FYI – the SVS Prime Elevation Speaker review is at the end of the podcast. Our Listeners of the Week are John, David, Teemu, and Earle for their donations, as well as Adam for sending positive feedback to Elite Screens that mentions our recommendation, Todd for telling RBH and GiK Acoustics that we sent him their way, and Marc for letting GiK Acoustics know that he bought some 242 panels because of us.

In the news, Karl R. alerted us to IMAX CEO Greg Foster’s announcements that IMAX will show fewer 3D versions of movies and shorten theatrical runs for converted movies while extending theatrical runs for movies shot with actual IMAX cameras. And you’ll want to check out this week’s AVRant Complete 2 Hour Video on YouTube to see Fred R.’s artwork of Tom and Rob as “Beacons of Rationality”.

Bill C. wants to adjust his video settings, but he doesn’t have a disc player in his system to use one of the Setup Discs, so we recommend using the AVS HD 709 Test Patterns on a USB stick, or the similar Lagom LCD Monitor Test Images in JPG form. David B. used our advice to achieve “AMAZING” results in his theater, so naturally, he wants to know what to upgrade next! We discuss his in-wall and in-ceiling speakers, dual subwoofers vs. a single, higher output model, increasing his Atmos configuration, and adding a projector and screen to his setup. And Justin B. bought an Onkyo DP-X1A Portable Audio Player, but he isn’t completely happy with its interface. We mention some other Music Player Apps for Android, including Phonograph Music Player. We also delve into why MQA doesn’t work with the Android Tidal App, how the Onkyo player handles DSD, and suggest checking Head-Fi and Inner Fidelity to find out if the 1More Triple Drive Earphones are the real deal.

Anonymous gets some more reassurance and suggestions regarding his blown planar tweeters, including: Mike B.’s reminder to double check how Audyssey MultEQ might have boosted the treble, using a little bit of dynamic range compression as a precaution, and reasoning out whether a power conditioner might have caused amplifier clipping. Nick B. has good equipment at home, but he finds movie theaters less fatiguing for long listening sessions. We discuss potential reasons why, and also go over how to calculate boundary reinforcement for corner-loaded subwoofers. And Bobby M. gets our recommendation for the Outdoor Speaker Depot MK650 in-ceiling speakers, some calculations for how many absorption panels he should buy, and our suggestion to use printed art panels, dyed art panels, or DIY art panels to add decoration and acoustic treatment to his room at the same time.

Todd J. prompts a rant about how much influence a single forum member can have…at least for a little while. Mitch R. asks about Audyssey microphone positioning and recliner seating. And Jack R.’s parents need improved sound for a TV in a wooden cabinet, so we suggest a Fluance AB40 SoundBase, Vizio SB2820n-E0 SoundBar, or M-Audio AV32 Self-Powered Monitors.

Aidan C.’s theater is hotter than the rest of his house, so we talk about why we think that might be, and what he’d need to do to cool the room down. Marc N. wants to know when GiK Acoustics’ Scatter Plates would be beneficial and worth the extra cost. And Karl R. has us double check his user menu settings on his Denon AVR-X7200WA to make sure video is being passed through untouched.

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Our Listeners of the Week are Marc and Anand for their donations. Thank you!

In the news, Paramount announced plans to support Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos across their Ultra HD Blu-ray and streaming releases. And Scott Wilkinson from AVS Forum contacted many manufacturers to compile a comprehensive list of Dolby Vision compatible productsthat includes some hopeful news for AV Receiver owners.

Josh A. shared some photos of his theater that was heavily influenced by our recommendations. He says we saved him a lot of money.

