Happy New Year! Tom is back for our first episode of 2025. And thank you to Lee Overstreet for filling in 2 weeks ago. Ascend Acoustics has added Titan dome tweeter versions of their Sierra Luna V2 & Duo V2 speakers, as well as piano gloss white as a finish option. RSL is offering a limited-edition white finish on their CG3 line of speakers & SpeedWoofer 10E sub. LG’s Transparent Signature OLED T can actually be purchased now. And PML Sound International, the parent company of Paradigm & Anthem, just bought GoldenEar.

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

00:00:00 – Intro

Things did not go according to plan over the holidays for either host.

00:16:35 – What We Watched

Rob watched Challengers, and it made him do a skit with Tom to describe how it made him feel.

00:34:03 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Stefan for his PayPal donation, plus our 134 Patreon Patrons, including Bill and Joe, as well as Brandon and Mike for sending Amazon gift cards to Rob, Gurinder, Bill, and Infinite Gary for sending movie codes, and Greg for sending Tom a pair of KEF Egg speakers and a cute little PSB sub.

Thanks also to Brad for giving Tom permission to use his photos on https://avgadgets.com/

And we appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Mike, Chris, Kevin, Curtis, Bill, Greg, Brad, John, Brandon, Stefan, and Josh. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:42:52 – News: Ascend Titan Luna & Duo Speakers

Ascend’s Sierra Luna V2 & Duo V2 are now available with either the SEAS Titan dome tweeter or the RAAL ribbon tweeter: https://ascendacoustics.com/collections/sierra-series

00:46:16 – News: RSL Limited-Edition White Finish

RSL’s CG3 Series speakers & SpeedWoofer 10E are available in white for a limited time: https://rslspeakers.com/pages/white-limited-edition-special

00:50:00 – News: LG Transparent OLED T for $60K

Your see-through 77″ OLED can now be purchased: https://tinyurl.com/f2n5bvhx

00:52:11 – News: PML Sound Buys GoldenEar

The parent company of Paradigm, Anthem & Martin Logan just bought GoldenEar: https://tinyurl.com/ykry97tf

Comments:

00:53:00 – Comment: Infinite Gary – Dual Screens for Ilango

Making your theater more like Gary’s has to be the right move, right?

00:54:03 – Comment: Andrew L – Onkyo Hidden CI Web Interface

Onkyo’s manual tells you about the normal admin web interface for their AVRs. But there’s a secret CI version, too.

QUESTIONS:

00:55:14 – Mike: The Frame & Outdoor TVs

Mike ended up with a Samsung The Frame TV after all. And he wants our thoughts on dedicated outdoor TVs.

01:02:19 – Chris: Region-free 4K UHD Blu-ray Players

Which region-free Ultra HD Blu-ray player to buy, and from where. And what’s better about it than a PS5?

– 220-electronics: https://tinyurl.com/nhaf247b

01:12:43 – Nick: 2.0:1 Aspect TVs?

Could 2:1 aspect ratio TVs be a better compromise than 16:9? And could the rumored 2025 Apple TV 4K be all about AI?

– https://avgadgets.com/the-best-screen-aspect-ratio-for-you/

– https://avgadgets.com/fixed-aspect-ratios-are-dying/

01:25:29 – John: Xbox Series S Audio

Is passthrough the way to go for both discs & streaming?

– https://avgadgets.com/xbox-series-x-and-s-dolby-vision-update/

01:31:50 – Infinite Gary: Would We Ever Do Tower Surrounds?

When would Tom or Rob ever use Tower Surrounds?

– https://avgadgets.com/tower-speakers-for-surrounds-good-idea-or-waste-of-money/

01:36:21 – Brad: Which Front 3 Ascends?

Just how much can you mix and match Ascend’s Sierra Series speaker models?

01:46:28 – David: 6 Overheads with 11-Channel AVR?

Why do we think the Sonance MAG6 in-ceiling speakers have been discontinued, and should he buy a bunch of extras? And what should he do about his plans for a 7.4.6 configuration, but using an 11-ch AVR?

01:55:40 – Brandon: Ascend RAAL Fronts w/ SE2 Atmos?

He’s got Ascend speakers with RAAL ribbon tweeters. Could he get away with HTM-200SE2 overheads?

– Cheap Flush Mounts: https://tinyurl.com/yx7rcj9f

01:59:48 – J.R: Strange mp3 Playback Problems

We can’t think of any reason why his mp3 files aren’t playing properly, other than something being a bit odd about the files themselves.

02:05:23 – Kevin: Two Pairs of Surrounds

Can each row of seats have their own pair of side Surround speakers? Even if they’re not discrete?

– https://avgadgets.com/speaker-impedance-rating/

– https://avgadgets.com/lengthening-speaker-wire-for-home-theater/

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