On today ’s You Asked : A newfangled segment pitting me againstChatGPT . What should you prioritize when upgrading your A / V organization ? What find if you send a Dolby Pro Logic signal to a modem liquidator or soundbar ? How to banish hob in your A / V system . And another Amazon Prime Day is coming up : What ’s at the top of my list to buy and how can you write money on thing that matter ?
To upgrade or not upgrade (my A/V system)? That is the question
Dipam Patel , who writes in from the U.K. , need some guidance on what to upgrade first in their A / V organisation . Dipam articulate they have an 83 - inch G4 with prejudice lighting , a Denon X3400H liquidator , and a caboodle of Dali loudspeaker system : Oberon 7 , Center Vokal , Alteco C1 Atmos loudspeaker system , and an e12F subwoofer . After give-up the ghost to a local hi - fi show and hearing about scheme cost upward of half a million quid , they now want to advance their system of rules . They are wondering what to elevate first — amp or speakers — and which item and in which order .
I feel like I know where you ’re at right now . You heard those incredible , expensive systems , and now that you ’ve experienced them first - script , you realize that you need to get near to that sound , but without going broke in the appendage .
My advice is to not start with replacing any of your geartrain — not just yet . I have not heard the Dali speaker you have , but by reputation I get it on Dali make good stuff . That Denon liquidator is about seven year onetime now , but it was at the upper last of its midrange receiver line and is no slouch of an amp .
The first matter I would do ? Tweak what you ’ve convey to get the most out of it . And that means upgrading your elbow room , if you may .
The acoustic nature of your room and how you have all this hooey coiffe up has a much bigger impact on the phone and experience you get than from any of the gear you have . You have timbre paraphernalia , which has its own limitations . But I suspect that your room and maybe some of your receiver setting and speaker arrangement are preventing you from hearing the full potential of your gear wheel .
Now , I translate that most folks do n’t have consecrate spiritualist room where they can put speakers wherever they want and throw anything they want up anywhere on the walls . Also , there might be others in the abode who have something to say about it . I do interpret if this is n’t potential for you . But the first thing I would do is look at your speaker arrangement .
Do you have those towers less than 6 inches from the back wall ? get out them out . Is your subwoofer force in a street corner ? There ’s almost certainly a expert place for it . Is everything in your receiver fix up for the best sound ? I bet adjust some crossover point and speaker levels could do wonders . Also , did you execute Audyssey XT auto - frame-up on that receiver ? If so , turn it off . Do a manual apparatus using a DB cadence to gear up TV channel level and your knowledge of your speakers ’ roll - off point for the crossover levels . Just ditch the automobile - EQ can make a world of difference . And that auto - EQ ca n’t fix first reflections . So if you have bare walls to the left and right of your tug , just place something there to ingest the sound where it bounces off will make a with child deviation as well .
And if you do n’t have it away how to do this stuff and do n’t have the time to research ? Learn and do the workplace , or debate hiring someone who can .
Again , I translate that you may be limited in what you may commute . But optimize what you may first . Because I ’m here to tell you that pouring more money into novel constituent is not going to be the wizard bullet . What ’s holding your current system back will also be reserve your new system back , too . If you may never drive your railway car faster than 35 miles per on anything other than a straight road , then upgrading from a Ford Fiesta to a Lexus may get you there in more style , but you ’re not likely to experience much of the performance boost that ’s available . See what I mean ?
But , if you do need to get new gear , I ’d start out by kick upstairs your liquidator to something with more power or , more to the point , clearance . you could unlock a pile more performance from your talker with a new ampere . I do n’t think Modern speakers are go to unlock anything from the Denon that you are n’t already getting .
Can all new soundbars still decode Pro Logic?
Vinnie from Melbourne , Australia , writes : I just love sitting down and determine older moving-picture show on LaserDisc and of late I purchased a Samsung Q990C. What is the good audio setting on the Q990C to receive the old Dolby Pro Logic format – because these movies are in the Dolby Pro Logic data format . Can all new soundbars still decrypt Pro Logic ?
OK , first off , Vinnie , I sleep with that , too . No , the firmness on LaserDisc is n’t slap-up , but … I still love it ! I have a accumulation of LaserDiscs from back when that wastheformat . ( My LaserDisc player is presently eating discs so I need to ready or replace it . )
To answer your motion , I ’d like to introduce a raw ongoing segment to the You Asked show , which I am , for now , calling “ Me vs. ChatGPT . ” This is where we enquire ChatGPT a viewer dubiousness and compare that to the reply I provide .
So , ChatGPT , “ Does the Samsung Q990C livelihood Dolby Pro Logic ? ”
ChatGPT says :
Newer soundbars like the Samsung Q990C are designed to handle more modern audio data formatting , but they can still process sure-enough formats like Dolby Pro Logic through upmixing and audio processing .
Dolby Pro Logic is an old analog surround auditory sensation format , and while most raw soundbars do n’t explicitly advertise support for it , they can often decipher the stereophonic system signal and use their own technology to simulate surround sound . The Q990C does n’t natively decode Dolby Pro Logic , but it will likely treat the Pro Logic signal as stereophonic and upmix it to its multi - channel speaker system .
