Our Listeners of the Week are our 51 Patreon Patrons.

0:04:03 Tom reviews the OVC H15 Active Noise Cancelling Earphones.

In the news, ELAC introduced a new Debut 2.0 Series of affordable speakers designed by Andrew Jones.

Greg P. was inspired by Rob to buy a refurbished LG OLED TV, and now he wants a second one. And Jonathan F. reminds us to read the fine print, as he discovered the 10% off coupon sent to him by Best Buy excludes almost everything they sell.

0:18:22 Mike M. wants to retain 4K HDR and lossless audio from his MKV files, which the NVidia Shield can do, but it does not automatically switch back to SDR color, so he wonders if there’s a fix.

0:22:44 Jeremy K. gets our help planning his screen size, speaker configuration , and wiring for the bonus room above his garage.

0:33:31 Dan W. wants to upgrade something in his theater, so we discuss expanding to Atmos by adding Focal Little Bird speakers on his ceiling, planning for dual subwoofers, and adding acoustic treatment to his room.

0:43:15 Steve moved his upward-firing Dolby Atmos Modules so that they’re physically overhead, and he wants to be sure it’s ok to use Atmos Modules this way.

0:45:02 Christian S. started taking measurements, but discovered how tedious the process can be. We mention possibly using the Multi-Sub Optimizer software and talk about improving his mic stand. We also answer his other questions about broadcast quality cables like Blue Jeans Cable, and what to upgrade next in his theater.

0:55:15 Jack R. needs a drywall ceiling in his basement, so we suggest using Dynamat Dynabox backer boxes for his in-ceiling speakers, and super thin LED ceiling lighting so that he can avoid needing backer boxes for lights.

1:02:34 Bobby M. wants to make sure we still recommend Outdoor Speaker Depot in-ceiling speakers, even though he might only have one pair while all the rest of his speakers are Klipsch.

1:06:09 Wesley M. wants to upgrade his Polk speakers in a small room, so we suggest he audition SVS Prime, Aperion Audio Intimus, NHT SuperZero, Focal Bird, and HSU HB-1 speakers.

1:09:51 Earle B. wants a big subwoofer upgrade for his 4,000 cubic foot space, and we think dual SVS SB-4000 will be the perfect fit.

1:13:31 Karl R. gets our thoughts on the THX Spatial Audio Platform.

1:16:39 Shane lives in New Zealand, and he’s finding it difficult to buy DIY absorption panel supplies. He asks about Autex Quietspace panels, but we figure it must be possible to get rock wool insulation somewhere local.

1:20:44 Mark M. wants a small, inexpensive TV, and we think the TCL 32S305 remains a top value choice.

1:23:09 Infinite Gary gets our thoughts on a Stereophile video tour of the PS Audio factory, what’s best when it comes to ceiling height, Emotiva’s claimed launch date for their RMC-1 Processor as covered by AV Forums and Audioholics, and whether you need a laptop to use Dirac Live room correction.

1:31:43 Cory wants to add a second subwoofer to his DIY sub, and we think the Monoprice Monolith 12″ strikes the perfect match for size, price, and output.

1:36:09 Ed wants a less expensive subwoofer to pair with his SVS PC-2000, so we first say to talk to SVS, and also mention the HSU VTF-2 Mk.5 as a candidate. Then we talk a bit about speaker sensitivity, how much we tinker with our home theaters, and whether we’d like a dedicated 2-channel setup with vintage gear.

1:44:33 Lance K. has a finished room with seating and electronics, but he needs speakers, a screen, and a projector. We recommend: adding KEF Q Series, and NHT C Series to his audition list, GiK Acoustics free standing panels for his floor to ceiling windows, a 142″ 2.35:1 Silver Ticket screen, and a JVC DLA-X590R projector.

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Our Listeners of the Week are Miguel, Jason, Alex, and Robert for their donations, our 53 Patreon Patrons, as well as Randy E. for letting Accessories4Less know his Denon HEOS speaker purchase was thanks to us, Jack R. for encouraging everyone to update their forum post signatures to include a link to AVRant like he did, and Neil F. for letting SVS know we’re the reason he bought an SB12-NSD subwoofer. Thanks once again to Lee Overstreet for being our guest co-host last week. And huge thanks once again to everyone who subscribed to our AV Rant Podcast YouTube channel and allowing us to remain in the YouTube Partnership Program by getting us to over 1,000 subscribers!

