Besides Jeep'n, what else do you?

Most of my “active” hobbies are in the past such as owning and operating oval track race car and a drag car...was an avid bowler and used to travel the country to tournaments, used to ride motorcycles.

Now, in my early 50s, and a motorcycle accident and another accident that have hobbled me a good bit, my hobbies now are to putz around with the Jeep and my other vehicles, play video games, and I have a home theater hobby and electronics hobby that sucks my wallet dry. Hopefully 9 more years to retirement then plan to do some traveling within the USA (hate flying) God willing.
 
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TJDon said:
I totally dig those! But DAYUM!!! $$$
After the kid is done and gone, the wife and I have talked a lot about getting similar to your Benz van and hitting the road for a couple years. But I will likely get something that I can tow the Jeep with
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Hey, Don, what kind of cargo rack is that? Is it mounted directly to your top?
 
Jeepers-N-Creepers said:
Hey, Don, what kind of cargo rack is that? Is it mounted directly to your top?
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On the Jeep? Garvin rack. It mounts to the windshield bracket on the front and body mount bolt in the rear. It’s very solid on the Jeep. Doesn’t wiggle around at all. And no wind noise (more than usual) by having it on


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TJDon said:
On the Jeep? Garvin rack. It mounts to the windshield bracket on the front and body mount bolt in the rear. It’s very solid on the Jeep. Doesn’t wiggle around at all. And no wind noise (more than usual) by having it on


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Thanks for the reply. I'll take a close look at Garvin.
 
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Most of my hobbies revolve around the family now, the Jeep is my one big side thing. When I can I also mountain bike, camp (which my oldest, 3, is starting to be able to join for short trips in the next year or two!), and tour breweries (IPA/APA guy).
 
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mde8965 said:
Most of my “active” hobbies are in the past such as owning and operating oval track race car and a drag car...was an avid bowler and used to travel the country to tournaments, used to ride motorcycles.

Now, in my early 50s, and a motorcycle accident and another accident that have hobbled me a good bit, my hobbies now are to putz around with the Jeep and my other vehicles, play video games, and I have a home theater hobby and electronics hobby that sucks my wallet dry. Hopefully 9 more years to retirement then plan to do some traveling within the USA (hate flying) God willing.
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Just started getting more into home theater stuff myself. I've since moved away from MS Windows Media Center- HTPC's, am now using Raspberry Pi's with a DAC for audio (Analog RCA to receiver). Only have one HDMI receiver that can handle ARC, rest are just component. Raspberry's CEC/ARC works via HDMI to TV that handles navigation & audio control. I truthfully can't hear the difference between an HDMI connected sound vs an analog DAC out.

Using a mix of in-wall/ceiling speakers because it's a small house. Relatively inexpensive Polk rc6s for surround front/back, built sealed boxes. LCR using Yamaha NS-IW960. For In-wall sub woofers, (They're only 10") I got creative and built sealed boxes with soundboard inside. Speakers are from OSD (Outdoor Speaker Depot) cheap at $50 compared to $800+ plus others pay. Power them with Monoprice bridgeable 200w class D amp (Also inexpensive) Dumb luck, but holly cow it sounds good.

Also ended up cannibalizing an old Polk isw10 box sub woofer, am using it's amp to power an 8" in-ceiling sub woofer ($40 @ OSD) in master bathroom. Absolutely amazed how well it sounds. Bought an old Yamaha htr 5790 off a guy on Craigslist for $60 that's wired to another Raspberry/DAC for bathroom.
 
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Chris said:
My other expensive hobby is playing music. I started with guitar, but I transitioned to the Banjo (and a bit of Mandolin) due to my love for Bluegrass. It's amazing how much money you can spend on some of those instruments.

Aside from that, I spend a lot of time and money remodeling little things around out house. It takes a long time to get stuff done since I'm busy with our two little daughters, but eventually I'll get it all done!
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On the note of “remodeling “ the joys of homeownership....... this is my fun today. FML! Lol
Leaking pump return pipe
2327f7071d108fef1956e0b065d2d3b6.jpg



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Fly fishing, bird hunting, general outdoor stuff. Got a little old for ground sleeping so bought a little T@B trailer, it has some (very) mild off road capability, good enough for a base camp, and some very good off-grid capability. Other than that, a big-ass old school 2.1 channel hi-fi with Thorens turntable, UREI 809 speakers and a JBL pro sub, Conrad-Johnson PV2 preamp, Mac Mini music server with TEAC DAC, Tascam solid state digital recorder for digitizing needle drops. Yeah, I have an empty wallet.


