Dolby is calling Atmos “the most significant development in cinema audio since surround sound”. We had a wee think about whether we agree with that statement. The answer is: ‘Yeah, I guess so.’

Dolby Atmos, may sound like the next marketing tool and really, all you probably care about is that the movie sounds good. We’re big fans of how Dolby Atmos makes you feel like you’re inside the story, with sound coming from all directions, including overhead.

But that in itself wouldn’t necessarily be enough to convert us at this stage. There is a bit more to the whole Dolby Atmos thing that makes it attractive beyond the overhead speakers add-on. Let us explain.

Last week we received a list from a great customer with a ranking of his favorite blu-ray concerts, it got us thinking. A little search on forums and the likes revealed that our customer is by no means the only person rating concert blu-rays or blu-ray movies for that matter. The internet is buzzing with people’s opinions on this.

Just to change things up a little, and go for a blog with a little more lighthearted topic for a change, we thought we would have a go at this too. After all, we probably are not the only ones taking refuge behind the projector/television to escape the ongoing deluge.

When choosing interconnects and speaker cables, we really want brands that don’t promote expensive pseudoscience or make semi-scientific statements. With a background in science and engineering (Master of Electronic Engineering) Bart is a strong advocate of provable engineering principles . He believes that unscientific claims do not have a place in any sales environment, including AV and with that AV cables. Especially not when it is spread by companies who are knowingly trying to make money out of ordinary people like you and me, spending their hard-earned bucks on something they feel passionate about.Yes, we know that we will rub some people the wrong way with this statement. It is by no means our intention to upset people. We do however believe that as a supplier who often hands out expert information, we have a responsibility to ensure accurate information that is backed up by science is provided.

I am an audiophile.  You could say I’m a very intense listener. The audio encapsulation of my life is not just a hobby it’s my life literally: I eat, sleep and dream audio, and as I work in an audio-visual environment you can say I have the dream job. Yes, you can be jealous now.

Apart from my home reference system, a lot of the listening happens on headphones and my everyday journey to and from work provides the ideal opportunity for me to listen intently to portable music players, portable amplifiers, Digital to analog converters and of course headphones

So, when FiiO announced their new X5 3rd Gen and released info of the product launch I was interested.

Conventional wisdom out there says that a new home theatre should have a 16:9 projector and a 16:9 screen. While for some people that might absolutely be the right choice, it is good to be aware that there are other options worth considering and they could potentially provide a more dramatic viewing experience. Almost all of the current televisions are in the 16:9 format and just because of this 16:9 seems to have become the de facto standard. There are two alternatives worth considering depending on the type of material you prefer to watch. Which of these formats is best for you? We’ll lay out the options and help you decide which way to go.

In these days of 9.2.4 Dolby surround speaker set-ups and wireless speaker sets, it’s easy to lose sight of some of the basics. The fact remains, when it comes to great sound, nothing does the trick like a good pair of floorstanding speakers. They’re the solid bedrock upon which you can build the stereo system of your dreams.

Floorstanding speakers have been a cornerstone of home audio systems for decades. Also known as tower speakers, they are able to deliver a big and full sound that’s difficult to match. Even as more complex home theatre systems have become common, they remain the go-to workhorses that arguably provide the most important part of surround sound. Or at least,… they should be.

It’s rather interesting how a generation that never touched a turntable in their lives is falling for the technology.

It got us wondering: word is that the vinyl industry is booming, but what does that mean in numbers and how much has the technology changed?

Our new man Deano is an avid audiophile with a massive love for vinyl. He’s having a good look at the industry and the technology in his first blog.

A lot of noise has been made lately about the rise, development, benefit and cost of 4K projector technology. But projector bulb technology (LED, Laser and traditional lamps) and display technology are the bones of a home theatre projector and should not be forgotten in making a choice for your new home theatre projector.

Once you start digging, acronyms start flying: DLP, 3LCD, LCoS. Different technologies have implications on performance, common issues and cost, so it’s time to dust off the whole LCD vs DLP argument.

It’s not the first time we’ve grumbled about the war on formats going on in the home entertainment world. It’ll be no surprise that we can announce a new one: two types of high dynamic range (HDR) video technologies – HDR10 and Dolby Vision. 

We’ll dive into the differences between the two in a minute but, before we do, we should review what HDR is and how it ended up with two different formats.

This week’s blog is rooted in frustration.

It baffles us that in this day and age, many high end (and not so high-end) AV devices still rely on IR (infrared) or RS-232 (a serial computer protocol that dates back to 1970 and that was for instance used for the first computer mouse) for operating these devices. I mean… really?

It seems my own frustration is shared by many of you out there. Time to have a dig at what IR is about and how we can work as best as we can with the dinosaur technology behind AV remote controls.