Quite often we meet people who want to connect 4,6,8 or more speakers to their amplifiers. Only a few days ago, we were asked to help someone who had bought a house that had 8 speakers built in the ceiling. The customer wanted to have 6 of those speakers (spread across the kitchen and dining area) to be connected in such a way that the 6 speakers would play the same music, but separate from the other 2 speakers (that would be used for the audio coming from the TV).

Which subwoofer type is better – sealed or ported? An ever returning and extremely popular discussion topic on the forums and blogs, there is no shortage of opinions on the subject. Add in a few die-hard myths and generalizations, and it’s no surprise this is one of the most commonly questions asked. You might hear some people say that ported subwoofers are no good for music, and are only useful for delivering big sound effects, or conversely that sealed subwoofers are “musical”, but lack the depth to deliver the bass called for in today’s blockbusters. While some subwoofers may certainly fit these stereotypes, the truth is considerably more complex. The strengths of each subwoofer type are discussed below, along with the recommended applications and listening environments which will result in optimal performance. 

Last week we posted a blog on the bookshelf vs floor stander dilemma. We briefly touched on bass management and by golly did we open a can of worms! The amount of questions we received about digital bass management is dizzying – and it certainly can be a confusing subject. But you know how we tackle problems like that: we write a blog and explain a little further. Remember that all questions are good questions and we are more than happy to explain further if you get stuck with your set-up.

While Ultra-HD and 4K gets us all pretty excited, it probably also gets your head spinning with all the audio-visual lingo and new technology that goes with it.  You sure are not alone in this frustration. Who’s got the time to keep up with everything the audiovisual world comes up with? We know first hand that you have a lot of questions around the Ultra-HD changes that may or may not happen. As we talk to you on a daily basis, we know you are wondering about: How will HDMI 2.0a, HDCP 2.2 and Ultra HD Blu-ray change things? What bandwidth do I need? And how do you implement all this Ultra HD technology?

Projectors are awesome. Ultra-huge screen, reasonably low price. If we can get away with the other half’s approval for one, they are the bee’s knees for your home cinema.

A while back, Cnet published an excellent overview with the different projector technologies available.

In our experience the article covers one of the most often asked questions, when it comes to projector purchases. Since we honestly couldn’t say it any better ourselves, we used this article as a base and added some of our own remarks and experiences to it. Where we thought it needed an update, we added that as well.

To sum it up, there are three different technologies projectors used to create an image: DLP, LCD, and LCoS.

What’s the best? Let’s compare.

At Rapallo, we love discrete multi-channel goodness. Unfortunately, we also understand that there are times when a full discrete multi-channel surround setup isn’t practical.

Don’t despair!There is life beyond the tiny sound of tv built-in speakers for those of us who are in this situation. The solution is a sound bar and they are an excellent compromise if you consider yourself appreciative of a certain level of quality without being a ‘purist’.

Are there problems with and limitations to sound bars? Well there certainly are limitations, but the problems can be avoided with a little know how. Here’s what you should know before you make the jump to buying a sound bar.

If you spend any time at all on AV forums, you’ll run into hundreds and hundreds of posts along the lines of “Help, I have x amounts of dollars to spend on a home theater, and I haven’t got the first idea of what I should buy.” Leave it to Rapallo to set you on the road to what we consider a pretty decent middle of the range home theatre 5.1 system under $7,500. (Add a projector and a projector screen for under $12,000 all in.) Sure, that is a decent amount of money but it should give you a fair range of options. It’s about making smart choices; going for products that punch well above their weight and excel in smart high quality design without whistles and bell and fancy designs you can easily do without.Simply put, we’re out to build an excellent system for you that delivers big on sound, while remaining acceptable both within budget and in aesthetics for your other half. Yes, we can have it all.

A few weeks ago we talked you through home theatre speaker placement in the ideal case of having a separate rectangle shaped room that is dedicated to the joys of home theatre shenanigans. While this is all very nice for some, most of us don’t have an ‘ideal room’ and have to double function the living room. This means that the room might not be rectangular at all; you may have to deal with an open plan living room that opens up to a kitchen and dining area. You may not have an entire wall space dedicated solely for your 5.1 or 7.1 front speaker set-up. You may actually have to work with a tiny apartment and the last thing on the option list is a pair of tower speakers and a massive subwoofer.  Or the kids may display some early engineering skills and have a secret desire to remodel your brand new speakers.

Many a word has been spoken on the topic of speakers. They are probably the most ‘in your face’ aspect of an audiovisual set-up and prices can range from plain cheap to astronomical price tags. Apart from reading reviews and deciphering specs, what actually makes a good speaker? The obvious thing to look at is the loudspeaker driver. We’re talking woofers, tweeters, midranges and the likes.

After our customer story a few weeks ago, we received several questions from you on what makes a good home theatre set-up. We want to give you some general outlines that we believe works very well.

We should point out that this is only a start in what we would consider a series of blogs, as there is so much to be said on this topic, it is impossible to cover it all in a single blog. But let’s begin at the beginning….