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AV Rant #573: Furnaces

January 15th, 2018

Our Listeners of the Week are Jack for his donation, and our 51 Patreon Patrons, including Byron, as well as Robert G. for letting ButtKicker know he heard about them from us, and Michael D. for letting Accessories4Less know he ordered his Denon AVR-S920W Receiver from them thanks to our recommendation.

In the news, LG announced their 2018 OLED and SuperUHD TV lineup. The 2018 LG OLEDs include a full 3D LUT with auto-calibration using CalMAN software. And LG showed a prototype 65-inch rollable OLED. Warner Bros. joined the HDR10+ Alliance. Panasonic says HDR10+ is part of the Ultra HD Blu-ray specification now, and they announced the first HDR10+ OLED TVs. They also announced the Panasonic UB820 Ultra HD Blu-ray player that is compatible with both Dolby Vision and HDR10+. And Samsung unveiled The Wall: a modular, micro-LED display.

James Bujold shared a fun project; his brother and nephew replaced the innards of a vintage TEAC tape deck with a Raspberry Pi and a touchscreen. Robert G. reported back that a single ButtKicker LFE Mini is plenty for his loveseat. Chris A. discovered loose speaker wires inside his Paradigm speakers were the culprit creating crackling and audio drop outs. David F. took advantage of getting RBH A-600 in-ceiling speakers at wholesale cost by installing six of them. Michael M. listens to us during his commute in Austria, which happens to line up perfectly with our Live on Air recording sessions. And Rob M. recommends the price alert/price tracking website PriceOwlert.com, especially in Canada where there are far fewer online price tracking options.

Ted M. is getting “blurry” stereo imaging at his primary seat, but it sounds much better if he moves either forward or backward. He wants to know if it’s all down to the angle at which he’s hearing his speakers, or if it’s something more complicated, especially since he can’t easily see why this is happening by looking at Room EQ Wizard measurements. Ryan L. asks if he should go for the larger Ascend Acoustics CMT-340SE speakers across his Front Left, Center, and Right in his small room, and he gets some thoughts on room treatments and Atmos speaker placement. And Mike gets our recommendation for the Aperion Audio Intimus L6-IC in-ceiling speakers and talking to Soundproofing Company to determine his construction needs. We also discuss the importance of adhering to code when it comes to utility room doors. And we tackle some design ideas for his custom entertainment unit, acoustic treatment placement, and subwoofer placement.

Lance H. was told by Best Buy that the Sony X900E TVs would get a Dolby Vision update. Best Buy was wrong, so he’s wondering if he should upgrade to the X930E, or simply wait for the new 2018 models. Lance also asks about image quality from streaming services on 4K TVs, and whether he should upgrade his CPU, GPU, or both so that he can play 4K content on an HTPC. Andrew gets some product advice for his dedicated theater room in Canada, including our recommendation for the AudioSource Amp100, Epson HC 4000 projector, and sitting closer to his screen. We also tackle his speaker placement, soundproofing, and, once again, staying within code for his utility room door. And Byron S. asks about using Zone 2, Zone 3, and HEOS to play different, or the same, sources in four different rooms. And he gets our thoughts on how to orient his new room, and whether he should try to add Front Wide speakers.

Mark O. wants to upgrade the NHT Super Zero speakers in his 2-channel setup. With the budget he proposed, we suggest the Aperion Verus II Grand Tower, Ascend Acoustics Sierra-2, Philharmonic Audio BMR Philharmonitor, KEF LS50, or Power Sound Audio MT-110 speakers, along with Sanus speaker standsif he needs them, the Denon AVR-X3300W from Accessories4Less, and the Sony UBP-X800 Ultra HD Blu-ray player. Michael D. and his wife bought a slew of 4K gear, so we go over some settings to make sure he’s getting the best signals possible, including setup tips for his Vizio M Series from RTings, Apple TV 4K from CNET, and Xbox One X from Windows Central. Boshko gets our opinions of the Onkyo TX-ZR810 Receiver, and we talk about its bi-amping feature. We also suggest the APC J35B for battery backup power protection and the APC G Type 20 amp power protectors. As well as the NVidia Shield TV for playing video files off of USB storage with full lossless audio bitstreams. And Earle B. finds out what we think of the chances of seeing HDR10+ added to older TVs.

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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