OLED tv question

[Osprey]

Last gaming I had was an Atari in 1981. Couldnt care less.

Hook it up! You're missing out on your QD-LED's true potential until you experience Pitfall! on it.

 

[93LEAFS]

I think both Sony and LG have excellent picture quality. I would list then #1A and #1B as far as having the best picture on the market. They both have a nice, natural look to their picture/colors. Some prefer the more “vivid” look of Samsung, but Samsung would be behind Sony and LG for me. Great TVs, don’t get me wrong. I just prefer the other two.

I still prefer Sony processing and upscaling myself but LG has definitely caught up in that area. Sony is still king though IMO (especially the processors they use in their high end TVs).

But I wouldn’t hesitate to buy an LG OLED. I went with my Sony a80j over the LG C2 mainly because of price. I was able to get the Sony for under $1000 for a 55”. I just didn’t see the point in spending the extra $250 on the C2. If both were equal price I’d have probably tried the LG.

If I was in the market Gee-Wally was, I'm probably buying the LG G3, but that's based on having a pretty high-end gaming PC and a PS5. If I was just buying for his purposes, I'm probably getting the A95K or A95L. LG probably offers the best options for gamers, especially if you want more than one HDMI 2.1 hook up (I believe A95K has one, A95L has two, but one is needed for eARC if that is how you choose to push sound) whereas LG G3 has 4 outputs capable of 4K/120hz. But, while among posters in this thread that may be important (considering this sub-section of the forum is primarily about video games), to the average consumer slightly better processing/picture quality is probably going to win out.

 

[Mikeaveli]

Can anyone comment on the text rendering issues I've heard about when using an OLED display as a monitor? I want to get an OLED display for my PC but I do a lot of programming so if its really an issue I will probably get a TV just for gaming and continue using my current monitors for productivity.

 

[WeDislikeEich]

I’ve owned multiple OLEDs and QLEDs as both general purpose television displays and gaming monitors and I’ve encountered zero burn in on any of them. And I play MMOs that display bright static images for long periods of time. Again, pixel refresh and screen shift technology have come a long way in combating these problems.

Of course it’s possible to burn in an OLED in a closed lab setting when you’re deliberately trying to burn it in. And even then, you’re only going to notice the burn in on a gray screen test when you’re specifically looking for burn in. For the average consumer using these displays for average sports/movies/games, noticeable, experience altering burn in is simply not a realistic concern.

Also, I don’t know where you’re hearing that OLEDs/QLEDs are being discouraged for use as PC monitors. The exact opposite is happening in the marketplace right now. OLED/QLED have exploded in popularity as PC monitors, with Samsung, Dell, LG, and ASUS all selling new OLED/QLED models. These are among the most popular high end gaming monitors on the market right now.

It’s inarguable that OLED displays have a shelf life and will inevitably get dimmer after many, many years of constant use. I suppose it comes down to how you view electronics. If you’re the type of person who buys one TV every 20 years and expects it to last, then no, OLEDs are not for you. But if you’re a person who buys a new display every 5-7 years, there’s simply not a better technology than OLED/QLED. The picture quality on these panels is just vastly superior to traditional LED. They’re not even comparable. It’s like going from 30fps to 144fps.

Like I said, I agree on OLED that the vast majority of people don’t need to worry about burn in. It’s a proven technology at this point.

QD-OLED is different than OLED though. It’s a new OLED screen that Samsung just started producing a couple years ago. It’s not the regular OLED screens that LG has been producing and providing to the OLED industry for a decade+ now (every OLED TV manufacturer uses LGs OLED panels, including Sony in their A80 and a90 series, except the newest Samsung and Sony QD-OLED TVs that use QD-OLED provided by Samsung). QD-OLED is made by Samsung and uses different colored sub pixels (a combo of red, green and blue) compared to LG’s (W)OLED’s. If you read the article I linked previously it explains it pretty well. That’s also the article I was referring to that recommends against QD-OLED (not OLED) for computer monitors.

Now that we've confirmed that these TVs are experiencing permanent burn-in, why is there such a difference between QD-OLED and WOLED displays?

….
One possible explanation for the difference in burn-in performance is the lack of a white subpixel on the QD-OLEDs. Unlike WOLED panels used on LG OLED displays and some Sony OLEDs, which use red, green, blue, and white subpixels, QD-OLED panels only have a red, green, and blue subpixel. This means that when the TV needs to produce pure white, it has to run all three subpixels at the same time. With static white content, like the white area around a TV news channel's "Breaking News" banner, this could lead to faster degradation of all three subpixels, so they'll appear darker than the surrounding areas. The darker areas on both the S95B and the A95K correspond perfectly to the white areas on CNN's banner, so this looks like it could be the cause of the burn-in. LG Display seems to agree, as they used the two-month results from this test in an LG Electronics Reviewer's event to showcase why they use white subpixels on their OLED displays.

