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How to Pick the Appropriate Office Supplies, Furniture, and Accessories

Picking out the appropriate office supplies, furniture accessories, and other supporting items is essential to operating an efficient business.  Finding suitable equipment and supplies is one of the most significant aspects of designing your professional work area. 

Of course, when arranging your workspace, you already know you need a desk and chair. When choosing these items you are most likely searching for items that will not let you down. This is true no matter what combination of items you select. 

Today’s recommended desks for the modern achiever most likely are the tabletop variety, and are often accompanied with one of the following popular chair models: mesh net-weave, high-back roller leather, ribbed leather, reading chairs, and arm chairs. 

However, you might not know what other accessories, furnishings, and organizational items would help you become most efficient. Other supporting office supplies furniture and accessories that would be most helpful include the following: bench, shelf, table, file cabinet, contract table, or other items used in your line of business. 

Most recommended materials used for creating superior business equipment include chrome, solid wood, leather, mesh, or hopsack. The models of each item that you would choose will highly depend upon the type of item you would purchase. 

Selection Tips 

Depending upon what type of business you run, your needs may vary. For instance, maybe you are a lawyer and you need a small contract dining table. Either that or perhaps you run a private medical practice and therefore you need a waiting room bench. 

Of course, the styles, colours, and size of the items you choose will most likely be subject to availability.  Furthermore, the size of space you work in matters a great deal. Therefore, you should measure the space where you place to plan each item. 

Importance of Selection 

Picking Out the appropriate equipment, supplies, and so on is also essential to operating an efficient business.  Finding suitable furniture is one of the most significant aspects when designing the space where you spend a huge amount of your waking hours. 

Not only should it be functional, but it should also be comfortable. After all, you are dedicated to your work so you are entitled to make your designated project area feel like home. 

In case you have no idea how potentially beneficial the right selection of office supplies, furniture, and accessories really can be, make an effort to find out. Start by updating with a few small items and you are likely to immediately be able to observe the difference.

Australian pubs – PVC accessory system – Wood texture manufacturer

Origin

The Australian pub is a direct descendant of the English Public house. The production and consumption of alcoholic drinks has long played a key role in Western commerce and social activity, and this is reflected in the importance of pubs in the British colonisation of Australia after 1788. However, in the nineteenth century the local version evolved a number of distinctive features that set it apart from the classic British pub.

In many cases, pubs were the first structures built in newly-colonised areas (especially on the goldfields) and new towns often grew up around them. Pubs typically served multiple functions, simultaneously serving as hostelry, post office, restaurant, meeting place and sometimes even general store.

Nineteenth century development

Pubs proliferated during the nineteenth century, especially during the Gold Rush that began in the 1850s, and many fine examples were built in the state capitals and major regional cities and towns. Some of the best colonial-era pubs in Australia’s major cities have fallen victim to urban re-development, which has destroyed a significant portion of Australia’s nineteenth-century architectural heritage. State capitals like Melbourne and Adelaide, and large regional cities and towns such as Kalgoorlie in Western Australia still boast some examples, and many other nineteenth century pubs survive in country towns.

Among the colonial-era hotels, now lost to development, were the Bellevue Hotel in Brisbane (demolished in 1979) and two of Sydney’s pub-hotels the Hotel Australia, which formerly stood on the corner of Castlereagh St and Martin Place (demolished ca. 1970 to make way for the MLC Centre) and the Tattersall’s Hotel in Pitt St. Its marble bar was dismantled and reinstalled in a basement under the Sydney Hilton Hotel, which was built on the site of the Tattersall’s Hotel in the early 1970s.

The development that solidified the characteristic style of the modern Australian pub was the introduction of the American-style bar counter in the early nineteenth century. Customers began to sit apart from the publicans, the atmosphere became commercial rather than home-like and the pub became a distinctly public, Australian male-dominated establishment.

Beer drinking culture in Australia

Australia’s beer-drinking culture is descended from the northern European tradition, which favoured grain-derived beverages like beer and spirits, whereas in southern European countries like Italy and Greece wine was the drink of choice. Beer was for many years the largest-selling form of alcoholic drink in Australia, and Australia has long had one of the highest per capita rates of beer consumption in the world.

Australia did not develop a significant wine-making industry until the twentieth century and while the wine industry grew steadily, wine did not become a major consumer drink until the late twentieth century. Therefore for the period between 1800 and 1950 alcohol production and consumption in Australia was dominated by beer and spirits, with Australian pubs becoming synonymous with ice-cold pilsener beer.

Effect of licensing laws

Liquor licensing policies in early colonial Australia were relatively liberal, but in the late nineteenth century there was growing pressure from conservative Christian groups, known as the Temperance Leagues, to restrict the sale of alcohol. In 1916 after drunken soldiers rioted in Sydney new licensing laws restricted alcohol in all Australian states, in most cases banning sales after 6 pm. The new legislation also forced publicans seeking a spirits licence to also obtain a beer licence and to provide accommodation. This set Australian pubs apart from the British model, where each pub had a specific and legally limited role to sell either beer or spirits.[dubious discuss]

The licensing laws restricted the sale and service of alcohol almost exclusively to pubs for decades. Alcohol could usually only be purchased in pubs, and many states placed restrictions on the number of bottles per customer that could be sold over the counter. It was not until the late twentieth century that “bottle-shops” and chain-store outlets (where liquor was sold but not served) became common and restaurants and cafes were more widely licensed to serve liquor or to allow customers to “bring their own”.

Opening hours were generally heavily restricted, and pubs were usually only from 10 am to 6 pm, Monday to Saturday. Some pubs were granted special licences to open and close earlier e.g. opening at 6 am and closing at 3 pm in areas where there were large numbers of people working night shifts. Pubs were invariably closed on Sundays, until the various state Sunday Observance Acts were repealed during the 1950s and early 1960s.

These restrictions created a small but lucrative black market in illegal alcohol, leading to the proliferation of illegal alcohol outlets in many urban areas; the so-called “sly grog shop”. After the Federation of Australia in 1901, Australia’s new constitution ruled that the Commonwealth of Australia had no power to legislate in this area, so each state enacted and enforced its own liquor licensing regulations. This meant the Prohibition lobby in Australia had to lobby each individual state government, and was unable to achieve any nationwide ban on the sale of alcohol. Although liquor sales remained heavily restricted for many years, Australia did not experience the many social ills, including the vast expansion of organised crime that resulted from Prohibition in the United States in the 1920s.

Types of beer

Perhaps because of the generally hot, dry climate, Australian beer drinkers soon came to favour chilled pilsener style beers. This trend was reinforced with the expansion and consolidation of the Australian brewing industry, and by the development of hop growing, especially in Tasmania.

The dominance of chilled pilsener beer was further reinforced by invention of refrigeration. Australia was one of the first countries to adopt the new technology on a wide scale and pubs were among the first local businesses to use refrigeration, to keep beer ice-cold.

Another notable feature of Australian beer is its relatively high alcohol content, which for many years has typically ranged between 4 percent and 6 percent alcohol somewhat higher than their British and American counterparts.

Beer production in Australia began with small private breweries supplying local pubs. The industry rapidly became both larger in scale and more centralised as brewers adopted mass-production techniques during the late nineteenth century and new modes of transport came into operation.

By the 1900s the major brewing firms had become very large vertically integrated businesses. They owned the breweries and ran truck fleets and distribution networks, and the major brewers owned chains of pubs across the country. The premises were typically operated on a leasehold basis by licensed publicans.

As they grew, the larger and more successful firms began to take over smaller breweries, although they often retained the older brand names and the loyal clientele of those brands, such as Tooheys continuing to distribute “Tooth’s KB Lager” and “Resch’s Pilsener” and “DA” (”Dinner Ale”) after they had bought and eventually closed the Reschs and Tooths breweries. By the mid-1900s the brewing industry was dominated by a handful of large and powerful state-based companies; the Tooth’s and Toohey’s in Sydney, Carlton United in Melbourne, Castlemaine in Brisbane, West End and Coopers in Adelaide and Swan in Perth. These brands effectively became unofficial mascots for their respective states.

In the late 20th century these beer empires began to expand overseas; Carlton’s Fosters Group and Castlemaine-Tooheys empires now control significant segments of the brewing and beverage industry in Australasia, the UK, Europe and many other regions.

Pubs and licensing laws

Each Australian state has its own set of liquor licensing laws which regulate the times that pubs could open and close. Until recently these laws were relatively strict, a legacy of the influence of the ‘reformist’ Christian Temperance groups in the late 19th and early 20th century.

The concerns of these groups were in some areas well-founded. Alcohol abuse was an endemic social problem in most western countries and, as the local brewing and distilling industry expanded, it quickly became a serious problem in Australia. However, the Temperance movements were driven by a dogmatic Christian world view, and the main agenda of the larger “Christian Morality” movement at this time was to outlaw all forms of social behaviour which went against Christian teaching this included the consumption of alcohol, all forms of gambling and animal racing, prostitution and recreational (non-alcohol) drug use.

