Welcome back, Tom! Thanks to Joe for co-hosting last week. Updates on Tom’s bad back. And his TV is still broken. Emotiva Differential Reference Design Series offers four, stackable, 2-channel Separates you can purchase individually, or in a money-saving bundle: the DRA-1, DRP-1, DRD-1, and DRS-1.

Pictures shows in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCHJG4

00:00:00 – Intro

Tom returns! Thanks to Joe. Update on Tom’s bad back.

00:08:20 – Tom’s Samsung S90D QD-OLED

Repairs aren’t quite as easy as we hoped.

00:13:54 – What We Watched

Rob finished Andor S.2, and Pluribus S.1

00:24:30 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Dan for his PayPal donation, plus our 121 Patreon Patrons.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Mark, John, Greg, Dazz, Larry, and Sasi. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:26:10 – News: Emotiva Differential Reference Design Series

The new DRA-1, DRP-1, DRD-1, and DRS-1 are fully-balanced, stackable, 2-channel Separates: https://tinyurl.com/55r9rk8w

Comments:

00:38:25 – CORRECTION: miniDSP Tide16 & Monolith HTP-1

Our YouTube commenters corrected us about Dirac ART, DTS:X, and price: https://www.minidsp.com/products/ht-series/tide16 | https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=37887

00:44:25 – Comment: Chris – Stream Your Gaming PC

A potential solution for keeping your AMD gaming PC in one room, but streaming its output to your theater: https://youtu.be/ZEZRWjtFTyQ

00:46:50 – Comment: John – Warranty Check

Thankfully, John checked his Sony TV’s receipt before buying a new TCL!

QUESTIONS:

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Tom is away this week, so Rob is joined by Joe Klusnick for an extra-long episode. SVS SB-3000 & PB-3000 R|Evolution subs are available now. miniDSP Tide16 is a 16-channel Pre-Pro with the full Dirac Live Suite included. Sony is selling 51% of its TV & Audio business to TCL. Sony Pictures will stream exclusively on Netflix. Netflix adjusted its Warner Bros. bid.

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

00:00:00 – Intro

Welcome back, Joe Klusnick!

00:04:32 – Missing Emails Reminder

We had emails go missing on us from Jan 6 – 11.

00:05:41 – How to Contact Us

Joe on AVS Forum: https://tinyurl.com/a5hxrpaf

00:07:34 – What We Watched

Joe watched: Stranger Things S.5, Tron: Ares, Avatar: Fire and Ash (in 3D), The Terminal List, Song Sung Blue, Roofman, and he read Project Hail Mary.

Rob watched Bugonia.

00:25:17 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are our 121 Patreon Patrons, including Rohan, Andy, and Nathan.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Infinite Gary, Dazz, Christian, Ilango, Rohan, Andy, Karl, Nathan, Scott, J.R., and Tim. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:29:58 – News: SVS 3000 R|Evolution Subs Launch

SB-3000 R|Evolution & PB-3000 R|Evolution now available: https://tinyurl.com/487auv66

00:34:09 – News: miniDSP Tide16 Pre-Pro

$3,500, 16-ch Pre-Pro w/ the full Dirac Live Suite: https://tinyurl.com/2hm8jnhw

00:41:57 – News: TCL & Sony Joint Venture

New agreement will see TCL take over 51% of Sony’s TV & Audio business: https://tinyurl.com/zns8tvms

00:46:04 – News: Netflix Exclusively Streams Sony Pictures

Sony Pictures features will stream exclusively on Netflix worldwide: https://tinyurl.com/544dfjeu

00:47:31 – News: Netflix Adjusts Warner Bros. Bid

Netflix commits to 45-day theatrical window, and an all-cash bid: https://tinyurl.com/jm5brbtn

Comments:

00:49:11 – Comment: Christian – ELAC Towers & LG B5

What if new speakers blend too well? And LG B5 Settings: https://youtu.be/YQ9E7RK0gDM

00:51:36 – FOR SALE: Adam – Outlaw Audio Model 976

We make an exception to maybe help Adam sell his Pre-Pro.

