Scott Wilkinson
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Are Blind Audio Comparisons Valuable?
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Scott Wilkinson • May 04, 2012 • Published: Dec 31, 1969 • 35 comments
In this week's Home Theater Geeks podcast, Home Theater and Stereophile contributor Steve Guttenberg argues that blind comparisons of audio products are meaningless for several reasons. First of all, he claims, most people cannot reliably discern the difference between similarly performing products, and perhaps not even between products that perform quite differently. As you can see in the graph above, listening tests conducted by Floyd Toole and Sean Olive reveal that blind comparisons of four speakers resulted in much more equal preference ratings than the same comparisons in which the listeners knew what they were listening to.

Also, Guttenberg maintains that the tester's ears are psychophysiologically biased by the sound of one product while listening to the next product. Finally, the conditions under which the test is conducted are rarely the same as those in any given consumer's room, so the results mean nothing in terms of deciding what to buy.

Do you agree? Are blind comparisons of audio products valuable? On what do you base your position?

Vote to see the results and leave a comment about your choice.

Are Blind Audio Comparisons Valuable?
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Choosing a 3D Projector
Ask Home Theater
Scott Wilkinson • May 04, 2012 • 7 comments
I have a 140-inch, 2.35:1 screen, and I'd like to replace my existing projector with a 3D model. I've narrowed my choices to the Epson PowerLite Pro Cinema 6010 and the JVC DLA-X30. What do you think?

Kamarul Ariffin

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Setting an AVR for Large or Small Speakers
Ask Home Theater
Scott Wilkinson • May 02, 2012 • 26 comments
I have an Onkyo TX-SR805 A/V receiver driving Paradigm Monitor 11s (front L/R), CC-390 (center), Mini monitors (surround L/R), and PW-2100 powered sub. I found a page on the Audyssey website that recommends setting the speakers to "small" after running the auto setup and letting the sub do the so-called heavy lifting. But the Paradigm dealer and everyone I have ever talked to about this says you should always set the speakers to "large" regardless of their actual size/low-frequency response.

What do you think about setting full-range speakers to small as Audyssey recommends? The SR805 does not have a "Large/Small" setting; it lets you specify each speaker as "full-range" or set a crossover frequency between 40 and 200Hz. Where should I set the crossover for the speakers? If the speaker cutoff is (for example) 80Hz, should the sub lowpass be set to the same frequency? If I set the Monitor 11s to 80Hz, does that mean information below 80 Hz will be sent to the sub? Does the amp still send full power to the speaker even though it is set to small?

Kevin Hoeft

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Podcast 109: Steve Guttenberg
Home Theater Geeks Podcast
Scott Wilkinson • May 01, 2012 • 0 comments
Steve Guttenberg, a regular contributor to Home Theater and Stereophile as well as the author of the Audiophiliac blog on cnet.com, questions the validity of blind ABX testing and the value of objective audio measurements, especially as a predictive factor for user preferences and an indicator of how a device will sound in various real-world environments. He also talks about the differences between audio and video gear—for example, how many people seek out old audio products but not old video displays—answers to chat-room questions, and more.

Run Time: 1:06:32

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Scott Hosts The Tech Guy Radio Show
The Big Picture
Scott Wilkinson • Apr 30, 2012 • 8 comments
I just got back from Petaluma, California, where I was honored and privileged—not to mention greatly pleased—to fill in for Leo Laporte, hosting his nationally syndicated call-in radio show, The Tech Guy, while he was attending the Northern Lights photography festival in Norway. On Saturday, I was joined in the studio by David Vaughn, hardware and movie reviewer for HomeTheater.com and Home Theater magazine, and we spent a delightful three hours answering listener questions and conversing with the lively chat room during commercial and news breaks.
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What's More Important, 4K or High Frame Rates?
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Scott Wilkinson • Apr 27, 2012 • Published: Dec 31, 1969 • 32 comments
At the 2012 National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) convention last week, 4K was everywhere—in cameras, displays, and workflow devices—at rapidly falling prices. Many professionals contend that 4K approaches the inherent spatial resolution of film, and it can be displayed on very large screens with no visible pixel structure.

However, in a pre-recorded demo in the Christie booth (which I describe here), James Cameron made a compelling argument that increasing the frame rate at which movies are shot and displayed from 24 to 48 or even 60 frames per second does more to sharpen perceived detail—especially in moving objects—than increasing the spatial resolution. In fact, all the demo material was 1920x1080 on a 15-foot-wide screen.

As the demo clearly illustrated, shooting and displaying movies at higher frame rates dramatically sharpens motion detail—so much so that it no longer looks like film, but more like video, which many people object to. So my question to you is, what's more important, the higher spatial resolution of 4K at film's traditional 24fps or the greater temporal resolution of higher frame rates at 2K? (BTW, Peter Jackson is hedging all bets by shooting The Hobbit at 48fps, 4K, and 3D!)

Vote to see the results and leave a comment about your choice.

What's More Important, 4K or High Frame Rates?
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AVR Choices
Ask Home Theater
Scott Wilkinson • Apr 27, 2012 • 6 comments
My girlfriend and I just moved into a new home, and I get to upgrade my system! I'm looking to pick up the new Panasonic TC-P55VT50 plasma, Oppo BDP-93 Blu-ray player, and the RSL 5.1 speakers. Now, I need to choose an A/V receiver to get the best out of the equipment listed above. For reference, I'm looking at the Marantz SR7005 or the Anthem MRX 500 or 700. I want something that will give the best audio and video quality; I don't care about the extra crap I won't use anyway. If any of these would be perfect, or you can think of any other great solutions (even separates), I would really like your opinion.

Aaron Dragoon

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Projector Behind the Screen
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Scott Wilkinson • Apr 25, 2012 • 5 comments
I have designed and framed out a dedicated home theater with a separate room for a projector to project the image onto a translucent screen to be viewed in the theater room. I spoke with both projector and screen manufacturers before construction, and I asked them which would produce a better image—traditional front projection or rear projection such as I have in mind. The answer was unanimous: rear projection would produce a better image. I realize that the market for this type of setup is much smaller than traditional front-projection because of the obvious design considerations. But there are many advantages over front-projection, primarily and most importantly a better picture as well as no projector noise or heat in the viewing area. I would love to see some discussion on this type of projection in the magazine.

Duane Clemens

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Podcast 108: Lon Bender
Home Theater Geeks Podcast
Scott Wilkinson • Apr 24, 2012 • 4 comments
Academy Award-winning sound editor Lon Bender explains the process of adding sound to a movie, how the process has evolved over the years, and how a home-theater mix differs from a commercial-cinema mix. He also shares some anecdotes from several projects he's worked on, including The Hunger Games and Drive, talks about the problem of not enough sound isolation between theaters in a multiplex, answers chat-room questions, and more.

Run Time: 1:06:32

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NAB 2012: Red Laser Projector & Player
The Big Picture
Scott Wilkinson • Apr 20, 2012 • 4 comments
The most important consumer-related product introduction at NAB was a new projector and source device from Red Digital Cinema, which is best known for its digital-cinema cameras. As its name implies, the REDray Laser Projector uses lasers as its illumination source, and the red, green, and blue lasers are housed in a separate module (the larger box seen directly above the projector in the photo) that connects to the projector itself via fiber optics. Even more interesting, multiple laser modules can be ganged together to produce more light for larger screens, and the lasers are rated to last more than 25,000 hours with virtually no change in color or light output.
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