-ray I’m shocked at how good the picture is. I’m so used to garbage streaming and rips.

And I hate that I know what you’re watching just from that single abstract frame. :gonk:

Welcome, to Jurassic physical media.


The Toyota hilux of turntables.

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DoesNotCompute
Apr 10, 2006

Big Wiener.
The stupid bluray player made me go out and buy a new tv, bestbuy had a sale on the Sony A9S OLED and I have no self control. It's very very much nicer than a 3 year old QLED.

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