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Rapidan said:
Fly fishing, bird hunting, general outdoor stuff. Got a little old for ground sleeping so bought a little T@B trailer, it has some (very) mild off road capability, good enough for a base camp, and some very good off-grid capability. Other than that, a big-ass old school 2.1 channel hi-fi with Thorens turntable, UREI 809 speakers and a JBL pro sub, Conrad-Johnson PV2 preamp, Mac Mini music server with TEAC DAC, Tascam solid state digital recorder for digitizing needle drops. Yeah, I have an empty wallet.


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Someday I would like to get a vacuum amp. Just think they look cool and of course they sound good too.
I have a McIntosh mc205 and mx121 pushing sonus faber Olympica III front, center, rears, and two REL subs.

I also like hiking13/14ers as well. Not really sure why because the weather sucks up that high. Never spend more than 20min up that high.

My true passion is making wood fired pizza. We can our own sauce and make the dough. I still need to learn how to make the mozzarella.
 
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Powdermonkey said:
Someday I would like to get a vacuum amp. Just think they look cool and of course they sound good too.
I have a McIntosh mc205 and mx121 pushing sonus faber Olympica III front, center, rears, and two REL subs.

I also like hiking13/14ers as well. Not really sure why because the weather sucks up that high. Never spend more than 20min up that high.

My true passion is making wood fired pizza. We can our own sauce and make the dough. I still need to learn how to make the mozzarella.
Click to expand...
Love a good wood fired pizza, live in Northern California guess it would be cold by the time it got here😀, so take out and delivery not gonna work.
 
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Rapidan said:
Fly fishing, bird hunting, general outdoor stuff. Got a little old for ground sleeping so bought a little T@B trailer, it has some (very) mild off road capability, good enough for a base camp, and some very good off-grid capability. Other than that, a big-ass old school 2.1 channel hi-fi with Thorens turntable, UREI 809 speakers and a JBL pro sub, Conrad-Johnson PV2 preamp, Mac Mini music server with TEAC DAC, Tascam solid state digital recorder for digitizing needle drops. Yeah, I have an empty wallet.


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Nice little trailer, you ever tow it with the TJ? I’m looking for something like the one you have, or something like it one of these days. At first the a-frame trailers were looking good, but after reading the beds will only sleep someone under 6’ (I’m 6’4”) so I really don’t know.
 
KMET said:
Just started getting more into home theater stuff myself. I've since moved away from MS Windows Media Center- HTPC's, am now using Raspberry Pi's with a DAC for audio (Analog RCA to receiver). Only have one HDMI receiver that can handle ARC, rest are just component. Raspberry's CEC/ARC works via HDMI to TV that handles navigation & audio control. I truthfully can't hear the difference between an HDMI connected sound vs an analog DAC out.

Using a mix of in-wall/ceiling speakers because it's a small house. Relatively inexpensive Polk rc6s for surround front/back, built sealed boxes. LCR using Yamaha NS-IW960. For In-wall sub woofers, (They're only 10") I got creative and built sealed boxes with soundboard inside. Speakers are from OSD (Outdoor Speaker Depot) cheap at $50 compared to $800+ plus others pay. Power them with Monoprice bridgeable 200w class D amp (Also inexpensive) Dumb luck, but holly cow it sounds good.

Also ended up cannibalizing an old Polk isw10 box sub woofer, am using it's amp to power an 8" in-ceiling sub woofer ($40 @ OSD) in master bathroom. Absolutely amazed how well it sounds. Bought an old Yamaha htr 5790 off a guy on Craigslist for $60 that's wired to another Raspberry/DAC for bathroom.
Click to expand...

I cannot hear audio differences between HDMI and analog either..excep I somehow expect HDMI to be more harsh...but my ears cant pick that up. Sounds like you did a good job saving space while at the same time coming up with a decent sounding system.

