Our Blog – Technical Articles
The latest updates and product reviews from the team @ Rapallo. Includes insights and technical tips to help your Audio or Visual project.
UHD Blu-ray and the rest
When we wrote our Sony VPL-VW260ES true 4K projector review last week, it kind of caught our attention that the whole UHD Blu-ray lingo is a bit of a mine field. And then there are other important parameters that seem to come along with it like colour gamut, colour bit depths, colour subsampling, HDCP, HDMI…
The Sony VPL-VW260ES happy dance
We’ve so been waiting for this: a true 4K projector that was affordable to the average Joe, who is determined to put his money towards an awesome home theatre, rather than a boat upgrade.At just $7,999, the VPL-VW260ES is the least expensive native 4K projector that has been released in NZ so far. Hands up…
Room correction systems: friend or foe?
Shopping for an AV receiver is a little bit more complicated than setting a budget and sticking with it. In these day and age reading up on specs, streaming features and performance may only be the start of your journey.An AV receiver may look excellent on paper, but it is what it does in your…
Avoiding common mistakes in home theatres
Setting up a home theatre -dedicated or not- is a pretty big project. One that requires planning and researching, but also time for proper set-up. To get the most bang for your buck when assembling an audio or audio/video system, it’s important to make each piece of equipment and the room all work together as…
How a phono stage really steps up your turntable set-up
After a few weeks of serving our home theatre lovers, it’s time to indulge our friends, the Rapallo audiophiles.We thought we would have a chat about phono stages, after we called the Edwards Audio Apprentice MM phono stage Rapallo’s pick of the week. If you’re into vinyl, upgrading your phono stage can provide one of…
Projector brightness myths debunked
A few days ago, we were testing the Sony VPL-260ES 4K home theatre projector at 1,500 lumens. Compared to equal priced projectors boasting 2,500 lumens and knowing that some projectors go up to 5,000 lumens that doesn’t sound like a lot these days. Yet, when we looked at the calibrated pictures on the screen in…
A chaotic music library enter the audio network player
Gone are the days were every self-respecting New Zealand household would have a vinyl library sitting there ready to show off to any potential visitors. Whenever a new person would walk into your home for the first time, they would inevitably be drawn to your collection, making comments on your taste (or lack off;-)). It…
What’s the deal with Ultra-Short Throw Projectors?
Lately, some Ultra Short Throw projectors have entered the home theatre projector market. We at Rapallo think this is something to be excited about. This is because it opens the option of having a projector to people who previously simply did not have that choice because of the area where they have their home theatre…
Rapallo means Business
We know our blog readers like having a peek at other people’s set-ups. So far, we have tried to offer a variety of lay-outs and budgets, but the bottom-line has been that it was AV applications in people’s private homes. But that’s not where Rapallo installations stop. We have been dealing with a wide variety…
Active or Passive or Powered – what’s in a name?
Some choices are easy: Do you want your speakers in black or white? Do you want big or small ones? Do you want expensive ones or cheap ones? Do you want to buy them from Rapallo? (That’s a no-brainer…) But when it comes to what type of speakers you want, lately it can get a bit complicated.…
What’s on the AV cards for 2018?
It’s so easy to forget, but if we would take the clock back say 10 years and look at what home entertainment looked like back then, we’d be surprised at how fast things change. In 2007 you were starting to build a library of Blu-ray titles, thankful that HD had finally made its way to…
Customer magic at The Odeon
Welcome to 2018! Another year another chance for much excitement on the AV front. And if paying more attention to do what makes your heart sing is one of the New Years resolutions, we have just the thing to start off the year. It’s the stuff dreams are made of. For many of us, the reality…
Turntable set-up for beginners
Turntables are funny things. If you have reached middle age, you may remember the turntable from your parental place…or not. The thing with turntables –and we agree; it is part of the attraction- is that you don’t just set-up a turntable with a click of a button. There’s actually quite a bit of tweaking and…
Battle of the streaming boxes
Both while doing installations and at the Rapallo home we’ve been dealing with streaming devices. There are a few to choose from, so the question is how to decide which is the best for your movie-viewing needs? Just today we received a brochure in the mail introducing ‘Vodafone TV’ offering Sky, YouTube and Netflix. While…
For our ‘neglected’ stereophile readers
Here at Rapallo we have two ‘camps’. There is Deano, the stereophile/vinyl lover and Bart, the home theatre buff. While on one hand it is somewhat silly to talk about ‘camps’ (in the end, we’re all on the same awesome Rapallo teamJ), it also provides for some animated discussion at times. It’s fair to say…
A high-end home theatre for the average Joe
We spent last weekend walking around the Melbourne International Hifi show. Earlier this year we were at Munich High-end show. The thing that strikes us is the staggering number of components priced for nobody other than the less than one percent top income people. A $15,000 DAC? A $30,000 stereo pre-amp? Several exhibitioners were complaining…
Speaker placement: back to the basics
This week we want to take you back to the basics of speaker placement for a home theatre set-up. We’re not talking about Atmos or subwoofer placement, although there are things to be said for both. We just want to keep it at a very low-key ‘here’s where you start’ level when you take the…