Fred R. has a new layout for his theater room, so he asks about: screen size, position, and type, for which we recommend an Elite Saker Tab-Tensioned AcousticPro UHD; Atmos configuration and also powering Zone2, for which we recommend a 5-channel Outlaw Audio Model 5000 amplifier; and in-ceiling speakers to match his EMP Tek Towers, for which we recommend the RBH A-600. Brandon G. wants satellite speakers to match his Ascend Sierra-1 Fronts, and he’s considering the Aperion Audio 4B, so we add Ascend HTM-200SE, NHT SuperZero 2.1, and Focal Little Birds as contenders. And Neil F. wants us to compare the Polk Monitor 60 Towers against the KEF Q300 bookshelf speakers and give them each a number value, so we attempt to oblige.

Wesley M. has a non-functioning Denon AVR-X4200W that we try to troubleshoot, think is worth repairing, but would replace with a Denon AVR-X3300W if it comes to that. Jason P. gets our thoughts on using a car subwoofer drive in a DIY cabinet for home theater use. And Marc N. wants to know if there’s a reasonably affordable product that can process more than 11 or 13 speaker channels just as Emotiva prepares to demonstrate their $5,000 16-channel RMC-1.

Anonymous managed to blow some tweeters, even though he sits fairly close to his speakers, so we discuss what could cause such damage and dig into some of the numbers that were provided by a manufacturer. Robert G. is curious about scenarios where it would make sense to set speakers to Large or Full Range. And Anand gets some clarification about which settings need to be applied when using upward-firing Dolby Atmos-enabled Modules.

Jonathan F. asks for our opinions on Dolby’s experiments to gather biometric data from movie-watching volunteers. Bobby M. wants a pair of subwoofers, but he doesn’t want to overspend, so he asks if dual SVS PB-1000 are his best option. And Aric S. wants us to rank and describe the sound quality of his top three speaker candidates from HSU, Ascend, and Aperion.

Ted M. bought a Sony UBP-X800 Ultra HD Blu-ray player, but it’s image is blurry no matter what he tries, and its streaming service support seems lacking. We discuss, but are at a bit of a loss to explain. And we also tackle Ted’s subwoofer isolation platform experiments. Nick B. wants more details about how to handle a Center channel speaker setup with the new, modular “Micro-LED” Cinema Displays. We also discuss drop tile ceilings in regard to soundproofing. And Tony K. wants a large display in a 12 foot long room for a low price, so we suggest the BenQ HT2050, BenQ HT2150ST, or BenQ HT1070 while explaining their capabilities and limitations.

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Our Listeners of the Week are Luke for his donation, and Nathan for placing his order with Rythmik and letting them know we recommended their subwoofers.

In the news, we’re hoping to put together a subwoofer setup video series with Producer Austen and some help from SVS. Aiming for dual subs like the ones being showcased by HiFi Sales in New Jersey. And Power Sound Audio has introduced the S7201 quadruple 18-inch driver subwoofer for $3,500 pre-orders.

Infinite Gary noted some price drops on 2016 Denon AV Receiver models. And Nathan W. decided to keep his pair of Rythmik F15HP subs while adding a pair of L22 to bring him up to four subwoofers total, rather than going with our advice of four smaller L12 units.

Morgan wants a white Center speaker to go with his KEF Q100 bookshelf speakers. The KEF Q200c has been discontinued and is only available online in black, but the larger KEF Q600c can still be found in white. An alternative could be the ELAC Uni-fi UC5. And Adam K. wants a projector, pull-down screen, and ceiling mount all for $1,000. We recommend the BenQ HT2050, Elite Screens Manual B, and a Monoprice projector ceiling mount.

Byron S. wants a 40 degree field of view with a 9 foot viewing distance, so even though he’d love an LG OLED, we suggest a 75-inch Vizio P Series with a full motion TV wall mount to extend from the wall. Bobby M. gets our thoughts on using his theater as an occasional guest room and pairing Outdoor Speaker Depot in-ceiling speakers with compact Klipsch front speakers. And Fred V. enjoyed an AMC Theater with ButtKicker Tactile Transducers in the seats, so we discuss whether he should add a second sub, or use that money for ButtKickers.