In the news, Samsung is rumored to be working on QD-OLED TVs that would use an all-blue OLED panel with red and green quantum dots to create a fully self-emissive display. And Samsung has said they will start selling “The Wall” – their 146-inch, modular, micro-LED display – in August, while LG is now rumored to have a micro-LED display of their own that they’ll announce in September.

Jeb B. installed a bunch of our recommended products, and now he only gets mad when he goes out, and the movie theater’s sound isn’t nearly as good as his home system. And Jim B. found help in an AVS Forum FAQ when his Denon AVR-X3300W stopped outputting video via HDMI.

0:20:23 Mark H. rearranged his theater to give him space for Surround Back speakers, which he’s enjoying. He asks, if he upgrades to an Atmos/DTS:X Receiver, but does not install any overhead speakers, will immersive audio soundtracks sound any different from the 7.1-channel versions, and will the immersive upmixers sound any different than Dolby Pro Logic IIx? Also, Mark’s theater is in an addition that seems to have been constructed on the cheap. We discuss what he can do to improve his soundproofing, and his door in particular, without resorting to major renovation.

0:33:40 Chris H. gets confirmation that the Monoprice 9723 subwoofer plays much lower than the 50Hz listed on its spec sheet, and we explain why we think he should spend a little bit extra to get either a Yamaha RX-V383 or a Denon AVR-S720W as an entry-level Receiver.

0:38:59 Tyson W. is very happy with the HSU speakers and subwoofer we recommended for his living room, so he wants to use HSU speakers in his dedicated theater behind an acoustically transparent screen. We discuss his speaker options, and go over placement and spacing for ported speakers behind a false wall.

0:46:13 Randy E. wants new subwoofers for his 3,500 cubic foot room, so we recommend SVS PC-2000 cylinders, Outlaw Audio Ultra-X12, or Power Sound Audio 15V to give him options for either a small footprint, or something he could use as end tables on either side of his couch.

0:51:46 Neil F. replaced his compact speaker package subwoofer with an SVS SB12-NSD. He only cares about one seat, and the compact sub only plays down to 37Hz, so he asks if he should try to pair them up as duals, or stick to using only the SB12-NSD.

0:54:20 Jay W. found an SVS SB13-Ultra subwoofer on clearance. He wants to know if the newer SB-4000 is worth $500 more, and whether he should still audition the HSU ULS-15 Mk.2 we originally recommended to him.

0:58:07 Jason H. wants to expand to Atmos, but he isn’t sure if he should install Front and Rear Height, or Top Front and Top Rear speakers, so we go over the elevation angles and explain the max and min recommended distances from his seat.

1:02:06 Jay C. is moving his theater setup to a smaller space, and he wants compact, on-wall speakers. We like the KEF T-Series. Focal Little Birds, or NHT SuperZeros for this application, and we also want him to spend a bit extra to get an RSL Speedwoofer 10S subwoofer. We discuss crossover settings for small speakers. And we recommend a Denon AVR-X1400H, AVR-X3300W, or AVR-X4300H Receiver depending on how much he’s willing to spend.

1:13:25 Jake M. got his first taste of high quality audio, and now he wants to convert his garage into a dedicated theater. He’s excited about all the equipment he’d like to buy, but we attempt to slow his roll and get him to focus his present time (and money) on the construction of the room itself. With HVAC, insulation, thermal breaks, soundproofing, the garage door, and other construction factors being big concerns, we keep an eye on his eventual theater configuration, but we want the room to be the priority.

1:33:52 Karl R. wants to put a 24-inch HDR TV in a camper trailer, so we recommend a Dell S2419HM computer monitor, or keeping an eye on the growing list of DisplayHDR certified products.

1:37:32 Infinite Gary has seen some audio amplifiers whose spec sheets claim an exact doubling of Wattage into 4 Ohms vs. 8 Ohms, while most show less than an exact doubling, so he wants to know why.

1:40:13 Dave was impressed by Yamaha Active Servo subwoofers, so he wants our thoughts on them.

1:43:38 Nathan D. has spotted “Dolby Atmos 7.1.4” listed on the backs of some Blu-ray and Ultra HD Blu-ray packages, and he wants to know if the soundtracks are limited to 7.1.4-only, or if a larger speaker configuration, all the way up to 24.1.10, can still make use of all the extra speakers.