Temperance advocates feared with some justification that workers would spend all their time and money in the pub if they were permitted to stay there throughout the evening, and that children and families would suffer as a result (which they often did). Pubs were seen as a nexus for all kinds of immoral activity, including illegal “SP betting”, and the Temperance movement lobbied long and hard to have public houses tightly regulated and their opening hours severely restricted.

In this area, the “Wowsers” (as they were dubbed) were very successful but these high moral concerns backfired, at least in terms of liquor licensing, and the new laws led to the evolution of what was a new phenomenon in Australian 20th century pub culture.

From the advent of the Eight-hour day until the late 1970s, most Australian blue-collar workers were tied to a 9am-5pm, Monday-to-Friday work schedule. Because most pubs were only permitted to stay open until 6 pm, workers would commonly head for the nearest pub as soon as they finished work at 5 pm, where they would drink as much as possible, as quickly as possible, in the hour before the pub closed. This practice came to be known as the “Six O’Clock Swill”.

It fostered an endemic culture of daily binge-drinking, which in turn created persistent problems of alcohol-related violence drunken patrons regularly got into alcohol-fuelled fights in and around the pub, and many husbands arrived home in the early evening extremely drunk, with negative consequences. This destructive ‘tradition’ persisted through most of the 20th century but it quickly disappeared after the 1960s, when changes to the licensing laws in most states allowed pubs to stay open until 10 pm.

Another factor that reinforced the nexus between pubs and problem drinking was the fact that, until the late 20th century in most parts of Australia, alcohol could usually only be purchased over the counter at the pub, and the types and amount of alcohol that could be sold was also restricted.

The pub-based “Bottle Shop” (usually one of the smaller bars converted into a sales area for bottled and canned drinks) is now commonplace in Australian pubs, but these only began to appear in the 1960s. These were followed by specialist “sales-only” retail outlet chains (where alcohol is not served on the premises), and these now account for most of the alcohol sold in Australia.

Unlike the Australian Capital Territory and some American states (e.g. California), where alcohol can be sold at retail grocery stores, it is still not the norm for alcohol to be sold in such outlets in Australia. In most large cities and towns there were also a number of designated “early openers”, pubs that were specially licensed to open in the early morning (e.g. 6:00 am) and close mid-afternoon. These early openers primarily catered for shift workers who had just finished a 9pm-6am night shift.

Another Australian pub tradition, which some considered almost as undesirable than the Six O’Clock Swill, was the co-called “pub crawl”. In many inner city and suburban areas, it was common to find numerous pubs located within a short distance of each other. It became a regular tradition, especially on weekends and public holidays, for groups of drinkers to undertake marathon drinking sessions that moved from pub to pub. Pub Crawls would begin in the late afternoon or early evening, then progress to each of the neighbouring pubs in turn. Although it still continues to some extent in some areas, the worst excesses of the Pub Crawl tradition have largely disappeared from major cities, since many city pubs have been since been demolished and the loosening of licensing laws has made alcohol much more widely available.

These regulations and conventions created a climate in which many pubs especially those located near dockyards and other industrial sites gained a reputation for being violent, dangerous and generally unsavoury places. Australians were among the highest per capita alcohol consumers in the world, and the combination of large amounts of alcohol, an all-male clientle and aggravating factors like the Six O’Clock Swill regularly led to violent clashes between inebriated patrons.

The relationship between pubs and crime in Australia was established early, and before the proliferation of drug trafficking in Australia in the late 20th century, some inner-city and suburban pubs (such as the once-notorious Lord Nelson Hotel in Sydney’s The Rocks) were regularly frequented by criminals, who met there to recruit accomplices and plan ‘jobs’. Criminals also regularly used particular pubs as “shopfronts” from which to sell the proceeds of their crimes on the black market. Late in the 20th century, this dubious tradition came to include drug dealing, and every major Australian city has pubs which became notorious in the 1970s and beyond as virtual “supermarkets” for cannabis, amphetamines, heroin and other drugs.

Gaming and betting was another major part of Australian pub culture. Legal gambling is a relatively new phenomenon in Australia, but illegal gaming has always been part of pub culture. Because legal betting on horse and dog races was for many years restricted to racetracks, and no off-track betting was permitted, illegal betting (usually known as “Starting Price” or SP bookmaking) proliferated. Pubs became a major venue for the collection of bets and the distribution of winnings. One Australian author has noted that SP bookmaking had become so widespread by the early 20th century that constituted “a virtual national act of civil disobedience”.

One of the betting games most closely associated with the Aussie pub was the coin game Two-Up, which was extremely popular during the 19th and earlier 20th century. It is most often associated with the celebration of Anzac Day on April 25 each year. In the years after World War I, it became traditional that, after the early morning commemorative service and march, ex-servicemen would gather at local pubs to drink, reminisce and play two-up. Although still technically illegal, Anzac Day Two-Up games are now openly played in streets and laneways outside pubs and it has become a national institution that is now generally ignored by police.

Live music and The Pub Circuit

Main article: Australian pub rock

In the 1970s and 1980s, pubs played an important role as venues for live rock music in Australia.

Reflecting the age of its fans, in the preceding decades, pop and rock music performances were typically “all ages” events. Smaller concerts were often held in public venues like community, church, school or local council halls, and larger performances (like tours by visiting international acts) were staged in major concert halls or sports stadia. Some concerts were staged in licensed premises, but the vast majority were in public venues open to all ages, and alcohol was unavailable.

By the late 1960s, Australia’s “baby boomer” pop audience was ageing into its late teens and early twenties. This demographic trend coincided with the gradual relaxation of states’ restrictive licensing laws the legal drinking age was generally lowered to 18 (in line with changes to the voting age) and the opening hours of pubs were finally allowed to be extended to 10pm and beyond.

Rock concerts were attracting younger audiences in large numbers, and changes in the licensing laws enabled pubs to begin presenting regular concerts by rock groups in the early 1970s. Such “pub gigs” were often presented free-of-charge, with the cost recouped from alcohol sales, although it became more common for licensees and/or promoters to charge an entry fee, especially for the more popular groups whose fees were higher.

The relatively low cost of staging pub gigs, the large numbers of patrons they attracted and the high volume of alcohol sales that resulted made them very attractive to pub licensees. State capitals like Melbourne and Sydney had dozens of pubs in inner-city and suburban areas, and many of these had large function rooms or large public bars from the early 1970s pubs became one of the most important outlets for Australian rock music. Many significant Australian groups of the 1970s and 1980s including AC/DC, Cold Chisel, Midnight Oil and INXS spent their formative years playing on the pub circuit.

Another significant feature of the pub gig was that it gave rock groups in the so-called “Second Wave” of Australian rock the chance to develop their performance and repertoire. Pubs like the renowned Station Hotel in Prahran, Melbourne, offered extended residencies to popular or up-and-coming rock bands, enabling them to hone their playing ‘chops’ and refine their material in front of a varied audience, and many groups generated fiercely loyal local followings thanks to pub residencies.

The live proficiency of Australian ‘pub-rock’ bands of this period is widely attributed to their experiences playing in the rough-and-ready atmosphere of the pub circuit. Unlike the frenzied but generally upbeat atmosphere typical of Sixties pop shows, pub gigs could be a testing experience for even the most accomplished band. Often as not, a significant proportion of the audience were in varying states of intoxication, and groups who did provide the kind of performance that was required by the audience could be given short shrift by dissatisfied ‘punters’.

By the late 1970s a significant number of capital-city and regional pubs were presenting rock music on a regular basis, forming a loose but lucrative circuit of venues for bands all over Australia, and the most popular venues offered music every night of the week.

Certain groups became closely associated with formative residencies at particular pubs a prime example was the long-running residency by Midnight Oil at the Royal Antler Hotel in Narrabeen, on Sydney’s northern beaches in the late 1970s.

Some pubs became associated with particular styles in the early 1980s, the Civic Hotel in Sydney’s CBD provided important support for many emerging local “New Wave” acts including Mental As Anything, Numbers, Sunnyboys, INXS and Matt Finish.

Other pub-rock venues became renowned for offering a wide variety of music by the best established and emerging acts; venues of this period include the General Bourke Hotel in Adelaide, the Railway Hotel in Richmond, Victoria, the Family Inn in Rydalmere, Sydney, the Hopetoun Hotel in Surry Hills, Sydney and the Sandringham Hotel in Newtown, Sydney.

By the end of the 1970s the pub circuit was a major provider of rock music entertainment in Australia and as a result, early tours by many visiting overseas acts from overseas who were becoming popular in Australia included many performances at major city and regional pubs; this included the first Australian tours by bands like XTC, The Cure and Simple Minds; such bands were often “broken” locally thanks to airplay on the ABC’s new non-commercial 24-hour rock radio station Triple Jay, which played a wide variety of new music not heard on commercial pop-rock stations, and many international rock acts of the 1980s gained live exposure on the Australian pub circuit before gaining wider acceptance.

Pub rock flourished in the 1980s, and this period is now regarded with a degree of nostalgia, and it has come to be considered something of a “golden age” for Australian post-punk rock music. A number of social and economic trends combined to reduce the flourishing pub-rock circuit to a shadow of its former self.

