Home > Podcast > AV Rant #395: What do you REALLY Need?

AV Rant #395: What do you REALLY Need?

August 12th, 2014

Special thanks to Eliezer, Michael R., and Sim for supporting the podcast! You guys rule! Dolby released a few white papers on Atmos that you might be interested in. Check them out HERE. Gabe let us know about a high-rez file test going on over at AVS. Click HERE to get in on the action. Listener Andy reviewed the JBL LSR305 Studio Monitors and loved them (LINK). At $150 a pair, they may just be the no-brainer recommendation for an office. Jared weighs in on Harmony’s new Smart Hub (LINK), Moanis is using his voice to help out the podcast, and Jason and Geoff have some recommendations for those looking for SVS products in Australia (LINK). Infinite Gary has a question about over-damping your room, Anand has questions about amps, Audyssey, and upgrading his sub, and Jon wants to know about IIR filters versus FIR filters. Leighton has a small room and needs some setup recommendations, Drew needs outdoor speaker recommendations, Steven is looking for a new receiver, and Eliezer tries to get us riled up with a blog post (LINK). Renny has a Chromecast question, Mark is curious about Marantz’s pre-outs, Lior wants to know why his Onkyo gets so hot sometimes, and Michael needs some banana plugs. Thanks for listening. Now, don't forget to:

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  1. Rob H
    August 14th, 2014 at 12:50 | #1

    In the News:

    Dolby released a couple of White Papers with more details about Dolby Atmos for Home Theaters and Dolby Atmos-enabled Speakers.

    AVS Forum posted them right away: http://www.avsforum.com/forum/286-latest-industry-news/1633057-dolby-atmos-white-papers-available.html

    Not every question we have about Atmos for home theaters is answered, but there’s some good information in these White Papers; things that we didn’t know for certain before.

    Enjoy!

  2. Rob H
    August 14th, 2014 at 12:53 | #2

    AV Rant Listener Gabe —

    sent a link to the AVS Forum AIX High-resolution audio experiment:

    http://www.avsforum.com/forum/91-audio-theory-setup-chat/1620698-avs-aix-high-resolution-audio-test-results-so-far.html

    Scott Wilkinson posted three audio tracks created by Mark Waldrep with two versions of each track – one the original 96/24, and the other a 44.1/16 version that was converted directly from the original and then up-sampled back to 96/24 so that people wouldn’t be able to instantly tell which version was which.

    So far, only six people have completed the experiment using “high-res capable” equipment, and all six people have correctly identified all three tracks. Other people have listened using “non-high-res capable” equipment, and none of them could reliably tell which version was which.

    Obviously, no conclusions can be drawn from this yet, but it would be great to have some AV Rant Listeners download the tracks for themselves and let us know what they find!

  3. Rob H
    August 14th, 2014 at 12:58 | #3

    AV Rant Listener Andy E. —

    Posted a link to his review website, NoAudiophile.com , where he recently reviewed the JBL LSR305 Studio Monitors.

    http://noaudiophile.com/JBL_LSR305/

    Home Theater Geeks Podcast recently had an episode about JBL Pro’s new Studio Monitors and their new waveguide.

    http://twit.tv/show/home-theater-geeks/216

    Overall, Andy seems to agree that the new waveguide leads to very impressive off-axis response, and he thinks that 5 or 7 of these LSR305 connected to a pre-amp would make for a killer, comparatively inexpensive home theater setup.

  4. Rob H
    August 14th, 2014 at 13:06 | #4

    AV Rant Listener Gary —

    recommended checking out Acoustics Fields’ Google Hangout Podcasts with Dennis Foley where they discuss room acoustics and acoustic treatments:

    http://www.acousticfields.com/acoustic-treatment-google-hangout-week-2/

    We love talking about room acoustics and treatments, too! And overall, we are in agreement with most of what Dennis Foley is saying – at least in the episode in the link above.

    So this is another good resource for audio enthusiasts. And if you’re ever confused or would like to know more, shoot a message our way; we’d love to answer it here at AV Rant!

  5. Rob H
    August 14th, 2014 at 13:50 | #5

    AV Rant Listener Drew C. —

    wants to install outdoor speakers for his large, wrap-around porch. He wants good coverage for all three sides with a total budget of around $300 for the speakers. His main concern is where he ought to place them.

    Pictures at this link: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/pb06bhsds29f5b0/AADPWpOiMvF7LaRmbyRoqwdQa

    We fans of Yamaha’s outdoor speakers, and their NS-AW350 model will allow him to purchase three pairs: http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-NS-AW350-Indoor-Outdoor-Speakers/dp/B0001VHARO/

    You can hear our suggestions for placement on the podcast, but we’d definitely be open to more recommendations. So if you have thoughts about which speakers Drew should buy and where he should place them, please leave a comment below!

  6. Rob H
    August 14th, 2014 at 14:08 | #6

    AV Rant Listener Eliezer —

    Sent us a link to a post from the personal blog of the owner of Audio Advice entitled “Finally! The Computer Music Science Project Ends.”

    http://www.audioadvice.com/high-end-audio/2014/07/31/computer-music-science-project-finally/

    About the only thing we need to include in our description of this blog post is that it includes the phrase,” if you’ve read all the way to this point”. That’s a bit of a dead giveaway, in our opinion. But please feel free to check out the article for yourself and let us know what you think about it in the comments below!

  7. Rob H
    August 14th, 2014 at 14:18 | #7

    AV Rant Listener Michael R. —

    wants some banana plugs. He’s in Canada, so a couple of the following links will be .ca websites, but here’s a nice list of various banana plugs that we recommend:

    Tom recommends Locking Banana Plugs:

    http://www.amazon.com/GLS-Audio-Locking-Generation-Connector/dp/B00BBDD3B8/

    Blue Jeans Cable sells Locking Banana Plugs, too:

    http://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/speaker/index.htm

    Rob recommends going very inexpensive:

    Sewell Deadbolt: http://sewelldirect.com/Sewell-Deadbolt-Banana-Plugs-12-Pair.asp

    Sewell Deabolt Plugs in Canada: http://www.amazon.ca/Sewell-Deadbolt-Banana-Fast-Lock-Technology/dp/B006U3O566

    and

    MonoPrice: http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_id=104&cp_id=10401&cs_id=1040115&p_id=9436&seq=1&format=2

    Just One Cable in Canada: http://www.justonecable.ca/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=80_84&products_id=841&zenid=9593364e60b3c4dc50c170f0c55c9cfe

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