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Otago Daily Times
12-06-2025
- Lifestyle
- Otago Daily Times
Op shops a trove of treasures
Proving that one person's trash is another person's treasure, a Dunedin woman has furnished her home with free and thrifted pieces. Kim Dungey reports. "It's kind of crazy," Anna Easton reveals. "My husband will be walking down the street and someone will yell out to him, 'I love your new bed sheets'." The comments might be a little personal but they're par for the course when thousands of people follow your wife's every decorating move on social media. Dubbed the "op shop queen", Mrs Easton has styled almost their entire home with things bought from second-hand stores and op shops or found on the side of the road. After two decades travelling the world, she returned to New Zealand with her South African-born husband, Sean, and their daughter, Frankie, in 2020. The family initially lived in Mrs Easton's home town of Oamaru, before moving to Dunedin. While much of their furniture is still in storage, the Halfway Bush house they are renting is filled with colourful and eclectic objects. "Everything from our couches to our stereo, our Persian rugs, our artwork, fabrics and clothing, it's all got a story," she says, pointing out the gold velvet curtains in the living room that cost just $30. "I was so excited when I saw them, I threw them over my shoulder. I'm just like, 'this is insane'." There are also vintage bowls and cutlery, candlewick bedspreads, retro lampshades, a Marantz stereo "that plays as beautifully as it did in the 1970s" and old-school speakers, some of which serve as bedside tables and coffee tables. The recycling enthusiast says she gravitates to certain colours, such as mustard, turquoise, orange and yellow, and describes her style as "eclectic colourful textures, bold boho art, modern retro and totally random". "I haven't done it for fun recently, just because we've been moving so much, but when I do go to op shops to browse, my favourite thing to look at first is the homewares/bric-a-brac section — that's my guilty pleasure," she says, picking up two mid-century "genie" bottles she found at the Oamaru Trading Post and "had to have". The items they have found on the side of the road have blown them away, she adds. In Melbourne, where they lived for a decade, they drove around on the days kerbside hard rubbish collections were held, dragging home colourful rugs, wooden pews and a green-fringed lampshade. Frankie's Scandinavian-style day bed was found around the corner from their home, as mother and daughter were returning from the supermarket. "I saw it and was like, 'oh my God'. The week before, I'd found a [flatbed] trolley on the side of the road so I got the trolley, put the bed on it and wheeled it the two blocks home." Working as a freelance photographer in Victoria's capital took Mrs Easton to suburbs she would not usually visit. "I'd see all these op shops and it was really exciting so I started to make a list of them to remember the best places to buy rugs or furniture or curtains. Then I started photographing them and making albums on my computer." That led to a Facebook page and website, She Hunts Op Shops, where she writes about op shops, photography, family life, outdoor adventures and "owning a poo business" — the couple bought a Portaloo and septic tank business, Awamoa Sanitation, in 2020 and still commute to Oamaru to run it. She also recently recorded a podcast for the Otepoti Waste Minimisation Network (Rethinking Waste on Spotify) and is planning a guide on Dunedin's op shops to complement the Wanaka, Queenstown and Oamaru ones already on her website. "We love living in Dunedin. It's the funkiest city in the whole world ... and the op shops here are dripping with treasure." The secrets to successful op-shopping include visiting them regularly and being patient, she says. Sometimes she has time to browse but usually she is looking for a specific everyday item. "I could go to six op shops in a day but when I go, I'm in and out like a fly." "For instance, if we need more screws or tools for our business, I'll go to specific op shops that I know sell hardware and I'll buy them there ... And if we really need some sheets, I'll only look at sheets. I won't look at anything else." Having moved seven times in the past four years, she also knows something about making a rental more homely. The first thing they do is put their own curtains up, she says, adding that replacing the "corporate grey" curtains in their rental immediately changed the look of the whole house and that she collects second-hand curtain accessories, such as wire, rings and hooks, "because buying that stuff new is just so expensive". Then they add their own lampshades, rugs and artwork, placing any existing ones into storage until they leave. While she will buy new items as a "last resort", op shop purchases are usually cheaper, more sustainable and better quality, she says. It's also about nostalgia and the thrill of not knowing what she will find. Recently, she went to a charity shop to buy a mop, also leaving with a $3 disco ball. "It's brought me so much joy. It's in my bedroom and when the sun hits it, that room sparkles like it's Studio 54." Frankie, 9, has inherited her parents' thrifty ways. "She's into buying things second-hand on Facebook Marketplace, which I think is really awesome. She's happy to wait for the best deal as opposed to wanting everything now. And she looks after her toys so she can sell them on afterwards ... " At the same age, Mrs Easton also had an eye for a bargain. "My friends and I built a tree hut and I chose the location specially to be above the dump so I could see what people were throwing out," she says. "When they left, I would drag the furniture up the hill. I decorated our entire tree hut with stuff from that rubbish tip."