Does this mean that everyone should avoid QD-OLED displays? Probably not. Our test is an extreme case. Two months of runtime on our test is the equivalent of watching about four hours of CNN per day, for about eight months, without ever changing channels or watching anything else. As long you watch varied content and don't leave static elements visible on the screen for long periods, you shouldn't have any issues.

What about PC users; should they avoid using QD-OLED displays? These results don't look good for computer users. A computer's user interface often has large white areas, even if you're using your computer's Dark Mode feature, and those areas are likely to cause burn-in. There are steps you can take to reduce it, though, and as long as you mix up your usage, you probably won't have any issues. It's also unclear if the QD-OLED panels used for computer monitors perform the same. They use different compensation cycles than the TV versions, and this could play an important role in reducing image retention or preventing burn-in. We're looking into possibly adding a QD-OLED monitor like the Dell Alienware AW3423DW or AW3423DWF or the Samsung OLED G8 to the test temporarily to see how they perform. Let us know if this is something you're interested in or if you have any ideas for why these QD-OLED panels might perform differently when used as a TV compared to the Monitor implementations.

And QLED isn’t OLED at all. Totally different than OLED. It uses regular LED backlighting with Samsung’s “quantum dot” layer in front of it. It doesn’t uses millions of organic light emitting diodes that can turn on and off individually like OLED TVs do. LED isn’t susceptible to burn-in.

Here’s an article on the difference between OLED, QLED and QD-OLED.

QD-OLED TV: What you need to know about Samsung's next gen' TV tech

Everything you need to know about QD-OLED, Samsung's new flat screen TV technology

www.whathifi.com

I love the looks of the new QD-OLED screens. They are gorgeous. If I was in the market for a TV a Qd-OLED would be hard to resist. I was simply saying I am curious to see how they hold up, being new tech and all.

Sorry OP. I don’t mean any of this to make you nervous about your new purchase. I don’t think you have anything to worry about. Plus you have the warranty so you’re all good for 5 years at least, which is a good lifespan for a newer TV anyway.

 

[x Tame Impala]

The Samsung OLED 65” I bought a few weeks ago is disgustingly good. Feels like I have new eyeballs now with how good the picture quality is

 

[SettlementRichie10]

Like I said, I agree on OLED that the vast majority of people don’t need to worry about burn in. It’s a proven technology at this point.

QD-OLED is different than OLED though. It’s a new OLED screen that Samsung just started producing a couple years ago. It’s not the regular OLED screens that LG has been producing and providing to the OLED industry for a decade+ now (every OLED TV manufacturer uses LGs OLED panels, including Sony in their A80 and a90 series, except the newest Samsung and Sony QD-OLED TVs that use QD-OLED provided by Samsung). QD-OLED is made by Samsung and uses different colored sub pixels (a combo of red, green and blue) compared to LG’s (W)OLED’s. If you read the article I linked previously it explains it pretty well. That’s also the article I was referring to that recommends against QD-OLED (not OLED) for computer monitors.





And QLED isn’t OLED at all. Totally different than OLED. It uses regular LED backlighting with Samsung’s “quantum dot” layer in front of it. It doesn’t uses millions of organic light emitting diodes that can turn on and off individually like OLED TVs do. LED isn’t susceptible to burn-in.

Here’s an article on the difference between OLED, QLED and QD-OLED.

QD-OLED TV: What you need to know about Samsung's next gen' TV tech

Everything you need to know about QD-OLED, Samsung's new flat screen TV technology

www.whathifi.com

I love the looks of the new QD-OLED screens. They are gorgeous. If I was in the market for a TV a Qd-OLED would be hard to resist. I was simply saying I am curious to see how they hold up, being new tech and all.

Sorry OP. I don’t mean any of this to make you nervous about your new purchase. I don’t think you have anything to worry about. Plus you have the warranty so you’re all good for 5 years at least, which is a good lifespan for a newer TV anyway.

I understand QD-OLEDs are a different technology. Regardless of QD or OLED, my point is that the typical RTings stress testing is not applicable to the average consumer. They’re leaving these televisions on all day long every day at peak brightness with static news station HUDs on the screen. Of course they’re accumulating bad burn in. And no normal consumer will utilize their panel like this.

I agree that there is slightly more unknown to QD OLED than regular OLED. I’m not disputing that. But the tech isn’t so new or different from existing OLED that established anti-burn in methods aren’t working.

Again, I speak as someone who owns an AW3423DW gaming monitor. After thousands of hours of use, most of it on a single game, there is no observable burn in. And this is the dreaded QD OLED technology you’re talking about. The other QD monitors all remain strong performers in the market, as well, with many more set to launch within the year.

This is not a marketplace that is shying away from QD. The exact opposite.