In the late 1980s Australian state governments began relaxing the laws governing legalised gambling. One of the most significant changes was the controversial decision to allow the placement of poker machines in pubs. Poker machines quickly delivered huge financial returns to pub licensees and it soon became much easier and more profitable for licensees to close the rooms formerly used for music shows and refurbish them as poker machine parlours.

Another related trend that severely affected the pub circuit was the property boom in Australian capital cities in the 1980s. In cities like Sydney, which once boasted dozens of pubs in the central business district alone, rising prices and increased demand for CBD and inner-city properties saw many pubs closed and demolished. Their strategic location made them prime targets for redevelopment, as did the fact that these buildings which were often only two or three stories high were relatively easy and cheap to buy up redevelop.

The interlinked process of urban redevelopment and gentrification also had a major effect on pubs that acted as rock music venues. From the 1970s on, Australian capital-city CBDs began to be redeveloped; many buildings that were once occupied by businesses or offices that operated on a 9-to-5 basis moved to cheaper locations and in the 1990s a significant number of formerly commercial buildings were either demolished to make way for apartment complexes, or were redeveloped for housing.

Another trend that had a significant negative impact on the pub circuit was the process of gentrification in inner-city suburbs in Australian cities. For much of the 20th century, suburbs like Port Melbourne and Newtown (Sydney) were working class, low-income areas with a high proportion of migrants, widely regarded as slums by those in the more affluent areas of the city. However, in the last quarter of the 20th century, the former working-class populations aged and died, or became more affluent and moved to other places. Suburbs like Paddington, Glebe and Newtown attracted many younger people because of their colourful character, the availability of cheap rental housing and their proximity to the city and major tertiary institutions like The University of Sydney. Many former students eventually settled in the area and bought property there, and these former “slums” soon became some sought-after locales, beginning a process of gentrification that saw many many pub venues put under increasing pressure to restrict their trading hours and limit the amount of noise that emanated from pub gigs, which was often considerable.

The combination of the advent of poker machines and the trends related to property development led to many renowned pub venues ceasing their presentation of music and other events. The inherent value of the property occupied by pubs also led to many more being demolished or developed.

One notable casualty of this trend in Sydney was the former Harold Park Hotel in Glebe. This once thriving pub venue was a popular music venue from the late 1970s to the mid-1990s, and during its heyday in the 1980s, as well as regular rock gigs, it presented a variety of other events including:

- “Writers in the Park”, a weekly performance forum for authors, which featured an appearance by renowned author Tom Wolfe

- “Comics in the Park”, which presented some of the best Australian and overseas comedians, including a legendary impromptu stand-up performance by American comedian Robin Williams

the weekly political discussion forum “Politics in the Park”

Australian pub design

Sir William Wallace Hotel, Balmain

Royal Hotel, Woodstock.

Empress Hotel, Fitzroy North

Watchem Hotel, Watchem, Victoria

Merbein Hotel, Merbein, Victoria

Birchip Hotel, Birchip, Victoria

Cann River Hotel, Cann River, Victoria

Yatina Hotel, South Australia

The typical Aussie pub differs markedly from the cosy, welcoming, family-friendly “cottage” atmosphere of British pubs. Rapid urban development, coupled with a widespread disregard for Australia’s colonial architectural history, has played a large part in this. Most older English pubs have been declared protected heritage sites, since many are now centuries old, but this curatorial attitude is yet to achieve widespread acceptance in Australia, and few pubs in Australia date back further than the second half of the 19th century and some of the grandest Victorian-era pubs have also been destroyed.

Surviving late 19th-century pubs such as the Old Canberra Inn in Lyneham, Australian Capital Territory are similar to their British antecedents in layout and atmosphere, although many Australian pubs of this era are typically a good deal larger than the average British pub; many are three stories high or more, and they usually include several very spacious bar areas, as well as large accommodation spaces on the upper floors.

Major regional and country pubs dating from the 1800s and early 1900s are often large and imposing structures, and many were lavishly decorated, both inside and out. Because of Australia’s high summer temperatures, wide awnings and verandahs were common around pub exteriors, as they were for most colonial-era commercial buildings. Pub verandahs and balconies were often fitted with elaborate iron lace facings and cast-iron columns, because these new mass-produced components were highly fashionable, relatively cheap, and easily transportable. Sometimes, in areas where wood was plentiful, internal decoration included elaborately-carved wooden fretwork panels.

19th century pub interiors often featured very high ceilings typically four metres (12 feet) or more. Ceilings and upper walls were often embellished with elaborate plaster panels and cornices. Mass-produced embossed tin panelling was widely used when it became available in the late 19th century. Windows were often glazed with decorative leadlight or etched/sandblasted glass panes.

The main bars in the biggest pubs typically featured large and very impressive serving bars, featuring intricately carved and finished wood and/or stone features, with brass rails, ceramic or brass pump handles, tiles, mirrors, etched glass panels and many other types of decoration.

By far the most opulent extant example of the 19th century Australian pub bar is the famed Marble Bar, originally built in the former Tattersal’s Hotel in Sydney. Even relatively modest pubs often featured impressive bars carved from native western red cedar (which was then in plentiful supply) and other native woods, and often embellished with decorative ceramic tiles and marble and/or brass fittings.

Following the consolidation of the brewery industry in the 20th century, many new pubs were built and in large cities many older pubs were either extensively renovated or demolished and replaced with new structures.

Although Australian pubs vary considerably in size and design, it is possible to define a number of distinctive features that describe the ‘classic’ Australian urban pub of the mid-20th century. The typical Aussie pub was functionally designed, often in a stripped-back Art Deco or International Style. Usually two or three-storey structures, they are typically built of brick and/or concrete, making extensive use of prefabricated plaster sheeting and cornices, ceramic tiles and terrazzo in their internal linings.

In layout, urban pubs typically feature several inter-connected bar-rooms of different sizes and designations, usually clustered around a large central bar area with several serving outlets. Many suburban pubs also often include an outdoor or semi-enclosed area known as a “beer garden”, where food and drink was served and where (especially in recent years) families with children are able to eat (although children of course cannot be served alcohol and they are not permitted in any other area of the pub).

Larger pubs especially regional cities and large towns often included a substantial kitchen and dining room and/or a function room of some kind, such as a ballroom, although this was not common in later urban pubs. A feature common to almost all Australian pubs, whether in the city, the suburbs or in rural and regional areas, was the provision of rooms that could be rented out as accommodation, usually located on the floors above the bars.

Unlike their ornate 19th-century predecessors, 20th century pub bars are relatively spartan in design and decoration. In most pubs the ceilings and upper walls were fairly plain, although some featured moulded Art Deco cornice and ceiling designs. The lower walls were typically tiled for ease of cleaning, and floors were usually paved with terrazzo and/or tiles.

Compared to America and Europe, relatively few large Art Deco and International Style buildings were constructed in Australia in the 1930s and 1940s. Few of these have survived the recent waves of urban redevelopment and most of Australia’s fine Art Deco cinemas, shops, restaurants and office buildings were torn down in the late 1900s. Therefore, Australian pubs of the mid-20th century are among the best surviving examples of Art Deco and International Style urban architecture in Australia.

Although these newer pubs were generally far more utilitarian in design than their predecessors, one especially notable decorative feature of Australian pubs developed in the 1920s and 1930s the iconic paint-on-glass beer advertisement.

This distinctive Australian graphic genre probably evolved from the elaborate back-painted bar mirrors of the 19th century. Often mounted on the outer walls of pubs, these eye-catching pieces were not printed posters or standard paintings. They were elaborate craft products created by teams of skilled commercial artists, many of whom were employed by the breweries for their entire working lives.

The creation of these beer ads was a specialised craft they were entirely hand-painted in reverse on thick glass, and then wall-mounted in heavy brass frames, which were kept highly polished. Some exterior displays were made with translucent paint, so that they could be illuminated from behind. They featured striking and often highly stylised designs and compositions, painted in vibrant colours, and in many cases the text and some parts of the graphic were accentuated with real gold leaf.

They varied in size, but the larger examples were as much as a square metre in size or more. Like the example below, they typically depicted archetypal ‘Aussie’ sporting scenes swimming, surfing, sailing, horse-racing, cricket or football or social events such as picnics, dances and parties.

Many Deco-style pubs had sections of curved faade, because a large proportion of Australian pubs are built on street corners, and these spaces were often highlighted by the large curved frames of these colourfully painted beer ads.

Because of their inherent fragility and location, many of these marvellous works either deteriorated beyond repair or were destroyed by accident or vandalism. Over the years, as advertising materials (and the pubs themselves) were progressively modernised during the late 20th century, almost all the hand-painted beer ads were removed, but their distinctive style has become well-recognised and much-loved, and they are still a reference point in modern Australian commercial art. The best surviving examples are now museum pieces and expensive collectors’ items.

Pubs and social segregation

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Perhaps the most striking functional difference between Australian pubs and drinking establishments in other countries is that, for most of their history, Australian pubs were strictly segregated along gender and racial lines.