Forbes
20-05-2025
- Forbes
Marantz Unveils Two New Reference-Quality Home Theater Components
Premium AV and Hi-Fi audio brand Marantz has today taken the wraps off a pair of new additions to its 'reference-quality' component range in the shape of the AV 20 AV pre-amp and AMP 20 power amplifier. Designed to join and complement the award-winning AV 10 pre-amp, AMP 10 power amp and CINEMA 30 AVR product family, the AV 20 and AMP 20 expand the variety of system configurations Marantz's high-end product range can support. Both new units are manufactured at the brand's premium factory, the Shirakawa Audio Works in Japan, and have been meticulously honed and refined by a Marantz Sound Master (a select group of experts within Marantz who are considered to have a particularly high level of listening expertise and judgment they can apply to tuning premium products). The AV 20 Pre-Amp and AMP 20 power amp. Photo: Marantz The AV 20 and AMP 20 both sport the latest iteration of Marantz's iconic 'porthole display' design, together with selectable side illumination, applied to an uncompromising build quality based on a multi-layer, copper-heavy chassis. The new devices' remote controls are made from aluminium, too, as well as offering button backlighting to make them easy to use in dark rooms. Let's get next into the specifics of each model. The AV 20 carries the latest and most powerful Analog Devices SHARC Dual-core DSP chipset, partnered with uncompromising 32-bit two-channel DACs with dedicated jitter reduction. This ensures that the AV 20 can precisely decode and process every possible form of incoming audio technology, including the most high-resolution stereo formats and every current form of immersive audio, including Dolby Atmos, IMAX Enhanced, DTS:X Pro and AURO-3D. The AV 20's premium processing system has been combined with the Audyssey MultEQ XT32 advanced room optimization system, which automatically calibrates sound to take into account your sound system's speaker sizes, speaker distances, level adjustment and many more factors besides. All with a focus, of course, on making sure the AV 20 is able to adapt its audio mastery to as wide a range of speakers and listening environments as possible. Detail of the Marantz AV 20 Pre-Amp. Photo: Marantz Marantz has also equipped the AV 20 with Dirac Live Room Correction plus the Dirac Live Bass Control, enabling you to integrate up to four separated and fully optimized subwoofers into your sound system. Plus, for the first time in a Marantz product, the AV 20 will eventually (following an upcoming firmware update) carry the Dirac Live Active Room Treatment (ARC) technology that's claimed to create an unprecedentedly cohesive and tonally consistent listening experience. The AV 20 carries seven HDMI inputs all capable of supporting video feeds up to 8K/60Hz or 4K/120Hz, as well as multiple analog and digital inputs and an expansive range of custom installation-optimized features that enable it to adapt to pretty much any scale of set up, from relatively small media rooms to large home theater installations. The AV 20's discrete HDAM SA-3 preamplifier stage feeds up to 13.4 channels using either RCA or XLR outputs and, finally, the AV 20 supports the latest HEOS multi-room platform, making it as easy as possible to access content streamed through Roon, Spotify Connect, TIDAL Connect, Qobuz Connect, AirPlay 2 and Bluetooth. Finally, the AV 20 uses a fold-down front panel on its fascia to hide its relatively less-used controls, to retain that distinctive premium Marantz porthole look. Summary of key features: * SHARC dual-core DSP with 32-bit two-channel DACs * Timeless design with the iconic Marantz porthole display and modern high-definition on-screen display * 8K support for x7 HDMI inputs with x3 HDMI outputs * Support for Dolby Atmos™, IMAX Enhanced™, DTS:X Pro™ and AURO 3D™ * Audyssey MultEQ XT32 advanced room optimization included, plus Dirac Live calibration, including Bass Control and Active Room Treatment options, available at extra cost * Access to streaming services via HEOS®, Spotify Connect, TIDAL Connect, Qobuz Connect, Roon Ready, AirPlay 2, Bluetooth and more, all built-in * 12 x 200W Power Amplifier, with bi-amping and 400W BTL mode available Detail of the Marantz AMP 20. Photo: Marantz The AMP 20 is configured to deliver up to 12 channels of power with 200W per channel (8ohms, 1kHz, THD 0.05% with two channels driven). It also allows users to reconfigure pairs of 200W amp channels into bridged-tied-load (BTL) outputs, delivering up to six channels of 400W if you're lucky enough to have a speaker system that might benefit from that. Or you can opt to bi-amp up to six speakers, with both XLR and RCA inputs available. Other examples of how the AMP 20 might be used are as a powerful amplifier upgrade for owners of Marantz's CINEMA 30 AVR, or as a complement to AV 10 preamplifiers, where fewer channels of power are required. (Similarly, AV 20 buyers could, say, opt to buy the 16-channel AMP 10 Power Amplifier instead of the AMP 20 if they require more than the 12 channels of power offered by the AMP 20.) The Marantz AV20 and AMP 20 are both available to buy from today from selected retailers, with each product available for $6,500 in the U.S., €5,500 in Europe and £4,750 in the U.K. —— Related reading Kaleidescape Launches New Entry-Level Movie Player Samsung Adds New 3D Sound Technology To 2025 TV And Soundbar Range Hisense Unveils New Home Theater Audio System Specifically Designed For King-Sized TVs
Digital Trends
15-05-2025
- Digital Trends
Qobuz Connect launches with Denon, Marantz, and 58 more hi-fi brands
Fans of Qobuz, the France-based subscription music service that specializes in lossless, hi-res audio, now have a new way of streaming their favorite tracks to their favorite devices. Qobuz Connect has been added to the company's iOS, Android, macOS, and Windows apps, letting them control compatible streaming speakers and components from a big list of hi-fi brands. Most folks will recognize names like Denon and Marantz — every device made by these brands that work with the HEOS streaming software are now Qobuz Connect compatible — but the list also includes niche hi-fi players, such as Rotel, Nagra, HiFi Rose, Lindemann, Wiim, and Volumio. Here's the entire list. 'Qobuz Connect is a feature that has been eagerly awaited by our subscribers,' said Qobuz's Chief Product Officer, Axel Destagnol. 'We are proud to offer the most complete Connect solution on the market today, combining high resolution, app synchronization and remote control. Our priority has been to develop a simple, intuitive interface, to facilitate the experience of all our listeners.' Recommended Videos Much like Spotify Connect and Tidal Connect, Qobuz Connect turns the Qobuz app into a single point of control, avoiding the need to use Bluetooth, AirPlay, Google Cast, or proprietary apps like Wiim Home. If you use your computer as your streaming device (perhaps connected to an external DAC), as long as the computer's Qobuz app is open, you can remote control it from the Qobuz mobile app. Moreover, all streams are sent from Qobuz's servers to the receiving device directly, at their maximum supported resolution, without needing to pass through your smartphone or computer first. I tried it out using the Qobuz app on iOS and macOS, sending streams to the Wiim Ultra network music streamer and it worked seamlessly. You'll need the most recent version of the Qobuz app, and you may need to update the firmware on your streaming device if it's on the list of supported brands. The new version of the app also simplifies the interface. Instead of offering two output menus (the bottom-left device menu and the top-right casting button), all connection options are now chosen from the bottom-left device menu. Qobuz Connect is perfect for the music fan who wants any easy way to stream to a single device, but at the moment, there's no way to connect to multiple Qobuz Connect devices simultaneously and no way to group them. If you need that kind of control, you'll have to use the native control app (HEOS, Wiim Home, etc) for your gear, or switch to a protocol like Apple AirPlay.
