AV Rant Listener Abby —

posted a link to a write up by Scott Wilkinson over on the AVS Forum that does a nice job of explaining how digital audio works, and then giving both sides of the argument as to whether high res audio is irrelevant.

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1529833/is-high-resolution-audio-irrelevant

AV Rant Listener Steve M —

Is using his Radio Shack SPL Meter as a microphone for taking measurements using the free Room EQ Wizard software. REW already has a correction file for the RS SPL meter built into its options. But for anyone who might want to adjust for the readings on the RS SPL meter manually, here is a pretty decent chart of the correction values:

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?htech&983682086&openflup&1&4

AV Rant Listener Gary —

Want to know why curved displays aren’t the best idea? No, I mean REALLY know why?

Gary forwarded this article that breaks it all down in painstaking, scientific detail:

http://flatpanelshd.com/news.php?subaction=showfull&id=1399228517

AV Rant Listener Gary —

was also curious about THX’ recommended viewing angles and seating distances. THX suggests a range that maxes out at a 40 degree field of view. But don’t just take our word for it; here it is straight from THX’ own website:

http://www.thx.com/consumer/home-entertainment/home-theater/hdtv-set-up/

AV Rant Listener Nick —

wanted to hear our thoughts regarding Seaton Sound and their SubMersive subwoofers. Seaton Sound has been around for many years now, and they have rabid fans across many forums. You can check out their offerings on their own website (which is just a splash page to take you to Seaton’s forum at the moment):

http://www.seatonsound.net/

AV Rant Listener Nick —

is also interested in the Salk/Rythmik 15 with Dual Passive Radiators thanks to this Home Theater Shack review. We mentioned the measurement graph that is included in this review during the podcast. It is a wonderful example of showing the sort of room gain that happens in the lowest frequencies in a real room:

http://www.hometheatershack.com/forums/speaker-subwoofer-reviews/74914-salk-rythmik-15-dual-15-passive-radiators-subwoofer-review.html

If enormous subwoofers at very reasonable prices really pique your interest, Tom and Rob mentioned another online subwoofer company that should have your attention.

Power Sound Audio was started by the same guys who started the original SVS – and they’re clearly targeting huge subwoofers at rock bottom prices. We like that they have full specs and measurements posted for all of their products. And their pedigree speaks for itself. These subs are the real deal:

http://www.powersoundaudio.com/

AV Rant Listener Niclas —

wanted us to address the concerns that fiberglass insulation (which is very commonly used for room treatments and acoustic absorption panels) might carry some health risks.

The fifth post in this forum thread does a particularly good job of putting most of those concerns to rest:

http://www.johnlsayers.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1742

AV Rant Listener Niclas —

Also sent us a graph showing how acoustically absorbent various insulation materials are at different frequencies. There certainly are some differences, but the overall trend is pretty uniform — bass below 400 Hz is a challenge!

https://www.dropbox.com/s/2b4liwajoxdyv6d/absorbenter.PNG

AV Rant Listener Niclas —

also highly recommends the Master Handbook of Acoustics for anyone who would like to read up on the subject. The 5th edition is available in all formats. The 6th edition is available for pre-order:

http://www.amazon.com/Master-Handbook-Acoustics-Alton-Everest/dp/0071603328

http://www.amazon.com/Master-Handbook-Acoustics-Sixth-Edition/dp/0071841040

AV Rant Listener Toby —

provided this week’s recommendation.

Andrew Robinson has a pretty great series of home theater setup tutorials that he calls his Home Cinema Experience. Check out Andrew’s YouTube channel:

https://www.youtube.com/user/AndrewRobinsonOnline/videos