Submit Your Tip of the Day

[Andrew08]

DO NOT TIE YOUR AC CABLE TOGETHER WITH YOUR SPEAKER CABLE

doing so will make your speaker hum or hiss,

yes those yellow thing in front of my panny are all the cable ties i have removed.

 

[MR.MAGOO]

Label the wires so it's easier to re-connect everything if you need to move gear to another location. Although this is sloppy, the 'tape' is for 'tweeter' and 'top' wire in this bi-amp'ed example:

 

[3db]

Dealing with displays.... If you do not have an option to dim the lights in your home theater room, I found that soft backlighting behind the display helped to relieve eye strain.. and for LCDs actually improved the perceived picture quality in terms of dark levels. I use a dimmer backlight now but I don' have a pic of this at the moment

 

[Dan Madden]

Once and awhile, move your speakers around a bit!! The quickest, cheapest way to improve the sound of your system can be just moving speakers around by a few inches!! Hint........Normally this will be moving a speaker a few inches away from walls or furniture. Tweak on !

 

[KenM10759]

Not a hint so much, but a reality check that we sometimes engage in the equipment chase without giving what we have a fair shake. I'm slowing down now, and seem to have achieved quite satisfactory results. Spending more on better equipment is never going to change that fact that I have an odd L-shaped room, so the focus is on making what we have perform its best within the constraints.

Others who have to have speakers in difficult places (right behind the listener, over the fireplace, etc.) can take steps to minimize the affect, but most importantly is don't think it sucks just because a few people on the interweb think so. Your ears are the ones to please.

 

[MR.MAGOO]

"Be true to your teeth and they won't be false to you" Soupy Sales (1926-2009)

 

[Methodical]

Don't always be the first to drink the cool-aid.

 

[MR.MAGOO]

Check the manufacturer's website. See if the AVR you like is NEW model, or a DISCONTINUED model. Some online and brick & mortar retailers fail to tell their customers! For example, after checking the Yamaha site, their RX-A3050 is discontinued, that fact was not shown on an online retailer site. Do your homework!

 

[BMXTRIX]

If you are using infrared repeaters or extensions, make sure to place the small IR emitters on the equipment from top down instead of from bottom up, then tape them into place.

One of the top failure complaints I have received over the years is from equipment that can't be controlled today, but was working yesterday. Upon arrival, I find that the IR emitter has fallen off the BD player/cable box/Roku, etc. and that just putting the emitter back on corrects the problem. Of course, the tape won't hold, and it doesn't fix the issue long term.

By putting the emitter on top of the piece of gear, and taping it into place, the emitter may still come unstuck from the front of the equipment, but it has nowhere to fall to. It just hangs in front of the IR window and continues to work just fine.

EXAMPLE (from Google) - Incorrect, that emitter falls off and the receiver won't work!

Correct! If the emitter becomes unstuck, it will dangle in front of the receiver and still control it.

 

[Grassy]

"Learn to understand a receivers menu"

 

[Dan Madden]

"Learn to understand a receivers menu"

Amen to that !! I downloaded my AVR's manual before I got it so when I did, I was an expert on how to navigate the menu's and set it up.

 

[everettT]

"Learn to understand a receivers menu"

I'll even take that a step further; Read all manuals before asking questions, not limited to Audio / video

 

[yepimonfire]

If you're having a hard time finding a good sounding place for your sub, try placing it off the floor, such as on a table. Had a room that I had poor results in no matter where I put the sub, raised it off the floor about 3ft in an 8ft high room and I got very good results in multiple locations.

Sent from my SM-G360T1 using Tapatalk

 

[KenM10759]

That's a no-go for most folks, the table anyhow. Seems to me that bass from a subwoofer should be completely non-locational, meaning you really can't tell where the source is but it's just "there." Do you get bass that your ears tell you the source by doing that? Probably not, just curious.

 

[lovinthehd]

Be kind to your fellow forum readers and remove the ******* tapatalk/phone ad if you must post from tapatalk.

 

[Littlefoott]

Know more then your salesman does

On buying day when you are spending "your" dollars, have your research done.
Know what you want and why.
With the internet and some effort, you can accomplish a lot on your own.

they can't be expected to remember every spec of every unit from over a dozen different brands.
What happens is many people get talked into a poor or lower system, because the sales guy is pushing that product for other reasons.
eg: store changing stock or sales promo's or just training methods

 

[Pogre]

I don't know how many folks know that foobar2000 has a remote app in the Play Store that works on Android tablets and phones. I control all of my playback from one of those devices.

You need this add on for the pc side. Configuring is easy and It works very well.

 

[Grassy]

This is for Avpa1hd owners, don't upgrade unless you have too as it could be a step backwards. Damm i loved that thing.

 

[cpp]

Tip of the day. Mine is not audio related.. Having just beat cancer and away from this site for a while, I've found the best things in life are family and good friends. Take time and listen to music with your friends and family, get out and enjoy life as you never know when its going to be interrupted.

 

[Sachb]

Remember to Boost the Center Channel If the Dialogues are not Clear after setting up through Audyssey.

The boost can be 2- 3 DB louder depending on your speaker and room. Anything more may result in Overpowering the center channel sounding sharper or Too much.

Here's the test of my Boston acoustics after boosting the center channel. My preferred settings on audyssey was :

MultiEQ XT : Reference
Dynamic EQ : Off
Dynamic Volume : Light

Note : Even Setting it to light i could feel that some musical notes were not presented or say delivered to you when intended but this was the best setting for Loud Natural sound on Low volumes.

Now the demo :