Tom was away this week, but thankfully, Producer Austen was available! We thank Michael as our Listener of the Week for his donation. In the news, Monoprice announced their $1500 7 x 200 Watts/channel Monolith 7 amplifier. PSB announced their $500/pair Imagine XA Dolby Atmos-enabled upward-firing Modules. And ELAC unveiled their Uni-Fi Series of speakers, Andrew Jones’ step up designs from the Debut Series. We take a moment for a major correction; Rob screwed up pretty bad last week explaining how sound waves interact, so we do our best to remedy that this week. Srini thanks us for recommending the Shure SE215 IEMs, and Tom K. points us to the REW guide for soundcard drivers and settings. “McMansion” Kris asks for details on bitstream vs. LPCM output for Atmos. Mark H. wants to know if his money is best spent on a new center speaker, a new TV, or if selling some gear to buy different gear is the way to go. Alexandre M.’s wife wants a 65-inch Kuro and Chris T. is yet another listener with a full theater build underway and many questions, including: pre-wiring options, subwoofer placement, projector screen recommendations, riser height, DLP-Link 3D glasses, and Aura Bass Shakers. Jared M. asks if inexpensive foam bass traps are a good buy, David M. wonders if Netflix and Redbox will offer Ultra HD Blu-ray disc rentals, and John M. plans on getting a Sony projector with an Elite Screens tab-tensioned, motorized screen, and he asks about placement, light output, distractions, and whether he’s making good purchases. Scott S. made DIY acoustic absorption panels and wants placement recommendations. Tom K. tried Spotify Premium using an HDMI Chromecast and a Chromecast Audio and asks if he should be hearing any difference. Bill the Stumper has a mysterious hum in his multi-zone setup. And Infinite Gary questions Onkyo’s “full range” Atmos Modules, JBL’s Synthesis 4367 $15,000/pair speakers, and why his new Power Sound Audio S1500 subwoofers sound SO much louder.
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This week, we thank Kyle and Steve for their donations, Scott S. for helping Sean with his home theater build, and Bruno for letting SVS know he heard about them from AV Rant all the way over in Belgium. Lots of news out of CES 2016: Oculus Rift VR will cost $599 and ship in March/April. A $1499 bundle gets you the headset along with a PC that can actually run the thing. The UHD Alliance laid out their Ultra HD Premium standard for content and displays. LG had the most impressive lineup of TVs with their Signature OLEDs and Super UHD LCDs that can handle both HDR 10 and Dolby Vision. Funai-Philips surprised us by also announcing a TV that accepts both HDR 10 and Dolby Vision as well as a $400 Ultra HD Blu-ray player. And functioning flexible OLED displays from LG are a real thing now that Rob believes we should call “roll-led”. Klipsch announced their WiSA Reference Premier HD Wireless speaker system. Yahoo Screen is dead. And Infinite Gary shared some AV Forums videos that dive into the details of LG’s OLEDs and Dolby Vision. James B. shared some online guides for soundproofing, ceiling construction, and cable raceways. Tom K. got a Harmony Elite remote for Christmas and loves its features. And a shout out to @SteveTheGeek on Twitter for his Next Gen Home Theater blog. Infinite Gary wonders about Gene’s (from Audioholics) comments on using a Center speaker that’s better than your Front L/R. He also asks about using identical speakers at home and in studios, how having more people in your theater affects the sound, and whether Auralex’ GRAMMA video is on the up-and-up. Gary also asks if Vidity is worth it in a 1080p setup and whether Oppo will play Vidity, why couldn’t LG get the last 1% of the DCI-P3 color gamut, whether 5.1 SACDs might work on Ultra HD Blu-ray players, and how is OTA 4K TV going to work? Bill P. asks about Surround speaker height vs. elevation angle, and which in-ceiling Polk speakers he ought to buy. Ian E. is putting up two Surround speakers on each side wall and wants to confirm how he should aim them, and how he should place the microphone for measurement. Michael R. asks about set top box bitstream audio output. Jason has a $1,000 and wants a Best Bang for Your Buck AV Receiver. And David S. found some more Gene from Audioholics videos that make him question the use of Audyssey and acoustic treatments on the side walls. Jonathan F. followed the REW 101 Guide for taking measurements and he has several questions about it afterwards. Tim A. details the plans for his friend Rami’s theater while questioning some of Rami’s custom installer’s advice. And Ryan T. spotted a preview of Fluance’s new Signature Series speakers. Joseph P. has some minor setup issues with his MiniDSP 2×4. Byron S. asks about Atmos speaker placement using SVS’ new Elevation Speakers. Sean is ready to construct some walls in his theater and asks about DIY home automation options and good places to buy wire. And lastly, Jordan B. wants a career in home theater, so we mention CEDIA as the place to start his training.
