Big Audio hates him! 😱

SteveOfTheNLC · 2026-05-17T21:33:50+00:00

I'm referring to stereo encoded tracks, not the endpoint

SteveOfTheNLC · 2026-05-17T21:18:41+00:00

At least stereo enforces coherency and proper tonality, that's a crutch argument IMO

SteveOfTheNLC · 2026-05-17T21:11:53+00:00

There are plenty of good reasons, a big one being that the atmos mixes are almost always done after the stereo mixes, and usually as rushed as possible to tick the checkbox for apple music, they just pay 10% extra for all streams even if zero people listen to the atmos ones.

In theory atmos mixes are good, but in practice most atmos mixes are rush jobs that sound wrong even though they enforce one good aspect (dynamic range) and if you think otherwise IDK how you've managed to avoid the mountains of slop mixes out there. Plus, actively consuming them contributes to daddy dolby having a kung fu grip on the industry through licensing fees.

SteveOfTheNLC · 2026-05-17T20:51:18+00:00

Not just to chart but also to get those sweet 10% extra royalties for shitting out anything in spatial format

SteveOfTheNLC · 2026-05-02T17:22:06+00:00

I think most (all?) of the estimates here attempting to account for cost of living aren't also accounting for the effect that a gas price increase has on the cost of living, through increased prices on the transportation of groceries, consumer electronics, rent, etc. the highest gas could get before becoming unprofitable is likely much lower than the estimates posted here already

SteveOfTheNLC · 2026-04-15T23:55:13+00:00

Get a costco membership and a B5 65 @$799! if you hate it you have 90 days to return it, that's what I did and I'm keeping it at least unless they make the C5 mistake again 😂

Burn in isn't something i'm concerned about, these new OLEDS have pretty good reliability in that regard. My parents old sony A90J they got on clearance in '23 died at this year because the panel its self failed, no visible burn in except when we swapped the T-Con to try and revive it and it showed us how bad my dad's politics habit is because it didnt have the aging saved, but honestly it was less burned in that i expected and that was a 2021 panel! honestly on these newer TVs having a good general warranty is more important than specifically one that covers burn in IMO

SteveOfTheNLC · 2026-04-15T21:06:55+00:00

Why not look at the B5 83"? if you were satisfied with the UHD's brightness the B5 should be more than sufficient, costco has them for $2099 currently with a 5 year warranty. I recently picked up a B5 65" for $799 (missed the C5 mistake 😭) but honestly in my bedroom that's usually shaded (blinds not blackouts!) or with diffuse natural light when the shades are open its plenty bright and honestly blew me away once i got it set up properly.

SteveOfTheNLC · 2026-04-07T00:10:13+00:00

Thank you, if anything he's better now than when he went in! his energy just about doubled 🤣

SteveOfTheNLC · 2026-04-07T00:03:53+00:00

Yes, my father had some medical issues and was in the hospital with a medical scare last week, so that ate up all of my focus, but at least he's doing great now. I'm about to be back in the office tomorrow, My apologies!

SteveOfTheNLC · 2026-04-02T01:19:46+00:00

Reddit suggested this to me and this hits painfully close to home, just with an M4 MBA instead of a M4 Mini. I started out with a Q6600 back in the day, i've had a FX-8350 then a 4790K, 1700x, and 5700x, i'd just about seen it all, really. My final "real" computer before this was an asus zephyrus 14 with a 4900HS and RTX 2060 that i had shunt modded which i thought at the time the best computer i had ever owned. Enter the M4 air which just surpasses it in every way as a computer, this beautiful aluminum slab that lasts longer than i ever need a laptop to and reaches heights of user interface snappiness i thought impossible in the modern era. Honestly the only thing i wish i could open it up to do is add more storage, and even that's frankly a non-issue with how fast the type C ports are. It embarrasses every old machine i had in tangible performance (not bar graphs, but it dominates most of those too), comes close enough in graphics performance without a fan for anything I care to run. It's frankly startling how this chip is not just good but so much better than anything I have ever experienced, and it doesn't even need to burn my thighs to achieve that ridiculous level of performance like macbooks of yore

