AV Rant #494: 4k 3D
Our Listener of the Week is Jeffrey for donating to support the podcast. Thank you! This week, we talk about 4k 3D. That’s right! You heard it here first.
In the news, the ITU-R has ratified BT.2100 for HDR TV broadcast signals. And Justin B. let us know that the Emotiva Passive Airmotiv Speakers are now available for pre-order with shipping expected in August.
Bill found a review of the Monoprice Monolith 7 amplifier that pretty much confirms ATI as the OEM. Bob thinks our discussion last week of Audio Pixels was lacking, so we respond. And Karl K. shared a write up about analog vs. digital format survival.
Kevin A. asks about All Channels Stereo listening mode and why the subwoofer doesn’t get louder. He also asks how amplifiers respond to different speaker impedances and sensitivities, what happens when you wire speakers in parallel, one Center speaker vs. two Center speakers, and whether we think Avatar 2 will mean a new 4K 3D format. Finally, Kevin weighs in on plasma vs. OLED, and why he thinks it’s a good idea to watch and adjust during the construction of a theater, even though Tom might have disagreed at some point in the past.
Jason asks about using Audysey Dynamic Volume and Low Frequency Containment to avoid bothering his neighbors. He also asks about turning a Center speaker vertically. Ken M. gets us to detail how to manually adjust the phase and other settings to optimize two subwoofers that are both on the front wall. And Paul R. has space constraints, so we suggest a Silver Ticket Thin Bezel Screen, dual SVS PB-1000 or SB-2000 subwoofers, and wall mounting bookshelf speakers rather than using Source Technology in-wall speakers whose website got Tom really excited (in a rant-y way).
Robert G. wants to know if he should turn his ceiling-mounted speakers upside-down. Morgan asks what he should be listening for during the “subwoofer crawl”: the answer is bass sweeps from AudioCheck. And Jason S. has Oppo player issues that we think require a repair.
Greg P. wonders just how small a theater can really be, so we offer some ideas. Justin C. did an excellent job (in our opinion) installing his speakers, but we think he might have a floor bounce reflection issue. And Diego L. is helping a friend upgrade Receivers, and we recommend the Denon AVR-X3200W or higher.
Mike M. might also benefit from springing for an AVR-X3200W and then using the Dayton Audio WS-12 Sub-Link XR or AudioEngine W3 Wireless Kit to feed Zone 2, although a Chromecast Audio might also do the trick. Mark O. wants to know if he should buy the Aperion Audio Verus Grand Towers or the Ascend Acoustics Sierra Towers. And Adam P. wants outdoor speakers, so we compare the various Yamaha models for him.
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Hello again,
Thanks for taking the time to respond to my comments, very much appreciated and glad to hear you’re interested. So no I don’t work for Audiopixels (ha!), the calibre of their team is way out of my league; I’m retired – just have a keen interest in technology and enjoy research & analysis. Reading between the lines a bit, there may be some aspects about the speaker chips you’ve missed:
– No amp or DAC required, just power and a digital signal (low power requirement would suit battery powered + no cables).
– Speaker manufacturers only require some sort of surface to mount them (i.e. no box or other internal components).
– No/Minimal R&D required by speaker manufacturers (something you touched on in a previous podcast).
– Modular design so just use as many as required.
– Directionality resulting in reduced impact from room acoustics (and impact on neighbours!).
– Lightweight/Flat so reduced speaker shipping/delivery costs.
Comments on the podcast:
– The ATI founders have been involved since Audiopixels was acquired in 2011 by an ASX listed company. Yes they recently provided more cash. Yes they’re all in it for the money (although there’d obviously be more to it for the inventors). This doesn’t change the existance of the speaker chips, their performance specifications, and their intended use (irrespective of whether they get acquired by someone else). Worth noting that false/misleading statements by the company means all those involved get locked up.
– Re: dev status – dev phases have deliberately aligned with a mass manufacturing mindset, just signed an agreement with a mass manufacturer, might need to readjust your timeframes.
– Re: existing speaker driver manufacturers – Of course they won’t walk away, but what will they do?
– Re: painting a rosy picture to get investors – that is true when you’re trying to raise money from the masses, however it’s really only been the chairman and close associates providing the cash. Why do you suppose that is? If they’re aiming to get acquired as you suggest, wouldn’t the acquirer do their due dilligence? We’re talking a sale price of billions of $$ here.
– Re: what you should tell your listeners – I think it would be interesting for them to hear about a potentially disruptive change to the industry from a well informed and experienced source.
– Re: price of processing required – there’s a small ASIC on each speaker chip to do the processing.
– Re: use in laptops – see performance spec. Also consider cost of whole sound system, reliablity and battery life.
– Re: having a receiver identify how many speakers there are – a particular model of speaker will have as many speaker chips as required; receiver would see it as a single speaker.
Links below for the above:
http://www.bloomberg.com/press-releases/2016-07-19/audio-pixels-and-towerjazz-announce-agreement-for-volume-production-of-groundbreaking-high-performance-mems-based-loudspeaker-iqtbpuu8
http://www.audiopixels.com.au/index.cfm/news/presentations/market-overview-november-2015/
http://www.audiopixels.com.au/index.cfm/investor/asx-announcements/asx-announcements-2016/ceo-presentation-at-agm-by-danny-lewin/
http://www.audiopixels.com.au/index.cfm/investor/asx-announcements/asx-announcements-2016/akp-surpasses-one-trillion-cycle-tests-with-zero-failures/
http://www.audiopixels.com.au/index.cfm/investor/asx-announcements/asx-announcements-2015/performance-specifications/