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Tom had a horrible week with a bad back and his new TV broke. He’s here for half the podcast. But on top of that, our email forwarding broke again! We can nail down that it was from Jan 6 – 11. If you emailed us during that time, all we can do is apologize, because those all vanished without a trace. Please, please send them again.

At CES: SVS announced their SB- and PB-3000 R|Evolution subs, and the new 3000 Micro R|Evolution that will come a bit later. They also announced their first R|Evolution SoundBar. Klipsch announced 2nd gen The Fives, The Sevens, and The Nines, plus the Reference Premiere III and Reference Signature Series. And Project Apollo is Klipsch’s high-end 2-ch prototype. Onkyo had new TX-RZ31, RZ51, RZ61 & RZ71 AV Receivers, and a return to Separates with the PR-RZ91 15-ch Pre-Pro and PA-RZ11 & RZ04 amplifiers.

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

00:00:00 – Intro

Tom shouldn’t be here. But he is. Last week’s back issues were bad.

00:06:05 – Tom’s TV Broke!

At least it happened early and is clearly under warranty.

00:10:09 – Broken Emails Again!

We are so sorry! But more emails vanished, and the only thing we can do is ask for you to send them to us again. If you emailed us last week from Jan 6 – 11, we didn’t get your email. Our website was briefly down, too. We think all of it is fixed now.

00:22:00 – Rob’s Personal Updates

Just been toying with some tech for the parents.

00:24:32 – What We Watched

Tom finished S.1 of Fallout, and continues watching St. Denis Medical. Rob watched Tron: Ares.

00:49:30 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Keegan for his PayPal donation, plus our 121 Patreon Patrons, including Ilango, as well as Yanick for alerting us when our website was down, Curt for helping us test our emails, and Ilango for sending Rob some money to put towards Dirac Live ART.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Daniel and James. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:52:31 – News: SVS 3000 R|Evolution Subs & SoundBar

SVS SB-3000 R|Evolution & PB-3000 R|Evolution will soon replace the original 3000 Series models. A 3000 Micro R|Evolution sub will come later. As will the R|Evolution SoundBar and R|Evolution SoundBar Max bundle: https://tinyurl.com/2s47rubx

01:04:01 – News: Klipsch & Onkyo

New Klipsch The Fives II, The Sevens II, and The Nines II. Plus new Reference Premiere III and Reference Signature Series home theater speakers, and 2-ch Project Apollo.

Onkyo TX-RZ31, RZ51, RZ61 & RZ71 AV Receivers. And a return to Separates with the PR-RZ91 15-ch Pre-Pro, and PA-RZ11 & RZ04 amplifiers: https://youtu.be/HwNXkF5MmfY

01:14:23 – Happy New Year, Lee Overstreet!

Lee joins Rob in Tom’s absence to answer this week’s questions. Naturally, we catch up a bit first.

01:21:24 – What Lee Watched

Lee dropped Netflix in favor of Apple TV, so he watched Pluribus, and Murderbot.

QUESTIONS:

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Happy New Year! And Happy Anniversary to Tom!

CES 2026 is happening as we speak. We mention LG’s RGB Stripe OLED & Samsung’s V-Stripe RGB QD-OLED monitor tech. Hisense’s 116UXS RGB miniLED Evo adds a 4th sub-pixel. TCL’s RM9L is an RGB miniLED LCD, but their X11L flagship uses SQD-miniLED with Super Quantum Dots. LG’s C6H OLEDs rival last year’s G5, while their W6 Wallpaper OLED replaces the M5 Series. Samsung is all-in on matte screens and art frames, while their R95H RGB microLED is the first 130″ LCD TV.

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

00:00:00 – Intro

Happy Anniversary to Tom! But sorry about his bad back.

