AV Rant #493: Just Buy the Fourth Sub
Our Listener of the Week is Matt G. for letting Ascend Acoustics know he bought his Sierra-1 speakers thanks to AV Rant’s recommendation!
In the news, Jonathan F. sent us the announcement that IMAX now offers a $400,000 private home theater package and $10,000 “Home Premier” playback system. Antoine gave us the heads up on Sony’s four new “XBR” 4K TVs with HDR10 support. Walmart’s $49/year ShippingPass subscription looks to take on Amazon Prime. And Panasonic’s DMP-UB900 Ultra HD Blu-ray Player will be available in September for $700.
Kris I. found a list of Auro-3D movie theaters. And Dorsel F. is very happy with his dual SVS PB-1000 subwoofers that we recommended!
Ted M. completely changed his speaker purchase plans when his wife vetoed his first choice. But she surprised him by buying the M&K Sound MP150 speakers for him! Ted asks about matching subwoofers, speaker placement, amplifier requirements, separates vs. a Receiver, and self-powered speakers vs. passive speakers.
Adrian A. wants to get into vinyl, and we suggest the Audio Technica AT-LP120-USB might be worth the extra money over the AT-LP60. Justin B. asks if we’d rather have Ascend Acoustics Sierra-2 bookshelf speakers or the Sierra Towers with the standard dome tweeter. And Adriano M. saw a video presentation of Audio Pixels and wants to hear our take.
Jim B. is temporarily running his system without any subwoofers, and that resulted in some scary and very bad sounds after Audyssey seemingly tried to boost the bass from his Front speakers too much. Matt G. decided to buy Ascend Acoustics Sierra-1 speakers, and he wants to know how they compare to Towers, and whether the CBM-170SE will provide a good timbre match in the future. And Infinite Gary asks about beryllium tweeters vs. ribbon tweeters, Guilford of Maine fabric color choices, BT.1886 gamma vs. 2.2 or 2.4 gamma, color contouring after a calibration, 4K resolution pass through on his Anthem D2v Processor, and why Back to the Future on Blu-ray looked like it was shot on a camcorder on his new TV.
Jerry D. wants to know how Rob is able to use dual SVS PC13-Ultra subwoofers in an apartment. John W. wants to know at what point a room gets too large for bookshelf speakers. And Nick B. found Dr. Earl Geddes’ approach to multiple subwoofer setup (additional LINK 1 and LINK 2) very interesting, and wonders if it is worth paying his $400 software-based setup fee.
Will T. would like our recommendation for the Monoprice 6.5-inch Kevlar in-ceiling speakers with backer boxes, as well as some advice on how to set his subwoofer volume prior to running YPAO. And Sean F. is nearly ready to put up drywall in his theater, so he has some final questions about series. vs. parallel wiring, clearance for a ceiling fan, insulating a false wall, choosing speakers to go in that false wall, light loss through acoustically transparent screens, and any last ideas we might have before he closes up his walls!
Lastly, just for fun, we take a look at Boston Dynamics’ “SpotMini” robot, which is clearly the beginning of Skynet. Thanks for listening. Now, don't forget to:
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Hey guys, listened to your comments on audiopixels, suggest reading latest announcements from the company to get a better idea as to where they’re now at. Also, the company is targeting most (if not all) speaker markets – why would you suggest otherwise? Given the potential disruption to the industry I would’ve thought it would be in your interest to provide your listeners with a more in depth analysis?