Podcast #820: Receiver Buying Guide 2017

This week we get to spend your money on a new receiver for your home theater. Our goal with these guides is not necessarily about getting the latest product. It's about getting a good product at a great price so you may see some of last year’s gear on the list. All these receivers are readily available online or at a big box store. We each pick four receivers in increasing price culminating in one ‘money's no object’ / ‘dare to dream’ receiver for you to consider. Note - These receivers have a ton of features which we won’t be able to discuss in their entirety. So we have included links to the manufacturer's pages for your convenience. Prices stated are street prices from online retailers.

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Podcast #751: The History of Format Wars

There are seven top smart home trends for 2016, but they're more fun when you combine them. Maybe. And would it be possible for Apple to start a home audio revolution, just by making one small change to the iPhone? It might be possible, but we'd need to take a look major format wars through the years and analyze Sony's sneaky involvement in each. The two may be unrelated, but we can tackle them both in the same episode.

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Podcast #722: Marantz SR6010 Review

It was a couple of years ago that we heard our first demo of immersive surround sound. It was at CES that the then SRS Laboratories made sounds dangle in mid air. Then we heard about Dolby Atmos which did the same thing first in the cinema and now in the home. Speaker manufacturers quickly jumped on board and created upfiring speakers that bounce sounds off the ceiling to create a dome of sound and receiver manufacturers developed products that made the speakers work.

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Podcast #716: Receiver Buying Guide 2015

It is that time of year where we get to spend your money again! This week we concentrate on receivers. Our goal with these guides is not necessarily about getting the latest product. It's about getting a good product at a great price so you may see some of last year’s gear on the list. All these receivers are readily available online or at a big box store. Just like last year’s Buying Guide, we’re going to skip the budget categories jump right to our top picks. We each pick three receivers and one ‘money is no object’ / ‘dare to dream’ receiver for you to consider.

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Podcast #712: Pioneer Elite VSX-90 Receiver Review

The HT Guys upgrade equipment faster than most just so we can stay on top of the latest technology. So when the 4K Fire TV product was released and our current receiver could not send a 4K signal to the TV we figured what better reason to upgrade. We chose the Pioneer Elite VSX-90 7.2 Channel Receiver with Atmos mainly because it is a capable receiver and it didn’t break the bank.

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Podcast #699: Sorting Through Atmos and DTS:X Receivers

There are differing opinions on which additional speakers beyond the standard 5.1 layout deliver the most immersive experience. If you decide Dolby Atmos or DTS:X are the right option for you, you may need to upgrade your receiver. Today we talk with Rob H. of AVRant and get into particulars on a whole slew of receiver options.

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