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This week we thank William for his donation and Michael for supporting the podcast. You are our listeners of the week! In the news, SVS unveiled their Prime Elevation speaker, which Gary Yacoubian first announced during our interview! It’s a wedge-shaped, sealed, wall-mountable speaker that will sell for $349 a pair in April (LINK), Warner Bros. has joined Fox and Sony by announcing their first four Ultra HD Blu-ray titles (LINK), and Samsung announced a 5.1.4 Dolby Atmos Soundbar solution – the HW-K950 (LINK). Listener Bill recommends Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation and reports on some tests he did with his iPhone 6S and Emotiva Stealth DC-1 headphone amp/DAC. Eric has $500 to spend on speakers and wants our help, Mark needs a projector (LINK), and Lance needs new speakers to keep up with his Klipsch (BIC America LINK or LINK and HSU HB-1 Mk2 LINK along with amps from Dayton APA100 and Emotiva Mini-X A-100). Jonathan sends us some measurements to decode, Byron is interested in the new Prime Elevation speakers from SVS, and Nick needs more sub power. Kyle finally got Rob’s receiver to work and wants our thoughts on the “Internet of things,” Ed is curious about tubes, Gregory has a question about his Denon AVR-X2100, and Sean gives us more info on his theater build. Lastly, Tom and Rob were on Austen’s We Watch Movies podcast. Tom was shocked to learn it was about movies. Follow the link below for the podcast. Warning, adult language used.
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This week, we thank Todd and Herb (from Cross-Spectrum Labs) for their donations, and Tony, Corey, and Kevin for their support. You are our listeners of the week! In the news, Cross-Spectrum labs is now selling the MiniDSP 2×4 units (LINK). This means you can get your calibrated mics and MiniDSPs in one place. Convenient!. Also, for custom installers, the Noise Control Conference is taking place in Providence, Rhode Island this coming June. If anyone would like to make a presentation themselves, they can submit a paper and pay an admission fee at the following link: http://noisecon16.inceusa.org/. Aperion Audio has new Verus II speakers on the way. They’ve re-engineered the tweeter (which is now patented), which also means a new crossover and higher power handling: https://www.aperionaudio.com/verus-2-grand-tower-xd. Karl points out that Apple might be developing a way to get high-rez music (LINK), Todd corrects Rob (LINK), and Nathan loves is DSPeaker Anit-Mode and recommends it (LINK). Infinite Gary wonders about Power Sound Audio and review terminology (LINK), Andrew wants enough sub to pressurize his WHOLE HOUSE, Dev is having problems with his Woo Audio WA2 tube headphone amp, and Tim is looking for help for his friend’s theater build. Rami’s build needs to be clean (in-wall/in-ceiling speakers only), has a bar taking up much of the back of the room, and has a fireplace up front. This is going to be a tough one. Terry’s Oppo BDP-95 is on the fritz and needs help, Bill doesn’t like the placement of his surrounds, and we tackle Sean’s big theater build.
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This week, we thank John, Vincent, and Stephen for their donations. Likewise, a shout out to Zach for recognizing Tom’s voice. Thanks guys! You are our listeners of the week! In the news, Tom updates his Phiaton BT 100 NC review, Denon and Marantz have announced dates for when their first waves of DTS:X firmware updates will be available (LINK and LINK), and some movie made a bunch of money (LINK). Infinite Gary shares a video from T.H.E. Show (LINK) and Toby found a video where someone demoed speakers (LINK). Steve has a new receiver and a DVDO Edge Green video processor and some questions about connections, Joseph wants to know which MiniDSP to buy, and John is looking at a NAD and wants to add room correction (MiniDSP is the answer). Michael needs a UPS for his projector but it has to be small (LINK, LINK, and LINK), Jeff is having HDMI and Denon problems (LINK), and Mark has a QHD display that isn’t playing nice with his receiver. Vince wants to know what we think of center channels, John wants to add front wide speakers to his set up, and Ian is considering upgrading to EMP Tek speakers and wants to wire them in parallel. Scot wants a new receiver and needs our help, Michael is considering a second sub and would like suggestions, and Teemu needs help placing his surround backs. Ryan wants to know where to boost his bass, Monty clarifies his question on projector placement (LINK), and Brent is going to do the Subwoofer Crawl and has a question. Shawn is building a home theater and wants help, Mark wants to place his subs and the front of the room and has a question about phase, and Infinite Gary wants to know what we want for Christmas. Merry Christmas to all you AV Ranters!
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