00:05:44 – Personal Updates

How our holidays went. Tom’s new TV, and Rob’s new car.

00:15:28 – What We Watched

Rob watched Bring Her Back. Tom watched Superman, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and Deadpool & Wolverine.

00:32:56 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Steve for his PayPal donation, plus our 120 Patreon Patrons.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Brandon, Ash, Nathan, Henry, Gurinder, Karl, Stan, Paul, Art, Stefan, Scott, John, and Patrick. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:34:45 – News: RGB Stripe & V-Stripe OLEDs

LG and Samsung both have new OLED and QD-OLED monitor tech, respectively, aimed at making text clear to read: https://tinyurl.com/yv6wx3jb

00:38:57 – News: Hisense Goes RGB miniLED

Less expensive and smaller RGB miniLED LCD TVs are coming, plus RGBC miniLED Evo and RGBY microLED: https://tinyurl.com/5528xym8

00:40:13 – News: TCL Super Quantum Dots

TCL does have RGB miniLED in their RM9L, but their flagship X11L & QM8L get SQD-miniLED: https://youtu.be/QB0WmEVrYB8

00:42:28 – News: LG C6H, G6 & W6 OLEDs

Tandem OLEDs with glossy screens, including the return of Wallpaper: https://youtu.be/mun8ieYgmz4

00:47:03 – News: Samsung Matte & 130″

S95H has a frame. S90H is matte any maybe not QD: https://youtu.be/kmfau5WvFVA

R85H RGB microLED goes smaller, while R95H goes huge at 130″: https://tinyurl.com/msjct69f

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Merry Christmas & Happy New Year!

This will be our final episode of 2025. So we’ll see you all in 2026 next episode!

We each made a big purchase. Andrew posted his Sofabaton X2 Review over at AVGadgets, and Rob has fresh Sofabaton X2 thoughts, as well. Dolby Vision + Atmos Theater that isn’t a Dolby Cinema. And LG Micro RGB Evo joins the RGB MiniLED wave of new LCD TVs.

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCEC4u

00:00:00 – Intro

It’s our final episode of 2025! Tom discovered some cost-savings.

If you never heard your question answered or your email mentioned on the podcast, please send it to us again, as we definitely had several missing emails in the recent past.

00:07:43 – What Rob Bought

A big early Christmas present that Rob bought for himself: https://tinyurl.com/bddrphcj

00:14:17 – What Tom Bought

We already knew he bought a QD-OLED, but now it’s out of its box and set up: https://tinyurl.com/3k9uj8a5

00:17:36 – Sofabaton X2 Review on AVGadgets

Andrew posted his Sofabaton X2 Review! Tom’s going to write an entire review of his own. And Rob has fresh thoughts about the X2 to share: https://avgadgets.com/sofabaton-x2-review-harmony-who/

• Use Promo Code: GADGETSAV in the “Paying with” section after adding the Sofabaton X2 to your cart for 15% off: https://amzn.to/4s787fi

00:33:29 – What We Watched

Tom finished S.1 of Solo Leveling. Rob watched Captain America: Brave New World, and Thunderbolts*.

00:41:28 – Contact Info

00:42:23 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Dan for his PayPal donation, plus our 122 Patreon Patrons, as well as Bill for sending a movie code, and Sasi for offering to sell Tom an AV Receiver at a discount.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Brian, Infinite Gary, Nick, Art, Jay, Karl, Brandon, Rory, and (a different) Jay. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:46:19 – News: Dolby Vision + Atmos Theater

Via Karl – The Movie Experience SLO: Downtown Centre Cinemas will be the first non-Dolby Cinema in the US to feature Dolby Vision: https://tinyurl.com/5x3zs5h4

00:48:55 – News: LG Micro RGB Evo

Everyone is getting into RGB miniLED backlights for LCD TVs, and LG has no intention of being left behind: https://tinyurl.com/3ta2teh5

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