Tom is away this week, so Lee Overstreet is guest co-hosting. He and Rob both unbox a Sofabaton U3 Universal Remote live on camera, and share immediate impressions of just the hardware. The final firmware isn’t available yet. And apparently it’s new AV Receiver week! Yamaha RX300A & RX500A are entry-level models. Denon X2900H & X3900H are mid-tier models. And Emotiva LXR-11 & LXP-16 are high-end, high-channel count models. So there’s something for everyone.

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

00:00:00 – Intro

Welcome back, Lee. And congrats again to the three winners of our Sofabaton X1S giveaway last week.

00:03:54 – Catching Up with Lee

Just some small, quick updates in our personal lives.

00:05:34 – Sofabaton U3 Unboxing and Hardware Preview

Not a review! The final firmware wasn’t ready at the time of recording, and we didn’t even power them on. But we each unbox a Sofabaton U3 Universal Remote and share our immediate impressions of the hardware.

– https://www.sofabaton.com/product/u3

00:26:13 – Sofabaton U3 Early Bird Deal

The brand new U3 Universal Remotes are all available to pre-order at a discount right now.

Sofabaton U3 Early Bird pre-orders: $100 instead of $130

– https://dada.link/w8pm8h

– https://dada.link/8by-Jx

00:32:24 – Sofabaton X1S & X2 Discounts

Via our links and discount codes, you can get the Sofabaton X1S and X2 Universal Remote at reduced prices.

Sofabaton X1S:

– from Amazon: https://amzn.to/4rLZW73

– Code: TOMX1S35 = 35% off

– from Sofabaton’s website: https://dada.link/NXdEBn

– Code: TOMX1S = 25% off

Sofabaton X2:

– from Amazon: https://amzn.to/4u4orgZ

– Code: THOMASWT = 15% off

00:35:04 – Our Contact Info

Rob and Lee are both on Blue Sky

– Rob: https://bsky.app/profile/firstreflect.bsky.social

– Lee: https://bsky.app/profile/leeoversky.bsky.social

00:37:38 – What We Watched

Lee is watching For all Mankind, and Foundation on Apple TV. Rob watched Good Fortune on Crave.

00:52:50 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are our 121 Patreon Patrons.

And we appreciate the note of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from Corey. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:54:15 – News: Yamaha RX300A & RX500A

New entry-level Receivers from Yamaha. We dig the way the $400 RX300A handles Atmos support.

– RX300A: https://tinyurl.com/5bmcrb93

– RX500A: https://tinyurl.com/mw6tunvx

01:02:25 – News: Denon X2900H & X3900H

New mid-level Receivers from Denon. Dirac comes to the X2900H.

– X2900H: https://tinyurl.com/ynv6xtdw

– X3900H: https://tinyurl.com/mpez6mwh

01:10:50 – News: Emotiva LXR-11 & LXP-16

A whole new LX Series from Emotiva. Both can process 15 speakers and 4 subwoofers. The Receiver has 11-channels of Hypex Ncore Class-D amplification built-in.

– Emotiva LX Series: https://tinyurl.com/3jdw59zy

Comments:

Read more…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

We announce the winners of our Sofabaton X1S Universal Remote giveaway! Everyone else can enjoy a 35% discount code if you buy an X1S through our affiliate link.

Nintendo announced a price increase for the Switch 2, plus a new bundle before that happens. JL Audio released their Primacy Series luxury speakers.

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCTQ6H

00:00:00 – Intro

00:02:09 – Sofabaton X1S Giveaway Winners

The names of three winners are randomly drawn and announced. Congrats to the winners!

If you’d like to buy a Sofabaton X1S at the biggest discount possible, use our Amazon.com affiliate link below, and enter the 35% discount code: TOMX1S35

– https://amzn.to/4rLZW73

– Discount Code: TOMX1S35

And we have to issue a CORRECTION here: our contact at Sofabaton was able to create a discount of 35% off MSRP when buying directly from the Sofabaton website. But the total isn’t as low as when buying through the Amazon affiliate link. We apologize, but this was the best they could do.

– https://dada.link/NXdEBn

– Discount Code: TOMX1S

The total in your cart for a Sofabaton X1S after the respective discount codes shows up as $116.99 on Amazon.com, or $134.99 on the Sofabaton website, before taxes + shipping in both cases.

