AV Rant #394: Bass Case Scenario
Special thanks to Matthew, Luke, Stephen, E. Don, and Anand for their support of the podcast. Your contributions keep us going and we thank you! Tom and Rob both saw Gardians of the Galaxy and report. Tom even paid extra to experience Dobly Atmos though it forced him to experience 3D yet again. We have updates from Paul on our race car, Nathan reports on the f.lux software (LINK), and Miles is worried that his experience at a high-end audio show (LINK) has revealed his “tin” ear. John and Richard comment on Tom’s Harmony Ultimate Remote review from last week (LINK). Jonathan has an upgrade question, Nathan wonders about on-wall and in-wall speakers, and Scott is concerned that cars might be getting too quiet. Toby is loving his Denon X2000 we recommended (yeah! and LINK) but has a few questions about which sub to get, Audyssey MultEQ XT, and what to do with those unused amplifier channels. Cameron is looking for a DAC and we come up with two different suggestions (LINK to Rob’s). Jason is still confused about amplifier power, Travis wants a few more suggestions on sub/speaker setup, and Richard is having some issues with phase. Ashley has a followup soundcard issue, Paul ponders North American and European receiver manufacturers, and Steven is having some serious setup issues with his older Pioneer receiver. Another Stephan (from Australia) is looking for new speakers and asks if we think he should buy the SVS Ultra series speakers ear unheard (LINK). Thanks for listening. Now, don't forget to:
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AV Rant Listener Miles W. —
attended last month’s Capital Audiofest:
http://www.capitalaudiofest.com/
He heard speakers costing everywhere from $165/pair to $40,000/pair.
His three favorites ended up being on the more affordable side…and we’re not surprised! Here were Miles’ top picks from the show:
– ‘(the clue)’ bookshelves from Sjofn HiFi priced at $1,000 a pair: http://www.sjofnhifi.com/thecluespecs_v7.pdf
– Philharmonic Audio’s ‘Affordable Accuracy Monitor’ bookshelves priced at just $165 a pair: http://philharmonicaudio.com/folio-me/html/Phil%20Pages/AALS.html
– Vanatoo ‘Transparent One’ powered monitors for $500 a pair: http://www.vanatoo.com/store/speakers/transparent-one-black#.U-Jf0WdOWUk
AV Rant Listener Jonathan F. —
switched his television service from DirecTV to Verizon FIOS and found the process of getting what he wanted from Verizon…less than smooth and easy. 2 weeks of persistence and “CSR roulette” eventually led to success for Jonathan, but he wonders why it’s so difficult and whether it’s just endemic to the cable industry.
It’s a few weeks old now, but Ryan Block’s attempt to disconnect from Comcast certainly offers some evidence that Jonathan isn’t the only person who’s struggled with a television service provider! Ay-yi-yi:
https://soundcloud.com/ryan-block-10/comcastic-service
And if you haven’t already seen it, John Oliver’s piece on Net Neutrality and Internet Service Providers is hilarious:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpbOEoRrHyU
AV Rant Listener Scott A. —
wanted to hear our opinions on new cars that are so quiet, they have to employ speakers so that drivers can hear engine noises:
http://www.cnet.com/news/bmw-m5-generates-fake-engine-noise-using-stereo/
And speakers are also necessary on the outside of some cars so that pedestrians can hear them driving by:
http://www.cnet.com/news/prius-artificial-engine-noise-demonstrated-explained/
What do you think? Do you like the idea of being able to choose what (if any) engine noises you hear in the cabin of the car? Do you want electric vehicles to have a distinctive sound to warn nearby pedestrians? Let us know in the comments below!
AV Rant Listener Toby H. —
is looking for a $500 subwoofer.
Outlaw Audio is currently running a sale on their LFM-1 Plus subwoofer for $499 with free shipping!
http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/lfm1plus.html
It’s a great subwoofer with lots of output and extension, and it even has variable tuning if you’d like to experiment with porking™
😀
Just make sure you are aware of its large physical size. Build a cardboard box model!
AV Rant Listener Cameron K. —
wants to hear the best possible headphone sound quality at his desk, using a laptop, and on the go.
We’ve talked quite a bit about USB headphone DAC/amp units lately, but when you’d like this level of versatility, we think it’s worth considering a separate player.
FiiO’s X3 and X5 high res portable audio players are affordable, sound great, and can also function as USB DACs/amps or output their sound digitally or using analogue line out to an AV Receiver. And because they’re self-powered with a decent rechargeable battery, they won’t drain your laptop or smartphone.
Check ’em out: http://www.fiio.com.cn/products/index.aspx?MenuID=105026016
AV Rant Listener Steven R. —
has some spare car audio subwoofer drivers lying around, and he wanted to know if there’s a good resource for purchasing amplifiers and enclosure kits so that he could potentially turn these spare woofers into home theater subwoofers.
Our go-to recommendation for things like this is parts-express.com
http://www.parts-express.com/cat/speaker-cabinets/20
We’d also recommending getting in contact with the manufacturer of the woofer directly. In Steven’s case, it’s JL Audio, and they have specifications for box size and amplifier power right on their website that customers can use as a guide:
http://www.jlaudio.com/12w3v3-4-car-audio-w3v3-subwoofer-drivers-92154
SVS are distributed in Australia by Deep Hz Audio (httpwww.deephzaudio.com).
I found out through them that West Coast HiFi (Perth) stock SVS. Bought my SB2000 sub through them for a very competitive price. Very happy.
Hope that helps Stephan.
Oops, try http://www.finallink.com.au for distribution. They were great!