Emotiva is refreshing their BasX A-Series amps to the “A Plus” Series that include XLR inputs, and higher prices. Ascendo figured their 50″ and 80″ subs weren’t big enough, so they made 64″ and 100″ models to replace them. And Tom and Rob both headed out to IMAX theaters last week to see Superman!

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCouex

00:00:00 – Intro

South Park did their best to stir up some controversy. And things, overall, are finally looking up for Tom.

00:17:12 – What We Watched

Tom and Rob both went out to IMAX theaters last week to see Superman! You’ll never guess which one of us saw it in 3D. We start out spoiler free, but get into full spoilers parts way through, so please make use of the timestamps.

00:44:12 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Raf for his PayPal donation, plus our 131 Patreon Patrons, as well as Greg for sending a gazillion movie codes for Tom to test.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Mark, David, Errol, Infinite Gary, Anonymous, Karl, Raf, Sasi, Steve, John, Joe, Ilango, Jason, and Dazz. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:52:01 – News: Emotiva BasX A2+, A3+ & A7+

New “entry-level” amplifiers from Emotiva gain XLR inputs, and higher prices: https://tinyurl.com/yyt5z57h

00:55:01 – News: Ascendo THE64 & THE100 Subwoofers

Ascendo’s 50″ & 80″ subs apparently weren’t big enough, so they’ve replaced them with all-new 64″ & 100″ models: https://tinyurl.com/4a2j9s8f

Comments:

00:57:34 – Comment: Sasi – Speakers Ranked by Sensitivity

Sasi somehow found the time to collect measurements of 95 current speaker models and convert them to IEC standards to chart their true sensitivity ratings: https://tinyurl.com/4p2k9ums

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Tom shares two big life updates. Rob talks about CBS cancelling The Late Show. Premium Audio Company is dropping the Pioneer and Pioneer Elite brands. RBH expands their Impression Series lineup with the 5a-iw and 5a-iwr wedge-shaped speakers.

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCnkNN

00:00:00 – Intro

Rob talks about CBS cancelling The Late Show. Tom shares a couple of big life updates.

00:22:27 – What We Watched

Tom watched The Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare. Rob watched Snow White.

00:40:47 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Allen and Eric for their PayPal donations, plus our 130 Patreon Patrons, including Ben, as well as John for sending Tom a movie code to test.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Brad, Anonymous, Dazz, HiFinest343, Nathan, Ilango, Eric, Ben, Greg, Kevin, and Allen. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:46:42 – News: PAC Drops Pioneer

When VOXX International bought Onkyo and added them to their PAC (Premium Audio Company) division, they also licesed the Pioneer and Pioneer Elite home audio brands that Onkyo had purchased. But now they’re dropping those liceses: https://tinyurl.com/2ceaf5pw

00:49:09 – News: RBH Impression Wedge-Shaped Speakers

New 5a-iw and 5a-iwr models add wedge-shaped speakers to RBH’s Impression Series: https://tinyurl.com/3yapfvja

Comments:

00:50:33 – Comment: Anonymous – First Ripped Disc

An update on having successfully ripped an Ultra HD Blu-ray disc for the first time.

– Asus BW-16D1HT: https://tinyurl.com/yu99fxch

– OWC Enclosure: https://tinyurl.com/yc5uvbha

– SDFtool: https://tinyurl.com/bdecu48z

00:51:59 – Comment: Herb – Cross-Spectrum Labs Beginnings

Herb lets us know how Cross-Spectrum’s microphone calibration service all began.

01:01:57 – Comment: Karl – Zygo Z2 Swimming Headphones

A high-end swimming headphones recommendation.

– Zygo Z2: https://tinyurl.com/5h3wumkz

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Welcome back, Tom. He tells us all about his big family reunion, which was great! Our thanks to Lee Overstreet for guest co-hosting last week. We both watched something we enjoyed this week. And the founders of the Alamo Drafthouse aren’t retiring just yet; they’re opening the Metro Private Cinema in New York to provide high-end, dinner and a movie experiences.

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCmD4Z

00:00:00 – Intro

Thank you to Lee Overstreet for co-hosting with Rob last week. And Tom returns to tell us all about his big family reunion.

00:16:48 – What We Watched

Rob watched Sinners. Tom watched Invincible S.2 & 3.