As author Diane Kirkby has observed: “Masculinity and national identity were … interwoven with pub culture and the ethnic and sexual exclusivity of that culture was celebrated.”

In a controversial move in 2007, a Victorian court granted a Gay Bar in Melbourne the right to decline entry from heterosexual men and women, stating that their contribution was not positive and that heterosexual men would come to cause trouble in the bar.

Gender segregation

The main bar of the typical Australian pub, usually the largest, was the so-called “Public Bar”. However, this title was an ironic misnomer, since until the 1970s, only men were permitted to drink in Public Bars.

Most pubs included a “Ladies’ Lounge”, furnished with chairs and tables, where women and men could drink together, but in many pubs women were usually only admitted to the Lounge Bar when accompanied by a male. It was also common for women not to be allowed to buy drinks for themselves.

Sexual segregation in pubs persisted into the 1970s and only began to break down after women’s rights activists began to publicly challenge the convention. One of the most famous incidents in this informal campaign took place in January 1973, when a group of feminist activists staged a protest against the rule in the Public Bar of the Hotel Manly in Sydney.

When they entered and ordered drinks they were refused service by the publican, who disingenuously claimed that the hotel had insufficient toilet facilities to cater for women. The women’s response deliberately echoing the tactics of the early Suffragettes was to chain themselves to a railing that ran around the bar. The event gained wide media attention and caused the hotel industry considerable embarrassment; within a few years this long-standing sexist convention had virtually disappeared in most urban areas, and it was eventually enforced by state and federal anti-discrimination legislation.

Women in Pubs

Historian Diane Kirkby has made a detailed examination of the role of women in the history of the Australian pub. She has found that, despite their long history of gender segregation, pubs provided an important source of income for many women.

Widowhood and wife desertion were much more common in nineteenth-century Australia than today, and in the absence of any social safety-net for single mothers, women had to explore every available option to provide for their families, especially in remote areas. Pub-keeping provided jobs not only for widows and deserted wives, but also for many female ex-convicts.

It was comparatively lucrative work, so pub-keeping became a welcome and preferred option for many women. The evolution of the ‘classic’ pub and the women’s roles in the pub developed concurrently in the mid-19th century, when the term “barmaid” first came into common usage.

Barmaids, like many other working women, had to fight against the ‘traditional’ gender challenges of lower pay rates and social stigmatisation. Unlike other classes of working women, such as domestic servants and shop staff, barmaids were often stigmatised and shunned. This discrimination was exacerbated by the “morals” campaigns that were waged around Australia from the 1880s to the 1920s, and religiously-motivated temperance activists deliberately fostered a negative image of the barmaid as a “loose woman” who lured men into pubs to drink and squander their money.

The reality was often the exact opposite. Barmaids typically prided themselves on their ability to pour, chat, and keep a clean bar simultaneously not to mention their ability to support themselves and their family and they deeply resented this characterization by prohibitionists, but the stereotype stuck. Even though many barmaids loved the job because it offered better pay and greater freedom than typical female occupations like household servants, barmaids remained the object of scorn by ‘proper’ society.

Pubs as accommodation

Accommodation was another vital facet of Australian pub operation, and indeed it is the origin of the pub’s “proper” business title Australian pubs are usually registered for business under the formal name “hotel”, and the more upmarket pubs often reversed this, placing the word “Hotel” before the name (e.g. the Hotel Australia).

Many city, suburban and country pubs offered reasonably-priced accommodation, as well as dining facilities for visitors and business people, and this tradition continues, with pubs joining together in an accommodation cooperative that operates under the name “PubStay”.

Country-town and rural hotels were of crucial importance in the years before the advent of the motel and modern budget hotel chains. Until the later 20th century, a significant proportion of tourists, commercial travellers, business people and touring performers in Australia regularly relied on pub accommodation. As one former commercial traveller lamented in a recent ABC Radio social history feature, the end of the era of pub accommodation also led to the disintegration of the social networks that centred on rural and regional pubs.

City and suburban pubs were an important accommodation source for country people visiting the cities for major events, such the annual Sydney Royal Easter Show. For single people, pubs also offered an alternative to boarding houses or rental housing, with many pubs renting rooms to long-term tenants who lived and ate at the pub, sometimes over periods of several decades.

References / Further Information

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Hotels in Australia

Dunstan, Keith

Wowsers

(Cassell, Melbourne, 1968)

Kirkby, Diane

Barmaids: A History of Women’s Work in Pubs 1790-1990s

(Cambridge University Press, 1997)

Sumerling, Patricia

Down at the Local: A social history of the hotels of Kensington and Norwood

(Wakefield Press, Kent Town, SA)

Wright, Clare

Beyond The Ladies’ Lounge: Australia’s Female Publicans

(Melbourne University Press, Carlton, 2003)

ISBN 0522850715

http://www.atmitchell.com/journeys/social/races/placebets.cfm

http://www.indiana.edu/~engs/articles/ar1096.htm

http://www.australianbeers.com/history/history_main/history_main.htm

Abernethy & Dittmar, “Every Pub Volume 2″ – 611 Hotels in South Australia

Pub paintings in the Powerhouse Museum, Sydney

http://www.powerhousemuseum.com/collection/database/?irn=328448

http://www.dhub.org/object/111554

Saloon bar of the Imperial Hotel, Erskineville, Sydney

http://dspace.anu.edu.au/handle/1885/224

References

^ News article detailing Bellevue Hotel demolition timeline

^ http://australianpubs.20megsfree.com/custom.html

^ 365 Gay reports on Melbourne Gay Bar banning Straight men

^ Australian Gay Bar Can Bar Heterosexuals

Categories: Public Houses in AustraliaHidden categories: Articles needing cleanup from December 2006 | All pages needing cleanup | All accuracy disputes | Articles with disputed statements from March 2008 | Articles needing additional references from July 2008 | All articles needing additional references | Articles with unsourced statements from July 2007 | All articles with unsourced statements

Defective Cribs, Strollers, High Chairs

Like other big manufacturing companies, children’s equipment producers are all about profits and their bottom line. They attempt to cut costs wherever they think they are able to do it. Unfortunately, many of these cost cutting measures come at the expense of the most defenseless members of our society. Companies that make children’s products frequently put out defective cribs, strollers, high chairs, toys and other products that put children’s lives in danger.

Each year there are thousands of injuries and hundreds of death due to defective products. These irresponsible parties need to be held accountable when their products cause injury or death. If your child has suffered injury of wrongful death due to a defective crib, stroller, high chair or other products you need to retain a qualified product liability lawyer as soon as possible to ensure that the product does not harm anybody else.

Design Defects

In some cases, the design of the product itself is defective. The bars of the crib may be spaced too far apart where the baby can get his or her head stuck and suffocate on the bedding, or fall through the crib. Other design flaws may include:

Improper locking devices Poorly designed straps and storage mechanisms Failure to follow safety guidelines in product design

Design flaws are some of the most important to identify and correct, as these may be common to all of the products, prompting safety recalls.

Manufacturing Defects

Many defects appear when the product is put together. They not be assembled properly or as the product is designed causing problems with the final merchandise. These can lead to the high chair collapsing, or one of the sides of the crib crashing down on a sleeping victim. Depending on where the item was assembled the, the person or entity responsible could be held liable if done improperly. Products that are assembled after purchase must have clear instructions that allows for the safe and accurate assembly of the product.

Accessories and Packaging

Packaging and accessories that are included may also cause injury or death. Everybody knows about children suffocating in plastic wrap. All packaging that could be dangerous must be adequately labeled and the owner advised as to how to dispose of properly. Failure to do so could lead to a defective product liability claim.

Small parts must also be identified and either tightly secured and padded or otherwise labeled adequately to ensure the overall product safety. Many injuries and deaths occur from children choking on small parts or from misuse of some mechanism or part on the product.

There are many steps in the process of getting cribs, strollers, high chairs and other children’s products to market. Along the line there should be many safety valves to ensure that your child is safe. If any of those fail, the company who manufactured the product could be held liable in case of injury or wrongful death.

Baby High Chairs For Little Ones

Furniture that is used to feed the baby is called high chair. This is suitable for babies age 7 months an up. Smaller baby that still can not sit by them selves is not suggested to use high chair. But this high chair is suitable for babies that already able to sit by them selves. This is a chair with sufficient place to put food and drinks. This way the little could learn to eat by them selves too.

The reason why baby high chairs are designed in certain heights is because to make mothers easy to feed them. There are many kinds of model from high chair, such as classic, modern, simple and others. All models have their own characteristics. Commonly, the classic style will match with any kind of room’s concept design. Several materials that are used to build high chair, such as wood, iron, plastic, and the combination from them will result unique styles of high chairs. The factor of security from a high chair should be the main point. Customers before deciding to buy one, must check about the safety and security of this high chair, such as the quality of material, structure, design, and others.

Other aspects are relative. For example if parents have bigger budget, they could buy high chair with other accessories that include on high chair. But do not forget to choose high chair made from material that is easy to clean. Because food and drink drops are very often happened while feeding baby.