Emotiva or affordable high-end
We all hunt for the same thing, when it comes to AV: We want something that’s ‘affordable but sounds great’. With that in mind, our latest addition is right up of all those peoples alley. The answer is Emotiva. So what exactly is there to be excited about when it comes to Emotiva? If you…
The art of calibration
You just spent your hard-earned money on a new home theatre projector or a new OLED television. So, why is the grass blue? In a home cinema, picture quality is everything. Calibrating contrast, brightness, colour and sharpness is not most people’s idea of a good night in – get someone to visit any picture menu…
5 things you always wanted to know about amplifiers
Amplifiers are the beating heart of the audiovisual set-up. But they also have a habit of confusing the hell out of people. Don’t despair, we’ll give you some insight in the world of amplifiers; make sure you know what is what when the time is right for your next purchase. And while we are at…
The towers or bookshelf dilemma solved
‘I am debating between floor standing speakers and bookshelf speakers. I honestly don’t know which would be better for a home theatre…. I’m sure there is a reason why people choose one over the other, but I don’t know what it is.’-Ray Does this sound like you? You are not alone. Many people seem to have…
Hi-Res Audio explained
High-Res audio is supposed to be the be all and end all in digital music. But what does the little gold and black ‘Hi-Res Audio’ logo mean. Is Hi-Res Audio really such a big deal? Should you pay attention to it? How is it different to other digital music files? And what do you…
Headphone wizardry
When buying a pair of headphones, people tend to have a pretty good idea of the style of headphone they want. Whether it is a pair of in-ear, on-ear, around-ear headphones; whether to go wired or wireless and whether to opt for such extra features as active noise-cancellation to help muffle ambient noise. Oh, and…
The Optoma UHD65 shakes it up
We’re a rather lucky bunch at Rapallo. We get to play with the best ‘toys’ available in the market, test them, compare them and show them off to our customers. The last few weeks, thanks to the good folks at JVC, Epson and Optoma, we have been able to see with our own eyes what…
3 amazing audio control apps
As you would expect us to do, we are constantly keeping up with what is happening in the industry: talking to suppliers, reading up on forums, testing new gear, visiting trade shows when time and budget allows, researching and learning (always!) new insights, and obviously keeping an eye on reviews and how to guides that…
The power of two: dual subwoofers
Bass is the problem-child of the acoustics family. It’s unruly and difficult to handle. Which is why you might bump into all sorts of advice around bass management. One of the most often recommended measures is the use two or even more subwoofers to handle unruly bass. While you might assume this is for…
Head over heels: The ELAC BS403s
Rapallo’s new kid on the block Deano is making investments. Not in real estate or some fancy overseas bond. No, he’s putting some money towards his ever-evolving audio room. Not that it was in the plans. Sometimes good audio equipment just finds you, rather than the other way around. Here’s what happened: As part of…
If you have wireless speakers on your mind
It’s been a good while since we published our first blog about wireless speakers. It is one of these areas that still has a plenty of room for growth (read ‘improvement’), which as a consequence means that things tend to move at a rather fast pace. And they certainly do. Are we there yet? Nope,…
Excitement for the JVC DLA-Z1
It’s fast becoming Rapallo tradition to have a July demo night featuring what’s new in the world of projectors. This year, we couldn’t ignore the new JVC DLA-Z1. If you keep an eye on reviews, you will have noticed that the superlatives fly aplenty. What Hifi calls it ‘the best home theatre projector they…
A case for CDs
If you’re reading this, you know the truth: CDs are still an excellent music format. In his previous blog, Ben talked about how much he likes streaming high-res files, but finds ripping CDs the smarter solution when it comes to finding middle ground between audio quality and budget. We completely understand what he is talking…
Ben’s audiophile stereo set-up on a budget
We know: not everybody has 10K plus to spend on a brand new AV set-up. Fair to say, it’s a frustration for Ben too, Rapallo’s awesome marketing intern on a student budget. It doesn’t stop him from going on an audiophile adventure though. We love to see his budding passion and dedication for AV. It’s…
Axium multi-room audio players to the rescue
Multi-room audio is an awesome thing to have, but it can also potentially be a minefield. Whether you decide on a multi-zone AV receiver, a wireless integrated multi-room system, a wired multi-room audio system or a combination of those, there is a good chance that you are going to need help with implementation and installation.…
An update on Dolby Atmos
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.…
Our favorite concert blu-rays
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…
AV cables: hype and science
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…
Deano reviews the FiiO X5 Gen3 DAP
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.…
Deciding on projector screen aspect ratio
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…
A case for floorstanding speakers
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…
Ladies and gentlemen spin that record!
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…
Which projector is right for you: DLP vs LCD?
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. …