Aric S. wants to upgrade his Pioneer Center speaker and has some candidates in mind. Our top recommendations for his budget include Ascend Acoustics CMT-340SE, Aperion Intimus 5C, HSU HC-1 Mk.2, NHT SuperCenter, SVS Prime Center, KEF Q200c, or NHT C LCR. Don G. gets some help with planning the layout and Atmos speaker configuration for his dedicated theater room. And Will T. has four subwoofers in an L-shaped room that he wants to optimize, similar to the Audioholics Bass Optimization example. We recommend Room EQ Wizard, a calibrated UMIK-1 from Cross-Spectrum Labs, a MiniDSP 2×4, and Andy’s Multiple Subwoofer Optimization software as the tools to get it done.

Jonathan F. asked for our thoughts on the Journal of the Acoustical Society of America article that concludes there is no correlation between price and sound quality in headphones. Rob F. needs to send one video output to two displays, one of which is 4K HDR, so we suggest a Sewell SplitDeck with HDCP 2.2. And Leighton wants computer speakers that can handle playing music during a party in his living room, so we recommend the Creative IRoar, or a combo of AudioEngine A2+ monitors with an Onkyo SKW-204 subwoofer.

Infinite Gary asks about connecting his analogue pre-amp to self-powered speakers, and questions why his latest professional calibration of his projector has left the colors looking less vibrant. Francis A. wants to know if his Receiver’s auto-setup has set the crossover frequencies of his speakers too high. And we run through how to adjust the manual speaker settings using a basic C-weighted SPL Meter and bass sweeps from AudioCheck.

Martin D. has his sofa against the back wall, so he asks about Atmos configurations, we suggest the XTZ Cinema S2 wall-mountable speaker to match his XTZ Front speakers, and take a guess as to why his subwoofer seems too quiet. Nick B. gets some clarification about cross-room subwoofer placement, Audyssey Dynamic EQ, and the effects of changing the Audyssey target curve using the Audyssey Editor App. And Tate L. gets a declarative answer as to our opinion of how audibly different various Receiver brands are from one another.

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Our Listeners of the Week are John, Jason, Kenny, Adam, and Bob for their donations. We also want to thank Bob for mentioning us to Accessories4Less when he made his Denon AVR-X1200W AV Receiver purchase, as well as Nathan W. for letting Rythmik know we recommended their subwoofers to him.

In the news, the Denon UK and Marantz UK websites have posted clear and detailed information about which AV Receiver models will be receiving Dolby Vision and HLG pass-through updates. And Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.2 will be the first Disney Ultra HD Blu-ray release thanks to director James Gunn’s efforts.

Infinite Gary gave our advice a try and found a direct connection from his turntable to his Marantz AV Receiver’s phono input delivered lower distortion than using his tube pre-amp. Gary and Karl both wondered what we think about the various Dunkirk release formats including 70mm IMAX and how it will be translated for the home release. Bob wanted to share his love of his Marshall Woburn speaker/amplifier. And Larry L. noticed that SVS has updated their “Why Go Dual?” article with advice that’s more similar to our own.

Ted M. gets our recommendation for a Marantz SR6011 or Denon AVR-X4300H AV Receiver to handle his 5.2.4 setup, as well as a Monoprice Monolith amplifier if he wants maximum headroom and minimum noise floor, plus assurances that SVS Prime Elevation speakers will sound great for Atmos. Mark O. could use the GiK Acoustics Room EQ Wizard Tutorial and REW Help Contents to quickly learn how to take accurate measurements, although he might also opt for a Dayton iMM-6 portable device microphone and AudioTools software. And Earle B. wants to know if he can switch between two different sets of crossover settings for movies and music, and we also delve into his subwoofer-for-each-speaker-channel setup and suggest making some changes.