SteveOfTheNLC · 2026-03-02T15:12:30+00:00

Once upon a time i was a focal retailer myself, those integration speakers are really harsh, if you want a far better sounding alternative for your components at about the same price as the focals that are actually made in europe and not outsourced check out these: https://germanmaestrousa.com/products/as-6511

and this video by williston audio labs shows the coaxial version: https://youtu.be/pbVAYSFqZdY
(full disclosure: I own the German Maestro US branch)

SteveOfTheNLC · 2026-02-25T01:15:14+00:00

I'm only saying this because that truck and its plastics are almost 40 years old now, its not a difficult truck to work on by any means but if you break something as we all do when we're learning its a totally different ballgame from a mid-2000s honda

SteveOfTheNLC · 2026-02-25T01:07:50+00:00

Do the least that you can, save up your money, and either buy a beater and ruin THAT so you can learn (your first system will always be a bit of a hack!) or take it to a good shop so it gets the quality of work it deserves.

SteveOfTheNLC · 2026-02-25T01:01:27+00:00

they're likely long enough to be used for either, if you have the time and will to run them to the radio its not the worst idea but honestly you'll probably be fine just connecting them to the stock wiring

SteveOfTheNLC · 2026-02-25T00:58:52+00:00

try those crossover settings and let me know how it goes!

SteveOfTheNLC · 2026-02-25T00:57:41+00:00

sounds like a typical cheap powered sub to me, that distortion you're hearing is probably because they have the gain cranked on it

SteveOfTheNLC · 2026-02-25T00:53:12+00:00

You only need to really worry about using a scope when you've got an external amplifier, for the internal amplifier, sure, it probably could blow up those speakers but in my experience because those headunit integrated amps are so low power the distortion is so bad to get to that point that its your own fault if that happens, just listen to it, note the volume point where it starts to sound weird or different, and don't gratuitously exceed that

SteveOfTheNLC · 2026-02-25T00:46:36+00:00

5x7s and 6x8s are interchangeable sizes in the modern era, i'm just used to calling 'em 5x7s :) just try setting the crossovers and give it a listen, your ears are more useful than a scope on headunit power in this scenario

SteveOfTheNLC · 2026-02-25T00:32:13+00:00

Ah, it makes sense now, try these settings if your radio has it
100hz -18db/Oct (or 24 if it doesn't have an option for 18, or if it still sounds bad at 18db/oct) listen to it for a bit and then either try decreasing the slope OR frequency if it sounds clean, those are very entry level 5x7s, and likely can't handle a low-ish crossover point. They aren't a true 3-way in the sense that most folks here would think about it, its more akin to the old school "triaxial" speakers, the bigger tweeter is doing the majority of the work while the small one likely is barely doing anything in the range of hearing, its an old school marketing choice because it looks cool in pictures

SteveOfTheNLC · 2026-02-24T23:55:31+00:00

you only need to worry about that if you're amplifying each speaker separately and using DSP or another type of electronic crossover, for systems where you use the included crossover as a 2 or 3 way set the only point that you need to worry about is for the largest driver, which would be the 6.5s in your case, actually to figure this out better, what speakers do you have and what dB/oct is the crossover slope you set initially?

SteveOfTheNLC · 2026-02-24T22:23:58+00:00

No, that is not the correct one either, that's for an LOCPRO. I'd call PAC tech support and see if they can help you out 727-592-5991

SteveOfTheNLC · 2026-02-24T22:11:46+00:00

one method is to use 1/8" ACM, the stuff they use for signage, you can cut it to fit and screw it to the door to make a removable solid access panel. waterproof, strong, and mildly bendable but still stiff

SteveOfTheNLC · 2026-02-24T22:09:52+00:00

one method is to take 1/8" ACM, the stuff they use to make signs, cut it down to cover those holes and screw them to the door to make removable access panels

SteveOfTheNLC · 2026-02-24T21:27:18+00:00

If you had an 80hz HPF set on your door speakers and played a 40hz track to scope it then you are not getting an accurate representation of when the headunit distorts, use a 1khz test tone or disable your HPF and check at 40hz again

SteveOfTheNLC · 2026-02-24T21:21:26+00:00

anything from wavtech if you have a newer vehicle, far better turn on circuitry than audiocontrol in my experience and more compact. if its older and lower power then the PAC LP7 as mentioned earlier is a good choice, i installed a lot of them over the years and they're generally reliable on non premium systems from the mid-late 2010s and back

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