AV Rant #959: We’re AV Flood Now
Rob had yet another leak from the same drain pipe again. Sonos cancels their “Pinewood” streaming video box. Sony refreshes their X700 Ultra HD Blu-ray player. And Sony showed off their flagship RGB mini-LED TV slated to launch in 2026.
Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjC5STt
00:00:00 – Intro
Now with even more water damage!
00:08:27 – What We Watched
Tom started rewatching The Golden Girls. Rob’s been watching S.3 of Invincible, and watched High Life.
00:22:05 – Listeners of the Week
Our Listeners of the Week are Sasi for his PayPal donation, plus our 131 Patreon Patrons, as well as Tim for offering to send Tom a PS3 for his brother, and a different Tom for suggesting that our Tom set up a “Buy a Panel” pledge drive to raise funds with an acoustic panel with donors names printed on it.
We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Raf, Gurinder Julian, Joshua, Brandon, Yanick, Sasi, Tom, and David. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!
In the news:
00:28:11 – News: Sonos Streaming Box Cancelled
Sonos’ new interim CEO says they won’t pursue video at all anymore: https://tinyurl.com/3x83c4sd
00:31:17 – News: Sony X700/K UHD BD Player
Via Karl – the first new Ultra HD Blu-ray player in years does less and costs more: https://tinyurl.com/ypn53hyu
00:32:46 – News: Sony RGB mini-LED TV
Hisense and TCL already showed off the new LCD backlighting technology. But Sony says their new flagship in 2026 will do it best: https://tinyurl.com/hk2vr9vf
Comments:
00:35:38 – Comment: Raf – Sub EQ Bump Results
Using our advice, he found EQ’ing a hump between 40Hz – 60Hz to be effective.
00:39:03 – Comment: Gurinder – SVS Amp Replacement in Canada
It’ll cost him some money, but at least he can get his PB13-Ultra working again.
00:40:36 – Comment: Eliezer – V-Moda Faders
Another suggestion for comfortable hearing protection.
00:42:22 – Comment: Sasi – Subwoofer Options in Ireland
It might be easier to buy a ToneWinner or XTZ sub in Ireland.
QUESTIONS:
00:44:30 – David: Get TCL QM851G Now, or Wait?
Will 98″ TCL QM851G TVs drop in price again? Or should he buy now?
00:52:19 – Dazz: Entry-Level Speakers
Young folks seem to want speakers they can’t see, and don’t cost a lot. What do we suggest?
01:02:27 – Karl: Line Array vs Point Source
For a regular room in a house, does one type of speaker make more sense than the other?
01:10:12 – Infinite Gary: Underestimating Subs & Marantz + Klipsch
Small, sealed subs might not pressurize bigger rooms at 20 Hz, but are they capable of more “chest thump” than people think? And was the “Marantz sound” designed to offset “Klipsch brightness”?
01:15:10 – John: Apple TV 4K + NAS
Does the Apple TV 4K demand a complete HDMI 2.1 signal chain? Can his NVidia Shield do 120 Hz gaming? Where are his Apple TV 4K’s chroma settings? Can it connect to a NAS? Can he download Apple Movies to that NAS?
– Apple TV 4K Video Settings: https://www.youtube.com/shorts/cZTNtOxrr2I
– Infuse App: https://tinyurl.com/ycx9pwzy
01:25:13 – Stefan: JVC NP5 vs NZ500
What else is different besides lamp vs lasers?
01:29:05 – Julian: Updated Room, Updated Questions
After some renovations, which new Surround speakers should he get? Which AV rack or stand? Power protection advice. And Universal remote options.
– SVS Prime Satellite: https://tinyurl.com/vc7n69n9
– Ascend HTM-200SE2: https://tinyurl.com/5n7dw6m6
– Monoprice Monolith AV Stand: https://tinyurl.com/4spxd84v
01:47:38 – Joshua: Large, Open-Concept Pool House
He wants to plan his new theater area so he can pre-wire. We dig into options for a Surround speaker when there’s no wall on that side. AV Receiver and speaker choices. In-wall vs in-room subs. And which speaker wire and HDMI cable to buy.
– Aperion Theatrus In-Walls: https://tinyurl.com/3jpb9z7z
– RBH In-Ceiling Subs: https://tinyurl.com/4sdrrw9f
– Monoprice In-wall Speaker Wire: https://tinyurl.com/3ep86wmv
– Belden In-wall Speaker Wire: https://tinyurl.com/2e7z5hsz
– RUIPRO Fiber Optic HDMI with Detachable Ends: https://tinyurl.com/bdeusz2e
02:15:54 – Mike: TCL & Hisense QLEDs Misleading?
What Rob makes of the lawsuits alleging certain QLED TVs don’t have quantum dots: https://tinyurl.com/5ehkyhy2
02:21:14 – Brandon: RBH Ultra-1 Speakers
What Rob thinks of RBH’s super slim Ultra-1 on-wall speakers now that they’re on final clearance.
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