AV Rant #388: Sub Porking
This week we start our new recording time/day of 9pm EST on Mondays. Check us out on G+ for the live recording session and stick around for the Hangout after. Dolby Atmos is coming to the home from pretty much everyone. Twice has a lot of news on it here. Lee gets a new receiver, Jonathan gets new headphones, and Geoff buys a lot of stuff on our recommendations. We expect full reports guys. Jackson has a word on Monoprice HDMI splitters, Dave points us to the AV Forums podcast, and Robert appreciated our honesty. Jefferson is looking for a two-channel amp, Jared wants to try out some DIY room treatments, and John and Lars have questions about surround sound speaker placement. Jared also wants some suggestions on how to make his system sound better. Our Dane listener wants to know why we think on-wall speakers are a compromise, Michael has some subwoofer placement questions, and Gary doesn’t like glossy TVs. Lastly Abel has a question about the impedance rating on a speaker and matching it with a receiver. Thanks for listening. Now, don't forget to:
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HUGE Onkyo Dolby Atmos announcement and info dump with probably the best explanation of how the whole system is going to work in our homes!
7 to 11 speakers. Entirely new bitstream format. Complete speaker positioning diagrams. A completely new class of speakers. Firmware upgrades for some existing 2014 Onkyo AV Receivers, but no way to upgrade older models.
Exciting stuff!
http://dolbyatmos.onkyousa.com/
We already posted the link for Onkyo’s rather comprehensive web page describing all the various aspects of Dolby Atmos at home. Check out that link above!
But for even more coverage and to get the scoop on all the other brands getting in on the Dolby Atmos at home action, check out TWICE’s coverage where they’re adding stories as it all unfolds:
http://www.twice.com/articles-tagging/atmos
AV Rant Listener Dave —
told us to check out the first 15 minutes or so of a recent AVForums Podcast episode in which they pretty much say all the things about subwoofers that are very commonly mentioned on forums, but that Tom and Rob totally disagree with!
We want to be really clear: we like the guys over at AVForums a whole lot. And we definitely agree with how they summed up the segment saying that there are lots of disagreements and opinions when it comes to subwoofers and how best to use and integrate them into our home theaters.
But check out what they had to say, and then listen to our take during Episode # 388 of AV Rant!
http://www.avforums.com/podcast/avforums-podcast-18th-june-2014.10430
AV Rant Listener Jefferson —
wanted our opinions on MiniDSP’s UMIK-1 USB measurement microphone.
Neither Tom nor Rob has used a UMIK-1 in person, but our good friend Herb over at Cross-Spectrum Labs calibrates and sells them, and frankly, that’s about all we need to know about a measurement microphone to feel very comfortable with highly recommending it!
With its USB connection, this is a very convenient microphone for use with software such as Room EQ Wizard, which is available for free!
So check it out. We think you’ll be pleased:
http://cross-spectrum.com/measurement/calibrated_umik.html
AV Rant Listener Jared —
sent us this link to a forum thread describing how to build DIY “Super Chunk” corner bass traps:
http://www.gearslutz.com/board/bass-traps-acoustic-panels-foam-etc/666557-my-diy-superchunks-plus-soffit-corner-traps-pics.html
Rob H. recommends checking out Anthem’s FAQ.
He likes the way they answer many good questions about amplifiers in a very frank, yet informative manner:
http://www.anthemav.com/support/faq.php