Audio = Ground Zero: JBL Bar 9.1 True Wireless

There is no shortage of advancements in the realm of TV related picture technologies, however, while the fact that most screens are wafer thin in size is perceived to be a major selling point, it also means that there is hardly any place for a proper speaker inside. 
This is where a good sound system comes in handy to make your TV sound awesome, particularly with respect to dialogue.

Having tried and tested quite a few sound bars over the years with a myriad of configurations and options, there are certain features that I pay attention to when it comes to choosing a new one, e.g. it should 

• have at least three channels to simulate sound for an immersive experience; 
• come with built-in amplifiers; it should ideally fit centred beneath or above the TV and 
• come Wi-Fi and/or Bluetooth-enabled , so music can be easily streamed.

Now, while rectangular-shaped sound bars can be slim, low-profile and affordable space-savers that will certainly do better than your TV speakers, a real home theatre can pay dividends when it comes improving not merely sounds your TV emits but enhance the overall experience significantly, as a good sound system can essentially be the audio equivalent of what glasses do for your vision, i.e. making nuances distinct and crystal clear. 

All the better when the sound system comes with Dolby Atmos, i.e. the ability for speakers to fire sound upwards, so that its reflection, ideally from flat ceilings, creates a heightened, three-dimensional soundstage. 

Enter JBL’s 9.1., which is a borderline perfect hybrid marrying the best a soundbar and a home cinema system can offer.

While a lot of systems advertise “wireless” subwoofers and surrounds yet still necessitate a cord, the JBL 9.1. is an actual (not virtual) Dolby Atmos soundbar with truly wireless, battery powered surround speakers.  
Its Atmos/DTS:X - Dolby Atmos features  enable the delivery of a true 3D effect and the fact that it comes with up-firing speakers on both the main bar as well as its satellites, it creates sounds that feel like they are exactly where they should be as they pervade your inner core. 

Upon unpacking the JBL 9.1, one feels that all components are not merely well made but that quality materials have been used throughout, resulting in a weighty, quality feel, which is further supported by rubber pads under all three constituents, keeping them from vibrating off your table along with grates being thoughtfully made of metal, which aids immensely when it comes to cleaning them.

A scrolling readout on the front of the bar is sufficiently big in size to ensure that any input change, change of audio coding or setting can be easily read from a distance as it is reflected on the readout, with the lights eventually going off so that they are not being a distraction.

The JBL 9.1’s has a veritable sized ten inch sub-woofer, and upon syncing, things are so well calibrated and nuanced that it proves to be difficult to determine which part of the system is emitting them. 

The satellite speakers are being charged when attached to the main bar and can be popped free off their magnetic bonds and deployed when needed, which effectively makes them rear speakers with a battery life of ten hours and the additional the option to  plug them into a power source should the need arise.  

The Room Correction feature works like a charm, with the calibration accommodating the context and layout of your room, offering a degree of flexibility that does not necessitate to rearrange furniture.

Coming equipped with add ons like Bluetooth, WIFI, Chromecast and Apple Airplay 2 support built in, music can be streamed from any device.

Courtesy of the detachable surrounds, a punchy subwoofer and dedicated upward firing drivers, the JBL’s 9.1 Bar is a reasonably priced easy to set up system that creates a room filling true 5.1.4 wall of sound backed by an incredible subwoofer that blissfully envelopes you, with the Atmos feature giving a sense of height and depth that other soundbars struggle with.

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image from company website

A Journey Most Unusual
Hotel Palisade
Sydney, Australia
27 August 2022

The creation of immersive experiences and finding ways to augment everyday life by blurring the lines between reality and imaginary worlds that the recipient can interact with has become commonplace.

Stimulating as many senses as possible has become de rigour to ensure the audience feels like they really are in that environment and one of entities that has mastered the craft to create unique live performances that matter and capture the imagination is the trailblazing collective known as Broad Encounters.

As example par excellence for how well Broad Encounters channels its alchemy and curates remarkable experiences was its multisensory ode to the world and legacy of Edgar Allan Poe, which allowed guests to meander around over thirty mood-specific rooms to interact with characters and detailed sets, making the audience an integral ingredient that determines unique outcomes.