Jason E. installed a 25-foot active HDMI cable, and he wants to know if he’ll need to replace it when he upgrades to 4K and HDR. Ryan M. has a room with no side walls, so he asks if sticking with five speakers makes sense, and gets our recommendation to use Focal Bird wall-mountable speakers as his Surrounds. We also suggest opting to start with one high output subwoofer for his open floorplan, such as the: HSU VTF-3 Mk.5 HP, Power Sound Audio 15V, SVS PC-2000 if he needs a smaller footprint, or Outlaw Audio Ultra-X12 if he needs the lowest price possible. We recommend the Outlaw OAW4 Wireless Connection Kit, although the less expensive Dayton Audio Wave-Link is probably fine. And we recommend a Denon AVR-X3300W AV Receiver most highly, although the AVR-X2300W would be good if money is tight, as well as a Vizio M-Series TV or the forthcoming TCL P-Series.

Karl R. needs the JVC Recommended Settings for HDR, and he gets some tips for changing a few Oppo UDP-203 Settings, as well as Audyssey Microphone Placement instructions to optimize his audio setup. Nathan W. explains his need for four subwoofers and gets our assurances that four Rythmik L12 will hit full Reference Volume in his small room, and almost certainly don’t need to all be at the exact same height. And Kenny C. gets our thoughts on what to buy to power his 2.1 mostly music setup, and whether we think there’s a big difference between AV Receivers and analogue separates.

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Our Listeners of the Week are Russell C. and Ian E. for their donations, as well as David B. for mentioning us to SVS when he bought his PC-2000 subwoofer, and Scott B. for mentioning us to HSU when he bought his uncle a VTF-2 Mk.5 subwoofer.

Tom is away this week, so Lee Overstreet joins Rob H. as our guest co-host, and Lee starts us off by asking about SVS’ placement recommendations for dual subwoofers.

In the news, Nintendo announced the $80 SNES Classic, coming Sept. 29 with 21 games, including the never-before-released Star Fox 2. And Netflix has added Dolby Atmos support, although current hardware and content support is very limited.

Jim B. shared a short video clip of his Technics spectrum analyzer’s pretty bouncing lights.

Grant A. wants to know what the “Digital Safety” setting on his Pioneer AV Receiver actually does, and what setting he ought to use. Kevin H. is projecting onto a coffee-colored wall, so we suggest Wilsonart Designer White laminate or Sherwin-Williams ProClassic Interior Acrylic Enamel Extra White Satin paint for a DIY screen, as suggested by Projector Central’s Painting the Perfect Screen article. And Charles is getting picture, but no sound from his Amazon Fire Stick, so we attempt to find the cause.

Marc N. added a Polk PSW505 subwoofer to his existing speaker setup and Onkyo subwoofer. Using a Y-splitter to feed both subs resulted in a hum that a Subwoofer Ground Loop Isolator can likely fix. We also recommend GLS Locking Banana Plugs, Sewell Strike Banana Plugs, and Neiko Self-Adjusting Wire Strippers with a demo video from Rob. David B. has finished his basement home theater, and he gets some advice on speaker connections and labels, as well as what to do when you want a little more bass output than your auto-setup program is providing. And Infinite Gary double checks the settings and inputs for his turntable setup, and gets our suggestion for KEF LS50 Mini Monitors for his tabletop keyboard setup.

Bobby M. gets some more clarification regarding his maximum screen size options with a constant-image-height setup and a limited projector throw distance. Russell C. gets some reassurance about his Denon AVR-X4300H AV Receiver purchase. Tate L. gets a detailed breakdown of the different versions of Audyssey, as well as some comments on other room correction programs from Audioholics. And Byron S. wants to know if the future flagship Receiver models from Denon and Marantz that will supposedly process 13 channels of audio will bring back Front Wide speaker support.

John S. is surprised that 4K HDR projectors are already hitting sub-$2,000 price points, but he wants to know if they are sacrificing performance to lower prices. Justin C. took his own near field measurements of his Ascend Acoustics Sierra-2 speakers, and he’d like some help analyzing the results. And Ian E. takes one more crack at justifying an enormous screen purchase for his backyard outdoor theater setup, and we also weigh in on ideas for speaker positioning and labelling for his indoor Atmos setup.

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