Al Griffin

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How Big a Subwoofer Do I Need?
Al Griffin  |  Nov 11, 2013
Q How big a subwoofer would I need to produce good home theater-quality bass in a 3,100-cubic-foot room? Would the Hsu VTF-15H be up to the job, or is there a better choice in my target price range (around $1,000)? —Steven Winter / via e-mail
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How Can I Add CD-Quality Streaming to My Old AVR?
Al Griffin  |  Sep 22, 2022
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Q I am interested in listening to music from Spotify using my older Pioneer Elite SC-07 A/V receiver. I tried connecting my smart TV to the receiver via an optical digital connection and then streaming using the TV’s built-in Spotify app, but was disappointed with the sound quality. Will adding a network media player like the Marantz NA6006 to my system and using that to stream Spotify provide the CD-quality fidelity I am after? —Rob Pileski, Burlington, WI

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How Can I Add Streaming to My Old HK Receiver?
Al Griffin  |  Apr 30, 2014
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Q I have an old Harman Kardon receiver that has served me well for several years and would like to continue using it. Do you have any suggestions for a way I could stream audio from my computer (primarily from iTunes and Spotify) to my receiver over Wi-Fi? —Doug Burton / via e-mail

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How Can I Avoid Turning Up the Volume to Hear Movie Dialogue?
Al Griffin  |  Mar 17, 2014
The effects of dynamic volume control are illustrated in this diagram from Audyssey.

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Q When watching a movie, I often have to turn the volume up to hear the dialogue but then find that the action scenes are too loud and have to turn it down again. My speakers are all from the same product line, so I know they are meant to play well together. I also use the automatic room correction on my Pioneer VSX-914-K AV receiver to adjust levels and distances for the speakers. Is the volume issue due to the way movies are mixed these days? —Ricky Meadows / via e-mail Ricky Meadows / via e-mail

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How Can I Connect an iPhone to an Old AV Receiver?
Al Griffin  |  Jul 17, 2014
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Can you recommend an affordable device to connect an iPhone or iPod to an old AV receiver and still get good sound? — Stan Reed 

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How Can I Convert LPs and Cassette Tapes to Digital Files on a Laptop?
Al Griffin  |  Jul 03, 2014
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Q Are there any inexpensive options for converting LPs and cassette tapes to digital files on a laptop via USB? I know of several software programs (such as Audacity) that can capture and edit the audio files, but what about the hardware? I own quite a number of LPs and cassette tapes that I would like to archive, and I don’t want to have to buy a USB-equipped tape deck (provided there is such a thing) and turntable. Instead, I would prefer to connect my components directly to the converter or use my AV receiver’s record loop ouput. —Eric Tang / via email

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How Can I Create a Stealth Setup for Playing Discs on 2 Wall-Mounted TVs?
Al Griffin  |  Nov 29, 2018
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Q I am planning to buy two TVs, a 65-inch LG OLED and a 49-inch Samsung LCD, both of which will be wall-mounted. I also want the option to play Blu-ray discs and DVDs with both TVs. My initial plan was to buy disc players and hide them behind the wall-mounted sets, but I can’t find a player with a vertical orientation. My goal is to see nothing but the TV on the wall. The one option I’m contemplating at this point is sticking a PlayStation 3 Super Slim game console behind the TV. Do you have any other suggestions? —Steve Knot, via email

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How Can I Get Great-Sounding Multiroom Music?
Al Griffin  |  Aug 13, 2015
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Q I have 6 pairs of speakers spread throughout my house that are powered by a Rotel RB-1080 stereo amp. I use a Rotel RSS-900 speaker selector box to feed each speaker pair, and there’s a wall-mounted volume control in each room. The setup works good overall, but doesn’t sound that great.

I’d like to upgrade my system with a multichannel amp, but can’t find one that A) has at least 100 watts per channel, and B) has banana plug connections. I’m willing to spend a few thousand on the upgrade, so price isn’t an issue. Do you have a few amps you can suggest that meet my requirements? —Rob Green via email

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How Can I Get More Bass from Bluetooth Speakers?
Al Griffin  |  Mar 22, 2022
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Q I own a pair of Edifier S2000 Pro Bluetooth bookshelf speakers. I love listening to music through these, but often want to hear more bass and this model doesn’t have a subwoofer output. What are your suggestions for getting better bass from a Bluetooth wireless speaker system? —Jeff Crunkleton, via email

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How Can I Get the Best Sound Quality When Streaming Tidal?
Al Griffin  |  Feb 19, 2015
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Q I just signed up for Tidal music streaming and want to make sure I am getting the best sound quality from that service. My laptop is connected to my router with an Ethernet cable and then to my Onkyo pre/pro via an HDMI cable. I have the Tidal app’s settings set to HiFi.

My question is, as music streams from Tidal, does it pass through the laptop’s sound card first and then to the HDMI cable, or straight from the HDMI cable to the Onkyo pre/pro? I don’t know what sound card is equipped with the computer, and want to make sure that if streamed music does pass through, that the card isn’t detracting from the sound quality. —Andre Spits / Atlanta,GA

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