Sorry for the mix up!

00:11:03 – Personal Updates

An interesting “summer job” for one of Tom’s sons. And a census for Rob.

00:25:12 – What We Watched

Tom still hasn’t reassembled his theater, so he hasn’t watched anything new. Rob watched Send Help.

00:36:33 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are our 121 Patreon Patrons, as well as John for sending a movie code for Tom to test.

And we appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: John, Guy, Jason, Russell, Steve, J.R, Brandon, Joe, Jefferson, Luc, Mark V, Scott, James, Jacob, Matthew, David, Sean, Dan, Hal, Paul, Jonathan, Dean, Theo, Steven, J.D, Jocelyn, Richard, Nelson, Rob J, and Chris. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:40:11 – News: Switch 2 Price Increase

No surprise, Nintendo is also raising the price of their gaming console. North America and Europe have until September to buy at the current price: https://tinyurl.com/54jdvp5f

00:42:45 – News: New Switch 2 Bundle

The Mario Kart World and Super Mario Galaxy bundles are gone, but a new $500 bundle with your choice of 1 of 3 games is coming in June: https://tinyurl.com/bdh5v6xe

00:44:33 – News: JL Audio Primacy Series

JL Audio enters the luxury speaker market with their expensive Primacy T6 and S3 speakers: https://tinyurl.com/586kacnx

Comments:

00:59:54 – Comment: Infinite Gary – Panasonic KP-100

Another week, another basement find. This time, it’s the KP-100 Auto-stop pencil sharpener.

01:00:45 – Comment: Joe Klusnick – Assisted Living Theater

Joe installed and calibrated another theater in an assisted living residence, and he shares some photos and details.

QUESTIONS:

Read more…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

We will be randomly drawing the names of the winners of our Sofabaton X1S Universal Remote giveaway next week! So now’s your last chance to enter the draw. Email us!

Sony is downgrading OTA integration and features. And Electroluminescent Quantum Dot displays have a new initialism, and a projected release year.

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCT4zJ

00:00:00 – Intro

Adjectives for Canadian weather are out-of-control.

00:05:13 – Sofabaton X1S Giveaway Last Chance

We’ve had an amazing response. And there’s still time to enter! Email us. We’ll be drawing the names of the winners next week!

Don’t want to wait?

You can still get 35% off when you purchase a Sofabaton X1S through our affiliate link and enter our promo code in the Payments section during checkout:

– Sofabaton X1S affiliate link: https://amzn.to/4rLZW73

– Promo Code: TOMX1S35

00:07:55 – Personal Updates

Some of our viewers can probably make out the mess behind Tom on his webcam. Tom’s kids are home. And we probably invited a bunch of awful comments from the bot farms.

00:17:24 – What We Watched

All of the components of Tom’s home theater seem to be in hand now, but he still hasn’t watched anything. Rob watched Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die.

00:26:53 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are our 121 Patreon Patrons, as well as Jack for generously offering to cover the shipping costs for our Sofabaton X1S, which he thankfully won’t have to do, since Sofabaton themselves are coming through for us. So thanks to them, too!

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Greg, Tom, Greg H, Adam, Scott, Brian and Troy. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:34:31 – News: Sony Downgrades OTA

Via Mark – Sony is removing a bunch of functionality from their OTA tuners and set-top box integration on most of their newest TVs: https://tinyurl.com/3ewknz95

00:38:35 – News: Electroluminescent Quantum Dots

At SID Display Week, electroluminescent quantum dot displays got a new initialism: EL-QD. And a predicted year when they’ll hit the market: https://tinyurl.com/bthh9cdv

Comments:

00:44:58 – Comment: Infinite Gary – More Panasonic

Some blast-from-the-past manuals found in his basement.

00:47:08 – Comment: Jonathan – Schiit’s Honest Press Release

Schiit Audio’s new $99 Buf tube buffer gets an honest description in their own press release: https://tinyurl.com/55x9vm4m

QUESTIONS:

Read more…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

There’s still time to enter our free draw to giveaway at least one Sofabaton X1S universal remote! Just email us. RGB-backlit LCD TVs go by many different marketing names, but four of the biggest brands have revealed screen sizes and prices they’ll be offering this year. Valve’s Steam Controller has a price and a release date. Microsoft actually lowered the price of Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass, but with a catch.