00:34:20 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are James and Matthew for their PayPal donations, plus our 130 Patreon Patrons, as well as Sasi for having his Apollon Audio Eigentakt amplifiers shipped to Rob before it makes its way to Sasi so that Rob can review it.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Jason, Anonymous, Jack, and Sasi. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:43:03 – News: Metro Private Cinema

Via Karl – After selling the Alamo Drafthouse franchise to Sony Pictures, the founders are now opening the Metro Private Cinema in New York: https://tinyurl.com/bd6r5hap

Comments:

00:47:33 – Comment: Anonymous – Finding LibreDrive Sellers

Rob linked to a UK seller of optical drives that are ready to go for MakeMKV. But their website is closed right now. Are they gone? Is there an alternative?

– https://shop.uhdfriendlydrives.co.uk/

00:50:04 – Comment: Jack – Shokz OpenSwim Pro

Tom’s cousin, an avid swimmer, backs up our recommendation for these particular bone conduction headphones.

– https://shokz.com/products/openswimpro

00:52:08 – Comment: Sasi – BlueSound PowerNode 2025

Another mini AVR option that could be hidden behind a TV while powering 3 Front speakers.

– https://www.bluesound.com/usa/powernode

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Lee Overstreet guest co-hosts while Tom is away. Amazon Prime Day sales bring big discounts to TCL’s newest QM7K and QM8K TVs, including the 98″ models being $1,000 off. And Rob and Lee mildly disagree about removing film grain and then artificially adding it back.

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCkYPT

00:00:00 – Intro

Crazy technical issues and improvised fixes. And what’s been going on in Lee’s neck of the woods?

00:13:45 – What We Watched

Lee watched The Eternaut, and Into the Night, both on Netflix. Rob watched Finch, and Severance S.2, both on Apple TV+.

00:33:00 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are our 129 Patreon Patrons, as well as Dan for reaching out to Adam to offer an inexpensive Emotiva XMC-2 Pre-Pro.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Jack, Greg, Vince, Joe, Ilango, Karl, and David. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:38:51 – News: Top Prime Day Deals

We’re sharing AV Nirvana’s Top 10 picks for home theater Prime Day deals, and highlighting the newest TCL QM7K & QM8K models being on sale: https://tinyurl.com/4jfkk9d7

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HSU has released their MFL-6 speaker model at a slightly lower price than expected. HDMI has made version 2.2 official, along with Ultra96 cables, and LIP. The world’s largest Samsung Onyx micro-LED Cinema display has come to Texas. And Tom tells his origin story.

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCk1px

00:00:00 – Intro

00:04:23 – What We Watched

Rob watched Squid Game S.3, and Companion. Tom watched Star Wars: Skeleton Crew, and Captain America: Brave New World.

00:34:39 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Gurinder for his PayPal donation, plus our 131 Patreon Patrons, as well as Rohan for sending some Movies Anywhere codes.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Henry, Joe, Greg, Andrew, Rohan, James, Stefan, and Sasi. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:37:10 – News: HSU MFL-6 Speakers

HSU’s newest Multi-Function Loudspeaker has officially been released: https://tinyurl.com/236wnp9j

00:40:58 – News: HDMI 2.2 & Ultra96

The newest HDMI spec is official now, and new Ultra96 certified cables and ports should be arriving later this year: https://tinyurl.com/ycke2e56

00:45:27 – News: World’s Largest Micro-LED Cinema

Via Karl: The 46′ wide Samsung Onyx p3.3 micro-LED Cinema Display has come to Texas: https://tinyurl.com/2ud9a76x

Comments:

00:46:18 – Comment: Infinite Gary – Digital Trends v Caleb Denison

Gary tracked down the publicly available legal filings: https://www.pacermonitor.com/public/case/58131009/Designtechnica_Corporation_v_Denison

00:47:08 – Comment: Nathan – Kaleidescape Disc-to-Digital

It isn’t officially supported, but scanning Ultra HD Blu-ray discs into Kaleidescape mostly works.

00:48:28 – Comment: Greg – TCL Sent Him a Cheque

His 98″ QM851G is making noises that it shouldn’t, and TCL’s fix is to simply give his money back.

QUESTIONS:

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