 

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22 Tips to Obtain Better Sound in a High End Audio System

22 Tips to Obtain Better Sound in a High End Audio System

Özhan Atalay

Email: ozhan@atalay.biz   Web: http://www.nonamehifi.com

 

 

Introduction

 

Basically accepted thing in audiophile world is that it almost impossible to achieve the best sound by just combining only the best equipments. Much cheaper but properly selected and tweaked system may sound better than its expensive brothers. This is called system synergy in audiophile world. System synergy is not only about combining the best equipments but it is a kind of long and enjoyable way to maximize their performances.

 

The precautions and principles may be seen absurd and meaningless for someone who does not have solid understanding what the hi-end is.

Within last twenty years, I spent considerable time, money and efforts to achieve best sound (..Or what ever the best is). I wrote a couple of important points from my own perspective. Most of these points may be known by the audiophiles anyway if not implemented. More important, below points consist of my own observations merely. There are so many known different tweaks and techniques. I avoided not including here the points that I did not try and/or the points did not work well with me. I believe below mentioned points will step up someone’s system to a higher level by using the same equipments.

 

I apologize for my level of English. I am appreciated if someone warns me about the main language mistakes anywhere in the web site.

 

The only certain truth I learned after twenty years is that “there is no one absolute truth in Hi-End” Most of the truths in High-End can not be proven by scientific measures. Very sensitive human ear hears a lot, interpret, evaluate and decide. In a listening session of three audiophiles, what is probably going to happen is one of the persons will find the bass insufficient, the other may find it so much and excessive, but the system owner will think it is fine, not less, not more. That phenomenon is called “brain reference”. (See for more details) Brain reference is a kind of prejudice comes out of our own system’s timbre and tonality. This phenomenon sometimes causes conflicts with someone who compares better equipment versus his own equipment and may not like the sound of the other in spite the other was clearly better.

 

Most of the points stipulated below will depend on the capabilities of the system but more important, depend on the experience of audiophile. A poor system will not differentiate the points or less experienced ears may not pick them up either. That’s why some of the points below may not be regarded by everybody. I will be delightful if someone who reads that article picks up one or two points.

 

1- Listening at Night; Critical listening or equipment testing should be done in the night hours. This rule obviously applies to one who lives in a big city. Non noticeable city noise affects our hearing and we are basically not able to hear what our system delivers to us during the day.

Due to city noise is several times lower in the night, all hidden aspects in hi-end appear in the night and the system delivers its full potential. For more information, please check Noise (see for more details)

 

2- Heat and Humidity; Humidity and heat have serious influences on sound. Systems can not generate their best sound, power and dynamics in a warm and damp weather. I am not sure why this happens but it happens. There may be two reasons: The damp air is heavier in such circumstances, thus the loudspeakers are not able to pull enough air into the room. Or the loudspeaker materials may soften and behave differently in warm weather. To cool the listening environment prior to listening session eliminates that effect.

 

3- Darkness; Music should be listened in dark room. Particularly, the loudspeakers and the system should be kept in dark and the original recording venue should be imagined while listening.

The main objective of a good quality hi-end system is to depart from the hardware and to go into the recording environment. Listening music while watching the hardware will physiologically demolish the virtual environment that we intent to be in. The most inconvenient part of a hi-end system is inexistence of visual imaging. The reality sense is so different when participating to a live concert or listening/watching from a DVD player via a surround system.

If the listening environment is not dark, the speakers will be perceived as the sources of the original sound.

 

4- Finding the Correct Listening Distance; the sound is spread in waves called frequency. The volume of every frequency will be different in connection with the distance from the speakers. In terms of the volume, frequencies will be up and down when the distance is changed. Especially higher mids and treble sections will vary between 20-5 centimetres. Such frequency peaks can be easily recognized by listening.

a – Listen a test CD which contains different test frequencies. For instance start with mono 1000 Hz at the listening chair. Then stand up and walk very slowly through your system. (Preferably with your closed eyes). You will immediately realize that the signal will have ups and downs in volume while you are moving as if somebody was turning on and off the volume control.

b – The main frequency of the music and the one which is closest to human sound is 1000 Hz. 1000 Hz is your starting point. 1000 Hz will be at its peaks so many times in connection with the distance of your listening chair. Find the closest distance to your current listening chair that the 1000 Hz is at peak. The ups and downs in that band should be changed around 50-70 centimetres. This is the best location to hear the middle frequencies but it is not the best location yet to achieve the best frequency spectrum. It is just the starting point.

c – Stick a rope to back wall that may come through your shoulders. Now close your eyes and listen different frequencies such as 300-500-1000-2000-5000-10.000 Hz etc, move top of your body (while sitting) forward and backwards. Mark the peak points of every frequency you listened on the rope. Our aim is to find a particular point that most of the frequencies are at their peaks. If you are not successful and these points are not closer each other, move your speakers 10 cm’s to front (or your listening chair to 10 cm front or rear) and repeat the same exercises till you find a certain point that most of the frequencies are at their peaks.

It is not an easy task, time consuming but free of charge. Once you have the point, you will be very surprised with the improvement of the sound of your existing system.

 

5- Room Acoustics; Room Acoustics is the most known but the least considered part of Hi-End. A conventional speaker may throw % 40 of the sound directly to listener; rest of the sound comes through the walls by reflections. Reflection means the timing difference of the original signal, hence an additional acoustic which does not exist in the original record. Within such a complexity of reflections, a part of the original signal will come late due to the front wall or ceiling or etc, a part of the original signal produced by the left speaker will come as if coming from the right speaker and vice versa. Such a complex listening environment will demolish the stereo imaging and channel separation.

Some audiophiles are happy with this case due to speakers are seem to be better disappeared and soundstage is wider and deeper. Some producers add additional mid/treble units to the back side of the speakers (dipoles) to emphasize such effects.

One thing should be considered that such reflections do not exist at the original sound. If something is produced by the system/room in addition to the original sound should be named coloration.

If the aim of a good hi-end system is to reproduce the original sound, such reflections should be avoided as much as possible. Especially ribbon and electrostatic speakers will suffer a lot from such reflections.

Carpet on the floor is a must to lower the reflections (standing waves) between the floor and the ceiling. Thicker curtains will help to lower the reflections of the windows. Glass covered photos and such stiff furniture should be avoided.

This article is not intended to give recommendations how to make a room tuning, lots but lots of information may be found on internet. But it is just to emphasize the importance of room acoustics.

 

6- Precise Focus and Loudspeaker Placement; this is also another known but the least considered part of Hi-End. It is critically important to locate both speakers at the exactly same distance to achieve precise focus. Distances should be very carefully measured and both of the speakers should be placed exactly to the same distance through listener.

 

OK but why such important!

 

Sound signals are distributed in waves as explained in section five. The people who tried the settings in section five will realize that, the peaks of frequencies vary in conjunction with the distance from the speakers. Especially the treble frequencies will vary a lot by only one centimetres of a change. In such cases, if one speaker is just one cm closer to the listener, some frequencies will be heard a lot from one speaker but will not be heard from the other speaker. If the upper harmonics of the human sound consist of such upper frequencies, (it is!) this is obvious that the sound will move from the middle to left or to right. Moreover, within that case, some frequencies will be collided in full phase and will be exaggerated, some others will be collided by inverted phase so are destroyed.

 

This is the exactly the same effect of loosing bass when connecting one speaker out of phase.

 

7- Mechanical Vibration of Electronic Units; Quite a lot of vibration absorption feet and platform kinds exist in the market. They are to be placed under the electronics/speakers. Such materials have two intentions;

 

a- To eliminate the external vibration coming through the unit

b- To eliminate the vibration of the unit itself (CD driver motor, speaker cone vibrations etc)

 

Most popular ones are the cones (spikes). I believe the proper usage of spikes is not known very well. Rather than being a vibration absorber, spike is a kind of transmission material that transmits vibration from one point through the other point. In other means, vibration is condensed to one point and mechanically carried to other platform by the spike but not eliminated. If the connection surface is stiff (for instance marble, granite, etc) such vibrations are passed to that surface. Underneath of such a stiff platforms (marble, MDF, glass, granite) must be covered by an elastically material such as cork, mouse pad, neoprene rubber or similar.

 

The vibration can not pass from a stiff platform to an elastically platform and will be transposed to heat between.

 

Direction of the cone is also critically important. The direction should be in conjunction with the intention of vibration transmission.

 

May be the last thing about the cone is the cone should be in touch with the chassis of the component directly. If any kind of rubber, double sided band, blue tack or such an elastic material is put between cone and the unit that material will try to transpose the vibration and the cone will not work.

 

8- Marble Under the Loudspeakers: A marble platform under the speakers eliminate most of the unwanted resonances of the speaker. The thickness of the marble should be at least 3 cm and the size should be at least 10 centimetres bigger then the edges. Underneath of the marble has to be covered by an elastic material such as cork, mouse pad, neoprene etc.

 

How does it effect the sound is, you have more powerful but more clear and tight bass, relaxation at the mid and top frequencies.