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCSgb2

00:00:00 – Intro

00:01:50 – Sofabaton X1S Giveaway

There’s still time to enter your name into our upcoming free draw to giveaway at least one Sofabaton X1S universal remote!

00:06:07 – Personal Updates

Improv and parenting alone for a week. Spring cleaning.

00:12:27 – What We Watched

Rob watched Rental Family.

00:24:12 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are our 123 Patreon Patrons, including James.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Greg, Leighton, Gurinder, Terry, Hubert, Kevin, Eric, Mark, James, and Greg H. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:26:43 – News: RGB-Backlit LCD TV Prices

LG MRGB95B Micro RGB Evo, Hisense UR9S RGB Mini-LED, TCL RM9L RGB-Mini LED, and Samsung R95H & R85H Micro RGB LED TVs all get screen size and price announcements: https://tinyurl.com/3atnnpwf

00:39:23 – News: Valve Steam Controller

Still no word on the Steam Machine and Steam Frame, but the Steam Controller is arriving May 4th for $100: https://tinyurl.com/ysrw4kdu

00:43:03 – News: Game Pass Price Lowered

The recent, massive price increases were, in fact, too much. So Xbox Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass are coming back down…a bit. And there’s a pretty big catch: https://tinyurl.com/mwmayrv3

Comments:

00:49:43 – Comment: Gurinder – PJ & Screen Updates

We still can’t diagnose the power issue he had, but at least his JVC projector has been functioning fine. And he convinced himself his screen actually is acoustically transparent.

00:51:25 – Comment: Infinite Gary – Panasonic RF-1080

Another old Panasonic product find from the stash in Gary’s basement.

00:52:33 – Comment: Karl & Herb – Critical Listening w/ Hearing Aids

Karl shared an article discussing the link between untreated hearing loss and dementia. Herb mentions acoustician Leo Beranek who continued doing his professional work while wearing hearing aids.

– Audiology.org article: https://tinyurl.com/yeynjzpc

– https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leo_Beranek

00:55:02 – Comment: Eric – Completed Theater

He had most of the plans in place prior to finding our podcast. But listening to us helped him tweak some decisions, and he’s happy with the results.

QUESTIONS:

Read more…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

We will be giving away at least one Sofabaton X1S Universal Remote. Email us to enter the free, random draw. Tim Cook is stepping down as Apple CEO, with John Ternus taking his place in September. Optoma HCPro-5400 is a bright, RGB laser, DLP projector. PerListen X-Series on-wall speakers. And Disney Infinity Vision.

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

00:00:00 – Intro

Tom’s shelving problems and back treatment updates. Other family updates.

00:16:24 – Sofabaton X2 Was Not To Blame

Tom corrects himself, because it turns out his Sofabaton X2 was not the problem.

– https://www.sofabaton.com/product/x2/

00:21:15 – Sofabaton X1S Giveaway

We honestly don’t have the details worked out, but we will be giving away at least one Sofabaton X1S remote. Just email us and say you’d like a free Sofabaton X1S for a chance to win our upcoming random draw!

– https://www.sofabaton.com/product/x1s/

00:24:23 – What We Watched

Rob watched 28 Years Later: The Bone Temple.

00:33:52 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Dan and Patricio for their PayPal donations, plus our 121 Patreon Patrons, including Kenneth.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Henry, Kev, Bill, Brandon, Ren, Ray, Karl, Patricio, and Sasi. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:39:32 – News: New Apple CEO

Tim Cook is stepping down as Apple CEO in September. John Ternus will take his place: https://tinyurl.com/tnwmhbv3

00:42:35 – News: Optoma HCPro-5400

Optoma’s new $8,000 projector features RGB lasers and 5,000 lumens: https://tinyurl.com/man25sz3

00:46:17 – News: PerListen X-Series

Lower priced (for them) on-wall speakers that borrow from the A-Series: https://tinyurl.com/3y5w2n76

00:52:59 – News: Disney Infinity Vision

Sour grapes for Dune: Part 3 getting all the IMAX screens: https://tinyurl.com/2vffx5n6

Comments:

00:58:53 – Comment: Infinite Gary – That Panasonic Basement

Another Panasonic find from decades ago.

QUESTIONS:

Read more…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS