Our Listeners of the Week are Ray, Steve, and James for their donations, our 80 Patreon Patrons, and Mark R. for telling Parts Express we recommended them.

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHskRwHZN3

In the news, UltraViolet is shutting down July 31. Brent Butterworth wrote an article, Eardrum Suck: The Mystery Solved explaining the sensation sometimes caused by active noise cancelling. And CalMAN Home will bring AutoCal for compatible TVs to the lowest price yet.

Tap T. mentioned GreenToe as a possible way to haggle online. Richard B. recommends using contact paper rather than paint to change the color of speakers. Mike S. let us know about a bunch of successful updates in his theater build. Jason G. confirmed that Amazon Echo devices can be grouped. And Steve from Next Gen Home Theater likely has wireless interference.

0:19:52 Nick B. wants new desktop speakers and a way to drive his headphones. We recommend the AudioEngine HD3 to accomplish both tasks. Nick asks about the Topping DX3Pro DAC/amp, and mentions Audio Science Review’s DAC comparison chart. We mention Monoprice’s headphone DAC/amp options, and the JDS Labs Atom + OL DAC combo. Then we discuss sound clips and hat channels, Surround speaker placement, a greater number of discrete side channels using Atmos, and what HDMI 2.1 actually gets you vs. HDMI 2.0.

0:36:03 Joel N. asks about the graph changes after the latest Audyssey Editor App update.

0:41:31 Kevin C. has pre-outs and wants a wireless speaker kit. We recommend the Outlaw OAW4, or the Dayton Wave-Link (with optional add-on Receiver)

0:45:33 Brian F. asks about real lumen output vs. specs, and whether a JVC projector could match the light output of his current Epson.

0:50:43 Steve wants to make sure the 6 ohm rated RBH Impression Elite Series speakers won’t be too hard to power.

0:52:52 Karl R. and Michael I. both ask for our take on Audioholics’ Expensive Audiophile Cables Really Do Sound Better video.

0:57:33 Michael R. has a small room, and wants to know if a Vizio flat panel is the right choice for his move to HDR vs. a projector.

1:01:36 Brian Z. finds out why he needs to activate Enhanced 4K Signal Format in his Denon Receiver, and enable full bandwidth HDMI on your TV, while we also mention CNET’s break down of which streaming devices support the best versions of several services.

1:06:49 Chris H. built a new TV stand, and found out he needs a new Receiver, so he asks about Audyssey MultEQ XT vs. XT32.

1:10:58 Josh is setting up a 2.2 gaming and movie corner within a larger room. In a shocking twist, we suggest a smaller 75″ Samsung Q8FN, in-ceiling Surround speakers, and a single SVS SB-3000. Bizarro world. Then we recommend a Denon X3400H from Accessories4Less, so at least that’s normal.

1:26:07 Robert J. is building a dedicated basement home theater. We make suggestions for screen size, say a JVC projector is worth the price, warn him away from an infinite baffle subwoofer, and point to Dolby’s current Atmos guidelines to assure him his Atmos speaker spacing is ok.

1:35:07 Davorin S. asks why miniDSP’s Auto-EQ guide says to set the speaker type to “none”.

1:36:36 Lance H. has audio issues with his Xbox One X that didn’t happen with his Xbox One S. And we speculate about why Atmos from his Xbox One might sound different than Atmos from his Apple TV 4K.

1:41:33 Bob asks if he should completely power down his NVidia Shield or just put it to sleep.

1:44:26 Infinite Gary wants to know why subtitles in HDR are so bright, and if there’s anything he can do to fix them. And then we talk a bit more about LG’s 2019 OLED TVs that can have their white sub-pixels shut off.

1:46:37 Jack R. has a TV and speaker positioning situation where we think the only fix is moving his speakers. But we suggest the Ascend HTM-200SE, HSU HB-1 MK2, and GoldenEar SuperSat speakers as options that work decently in compromised placement.

1:52:06 Jason S. wants a speaker upgrade especially for low volume playback. We recommend the RBH Impression Elite R-5E, or the Ascend Sierra-2 or Sierra Luna.

1:55:55 Carl gets our suggestion to use SketchUp to draw and plan his theater room, although we’d welcome any other suggestions.

1:57:00 Heath B. has had a bunch of different subwoofer and Receiver amplifiers and outputs die on him. We really think there’s something amiss with his electrical wiring. But in the meantime, we mention using his Front L/R pre-outs and setting his Main speakers to Full Range with the subwoofer output set to off as a work around to at least get a signal to his subs.

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