1:46:26 Nick B. wants a very large field of view, a motorized, acoustically transparent screen, and a full 30 Foot-lamberts from his projector at a fairly close seating distance, so we recommend the EluneVision Reference Studio Audioweave 4K Tab-Tensioned screen, as well as double checking his math for light output, screen size, and screen gain.

1:50:37 Marc N. has heard us using the initials “DSP” and “DAC”, and he’d like to know more than his own searches have turned up, so we offer our explanations, and recommend the book Understanding Digital Signal Processing, and the intro to digital audio videos from Xiph.org.

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Special Request: We need 1,000 subscribers to our AV Rant Podccast YouTube channel in order to remain in the YouTube Partnership Program under their new rules that take effect Feb. 20, and we’re so close! Please consider helping us get over that threshold. Subscribing is completely free, so we’d greatly appreciate it. Thank you!

Our Listeners of the Week are Karl and James for their donations, and our 53 Patreon Patrons, as well as Anthony R. for letting Accessories4Less know he heard about them from us when he bought his Denon AVR-X3300W, Chris H. for telling SVS he bought an SB12-NSD because of our recommendation, Karl for letting Charlie Jones from SurgeX know he bought an SX-1115 power conditioner after enjoying our interview, and Bruno for helping us keep our We Watch Movies Podcast intros going. Also, a huge thank you to everyone who has subscribed to our AV Rant Podcast YouTube channel recently!

In the news, Sony unveiled pricing for their A8F OLED and X900F LCD TVs, and we’re disappointed. However, Sony also announced new HT-Z9F and HT-X9000F SoundBars that decode Atmos and DTS:X at lower price points than other Atmos SoundBars. And if you want to make your own movie server, check the Make MKV Forums Ultra HD section as there have been lots of developments.

Justin B. recommends the RBH HP-1B Bluetooth Headphones for AptX and good sound quality at an affordable price. Nathan W. corrected us about how the beta Oppo firmware handles HDR to SDR conversion, pointing out that you can retain Deep Color while having more tone mapping options than before. And Chris A. and Brandon both informed us that Yamaha and Denon/Marantz offer AV Receivers that can switch HDMI inputs without powering on while using the HDMI standby pass-through feature.

0:30:58 Jeb B. gets our list of AV Receivers under $1,000 that can power a 5.1.4 setup, as well as confirmation that he’ll need a separate amp for Zone 2.

0:36:54 Justin B. gets our speculation on why his Harmony Keyboard and Harmony Smart Control Remote are acting up.

0:42:28 Ted M. tried all of our suggestions for improving the imaging of his on-wall speakers at his primary seat, so we give our absolute last ditch ideas, but mostly try to persuade him to go with what he already knows gives him the results he’s looking for.

0:50:08 Charleston L. asks about his Denon AVR-X4300H always automatically applying upmixing, so we go over his options for manually setting his desired listening modes.

0:54:43 Infinite Gary is curious about the Revel Performa Beryllium M126 Be Concept speakers, and the new Elac Adante AS-61 speakers with their “interport-coupled cavity” passive radiator system, and he wants to know which ones we’d choose and why.

1:03:12 Cesar R. gets our thoughts on where he should position his seating, what speaker configuration he should use, what screen size he should get and how far away to mount it, as well as our recommendations for 12 or 14 gauge in-wall speaker wire from Monoprice, Parts-Express or Amazon.

1:11:26 Luke K. wants to know which older Receiver models supported Front Wide speakers and are still available for under $1,000.

1:15:52 Mike F. is using a Vizio SoundBar in his bedroom, and he’d like dynamic range compression, but he’s tried all the available settings, so we discuss ideas for other products he might use.

1:22:37 Josh L. has an 85-inch TV he can mount above his fireplace, but he wants to be able to occasionally move the TV farther away from the heat.

1:28:17 Brandon N. wants more Atmos content, but that probably means 4K. So he also wants a new TV and a projection setup. We discuss his flat panel options, his projection screen options, including Elite Screen Spectrum AcousticPro UHD and Saker Tension AcousticPro UHD, and which we think he should buy first.

1:43:48 Nick B. gets our thoughts on Brent Butterworth’s Monoprice 9723 budget subwoofer pick for The Wirecutter along with some other thoughts about dual subs, more expensive subs, and what we think might surprise us in a blind listening test.

1:53:37 Chris H. wants a new, $200, compact sub for his bedroom that can still play fairly low, and we think the BIC F12 would be a good choice.

