Recent content by Brent_S

Adam did mention he had an Onkyo and I think many of us, myself included, are speaking from first hand Onkyo experience. I tried to qualify my comments as Onkyo specific, where necessary, although quite a few items should be universal for THX standards. What Pioneer do you have? I've tried to...

John, I think you're confusing THX processing in a prepro/receiver with the THX mode on some subwoofers, M&K being the main proponet that I can remember. The THX mode on those subwoofers would change the subsonic filter and probably apply some other equalization to faciliate meeting the THX...

It really depends on what you mean by enclosed space. All electronics are going to produce heat and have a limit on how much they can tolerate. My gear, including a front projector, can raise the temperature in a 3400 ft^3 room 2-3degrees F over the course of a movie. I haven't checked the...

Greg, please. Nothing in my post remotely suggests I have any doubt where I saw the deal posted. Out of respect for HTF I didn't point out the exact sub-forum and thread title where to find the deal. The deal post you linked didn't even start until AVSers had already started receiving the...

If they're close to the same price, I'd pick the 806 just because of Audyssey. Based on a recent review of the 5400ES, I'd also bet on the 806 (THX U2 certified) having a much better amp section than the 3400. For a bit less money, the 706 can do everything the 806 can except it's THX-Select...

Do you really want to give up FP? Just to tempt...saw a thread last night at AVS that Pioneer's rebranded JVC RS2 is being blown out for under $3K. The RS2 went for around $7K when new and the Pioneer Elite version is still listed at $9K at some online retailers. Choose fast. -Brent

Per my fuzzy memory of the Dolby spec and some of the user "testing", I'm pretty sure the dynamic range is compressed when any channel needed by the bitstream is missing. IOW, if you're listening to 2.0 DD, which a lot of broadcast TV still is, you're not going to be "penalized" for downmixing...

IME, his "gain from placement" is probably still a bit conservative...the key being my experience, but I've used large open-to-the-whole-house living room as well as sealed "theater" rooms so it's a pretty broad exposure. Even using corner placement with only 2 speakers, I've measured higher SPL...

Yeah, uhm, well...uhm...but the OP has an Onkyo 705. I had forgotten that some of the Denon's were found to have a kill switch for the downmix protection. I didn't read every thread on the topic, having only discovered the main discussion after it had gone cold. Were any other brands/models...

Marketing people love you. :D Yes, the technical specs (S/N, dynamic range) are a few dB better for the B-Bs, but the Cirrus in the 705 will still exceed the capabilities of the rest of the playback chain. Implementation of a part is more important when the parts being compared are each more...

I brought this particular point up because it's a little known "feature" that's not user defeatable with DD and, presumably, DD+ and TrueHD. Dolby made this mandatory in the decoder anytime downmixing is engaged. It's not the same as the user selectable "night mode" and there is no indication to...

IMO, the bigger issue with no center or surrounds for DD based audio is the compressed dynamic range. Dolby made it part of the spec when downmixing that the dynamic range be reduced to prevent overloading of the remaining channels. There are extensive threads on this at AVS and HomeTheaterShack...

Audibly, I don't think you'd hear a difference in blind A/B testing. Technically, the 805 has a much stouter amp sectin (THX Ultra vs. Select) and it has Burr-Brown DACs instead of Cirrus. The B-B are spec'd better than the Cirrus, but neither will be the weakest link in the playback chain...

Even better with pictures. More hints. -Brent

According to that thread, you are correct. Some quick Googling found other sites also discussing the lack of 5.1 via HDMI. Couldn't tell for sure if it applied to both Moto and Cisco boxes, though...most threads only mentioned the Moto U-verse box. Since we (in the HT world sense) are making...