Needless to say, given how taken we were by Broad Encounters first large-scale work A Midnight Visit, we were intrigued when we learned about the collaboration between Broad Encounters Productions and Hendricks Gin that was meant to take over the uniquely positioned Hotel Palisade.

The experience aptly called A Journey Most Unusual amounts to a cohesive well-choreographed whole that is much more than the sum of the individual components would suggest: One leaves the confines of the mundane day-to-day behind as the threshold into a 
a night out of frivolity and oddity is crossed only to step into a parallel universe that is accentuated by textures, smells and delectable tastes of Hendrick’s Gin to create a cosmos of its own. 

Along the way the willing adventurer visits an array of engaging, mysterious multi-faceted characters like Mr Foggerty, a seductive siren, a fragrance alchemist and many more, which inhabit their specifically designed idiosyncratic worlds, in which everything from dance, drinks, song or performances can ensue.

Trying not to spoil the experience, what can be claimed is that Broad Encounters once again honed in on what the core experience should be and masterfully chose the elements that bring that idea to life, with the details making the individual intuitive experiences really shine. 

The result is a truly enjoyable immersive experience that provides a sense of place, entertains and increases brand awareness that is carried by a narrative in a meaningful way, evoking emotion and imagination in equal measure, with visitors having a stake in the outcome and feeling empowered as active participants instead of passive viewers.

Water of Life -  Morris Whisky Limited Edition Smoked Muscat

Given how immensely enjoyable I not only usually find the fortified wines, tawnies and matured muscats of Morris of Rutherglen, but specifically the first two releases of Morris Whisky’s core range, it goes without saying that I was coloured intrigued when word around the campfire had that Morris launched a new expression that was to rely heavily-charred oak.  

After all, how could contributing a smoky accent to further accentuate the complex intensity of Morris’ fantastic muscat cask-finished single malt whisky, which we covered as part of this series when it was first released, not result in a banger?

Clocking in at a solid ABV of 48.3%, upon approach Morris’ dark red hued Smoked Muscat expression tickles the nostrils with smoky aromas that give way to cherry, winey, blueberry and apple nuances, which blend in with a musky, molassic fruitiness dancing against the backdrop of the complex Muscat characteristics. 

What is promised on the nose is seamlessly transitioned to the palate where a malty, honey-like sweetness with subtle hints of berry, coca and vanilla is married with an incredibly seductive melange of smoky flavours, culminating in a cinnamon spicy crescendo that is counterpointed by dry notes reminiscent of crisp, tart apple skins and nashi pears. 

The aforementioned exercise in complexity is further enhanced by an elegant, velvety mouthfeel, which leaves me smacking my lips.

The finish is where the soft wood-aged characters and the intricacies of heavily charred oak flavours shine:  Polyphenolic cocoa gives way to a smooth mellow complex piquancy that slowly builds to an intense accumulation of heat at the back of the mouth.

Salivating yet? You bet.

Morris’ Smoked Muscat expression is an example par excellence for a masterful calibration of the best that fortified Muscat casks and heavily charred oak has to offer.

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image from company website

The Formative Years – Cathedral

When it comes to marrying the gloomy and sombre spirit of bands like Pentagram and with Black Sabbath worship and protracted, heavy doom metal, Cathedral’s debut album “Forest of Equilibrium” is a classic that raised the bar in 1991.

Starting with the fantastically twisted Hieronymus Bosch-esque cover artwork and a cheery intro, the sub-par production of the album only adds depth to the spacey, lost atmosphere, which is counterpointed by overpowering avalanches of crushing guitars, pierced by grandiosely plodding drums that are buried and obscured by reverb and Lee Dorian’s overdubbed bizarrely moaned, miserable vocal delivery.

While the Forest of Equilibrium’s depressive blur of comforting distortion is a tour de force in terms of heaviness, the melodic, grooving yet inherently darkly hypnotic, serpentine guitarwork along with the occasional odd instrumentation and all the imperfections of this album set it apart from the rest of the epigones by adding an eerily suffocating and magical touch.