 

The speaker has to be connected to the platform via a cone, not by an elastically feet. The sharp end of the cone has to direct the marble but not to the loudspeaker.

 

9- Grounding the Metals for Static Electricity; especially in wet weather and in fully carpeted listening environments, static electric become an issue. The carpet is charged with static electric which can be passed through the electronic equipments via the rack and/or via human touch. Static electricity on the carpet is such powerful that when checked in the morning before somebody walks on it, can be clearly seen by simple tools sold in Radio Shack

 

In order to eliminate the effect, the loudspeaker stands and the equipment racks should be connected to earth by a thin wire. Moreover, the loudspeaker cables and interconnects should be lifted away from the floor due to the same effect.

 

What benefits you may expect from this tweak is I don’t know why but less blurry and more tide lower bass.

 

10- Loudspeaker Distance from the Front Wall; Loudspeaker producers generally recommend the distance of the speaker by the front wall (the wall behind the speakers). Generally speaking, the speaker should be located as far as possible from the front wall. (Side walls as well) If they are so close to the wall, bass standing waves will be reinforced (explained in article five) and mid/treble band will be compressed due to excessive bass energy.

 

Some audiophiles find the desired bass volume by placing them closer to front wall which is not correct. One thing should be considered that such bass increase is not due to the original sound but it is the consequence by the room response called coloration.

 

11- Auto former / Transformer Passive Line Stages; The new developed technologies in hi-end industry made the pre-amplifiers questionable.

 

Before end, the reason of a preamplifier was stipulated in four basics;

a- To connect more then one unit together

b- Recording to tape from some sources

c- Low volume output and inverted polarity signal of turntables (as the only source component)

d- Bass, treble adjustment requirements

 

Nowadays, CD, SACD units can provide 5-8 Volts of outputs which are more than enough for the power amplifiers. Audiophiles are not interested in tone adjustments but focused on simplicity anymore. Dedicated phono stages are in common usage, hence, the majority of the requirements are not valid anymore.

 

The main and the only basic job of a modern pre-amplifier is to lower the volume level, not step it up !!

Just try to imagine a pure signal from a CD, or DAC through the power amplifier, then cut this link, add four plugs, four female plugs, a pair of interconnects, lots of resistors, capacitors, tubes, transistors and all that stuff in the link. How can you keep the signal purity and can you make something better then its original !

 

An active line stage demolishes the neutrality and the purity of the original sound. Such a corruption may not be so evident in most of the lower resolution systems or disregarded by some people on purposely. Every active line stage has its own tonality and coloration. As a matter of fact, audiophiles generally use line stages to balance their tonality problems in systems. For instance, a tube line stage is used to calm down a firm sounding solid state power amplifier or a treble rich line stage is used to compensate the treble poor power amplifier and vice versa. If this is the case in a system, fully natural line stage and lack of coloration will not be regarded by the audiophile.

 

Following me, the consideration should be to change the power amplifier till finding the desired sound rather then playing with pre-amplifier. In other words, to deal with the original problem rather then trying to mask the problem.

 

It is almost in consensus that using a very simple volume pot adds so much neutrality and purity to sound. But in such cases, some other problems appear. A volume pot which is either a potentiometer or a stepped alternator works with the resistance principals. Every volume step adds different resistive path to signal, thus lowers the volume. Due to the complexity of the music signal ( 20 Hz-20 kHz), such a resistive load will act like a barrier for different frequencies. For instance when turning down the volume level, the treble is lowered and the bass is condensed or when you increase the volume, mids are excessive or vice versa. Not to forget to mention is the lack of dynamic range as well. A line stage eliminates these problems.

Due to these facts, volume control pots or analogue volume controlled CDs can not be used stand alone as line stages

 

By the new technology, new auto former and transformer passive line stages are developed for volume control.

Such units do not work with resistance principals and do not add resistance to the signal path. The only resistance of such amps is approximately 200 Ohms due to the cable in windings.

 

Transformer passive line stages consist of two transformers, one for the left channel, and one for the right. They have one primary winding and multiple (12-24 steps) of secondary windings. Their principal is to lover the volume by changing the volts, rather then adding resistance. Up to my knowledge, there are only three producers of such line stages. I used two of them. Both of them are providing extra ordinary natural, calm and undistorted sounds.

 

I heavily modified the Antique Sound Lab myself which is very good product and quite cheap too, (don’t underestimate its price) but Audio Consulting’s Silver Rock made of pure silver is something else.

 

It should be also mentioned that such a passive line stages can not be suitable for every system. In such a case, input impedance of power amp should be driven directly by the output stage of DAC or CD player. Input impedance of the power amp should be as small as possible. The best way to learn this case is to write the impedance values to producer and request assistance prior to purchasing.

 

12- Good Tubes (NOS Tubes); is it logical to pay 100? to and old tube while the new one costs 10 ? I believe it is. A good tube can change the characteristics of a tube electronic as if you replaced the entire unit. Nos tubes are not easy to find, quite expensive but worthwhile to use. Especially the upper frequency hiss is quite lower with Nos tubes.

 

13- Very Easy Polarity Finding Method; Generally speaking, European (German) standard AC plugs do not have the signal direction. US, UK, Swiss AC plugs have one way to connect to AC, so + and – phases can not. So in such cases, it is not easy to find out the correct polarity.

 

Electronic components can work properly regardless of the polarity. Our televisions, refrigerators, bulbs, computers everything. Why the AC polarity is quite important in Hi-Fi !

 

Electricity arrives from (+) passes the electronic circuit and departs from (-) Generally the mains current arrives in the power supply of the unit first then reduced to desired voltage by of the electronic circuits. At this case, mains is automatically filtered by the power supply section. The transformer of the power supply section behaves like isolation transformer, input and output currents are physically separated. If the polarity is not correct, the mains will arrive to system directly from the back door and will carry all the pollution like RFI/EMI into the unit. Due to the fact, it is important to find out the correct polarity.

 

Most of the electronic’ polarity is similar. If the unit has detachable power cord and IEC kind of input, the right hole should be the (+) mains when do you look at the plug front the front face (as seen below)

 

Another simple method is to check the mains fuses. If the unit is equipped with an exterior protection fuse, release the fuse and check it by an electricity check pen while the unit was connected to mains. It should be (+) signal. If not, reverse the AC plug from the wall

 

14- Listening Volume Level; It is for sure nobody’s business to tell you that what the correct listening volume setting is. Some audiophiles like very low listening level, some turn on the volume till the windows are broken.

 

If the outcome is to achieve the ambiance of the recorded venue, volume level should be adjusted accordingly but not more or not less. This case is applicable to acoustic instruments only but not to electronic music, jazz or disco etc.

 

What ever the listened record is, correct volume setting should be the one which does not enlarge or shrink the original instrument. Higher volumes may For instance a guitar should be played with the original volume of a guitar by correct volume setting. If volume level is increased, the body of the guitar will became bigger in obsolete terms, on the other hands, full body of a Mormon chorus will not be so realistic at low volumes

 

15- Warming Up the Speakers and Cables Before Critical Listening; Apart from the theory that “Solid state electronics provide their best sound for a few minutes till the transistors became warm.” every single audio equipment needs a warm up time. This time is at least 1/2 hour or even 1 hour in spite the manufacturers recommend less. Up to my knowledge, the reason behind this is the specifications of the resistors, capacitors, tubes and other stuff vary if they are cold or warm. Manufacturers make final settings when the units are warm, otherwise they would play perfect for the first half an hour and worse after warmed up.

 

That principal is applied by every audiophile for the electronics but not always for the speakers and the cables.

Speakers are quite important since their passive components should be warmed up such as crossover resistors. Their voice coils should be warmed up as well. The cables are also important. Warm up term may not eligible for the cables but the cables should be run for sometime till their dielectrics are charged.

 

As a result, the warming up time should be completed by playing (may not be listening) the entire system.

 

16- Proper Loudspeaker Selection for Listening Room; Loudspeaker should be selected in conjunction with the listening room dimensions. Unfortunately the general tendency in audiophiles particularly in US is “the bigger is better”

 

It is like some new starting skiers that choose the best ski equipments prior to learning and facing with so many problems afterwards.

Big loudspeakers are difficult to position, difficult to drive, affected more from the room boundaries. If the speaker is bigger for the room, excessive bass energy will diminish rest of the sounds. The bigger speaker means bigger problems. Driving big speakers requires challenge, experience, sources, time and money.

 

17- PS Audio Power Plant; Principally I avoid giving specific brands in my non commercial web site. But PS Audio Power Plant is such a special product that similar components do not comparable with. It is a kind of power regenerator powered by electricity. P300 actually regenerates new AC for the audio gear. This regenerated AC is of much better quality than filtered AC because of the stabile voltage and near perfect AC waveform. It also removes 70 dB of EMI and RFI noise from the AC line!

 

Not all friends are agreed with me but according to me, it is very special equipment that lifts up the entire system to a higher level.

