Home > Podcast > AV Rant #540: Story of Proudness

AV Rant #540: Story of Proudness

May 26th, 2017

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In the news, Kris P. let us know that Xbox One S now supports Amazon Video in 4K and HDR. HD Guru posted a mostly positive LeEco uMax85 Ultra HDTV review. And the Denon X1400H and X2400H HEOS-capable AV Receivers deliver nice feature sets, although not quite as wireless as some outlets first reported.

Roberto C. reluctantly rewired his sound system, and doing so fixed his Receiver’s “protection mode” issues. Larry L. gives a shout out to our Producer Austen for his tireless work on our AVRant YouTube Videos. And our occasional guest host, James Bujold, shares some photos of his new TV room.

Mark H. asks if ceiling mounting a projector is superior to a shelf on the back wall, and how he can keep absorption panels behind his speakers if he mounts them on shelves or uses VideoSecu Side Clamping Speaker Brackets. Nathan D. asks if a cable box plugged into a HEOS-capable AV Receiver can deliver its sound to other HEOS speakers, and we mention buffer latency and TV Sound Grouping as points of interest. And Michael V. is getting into whole house audio in an open concept home. We strongly recommend to him: RBH in-ceiling speakers and RBH in-ceiling LCR, Power Sound Audio Sealed subwoofers for price and size concerns, a Monoprice Monolith amplifier for his most demanding rooms, and Dayton Audio Multi-Zone amplifiers everywhere else.

Aqun wants to know if the Oppo UDP-203 Ultra HD Blu-ray player will let him play Ultra HD Blu-rays on his non-HDCP 2.2, non-HDR projector, mainly so he can enjoy the immersive audio. Jonathan F. gets clarification about “7 channel stereo” vs. “Multi channel stereo” listening modes, and he read an interesting novella called “The Invisibility Cloak” about an audiophile installer in China. And Ty W. clarifies his room’s layout for us, and asks about potentially using a “hush box” over a rear shelf mounted projector.

Adam P. uses an HD Fury Integral to send signals to his HDCP 2.2 projector, non-HDCP 2.2 AV Receiver, and optical-audio-only Sonos Playbar, but he needs more HDMI inputs, so we recommend the Sewell SwitchDeck 4K 5×1. Nick B. wonders about “studio accurate” headphones, whether projectors will ever support Dolby Vision, and how HDR projectors look dimmer than HDR flat panels, although proper JVC UHD HDR settings can help with that last part if you’re using one of their projectors. And Infinite Gary questions some of the wording in Oppo’s manuals, asks what happens to Atmos and Audyssey if you use 7.1 analogue audio connections, and wants to know why 2-channel content doesn’t make his subwoofer play unless he sets it to “LFE+Mains”.

Brandon G. wants good surge protection, but has concerns about voltage regulation with subwoofers and amplifiers, so we recommend the APC J35B with its six battery backup outlets and two surge-only outlets. Raul R. has a large room, a limited budget, and a list of available subwoofers in Mexico that prompts some advice that might be a bit tough to accept. And Rob W. has to combine his billiards room and home theater, so we discuss his layout and speaker configuration, recommend the LeEco uMax85 or 80″ Vizio M-Series, talk about door options, and recommend Outdoor Speaker Depot MK650 in-ceiling speakers or Monoprice Caliber in-ceiling speakers along with the previously mentioned Dayton Audio Multi-Zone amplifier or Emotiva A-800 for affordable distributed audio in the rest of his basement.

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  1. Morgan
    June 5th, 2017 at 16:24 | #1

    Hey guys,
    What would you recommend as a neutral center channel for a pair of kef q100 mains under the $500 mark? The series seems to have gone through an upgrade and accessories for less doesn’t have the q200c in white. Since color matching the series isn’t available, is there a better option out there.

  2. Morgan
    June 5th, 2017 at 16:28 | #2

    Also, some cool deals I picked up. A Marantz sr6010 at Best Buy for $400 on the bargain table, and an Adcom gfa 545ii at a pawnshop for $100. I was pretty stoked! Running 5.1.4 now. Thanks to your knowledgeable insight, I was able to snatch these deals up, confident that my money was well spent.
    Much appreciated,
    Morgan

  3. Rob H
    July 12th, 2017 at 18:57 | #3

    @Morgan
    You could opt for the larger Q600C. A4L does still have those in white: http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/kefq600cwh/kef-q600c-6.5-3-way-center-channel-speaker-white/1.html

    It’s $50 over your desired budget, but at least it would be a perfect color/finish match, and obviously the timbre match would be excellent, as well…if you can physically fit the larger size and swing the extra $50, of course 🙂

    A really good, neutral Center speaker choice for $500 would be the NHT C-Series Center: https://www.nhthifi.com/products/16550-c-lcr-center-channel-speaker?category_id=1964848-center-speakers

    It’s only available in black though, so that brings up the obvious question: why not buy a black KEF Q200C since those are still available from A4L and kefdirect.com for under $500?

    If nothing but a white finish will do, then the ELAC Uni-Fi UC5 would be my top suggestion to you. You still get a concentric driver design, the price is $500, and it’s available in a white finish: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01M107BF9/

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