AV Rant #523: John’s Dog
Our Listeners of the Week are Jason for donating, and Jordan for both donating and mentioning us for Accessories4Less when he bought his Focal Bird speakers based on our recommendation.
In the news, John M. let us know about the new THX Streaming Certification Program.
James B. and Nathan W. both shared some great advice about in-wall and in-ceiling speakers. Christian S. thinks the number of returns is a big factor in which brands Best Buy employees recommend. Nathan D. noted a new official Oppo UDP-203 firmware update. Mark shared his advice for facing Dolby Digital Plus playback issues. And Kris I. is going with Tom’s idea for his bar, because Rob is just so, so wrong.
Gabe M. wants to find a way to share one speaker setup for both regular 5.1 and Ambiophonics. Srini R. wants to know what restrictions his HDMI 1.3a Receiver will place on his new 4K OLED TV. And Neil S. wants dual subwoofers, but he’d like to know if he can spend less on the second one.
Infinite Gary asks about: DTS:X firmware updates for his Receiver, concerns over factory refurbished products, our picks for speaker wire and banana plugs (Belden bulk speaker wire, Sewell Banana Plugs, Blue Jeans Cable), Audyssey microphone positioning, TCL P-Series 4K TVs with Dolby Vision, and color volume vs HDR accuracy. Dave asks why Blu-rays with Dolby Atmos don’t always include Atmos when you rent them from Netflix. And Mark K. gets our recommendations for a new AV Receiver, whether to buy external amplification, how much to worry about future-proofing, and adjustments he can make to his existing layout.
Jim B. wants more discussion about CNET vs. Rtings TV reviews. Buddy L. is finally getting his dream speakers and asks for advice about a Pre-amp to drive them (Denon AVR-X3300W), Class A equipment, replacing some of the parts in his dream speakers, getting a bigger, better subwoofer, as well as our thoughts on Legacy Audio and our own dream speakers. And Bob N. wants to know if he should use a 2nd order or 4th order crossover slope.
Justin B. wants our thoughts on setting up a projector in a very small room, how small is too small, and what headphones to buy for a child (Sony ZX310 or Sennheiser HD 206). Andrew N. asks about gray screens vs. white screens and high gain vs. low gain. And Christian S. needs to replace his AV Receiver’s remote and his Media Center Edition remote, so we recommend a Harmony Companion or Harmony 650.
Troy H. asks about older SVS subwoofer models and how the version of YPAO in his Receiver will handle dual subwoofers. Joe S. gets our recommendation for a calibrated UMIK-1 measurement microphone from Cross-Spectrum Labs. And an anonymous Listener wants to know what makes the JTR Triple 12 speakers sound so real, why other speakers don’t sound as real, and what he can read to learn more, such as the Loudspeaker Design Cookbook.
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