 

[Gee Wally]

Like I said, I agree on OLED that the vast majority of people don’t need to worry about burn in. It’s a proven technology at this point.

QD-OLED is different than OLED though. It’s a new OLED screen that Samsung just started producing a couple years ago. It’s not the regular OLED screens that LG has been producing and providing to the OLED industry for a decade+ now (every OLED TV manufacturer uses LGs OLED panels, including Sony in their A80 and a90 series, except the newest Samsung and Sony QD-OLED TVs that use QD-OLED provided by Samsung). QD-OLED is made by Samsung and uses different colored sub pixels (a combo of red, green and blue) compared to LG’s (W)OLED’s. If you read the article I linked previously it explains it pretty well. That’s also the article I was referring to that recommends against QD-OLED (not OLED) for computer monitors.





And QLED isn’t OLED at all. Totally different than OLED. It uses regular LED backlighting with Samsung’s “quantum dot” layer in front of it. It doesn’t uses millions of organic light emitting diodes that can turn on and off individually like OLED TVs do. LED isn’t susceptible to burn-in.

Here’s an article on the difference between OLED, QLED and QD-OLED.

QD-OLED TV: What you need to know about Samsung's next gen' TV tech

Everything you need to know about QD-OLED, Samsung's new flat screen TV technology

www.whathifi.com

I love the looks of the new QD-OLED screens. They are gorgeous. If I was in the market for a TV a Qd-OLED would be hard to resist. I was simply saying I am curious to see how they hold up, being new tech and all.

Sorry OP. I don’t mean any of this to make you nervous about your new purchase. I don’t think you have anything to worry about. Plus you have the warranty so you’re all good for 5 years at least, which is a good lifespan for a newer TV anyway.

No worries. Good discussion IMO.

For an old man like me alot of it is like dolphins talking to each other.
But its all good.

 

[WeDislikeEich]

I understand QD-OLEDs are a different technology. Regardless of QD or OLED, my point is that the typical RTings stress testing is not applicable to the average consumer. They’re leaving these televisions on all day long every day at peak brightness with static news station HUDs on the screen. Of course they’re accumulating bad burn in. And no normal consumer will utilize their panel like this.

I agree that there is slightly more unknown to QD OLED than regular OLED. I’m not disputing that. But the tech isn’t so new or different from existing OLED that established anti-burn in methods aren’t working.

Again, I speak as someone who owns an AW3423DW gaming monitor. After thousands of hours of use, most of it on a single game, there is no observable burn in. And this is the dreaded QD OLED technology you’re talking about. The other QD monitors all remain strong performers in the market, as well, with many more set to launch within the year.

This is not a marketplace that is shying away from QD. The exact opposite.

Dreaded? Man you are really misinterpreting what I said.
I thought I was pretty damn complimentary about OLED and QD-OLED. I even said if I was in the market for a new TV I would probably go with a QD-OLED. I’d just buy the extended warranty is all.

And I also already said the rtings stress tests are not real world use that most users will repeat.
Their 3 month test would be equal to someone watching the same static news station 4 hours a day for 8 months.
So, not completely unheard of either.


So… Why is it that LG’s WOLEDs are not showing any burn-in under the exact same test conditions as the Samsung produced QD-OLEDs?

 

[Gee Wally]

Alls well that ends well.
Now my son has my older Bravia and sound bar.
win - win.

 

[WeDislikeEich]

Alls well that ends well.
Now my son has my older Bravia and sound bar.
win - win.


View attachment 729306

How are you liking it so far? Watch any good 4k HDR movies yet?

 

[Gee Wally]

How are you liking it so far? Watch any good 4k HDR movies yet?

loving it.
watched Spiderman No WayHome, Maverick Top Gun and Avatar Way Of Water.
Tremendous picture and sound.
Way of Water was visually breathtaking.

 

[WeDislikeEich]

loving it.
watched Spiderman No WayHome, Maverick Top Gun and Avatar Way Of Water.
Tremendous picture and sound.
Way of Water was visually breathtaking.

Way of the water is on my list. I haven’t had the chance to watch it yet, but if it’s anything like the first movie I bet it looks gorgeous. Especially on that QD-OLED!

top gun maverick has to be one of my favorites. I have a nice home theater system with 7 speaker surround and two pretty big subwoofers with 18” drivers and the bass in that movie is insane. It feels like the planes are flying right through my house. My windows flex and walls shake.

I set the 24oz water bottle next to it for scale.
The 2nd one fires directly into the back of my seat. lol

 

[Ryuji Yamazaki]

The Samsung OLED 65” I bought a few weeks ago is disgustingly good. Feels like I have new eyeballs now with how good the picture quality is

Which did you get? I’ve had the S95B for about 6 months it’s pretty good but the blooming is awful.

 

[WeDislikeEich]

Which did you get? I’ve had the S95B for about 6 months it’s pretty good but the blooming is awful.