Here are some tips to get the best audio experience when observe LaserDisc moving-picture show with Dolby Pro Logic :
Best Audio preferences on Samsung Q990C for Dolby Pro Logic Content :
Can New Soundbars Decode Pro Logic ?
No , most young soundbars , include the Samsung Q990C , do n’t explicitly decode Dolby Pro Logic because it ’s considered outdated . They rely on upmixing technologies to simulate surround auditory sensation from older stereo or analog formats like Pro Logic . In most cases , the soundbar will render the Pro Logic signaling as stereo and enhance it using its own processing .
If you ’re calculate for an experience alike to Dolby Pro Logic , the soundbar will still pitch an impressive surround heavy consequence using its New processing , even if it does n’t tolerate the accurate decoding of that format .
Caleb says :
Wow , I do n’t have a ton to add to that other than some circumstance . ChatGPT did fairly well on this one . But I do n’t think I ’m out of a job yet .
I ’d impart this : So , Dolby Pro Logic is a decode technology that takes a soundtrack encoded with Dolby Surround and extracts four channels of surroundings from it : front leave behind and right , center , and surround . In Pro logical system you get mono surround , meaning both environment Speaker play the same sound . Pro Logic II gave you two-channel surrounds . Many LaserDiscs are encoded with Dolby AC-3 , which was the precursor to Dolby Digital .
Now , the Q990C does n’t have a Pro logical system decipherer , but it can still process the digital audio recording signal that a Pro system of logic decipherer would . Like ChatGPT says , though , it is likely to upmix the sound to include two-channel force for the surround speaker and it is run short to add sound to pump into the up - sack Atmos speakers as well .
To get the effective audio , ensure your LaserDisc role player is outputting a digital audio frequency bitstream through the visual output . And then , as ChatGPT order , you could experiment with the various sound mode to see which one you care substantially . If you want to adhere to the original experience , then Standard Sound Mode is probably the best call .
Soundbar turns on randomly
Stan write : I ’ve had the Samsung Q950a soundbar environment for about two years now , and something started occurring recently — I guess after a microcode update . It willy-nilly sprain on a few time throughout the daytime . Whether I ’m teem YouTube , Netflix , or anything like that , the soundbar , which is turned off , abruptly turns on , swap the TV audio to the soundbar sound . I have it plugged into an eARC port if that helps , but the matter is , it only started doing this quite recently . I ’ve scoured the cyberspace for result but nothing much on it . I ’d very much appreciate any aid or tips you may have .
I ’m sorry you ’re having this problem . I can only venture here , but if the takings started after a firmware update , there is probably an unintentional import of something that was changed to how the soundbar run . I mistrust that the soundbar is turning on because an HDMI CEC initiation sign — short for consumer electronics control — is telling the TV that it is present and the TV is respond with , “ Right , certain , we ’ll send sound there instead of the intragroup speakers ! ”
It could be tied to Samsung ’s effectuation of Q - Symphony auditory sensation , but you did n’t mention the video make or framework .
Go into your telecasting and find the setting for HDMI CEC and turn it off . Now , that means that you wo n’t be able-bodied to control some features of the TV with your soundbar remote and frailty versa , but if the issue is related to HDMI CEC messages , then turning off that feature in the TV should put a closure to it — and you ’ll just have to manually flex on and adjust the loudness of the soundbar with your soundbar remote control . Should you have to do this ? No . But since it is a bug that will need to be reported to Samsung , and hopefully fixed in a future update , this is the only way I know to stop the issue until that time arrives — assuming it does get furbish up at some full stop .
Best bets on Amazon Prime Day?
Finally , kinsfolk , we have another Amazon Prime Day come . Did you do it ? I suppose if , like me , you expend the Amazon Prime app , then you ’ve seen this subject matter every clock time you load it up and you are already aware . It ’s kind of like Black Friday in September — just like it was just Black Friday in July a few months ago . There are savings to be had , and I intend to take reward . But what might you require to salvage money on ?
I opine most folks turn their minds to TV economy . And that is not a bad idea . My promise is that we will see some discounts on lingering inventory of last years ’ TV models . I ’d be look at all the top recommended TVs of 2023 and if they are still in stock certificate , they will belike be discount below their already scummy price . The , the , the , thefrom 2023 , and peradventure even some Sony models like themight be usable at a good Leontyne Price .
However , I ’m in person more interested in redeem money on a bunch of little things that I call for or want , and you might desire to think about this , too . I ’d look for deals on HDMI cablegram , , LED preconception ignition ( the stuff Govee makes is pretty great ) , and bombardment for anything that you have that still demand them . Get those on sales event now . Never pass up a hazard to write on batteries — the markup on those things is ridiculous .
Other high - markup items you might think about : , high-pitched - grade major power strips , and line conditions . I have these and have a go at it them . You secure them into your ability outlets – they have some railway line conditioning and rush inhibition in them , and they provide four or five standard vent along with USB - snow and USB - A larboard , meaning you may dump your mogul bricks if you desire . I apply them in the studio and love them . That may be my hottest shopping tip of the year , actually .
