Home > Podcast > AV Rant #527: Hands and Balls and Amps

AV Rant #527: Hands and Balls and Amps

February 24th, 2017

Our Listeners of the Week are Weldon for his donation, and Bret R. for letting Accessories4Less and SVS know he bought a Marantz SR7009 AV Receiver and dual PB13-Ultra subwoofers from them, respectively.

In the news, Caavo is a $400, voice-controlled HDMI switch and universal remote replacement that “watches” your content using AI.

Nathan D. notes the rapid pace of Oppo UDP-203 firmware updates. Karl R. exceeded his 4K HDR projector budget, but snagged a near-flagship model. And John M. shared a link to AcousticModelling.com where you can graph a prediction of how your acoustic panels will perform.

Mark H. asks if we have a rule of thumb for allocating percentages of a home theater budget to various components. Bill C. wants to know if Klipsch RF-10 Towers are junk and why they’re being sold at such a low price. And Infinite Gary gets some clarification about HDR and Dolby Vision signals vs. display capabilities, some speculation about 12-bit flat panel displays and future OLED TVs, an explanation of what “pants-flapping bass” really means, and a discussion of why we don’t recommend changing your subwoofer configuration based on content and why EQ can’t make everything sound the same.

Jim W. saw “Atmos” appear on his AV Receiver’s display while watching Netflix and wants an explanation. Nick B. is deciding between two or four subwoofers, the best way to calibrate and level match them for two rows of seating, and how to tackle his HVAC and soundproofing concerns. And Bob N. requests a refresher on different amplifier Classes and why some people claim a certain Class sounds better than others.

Justin B. gets our comments on Ascend Acoustics Sierra-2, Ascend Sierra Luna Satellite, Polk LSiM703, RBH SV-61R, RBH SV-661R, Axiom Audio M5HP, and Axiom QS10HP speakers. Corey M. wants to add in-ceiling Atmos speakers, and we feel comfortable recommending RBH A-600. And Ian E. managed to make his RBH Impression Series Center speaker audibly distort, which we suspect is a cabinet defect, and RBH seems to agree.

John B. requests a list of 4K content services and playback devices. Jay P. has an enormous volume of air, but a set budget for a subwoofer. We discuss some of his options, as well as his shortlist of speaker candidates. Everett L. needs a replacement tricolor filter for Digital Video Essentials. And Allen G. wants a simple, RCA input headphone amplifier, so we suggest the Topping TP21, SMSL SAP II Pro, or SMSL SAP VI.

Adriano M. has a friend who needs an HDMI Matrix switch with optical audio extraction. Weldon B. noticed his NVidia Shield TV offers settings for 60 frames per second and 59.94 fps output, and wants to know which one to use and why. And Mitch needs to buy a new AV Receiver, so we go over the feature differences that might influence his decision.

Thanks for listening. Now, don't forget to:

  • Check out the AV Rant YouTube channel to watch our show videos.
  • Download Tom’s FREE superhero-themed ebook Bob Moore: No Hero.
  • Visit Tom's website for download links as well as links for the two full-length follow-ups -  Bob Moore: Desperate Times and Bob Moore: Hostile Territory.
  • Check out AVGadgets.com where Tom is the new Editor-in-Chief!
  • Download Tom's NEWEST book, Touch of Pain from Amazon now!

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