Special Request: We need 1,000 subscribers to our AV Rant Podccast YouTube channel in order to remain in the YouTube Partnership Program under their new rules that take effect Feb. 20, and we’re so close! Please consider helping us get over that threshold. Subscribing is completely free, so we’d greatly appreciate it. Thank you!

Our Listeners of the Week are Karl and James for their donations, and our 53 Patreon Patrons, as well as Anthony R. for letting Accessories4Less know he heard about them from us when he bought his Denon AVR-X3300W, Chris H. for telling SVS he bought an SB12-NSD because of our recommendation, Karl for letting Charlie Jones from SurgeX know he bought an SX-1115 power conditioner after enjoying our interview, and Bruno for helping us keep our We Watch Movies Podcast intros going. Also, a huge thank you to everyone who has subscribed to our AV Rant Podcast YouTube channel recently!

In the news, Sony unveiled pricing for their A8F OLED and X900F LCD TVs, and we’re disappointed. However, Sony also announced new HT-Z9F and HT-X9000F SoundBars that decode Atmos and DTS:X at lower price points than other Atmos SoundBars. And if you want to make your own movie server, check the Make MKV Forums Ultra HD section as there have been lots of developments.

Justin B. recommends the RBH HP-1B Bluetooth Headphones for AptX and good sound quality at an affordable price. Nathan W. corrected us about how the beta Oppo firmware handles HDR to SDR conversion, pointing out that you can retain Deep Color while having more tone mapping options than before. And Chris A. and Brandon both informed us that Yamaha and Denon/Marantz offer AV Receivers that can switch HDMI inputs without powering on while using the HDMI standby pass-through feature.

0:30:58 Jeb B. gets our list of AV Receivers under $1,000 that can power a 5.1.4 setup, as well as confirmation that he’ll need a separate amp for Zone 2.

0:36:54 Justin B. gets our speculation on why his Harmony Keyboard and Harmony Smart Control Remote are acting up.

0:42:28 Ted M. tried all of our suggestions for improving the imaging of his on-wall speakers at his primary seat, so we give our absolute last ditch ideas, but mostly try to persuade him to go with what he already knows gives him the results he’s looking for.

0:50:08 Charleston L. asks about his Denon AVR-X4300H always automatically applying upmixing, so we go over his options for manually setting his desired listening modes.

0:54:43 Infinite Gary is curious about the Revel Performa Beryllium M126 Be Concept speakers, and the new Elac Adante AS-61 speakers with their “interport-coupled cavity” passive radiator system, and he wants to know which ones we’d choose and why.

1:03:12 Cesar R. gets our thoughts on where he should position his seating, what speaker configuration he should use, what screen size he should get and how far away to mount it, as well as our recommendations for 12 or 14 gauge in-wall speaker wire from Monoprice, Parts-Express or Amazon.

1:11:26 Luke K. wants to know which older Receiver models supported Front Wide speakers and are still available for under $1,000.

1:15:52 Mike F. is using a Vizio SoundBar in his bedroom, and he’d like dynamic range compression, but he’s tried all the available settings, so we discuss ideas for other products he might use.

1:22:37 Josh L. has an 85-inch TV he can mount above his fireplace, but he wants to be able to occasionally move the TV farther away from the heat.

1:28:17 Brandon N. wants more Atmos content, but that probably means 4K. So he also wants a new TV and a projection setup. We discuss his flat panel options, his projection screen options, including Elite Screen Spectrum AcousticPro UHD and Saker Tension AcousticPro UHD, and which we think he should buy first.

1:43:48 Nick B. gets our thoughts on Brent Butterworth’s Monoprice 9723 budget subwoofer pick for The Wirecutter along with some other thoughts about dual subs, more expensive subs, and what we think might surprise us in a blind listening test.

1:53:37 Chris H. wants a new, $200, compact sub for his bedroom that can still play fairly low, and we think the BIC F12 would be a good choice.

• 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!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Subscribe: RSS

Liked it? Take a second to support AV Rant on Patreon!