We announce the 3 winners of our Sofabaton U3 Giveaway! GTA VI pre-orders are selling like crazy despite the inflated price. Xbox prices go up (a lot) for the third time. Everything Apple, except iPhones, got way more expensive. And PlayStation Store is yanking 551 titles with no apology.

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCY1xK

00:00:00 – Intro

00:01:42 – Sofabaton U3 Winners!

Without delay, we randomly draw the names of 3 winners for our Sofabaton U3 Giveaway.

– https://www.sofabaton.com/product/u3/

– 15% Discount when you use code: AVRANTROBU3 on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GY8BPNL8

00:06:09 – Personal Updates

00:25:06 – What We Watched

Tom started watching Daredevil: Born Again. Rob watched Avatar: Fire and Ash.

00:48:28 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Bill and Terry for their PayPal donations, plus our 121 Patreon Patrons.

Thank you to Steve for giving permission to use his photos on https://avgadgets.com/

And we appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Nels, Dale, Steve, Mark, Kris, Perry, Russ, Marcella, John, Nelson, and Phil. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:51:41 – News: GTA VI Pre-orders

The starting price is a little high, but not unprecedented. But that’s only if you literally want to be a second class citizen in the game: https://tinyurl.com/mw9e6s3f

00:53:33 – News: Xbox Price Hike

It truly doesn’t make sense to buy an Xbox after July 31: https://tinyurl.com/ype9jnkf

00:59:52 – News: Apple Price Hikes

Apple raised its prices on everything other than iPhones. Apple TV 4K was hit especially hard: https://tinyurl.com/3d2pwtxv

01:01:59 – News: PlayStation Store Yanks Movies

551 Studio Canal titles will disappear from the PlayStation Store in September, and they’re not even sorry about it: https://tinyurl.com/mr3hsev5

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It’s the final week to enter our Sofabaton U3 Giveaway! Kaleidescape Strato K introduces 4K Cinematic format. Valve’s Steam Machine prices are high. And the Ascend Acoustics CBM-170SE2 completes the Signature SE2 speaker lineup.

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCXn2f

00:00:00 – Intro

Life updates. And how’s Tom’s back?

00:10:55 – Sofabaton U3 Giveaway

It’s the final week to enter! We will be drawing the names of three winners next week! Monday, June 29 at 11:59pm PDT will be the cut off.

Email Question at AVRant dot com to enter for a chance to win a Sofabaton U3 Universal Remote:

– https://www.sofabaton.com/product/u3/

– Our affiliate link: https://tinyurl.com/tw2jb2fk

– Discount Code: AVRANTROB for 5% off

00:12:38 – What We Watched

Rob watched The Rehearsal S.2, and The Killing of a Sacred Deer.

00:25:13 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Keegan for his PayPal donation, plus our 121 Patreon Patrons.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Jason, Mohsen, Gurinder, Greg, Martin A, Neil, Dan, Theo, Dave, Keith, Andy, Jeff, Mike, Brandon, Infinite Gary, Jefferson, Martin D, Russell, Andreas, and Mark V. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:39:50 – News: Kaleidescape Strato K

Kaleidescape’s new $5,000 flagship player can output 8K and their new 4K Cinematic format: https://www.kaleidescape.com/strato-k-movie-player/

00:46:22 – News: Steam Machine Price

Valve has opened their lottery system to pre-order a Steam Machine. Good luck. And look at those prices: https://store.steampowered.com/hardware/steammachine

00:52:28 – News: Ascend CBM-170SE2

Via Greg: Ascend Acoustics’ Signature SE2 Series speaker lineup is now complete: https://tinyurl.com/3k938heu

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Tom is back. Thanks to Lee Overstreet for filling in last week, and sharing the slideshow of his vacation to Vancouver where he met Rob H. in person!

Fox Corporation is buying Roku. Wharfedale Elysian R Series speakers bring AMT tweeters and new color options. And we continue our Sofabaton U3 giveaway with good news for everyone who enters.

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCWXu8

00:00:00 – Intro

Tom is back. He didn’t realize how long last week’s episode with Lee was, or that a vacation slideshow was included.

00:02:53 – Sofabaton U3 Giveaway

We’re pretty sure now that we will be giving away more than one Sofabaton U3 universal remote, and that the giveaway units will come with the recharging dock! Just email us to enter; one entry per person: Question at AV Rant dot com.

– https://www.sofabaton.com/product/u3/

00:05:33 – Sofabaton U3 Small Discount

It appears our previous discount codes have finally ended. But we have a small 5% off discount code for the new Sofabaton U3:

– https://tinyurl.com/tw2jb2fk

– or https://amzn.to/4xoP9Um

– Code: AVRANTROB for 5% off

00:07:19 – Personal Updates

The reason Tom’s background might be a bit messy for the foreseeable future. And an apology to Joe Klusnick.