The legacy of heaviness known as “Forest of Equilibrium” took what was known as doom metal, slowed it further down to a foreboding, sorrow conjuring, catatonic, tortured crawl resulting in a sonically compressed power akin to thick molten all-consuming hot lead threatening to immerse us all.

Forest of Equilibrium took doom to its extreme and has stood the test of time as a monolith of dread.

Thus Let Us Drink Beer

Six String Brewery Red IPA quartet + Wayward Brewing Everydays

Ever since the homage to slappin’ da six-string bass incarnated on Australian craft beer radar, Six String Brewery has been going from strength to strength, so after an initial coverage of their core range a couple of years ago as part of this series, it was high time to revisit to check on the state of affairs.

Based on how much I liked Six String’s initial tweaked riffing on the West Coast USA style red ale, with its characteristic toasty, medium-dark caramel, toffee, and dark fruit nuances dancing against a backdrop of deliciously balanced hoppiness, I was intrigued when I learned about them having pushed the envelope much further not once but three times.

Appropriately named “Double Trouble”, Six String’s red DIPA takes the characteristics of the aforementioned Dark Red IPA and amplified it by tripling down on the hops and doubling down on the malts. Clocking in at a respectable 10% ABV, this warming, velvety lil’ number boasts intense yet immensely satisfying bitter-sweet flavours, accentuated by  tropical fruits with a thick candied, borderline chewable maltiness and a bitterness reminiscent of oaky tannins.

The Triple Dark Red IPA was originally brewed for the 2019 incarnation of the Great Australasian Beer SpecTAPular and it makes the other two Red IPA expressions taste tame in comparison with its boozy, deep malty backbone, resinous hops and tropical flavours complementing the dominating honeyed caramel and toffee notes. 
The earthy result generates an almost syrup-like sweetness that is not only due to the heightened ABV of 12% reminiscent of barley wine, only to finish with a substantial mouthfeel on pronounced bitter and slightly spicy notes that reverberate for ages.

Needless to say, Six String’s Quadruple Dark Red IPA is one that you need to make time for. Essentially, it epitomizes everything Six String stands for in terms of bold flavours and proves to be an adequate brew to celebrate the brewery’s tenth anniversary next year.

Having teamed it up with a dram of Ardbeg Corrywreckan, this boilermaker became a lip-smacking evening filling exercise in rich, boozy (14% ABV) buttery toffee caramel deliciousness. Stating that this big bodied Quadruple Dark Red IPA has a massive flavour profile would be an understatement par excellence: Juicy and tangy raisins sit on a foundation of malt and blend in with resinous hops, lemony zestiness, sweet chocolatey overtones and nutty, cooked milk.

Given what Six String has accomplished in the realm of Dark Red IPAs by living up to their credo, i.e. the creating of amplified ales,, I can only hope that they will endeavour the same with their other hopped out variants.

Given the consistent high quality of the brews Wayward has been pumping up on a regular basis, it proves hard to contain excitement when new releases are being announced – especially when it comes to expressions that are meant to enter their core range of crowd pleasers.

Informed by the credo that the only constant thing is change, a willingness to evolve and an acknowledgement of the importance of connecting with different demographics with their releases, Wayward’s Everyday Lager replaces their delicately bitter Pilsner in their core range in a bid to offer something more approachable and a little less challenging on the palate.

For hop aficionados looking for a daily sipper and crafted with the traditional beer drinker in mind, Wayward’s light-bodied Everyday Pale Ale Easy Drinking Australian Pale Ale offers a straightforward taste profile with bright notes of honeyed tropical fruits and a subtle floral aroma with a crisp clean finish, courtesy of Australian Galaxy and American Cascade hops.

Two solid expressions that are sure to resonate with Pilsner and Pale Ale aficionados and since those bases are covered, I can only hope that Wayward focuses on what I love the brewery most for, i.e. the creation of quality IPAs and wonderfully delicious experiments not unlike their Sourade Blue Blast Berry Gose.