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Special Request: Please consider subscribing to our AV Rant Podcast YouTube Channel. We are close to reaching the 1,000 subscribers needed to remain in the YouTube Partnership Program taking effect Feb. 20. It’s free to subscribe, so we’d really appreciate your help. Thank you!

Our Listeners of the Week are Christopher for his donation, and our 54 Patreon Patrons, including Niels, as well as Jeb B. for telling Accessories4Less that it was “all our fault” that he bought a Denon AVR-X4300H Receiver and four Focal Little Bird speakers from them.

In the news, via Chris, RBH sent out word that the next generation of the RBH Impression Series speakers should be unveiled by the end of the month. Steve from Next Gen Home Theater alerted us that LG re-released the Dolby Vision firmware update for their UP970 Ultra HD Blu-ray player. And Kris let us know that Onkyo released a Dolby Vision firmware update from some of their older Receiver models, but it has a glitch involving the HDMI output settings.

Dan opted to mount his Bose Center speaker directly below his TV that pulls down in front of his fireplace. Mike M. decided to use a Monoprice Fiber Optic HDMI Cable, and confirmed with SVS that it’s ok to recess their sealed subs within a wall. And Byron received his Silver Ticket projection screen and is absolutely thrilled with the results.

0:18:52 Dave B. wants to know more about refurbished products.

0:23:12 Karl R. wants to talk about projectors: the value, comparing their performance to flat panels, the importance of the screen, and why we don’t encourage people to switch to a projection setup more often.

0:37:08 Dan P. asks about switching sources when using the HDMI standby pass-through feature on his AV Receiver, leading us to recommend the Sewell SwitchDeck HDMI switch for automatic HDMI switching.

0:40:58 Josh S. would like to know the specifics about what the Xbox One does wrong when it comes to audio output.

0:49:02 Rob M. has Bluetooth headphones, but they don’t have AptX, plus he would like to have Dolby Headphone or DTS Headphone:X processing. We suggest just using a wire, using an Avantree Bluetooth transmitter without worrying about AptX, getting an Avantree AptX transmitter and receiver set if he really wants AptX, using his Receiver’s “Virtual” listening mode in place of Dolby Headphone processing, or getting Astro A50 Wireless headphones if he really wants it all.

0:58:54 Alex upgraded his video and now he wants to upgrade his audio. We like his choice of a Denon AVR-X3300W Receiver, but think he should opt for 5.1.2 instead of 7.1 in his setup. We highly recommend he add GiK Acoustics or Acoustimac DIY acoustic panels, suggest HSU horn-loaded or Focal Bird Series speakers, and mention SVS PB-1000 or HSU VTF-2 MK5 subwoofers to hit his budget.

1:15:17 Niels B. ran into an issue with his LG OLED TV’s HDMI Ultra HD Deep Color setting. If all sources go through his AV Receiver to a single HDMI input, some of his 1080p SDR sources have problems if Deep Color is on, but he loses HDR from his 4K sources if Deep Color is off. One solution is to use an HD Fury AVR Key to separate the audio and video or any problem source, allowing Niels to use a different HDMI input just for that source.

1:24:00 Chris A. has older Paradigm Atom speakers that all started buzzing. We suspect their foam woofer surrounds have degraded. He already has an impressive list of replacement candidates, but we add Focal Bird, RBH Impression, and RSL speakers as options.

1:27:33 Ryan T. is disappointed the Dolby Surround Upmixer cannot use Front Wide speakers, so he asks if we think he should forego Front Wides, or nix his Surround Back speakers so that DTS Neural:X upmixer will keep Front Wide speakers active.

1:31:04 Tom W. wants an affordable AV Receiver, so he asks if Atmos really needs four overhead speakers, or if 5.2.2 is good enough. We recommend the Marantz SR6011 so he can have 5.2.4, and potentially expand to 7.2.4 later.

1:37:32 Andrew N. is getting a large volume difference when using stereo listening mode vs. any upmixing mode, so we explain using his Denon’s 2-channel level adjust feature.

1:39:13 Nick B. gets our speculation on when we think it will be an optimal time to buy an HDR-capable projector.

1:45:19 Jay W. needs a new subwoofer for his open-concept family room. Out of his list of candidates, we like the HSU ULS-15 MK2, but we also highly recommend he consider an SVS PC12-Plus cylinder.

1:50:12 Nathan W. gets our thoughts on using third party software to create custom tone mapping curves for JVC projectors, as well as using Oppo’s newest beta HDR to SDR conversion options instead of the strip metadata feature.

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