I have gone back and forth over the years with how I play and/or stream my media. I started with ATV's back in the day. Then I tried an Mac-mini with Plex. A couple years ago, I built a really nice windows based home theater and gaming PC , but hated all the fiddling with it, especially when I just wanted to sit down and watch a movie from Plex. Now I use the PC strictly as a gaming and generic use rig. Messed around with NVidia Shield for a while. Not bad, but nothing great either (except for to get content you shouldn't). I have a collection of about 500 movies and 40 TV series all on disc. I have burned all of those to a 32TB Synology NAS which also holds all my music. Since the ATV4K came out I decided to give ATV another shot and have been using it ever since with Infuse to stream/deliver my media over my home network. I use some old school Sonos Connects to stream my music over the network to each room (have 4 of them).

I have two home theater setups in my 1300 sf house. The reason for two is that I could never let go of my old gear when I upgraded. And because I have a very understanding spouse. My main setup (in my office/den) has Ascend Sierra speakers with RAL ribbon tweeters. It is a 5.2.4 setup running Atmos. The subs are two 12" Klipsch units that are good enough considering the room is 12x10.5'. As for receivers and amps, nothing super hi end there. I used to like Onkyo receivers for bang for the buck. But once they stopped using Audyssey I moved to Denon. The setup is beautiful. Super crisp highs with the ribbons without being harsh. Nice mid-base as well. The subs are nice but are not GREAT. I also run some tactile traducers in the loveseat in the room. Provides good immersion. That is where I watch all my movies and do any critical music listening. TV is an LG OLED (65" in this tiny 12x10.5 room!). Oh and since I have not burned any 4K ultra HD disks to the NAS yet, I use an Oppo to play them (can't believe they are no longer making disc players)... 4K HDR is the stuff!

My other setup in the living room has way too big speakers for the room size. Paradigm Studio series 2 speakers (100's and 70's for the mains and surrounds and 30's for the rears) from 2003/2004 era, an Emotiva amp running a 7.2 system. Subs are HUGE 15" Rythmic units. That is the room where visitors would watch movies with us, and it absolutely vibrates your teeth and punches your gut in action shots and explosions. Its a great movie setup, but not too impressed with the Paradigm speakers for music (Irradium tweeter can be harsh) . TV is a Panasonic Plasma (best non 4k TV's ever made with the possible exception of a Kuro).
 
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Rapidan said:
Other than that, a big-ass old school 2.1 channel hi-fi with Thorens turntable, UREI 809 speakers and a JBL pro sub, Conrad-Johnson PV2 preamp, Mac Mini music server with TEAC DAC, Tascam solid state digital recorder for digitizing needle drops. Yeah, I have an empty wallet.


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That is some serious gear there! I bet judging by that equipment and the posters on the wall that you do a good bit of critical listening there. Looks sweet!!!
 
Powdermonkey said:
Someday I would like to get a vacuum amp. Just think they look cool and of course they sound good too.
I have a McIntosh mc205 and mx121 pushing sonus faber Olympica III front, center, rears, and two REL subs.

I also like hiking13/14ers as well. Not really sure why because the weather sucks up that high. Never spend more than 20min up that high.

My true passion is making wood fired pizza. We can our own sauce and make the dough. I still need to learn how to make the mozzarella.
Click to expand...

I've run a number of both tube and SS amps over the years, in a perfect world there shouldn't be a lot of difference, but this system sounds...... lush. I really like it. Loud too! The Mac benches at just under 100 wpc with those NOS GE tubes.

My next door neighbor had an outdoor wood fired oven, it was awesome! Good stuff.

1515art said:
Nice little trailer, you ever tow it with the TJ? I’m looking for something like the one you have, or something like it one of these days. At first the a-frame trailers were looking good, but after reading the beds will only sleep someone under 6’ (I’m 6’4”) so I really don’t know.
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The trailer wet weight is a little over 2K, tongue weight probably around 220 with my dual propane tanks and dual batteries. It has brakes so you'd need a 7 pin setup with a brake controller. I've used the TJ to move it around but not to tow it on the road. Might be fine. But I don't think you'd be happy, the max inside height is 5'9" and the bed, while close to king width when fully opened, is also only about 6'. Your feet would definitely be hanging off. I'm short so I sleep wheel-to-wheel when I'm solo. They have a larger model called the 400 but I'm pretty sure it's just out of TJ towing range.
 
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