Scott Wilkinson

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Home Theater Geeks Podcast
Podcast 84: John Atkinson
Scott Wilkinson  |  Oct 25, 2011  |  3 comments
Fresh from his presentation of the Richard Heyser Memorial Lecture at the 131st AES Convention, Stereophile editor John Atkinson talks about some of the points he made in that address, including the fundamental differences between objective measurements and subjective listening, mental maps and the nature of reality, blind testing, how some types of audio products that measure poorly are often praised by listeners, answers to chat-room questions, and more.

Run Time: 1:02:00

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Oppo BDP-95 with Arcam AVR350
Scott Wilkinson  |  Oct 24, 2011  |  23 comments
Four years ago, I purchased a high-end Arcam AVR350 A/V receiver without a good understanding of the future. Now I want to take advantage of the new lossless audio formats offered on Blu-ray from my new Oppo BDP-95 player. I can connect the multichannel analog output of the Oppo to the Arcam's multichannel input, but I am concerned about bass management, equalization, and lip sync. Can an amateur do the adjustments recommended or is a professional needed? Also, I am questioning my recent decision to repair my AVR350, which had a power-supply issue (it cost $400 to repair). Should I have bitten the bullet and scrapped this $2700 clunker for a newer receiver? It's a hypothetical question because now I don't have the funds to buy both a high-end receiver and high-end Blu-ray player. Any thoughts?

Lisa Kaye

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VCR Blues
Scott Wilkinson  |  Oct 21, 2011  |  0 comments
My home-theater system consists of a Sony STR-DB940 A/V receiver with 5.1 speaker setup, Sony KDL-52HX909 LED/LCD TV, Dish Network HDTV receiver, and Sony SLV-N71 Hi-Fi VCR. I have the VCR connected to the TV via composite video and L/R analog audio cables and the TV's audio output connected to the AVR via optical cabling (MD/DAT input). I have the Dish receiver's video connected to the TV via HDMI and its audio connected to the A/V receiver via optical (SAT/TV input). All of this worked great for about nine months until a few weeks ago.

The AVR's SAT/TV input works fine, but when I use the MD/DAT input for watching the TV or VCR, the sound only comes out of the left-front speaker. When I record something via the VCR's line in, the playback has the same audio problem. But when I play a tape recorded over a year ago, the sound does not have the audio problem.

Tony Santana

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3D Blu-ray Player ReviewsBlu-ray Player Reviews
Samsung BD-D5500 3D Blu-ray Player
Scott Wilkinson  |  Oct 21, 2011  |  6 comments
2D Performance
3D Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
Price: $160 At A Glance: 3D at rock-bottom price • Superb A/V performance • Online apps well-implemented • No multichannel analog-audio outputs • No DTS-HD decoding

Samsung's BD-D5500 proves that you don't need to spend a lot on a 3D Blu-ray player to get great results. Its video and audio performance are top-notch, and it provides 3D capability and access to lots of online and locally networked media content. However, it's lack of DTS-HD decoding is a significant drawback, which you can overcome by spending $40 more for the BD-D6500, $20 more for the Sony BDP-S480, or $10 less for the Panasonic DMP-BDT110.

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NAD T 747 vs. Onkyo TX-NR709
Scott Wilkinson  |  Oct 19, 2011  |  4 comments
I am looking for a new A/V receiver, and I am seriously considering the NAD T 747 and the Onkyo TX-NR709. It will be used about 75 percent for movies and 25 percent for music. The features I'm looking for include at least 5.1 (if not 7.1), auto room calibration/set-up (such as Audyssey), the ability to decode all the new lossless formats found on Blu-rays, the ability to make movie dialog easier to hear when listening at low volume levels, and pre-out jacks so that I have the option of hooking up a separate amplifier to it in the future.

John Dixon

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Home Theater Geeks Podcast
Podcast 83: Philip Clements
Scott Wilkinson  |  Oct 18, 2011  |  1 comments
Philip Clements, inventor of the H-PAS (Hybrid Pressure Acceleration System) speaker-loading technology used in his own speakers as well as models from Atlantic Technology, explains how H-PAS combines bass-reflex, acoustic-suspension, and transmission-line techniques to offer many advantages, including extended bass response, lower distortion, and greater dynamic range.

Run Time: 56:20

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GoldenEar vs. Morel
Scott Wilkinson  |  Oct 17, 2011  |  6 comments
The reviews of the GoldenEar SuperCinema 3 (seen in the lower portion of the image above) and Morel SoundSpot Music Theatre 2 Ultra speaker systems came out at roughly the same time. The Morels appear to have better performance and build quality according to their ratings, and yet they are not considered as good a value despite being in essentially the same price category. Do the Morels really sound better, or is their sound measured against how tiny they are?

Stephen Trask

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Soundbar in the Center
Scott Wilkinson  |  Oct 14, 2011  |  6 comments
I have the opportunity to update my home theater audio system and have decided on the Marantz SR7005 AVR. My room is small, and when I remodeled 10 years ago, I installed four Paradigm in-wall speakers and a large center-channel speaker for my 5.1 system. It occurs to me that if I replace the center channel with a 3-channel soundbar, I could use my existing in-wall speakers for the surround and have a full 7.1 system.

What do you think of this approach? Paradigm makes a 3-channel soundbar, the Millenia 20 Trio (shown above). I like my Paradigm speakers, but I thought that looking at other brands might be a good thing to do.

Byron Servies

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The Big Picture
BYO3DG—Bring Your Own 3D Glasses
Scott Wilkinson  |  Oct 13, 2011  |  4 comments
When you go to your local cineplex to catch a 3D movie, you are provided with glasses that isolate the left and right images for the corresponding eyes. I always assumed that the theater bought these glasses, resulting in higher ticket prices and an admonition to toss them into a bin on the way out so they can be reused. But Sony Pictures' announcement two weeks ago that, in May 2012, it will stop providing theaters with RealD glasses—which are used in the majority of commercial 3D presentations—belied that assumption.
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AVR and Two Subwoofers
Scott Wilkinson  |  Oct 12, 2011  |  7 comments
I want to hook up two Velodyne Impact 10 subwoofers to my Integra DTR-6.5 AVR. Do I need three signal splitters? Will I lose some signal using that many splitters? Should I use the Zone 2 sub output?

Mario B.

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