00:15:04 – Contact Info

How do game streamers do it?

00:18:11 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are Dan for his PayPal donation, plus our 121 Patreon Patrons.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Eric, Hubert, Dan, Mohsen, Guy, Luc, Greg, Jefferson, Jorge, Drew, and Galen. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

00:23:51 – What We Watched

Congrats to the New York Knicks, and the Carolina Hurricanes. Rob watched Hoppers.

In the news:

00:32:30 – News: Fox Buying Roku

Fox Corporation will pay $22 billion to buy Roku: https://tinyurl.com/mrarkpmf

00:37:51 – News: Wharfedale Elysian R Series

New speakers from Wharfedale bring an AMT tweeter and updated looks: https://tinyurl.com/mpajj6mp

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Tom’s away. Lionsgate joins Movies Anywhere. Apple TV 4K gets Hi-Res Lossless Apple Music. Lee and Rob met in person!

00:00:00 – Intro

00:06:05 – Sofabaton U3 Review

Our official Sofabaton U3 review. Positives, negatives, and some comparisons to the X2.

– https://www.sofabaton.com/product/u3/

00:26:27 – Sofabaton Discounts

Don’t be mad at Sofabaton if the discount codes no longer work. But feel free to give them a try:

– U3:

– https://amzn.to/4xoP9Um

– 5% Off: AVRANTROB

– X1S:

– https://amzn.to/4rLZW73

– 35% Off: TOMX1S35

– X2:

– https://amzn.to/4u4orgZ

– 15% Off: THOMASWT

00:29:33 – Sofabaton U3 Giveaway!

We’ll be giving away at least one U3 remote! Email us if you’d like to enter the giveaway for free: Question at AVRant dot com

00:31:56 – What We Watched

Lee is still watching For All Mankind, and Foundation, plus NHL Playoffs. Rob watched Masters of the Universe.

00:45:01 – Contact Info

How to get in touch with us.

– Lee on Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/leeoversky.bsky.social

00:46:08 – Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are our 121 Patreon Patrons.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Jason, Jairus, Joe, and Sasi. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

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SVS launched their long-awaited Auto-EQ functionality for their R|Evolution subwoofers. Sony announced the sizes and prices of their TrueRGB LCD TVs in their Bravia 7 II and Bravia 9 II Series. Valve increased prices on their SteamDeck…by a lot. And the cost of a lifetime subscription to Plex Pass is going up by 300%. Yup.

Pictures shown in this episode: https://flic.kr/s/aHBqjCVxox

00:00:00 – Intro

An exciting, in-person visit is taking place!

00:12:39 – Quick Sofabaton U3 Impressions

Not the full review just yet. But using the new capabilities of the Sofabaton U3 has Rob attempting to re-wire his brain a bit.

– Sofabaton X1S Discount:

– https://amzn.to/4rLZW73

– Promo Code: TOMX1S35

– Sofabaton X2 Discount:

– https://amzn.to/4u4orgZ

– Promo Code: TOMASWT

00:17:52 – What We Watched

Rob watched Exit 8

00:26:30 Listeners of the Week

Our Listeners of the Week are our 121 Patreon Patrons.

We also appreciate the notes of gratitude for keeping the podcast going from: Kevin, Leighton, Julian, David, Manuel, and Jairus. Thank you to everyone for continuing to listen!

In the news:

00:29:00 – News: SVS Auto-EQ

It’s taken longer than expected, but SVS’ Auto-EQ functionality has arrived for R|Evolution Series subs: https://tinyurl.com/4zun5jt6

00:32:58 – News: Sony Bravia 7 II and 9 II

Sony’s new TrueRGB LCD TV Series have silly model numbers, but closely match the performance of Sony’s own mastering monitors: https://tinyurl.com/mr3bwzy2

00:42:23 – News: SteamDeck & Plex Pass Price Hikes

Valve raised the prices on SteamDecks…by a lot: https://tinyurl.com/eaxsfjsy

And Plex will raise the lifetime Plex Pass price by 300% in July: https://tinyurl.com/bdfdn3cs

Comments:

00:48:20 – Comment: Mike – Headphonesty

Mike was trying to be helpful, but it prompted a warning from us about a certain website.

00:52:15 – Comment: Julian – Dual Centers

Some clarifications and additional details explain why he’s going to try dual Center speakers, after all.

00:55:52 – Comment: Joe Klusnick – CommunityAV

Joe hosted the first in-person get together of his CommunityAV Facebook Group. You can find a home theater group of your own in your area: https://communityav.com/pages/community

– Joe’s demo material: https://tinyurl.com/4bv6pc75

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