AV Rant #598: Olé, Olé Olé OLED
Our Listeners of the Week are Justin B. and Nathan D. for their donations, along with our 62 Patreon Patrons, and Kris P. for providing the Insteon Hub that we will give away next week!
Tom is away on vacation in Puerto Rico, so Lee Overstreet joins Rob H. as our guest co-host this week.
Justin B. is hoping someone might be interested in purchasing the 10 foot wide stage and proscenium he is selling along with a 2.35:1 acoustically transparent screen for $999. Andrew T. suggested searching US Audio Mart for Paradigm speakers, since they often cross-list items with Canuck Audio Mart. And Roger J. recalls how wool used to be a better choice than synthetic materials for acoustic batting, but things have changed over the years.
0:13:23 Martin D. wants video to work on both his 4K HDR-capable projector and his 1080p TV. We recommend some potential settings for his Yamaha Receiver and sources. And we also suggest an HD Fury Linker if those don’t pan out.
0:22:32 Rob W. tried to do everything right when installing a long HDMI cable. But an inaccurate 18 Gbps label and some 90 degree turns in his in-wall conduit have foiled his best intentions. We discuss what might have been done differently, while recommending Blue Jeans Cable.
0:29:59 Earle B. wants the same tactile transducer experience as what’s offered in a Dolby Cinema, so we recommend ButtKicker mini LFE units for each seat, powered by a Dayton SA1000 amplifier, as well as a miniDSP 2×4 for external subwoofer signal control, and a Dayton Wave-Link to make it wireless.
0:41:33 Bobby K. shared two cases of good customer service, one with Elite Screens, and one with Marantz, so we’re happy to hear that. Then he gets clarification on what Audyssey EQ does below the automatically set speaker crossover frequency, and our opinions on manually changing the crossover.
0:48:36 Eli M. wants to know if Dolby Atmos-Enabled upward-firing Modules can be used as regular direct-firing speakers, and what crossover they should be given.
0:53:10 Josh S. gets us to weigh in on the TechHive article asking, Will HDR Kill Your OLED TV?
0:58:10 Nick B. wants to try using multiple tablet microphones to measure multiple seating positions simultaneously, so we recommend using the AudioTools app for iPhone or the AudioTool app for Android and using the instructions for loading correction files into those apps provided by Parts-Express. We also point to a 3.5mm TRRS extension cable for those mics. And then we discuss different auto-EQ programs and whether they apply EQ to all speakers, and offer dynamic equal loudness processing.
1:10:20 Nathan D. might be getting an Oppo UDP-205, and he wants to know if he can EQ a signal and then use the 205’s DACs, which we suggest could be done using a miniDSP nanoAVR for any HDMI sources.
1:16:39 Infinite Gary asks if he should re-run Audyssey every time he changes a speaker in his setup. Then he asks about light meter placement for video calibration, how snug a CD should fit into a CD player’s disc tray, and how to get Dolby Vision working with his Oppo Ultra HD Blu-ray player and Sony OLED TV.
1:20:41 Justin B. asks, all else being equal, what differences will an 8-inch driver have vs. a 6-inch driver. Then we recommend AudioEngine A2+, Vanatoo Transparent Zero, or Kanto self-powered speakers for his desktop setup.
1:29:38 Lee Overstreet shares his tale of his recent LG OLED TV purchase, including the many annoyances he discovered, particularly with how its built-in YouTube app handles 60 fps content.
2:01:16 Terry G. asks how bright a JVC X790 projector will look compared to his Sony HW55ES, and he wants to know how much the projection distance impacts the image.
2:08:18 Andrew T. had a whining sound coming from his subwoofer that he tracked down to his in-wall subwoofer cable. We suggest a potential reason why the noise occurred, and talk a bit about ground loops. And then we explain why his Denon says it’s getting 720p video when he’s using HDMI-ARC.
2:17:26 Alex P. wants Atmos and DTS:X on discs, so we recommend Rent4K.com, but also talk about why he might want to just wait a while given his particular setup.
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