What would you expect from it is much relaxed sound, more layered deep and wide soundstage, crystalline treble and more inner details. Improvements are immediately apparent. Take care to use with power hungry amplifiers. (I am not sure about this currently Note: 2005)

 

18- CD Surface Treatments; There is several kinds of CD surface treatments in the market. They shine the surface of CD, thus laser picks up more information. What can be expected from a surface treatment is the high frequencies are cleaner and more extended. The easiest and the cheapest method of CD surface treatment is the one that used by pipe lovers .That is the human oil on the skin of face.

 

I apologize for that ugly tweak but our systems are personal and private anyway don’t they. Human oil has the perfect thin viscosity and can be absorbed by CD surface very easily and effectively. Listen your CD first, smear the CD throughout your forehead and spread the oil with your finger and listen it again.

 

Don’t forget to spread the oil by your finger every time prior to listen that CD.

 

19- Objective of the Third Dimension ; The objective of a stereo system is to achieve 3.rd dimension via two channels. All the hi-end or hi-fi equipments have own character, timbre and tonality. For instance a titanium tweeter will have different tonality then a silk dome tweeter. Two different brands of loudspeakers will have different tonalities as if they use the same drive units. The tonality of high end equipment mostly depends on the listening preferences of the designer. We will most probably not like if hear different tonalities from our own equipments even though the other system sounds much better. This case is so often faced; most of the audiophiles don’t like the sound of somebody else’s system despite it is a better system. This case is also evident when buying or testing new equipment at homes. We sometimes test better equipment at home but feel something is still missing compared to our own equipment.

 

I remember very well, when Sony introduced the first 20 Bits CD player, most of the people found the sound harsh, edgy and coloured. People used to listen dark sounding CD players up to that time and hearing more inner details disturbed them.

 

I also remember very well that when I modified my old B&W 801 Matrix II monitor speakers and cancelled their protection units, the new sound had disturbed me a lot. I was such unhappy by the new sound and could not have listened at my system for several days. At that time, the manufacturer expressed that “the protection units were needed due to the speakers were designed mainly for recording studios”. They also told to me that the new sound must be clearly better due to the crossover resistance that affects especially the lower mid and upper bass was lowered fairly. After several days of listening them, the sound became better and better. Eventually the sound was surprisingly perfect after few weeks. Actually the sound was the same but perception was changing. (My brain reference was changing)

 

If this is the often case, how do we distinguish the better unit by listening! There are several ways of it but for me the main method is third dimension capability. This is not the only case for sure but generally speaking, if two units are compared, the better one is the one delivers bigger soundstage, more dept and more height.

 

This is also the theory of Peter Quodrup from Audio Note UK and I am hundred percent agreed with him.

The distortion of an electronic device is does not effect the tonality of the equipment but mainly effects the inner details. Soundstage dept and height are such hidden factors in inner details that they will be affected first. If the unit provide lower distortion, more precise soundstage, especially more dept will be provided.

 

20- The Least Powerful Ring of a Chain; Hi-Fi is a kind of chain. Strength of a chain depends on the least powerful ring. Assume a water hose consists of variety of wideness. Derived water capacity will be in accordance with the thinner part.

 

A system should consist of similar level of equipments. If you add the best CD transport to a standard level of system, there will be some changes but not as expected. Also a poor digital cable will compress the entire sound quality of a very good system.

 

A long term plan should be prepared before setting up a system and the pieces should be purchased in time. Hurried purchases may come as replacement expense within one or two years.

 

 

21- Don’t Immediately Judge a Unit, Give a Chance; Every system can sound well in time. System synergy is a kind of time dependent factor that sometimes takes months, even years. Sometimes we make quick decisions and quick prejudices for good products and immediately make unfair observations. According to me, the main element of the hi-end chain is the loudspeaker. If tonality and characteristics of the speaker is generally fine, or if the overall tonality of the entire system is generally fine, the system can be carried up for several further steps by playing with cables, tweaks, locations, tubes etc.

 

22- Critical Adjustments Should be Done by Listening Symphonic Music or Chorus Music; Once we decided about the main components of our system, we play with cables, tubes, tweaks and other accessories till finding the desired tonality. Adjusting the tonal balance of a system by listening single instruments or jazz trios may mislead us.

 

Upper mid and the treble bands of a sound is easily disappeared if somebody is far away from the original signal. This is the case, if we listen at a live concert or listen at a hi-end system. If this is the case, such instruments like saxophone, guitar, violin, even a human voice are darker and distant if we listen at a very good live record. Whenever we increase mid/treble band of the system by tweaks, such instruments became more open, detailed and dynamic. But one thing should be in mind that we may add a subtle amount of coloration to sound unconsciously. If a system is trimmed by listening small trios or single instruments, singe voices, this risk is really big. Such a system may not play a classical music performed by a big orchestra. If such symphonic music is listened, the system may reveal harshness and brightness.

 

It is often said that somebody’s system plays well in classics but sounds quite dark in jazz, or somebody else’s system is quite revealing in jazz but very bright and glazing at classical music. I believe this is the main reason of those phenomena

 

END

 

 

Hi-End is such a passion that so many opportunist firms and persons are added every year in spite hi-end community is not growing enough. Prices are multiplied by 3, 5, 10s every year. Every producer pretends to be one of the best in the world or at least within particular price level. Manufacturers issue review reports prepared by some ones!

 

No testing equipments in today’s technology can prove that their claims are correct or no testing equipments can invalidate that their claims are wrong. In no way equipment can compare two units each other and prove that one is better sounding then the other. Pretended best in the world equipments/cables often suck in blind testing. If this is the case, it is easy to claim to be the best in the world due to nobody can prove the opposite.

 

The price of valuable equipment can fall down to 1/3 of the purchasing price within few years by the additions of MK-II’s, MK-III’s, Special Editions, and Signature Versions

 

While the best speaker in the world was sold by 7.000 ? Twenty years ago, the best speaker nowadays is more then 200.000? A poor line stage which is used to lower the volume is sold out by 40.000.?

 

Hi-End technology does not grow up for years. Most of the hi-end producers are very small family entrepreneurs that targeting very rich few niche people. They don’t have proper research and development laboratories. Design and esthetical properties are the priorities.

 

I have the strong impression that Hi-End is digging its own grave with that pricing policy. We will see what will happen to hi-end after 30 years.

It is a deep less hole. My humble recommendations for the just starters is that go with second hand market products and go by reasonable priced equipments to minimize the losses of years. Never look for the perfect sound which is not exist in any money. Keep in mind that a 300.000? Worth amplifier may be % 2-3 better then a 5.000? Worth of his small brother.

 

Best regards with lots of music..

 

Ozhan Atalay

 

High definition technology for Aluminum fabrication and repair

With the development of science and technology the use of various metals has increased by leaps and bounds where metals like aluminum, silver etc is actively used in various industries. These include the automobile industry, home accessories, fashion accessories etc where the metals are used for various products, parts and subparts and therefore form an integral part of human needs. The use of metals dates long back to the prehistoric times of civilizations when ancient men and women used them too to serve their needs of utensils, fashion accessories like bracelets, necklaces etc. At that time the malleable and ductile property of these metals were extensively used.

Even in the current times these metals are strongly used for various purposes. Among all the malleable and ductile metals, aluminum finds the most popular use in various metal parts which includes Aluminum Heads, Fuel Tanks, Brackets, Cast Iron Heads, Ladders, Tool Boxes, Transmission Cases, Refrigeration, Timing Covers, Rivets, Irrigation Pipes, generators etc where there is often need for Aluminum fabrication due to some damage or breaking of the parts. People often come across the situation where they look for different ways thinking of how to weld the broken corners of aluminum metal. The welding of this metal requires a high energy or heat source which melts the corners and then holds them tightly. But these kinds of sophisticated products require great care while repairing and therefore the use of any simple welding machine can prove to be very harmful for the complete look and structure of the item which is supposed to be welded. The item can be a wheel chair too which is been broken and needs immediate repair so that it can be again made functional. Therefore one needs to use the best welding machine which is easy to produce energy and doesn’t require any extra added source of energy.

With the advent of technology there are now various equipments other than the welding machines like the brazing rods which require very little source of energy to produce well finished results. These latest brazing rods offer stronger and better results on any kind of surface. Therefore the technicians and mechanics that continuously have to deal with such situations are better equipped to provide quality results to their regular consumers. Without using the welding machines these brazing rods have created a new revolution in the repair industry but one needs to look out for only the trustworthy ones which offer good results in a short duration.  These are capable of doing the most impossible of all the tasks in quick seconds without having to send the broken part into come welding facility.

Increase The Productivity Of Your Office Employees With Proficient Office Chairs!

Even trivial things can bring about significant difference in the atmosphere of the office. Little things like proper desks, right computer and filing cabinet can influence productivity in the office manifold. These little things keep the office running smoothly. An amazing office can be ruined by the use of regular chair with legs. On the other hand, the use of unconventional and sleek office chairs can bring comfort and elegance in the office space.

It is no denying that most of us spend the maximum number of hours in our office chairs than all the other chairs, sofas and stool in our entire lifetime. With more and more people working for more hours, many with back pains, more ladies working while pregnant, coupled with reports suggesting the health and productivity benefits of properly fitted office chair, it is evident that high quality office chair is paramount requirement for any organization.  

There are several retailers and suppliers in the market facing stiff competition for their business in office accessories. So, what are the attributes to look for while choosing an appropriate office chair?

Obviously, there are certain key things to note that will help you identify a chair that will support your back bone and not crush it.

An ergonomic office chair is great equipment in providing neck and back support and help in improving the posture of a person by avoiding the tendency to slouch. Quite a few employees in companies and organizations usually experience lumbar pain, only because they remain seated in their chairs for long stretch of time. An ergonomic office chair is the best option for offices as it promises maximum comfort and health to its user. Here are some tips to ensure the right chair for your office.

Lower back focus:
Look for a chair with strong structural focus on the lower back area. Support in this area of the body helps the person in maintaining a good posture, something that is essential for avoiding undue emphasis on the spine. If you choose to sideline the spine, you are likely to worsen the existing back pain issues and probably create new ones.

Lumber support:
An important indicator of a quality office chair is one fitted with lumbar support. This type of support cares for the lower back’s inward curve. If this natural curve is not supported, it can lead to a flattening of the curve which can lead to stress on the spinal structure.

Height adjustment features:-
An ergonomic chair comes equipped with height adjustment features that allow people with a range of heights to sit comfortably with their feet flat on the floor while keeping their arms at desk height. It is not healthy or advisable to have feet and legs suspended all day nor is it good for arms to not align with the desk. Issues like these are the root cause of carpal tunnel syndrome.

Adjustable head rest:-
A good quality office chair comes with an adjustable headrest to provide neck support, a support that is crucial for anyone working on a computer for the maximum part of the day.

Swivel Capabilities:-
Ergonomic chairs have a capability to swivel easily so the occupier is not continuously straining to reach different areas of their desk throughout the day.
Most of us spend a good deal of time testing and selecting the most comfortable couch for our living rooms, yet something as important as office chair, where we spend the maximum number of hours is overlooked. Not anymore. Health professionals are saying it loud and clear that there are several benefits of properly fitted office chairs. Naturally! organizations and employers who intend to retain their office work force for a long time can never afford to overlook the single most important equipment for any office – Office Chair.

Leather Club Chair – The best leather club chair

In today’s world of fashion, interiors of a place hold a key attracting point. Now a day every individual is keen to decorate their house and make it attractive. When we speak about attraction, it doesn’t stop with paint works, designs and attractive pictures; even chairs add to the attraction of a house. The most reputed & stylish among them are leather club chair. Every home prefers these chairs for a royal look.

The Leather club chair is available in a variety of sizes & shapes. Each carry a different look and their comfort level vary. You can also choose your own colors.

Leather club chair is quite popular simply because they have the ability to blend in with any home decor. Natural shades and deep classy shades are also available. Leather club chair gives a home a trendy look and in these highly conscious times they have become a must have accessory in any home. The price of these chairs vary from 150 $ – 1000$ depending upon their model

Leather club chair on the other hand can easily be maintained but one thing that needs to be looked in is that these chairs should be placed away from sunlight because they may loose their shine and attraction when exposed to light. So installing leather club chair away from the sun is a good idea.

Most variety of club chairs are designed out of leather that is enclosed with soft stuffing, which could grant complete comfort, where the settings never matters anyway. With its rich quality and eminence, the leather club chair is much preferred amidst relatives and people alike. Nothing would bet or excel rather than relaxing on the leather club chair, as you might feel the sole of comfort after hectic or tiresome day. When you watch closer, leather club chair – the best leather club chair reviews matters a lot, as it has defined that any one could be relieved from the pressing stress regardless to the ambience where they are in. They give sole comfort, whereby you can sleep with colors.

As the club chair is designed out of leather, it is not a big deal to maintain it! When you check through the best leather club chair reviews, you might easily get to know the effortless maintenance that club chair expects. As the club chair is made out of fabric, the might quickly absorb the oil from your clothes. Considering this, and in order to make complete cleaning it is good if you vacuum it to remove the fine dust.

Leather club chair – The best leather club chair reviews shows that the chairs do occupy enough space depending on the model you prefer but they are really very smooth. These chairs don’t have sharp edges, so there is no fear of children getting hurt while playing.

Keep Those Germs Away With High Chair and Shopping Cart Covers

As winter approaches, viruses and germs become more prevalent, making parents take extra care to protect their little ones from potential illness! One way you can keep the germs away from your baby is by using a shopping cart cover and high chair cover available at Pure and Honest Kids!

High chair covers from Tuffet Too are a necessity this winter. If you go out-to-eat and you take your little one, you’ll definitely want to invest in one! With a high chair cover, you’ll be able to keep your baby clean and away from all the disgusting germs that cover so many restaurant high chairs. Additionally, restaurant high chairs are hard and very uncomfortable and a high chair cover from Tuffet will make eating out a more comfortable, cozy experience for your baby.

The Tuffet Too high chair covers come in three great patterns, including Baby Stripe, Pink Chocolate, and Paisley Punch.

Here are some of our favorite high chair covers from Tuffet Too. Don’t forget to add one to your Pure and Honest Kids GiftList registry today!

A shopping cart cover will also keep your baby nice and clean in those sometimes gross and germy shopping carts. We carry two lines of shopping cart covers- the Tuffet Too covers and Caden Lane covers. Both are stylish, adorable and safe!

Tuffet’s shopping cart covers come in four great styles, each with its own unique and adorable trim. Those styles include: Baby Stripe, Classy Plaid, Paisley Punch, and Pink Chocolate.

We also carry Caden Lane’s shopping cart covers in the Caden Lane Red Circle pattern, Light Blue Swirl pattern, and the Light Pink Swirl pattern. The Caden Lane shopping cart covers feature a front pocket for snacks, clips for baby toys and a safety belt for added security. The Caden Lane shopping cart covers also double as high chair covers, too!

Not only are the shopping cart covers protection against germs, these covers are also soft and padded to keep your little one comfy in the cart while you shop, shop, shop away!

These items make a great Pure and Honest Kids GiftList registry item!

Check out some of our favorite styles below.

Are you a breastfeeding mother who is looking for a stylish, yet functional way to nurse in public? Look no further than the Bebe au Lait nursing cover from Pure and Honest Kids.

From Bebe au Lait (a.k.a. Hooters Hiders), this chic, practical, award winning nursing cover is sought after by nursing moms everywhere!

Bebe au Lait is a nursing cover with a simple blend of beautiful fabrics thoughtfully chosen with chic moms in mind. A unique feature of the Bebe au Lait is the ability to shape the top edge, so that mom can see baby, and baby can see mom, an essential part of mother and child bonding during feeding times.

Unlike any old blanket used while breastfeeding, the Bebe au Lait is firmly attached to the nursing mother, so that Baby can’t grab it and throw it off, compromising Mommy’s modesty!

Each nursing cover is generously sized to fit every nursing mother. The neck strap is completely adjustable. A terry cloth panel at the bottom corner is perfect for little clean-ups. The Bebe au Lait folds up nicely to easily toss into any purse or diaper bag. A perfect accessory for nursing moms everywhere!

Bebe au Lait nursing cover has got you covered …in style!

Priced at .00.

Comes in many different styles such as Cream Soda (cream colored with a vibrant floral pattern), Newport (brown with blue floral), Soft Spot (white with red and pink polka dot pattern), and Yoko (black and white with a gorgeous Japanese inspired pattern), plus many other beautiful patterns!

Don’t forget to have add a Bebe au Lait nursing cover to your Pure and Honest GiftList! Makes a great gift….

Keekaroo Height Right Wooden High Chair ? The Right Chair for Your Growing Baby or Toddler

When you are planning for a new baby, there are so many things you will need – nursery furniture, car seats, strollers, clothes, bottles, and infant seats are just some of the purchases you will have to make.  When it comes time to think about a feeding chair for your little one, the decision is simple; the Keekaroo Height Right high chair provides comfort and support for children as young as six months, all the way to their teenage years.

How it works

The Keekaroo Height Right adjustable high chair is created to comfortably seat children of all ages, from the time they can sit up on their own (generally around six months) to their teenage years – all the way up to 150 pounds.

This sturdy, stylish wooden high chair is fully adjustable; the seat and footrest can be moved up or down to accommodate children of all sizes or to conform to any table height.

The backrest is slightly curved to fit the natural shape of your child’s body, promoting correct posture and providing support.  Studies have shown that proper trunk and pelvic support improves focus and the ability to complete a task; the Keekaroo adjustable kids’ chair is perfect for homework or projects, as well as meal times.

Optional accessories

The Height Right wooden high chair comes with an adjustable footrest and seat, as well as a three-point security strap.  Optional accessories include a tray for feeding time or play; an infant grab rail for additional trunk support; and comfort cushions that conform to your little one’s body.

Maintenance

The Keekaroo adjustable high chair is made of attractive, polished hardwood that fits any décor.  The chair is designed for years of use by a growing child, and cleaning is easy – just wipe up messes with a soft cloth and warm water.