I am really surprised to read this. Are you sure it’s blooming and not another issue? OLED TVs are not supposed to have blooming at all.

Blooming is caused by LED backlighting bleeding through the screen. The LED lights aren’t small or precise enough to prevent blooming.

OLED TVs don’t have LED backlighting. They have millions of tiny organic light emitting diodes that all turn on & off individually. One of the biggest selling features is the infinite contrast and no blooming.

Samsung’s lighting algorithm must be really messed up if blooming is happening. Either that or it’s another issue. Maybe it’s just the high brightness playing tricks with your eyes? Have you tried turning down the brightness a bit?

 

[HomelessPepper]

Recently picked up a 77" Sony A80K, topped off with a Sony HT-A7000 sound bar and Sony sub for my recently renovated basement. Absolutely loving the setup so far. Colours are fantastic and blacks are super black! Overall visual quality is a huge upgrade over my X850D LED TV, which I still think is an awesome TV.

 

[mouser]

top gun maverick has to be one of my favorites. I have a nice home theater system with 7 speaker surround and two pretty big subwoofers with 18” drivers and the bass in that movie is insane. It feels like the planes are flying right through my house. My windows flex and walls shake.

I have a 5.2.4 Atmos home theater setup (four in-ceiling RSL C34E MKII Atmos speakers).

Surprisingly Top Gun Maverick had almost zero Atmos content. Whoever did the home market master of that movie really screwed up, there was so much more potential for Atmos, and I'm sure they had good original movie Atmos soundtracks to work with. Major disappointment.

In comparison some of the best Atmos content I've seen are Bladerunner 2049, Dune and The Hobbit 4k remastered movies, especially Battle of the Five Armies.

 

[WeDislikeEich]

I have a 5.2.4 Atmos home theater setup (four in-ceiling RSL C34E MKII Atmos speakers).

Surprisingly Top Gun Maverick had almost zero Atmos content. Whoever did the home market master of that movie really screwed up, there was so much more potential for Atmos, and I'm sure they had good original movie Atmos soundtracks to work with. Major disappointment.

In comparison some of the best Atmos content I've seen are Bladerunner 2049, Dune and The Hobbit 4k remastered movies, especially Battle of the Five Armies.

I mounted 2 bookshelf speakers on my ceiling in front to try atmos, but I think my ceilings might just be too low to really get proper atmos effects. I’ve never really noticed much difference. I think it’s my room/setup. I sit pretty close to my speakers and have one of my subwoofers near field for the added tactile effects. I think it’s that plus the low ceilings (7ft). Proper atmos is nice though!
A buddy has RSL atmos speakers and I really like them.

What do you have for your front 3 speakers and subwoofers?

 

[mouser]

I mounted 2 bookshelf speakers on my ceiling in front to try atmos, but I think my ceilings might just be too low to really get proper atmos effects. I’ve never really noticed much difference. I think it’s my room/setup. I sit pretty close to my speakers and have one of my subwoofers near field for the added tactile effects. I think it’s that plus the low ceilings (7ft). Proper atmos is nice though!
A buddy has RSL atmos speakers and I really like them.

What do you have for your front 3 speakers and subwoofers?

2 speaker Atmos is a supported configuration, but to really experience Atmos you need a 4 speaker setup. Good Atmos soundtracks will pan objects front to back as well as side to side. You don’t get that front to back effect with only 2 speakers. Such as a helicopter, missile or Smaug the dragon flying over your head.

Atmos is all about the angles. With a 2 speaker setup on a 7’ ceiling your two Atmos speakers should be located on the ceiling approximately 8 inches in front of your main listening position (almost directly overhead) and approximately 4 feet to the left and right of your main listening position.

Also, lots of content (like Top Gun Maverick) simply has poor or no Atmos. A good AVR will upmix your base (5.X/7.X) surround layer into the Atmos speakers, which keeps a nice 3D “sound bubble“. But the upmix is nowhere near the listening experience of a movie with a well done Atmos soundtrack. The # of movies with good home Atmos soundtracks has been increasing in recent years, expecting this trend to continue.


I’m using the RSL 10S MKII Speedwoofers:

https://rslspeakers.com/speedwoofer10s-mkii/

I don’t think you can find a better subwoofer for under their $450 price. And there are many more expensive subwoofers which don’t perform as well. How much subwoofer power a setup requires can vary by room size, so the 10S might not fit everyone’s needs or budgets. It is sitting in a nice sweet spot imo of being the best value in that price range.

Front speakers are (15 year old) Polk RTi A5s and a Polk CSi A4. I‘m planning to upgrade the Polk center to a SVS Ultra Center within the next week or two—massive upgrade, but maybe not the best value for cost ($800). Have no plans to upgrade the left/right A5s, they’re doing great for my needs.

What types of front speakers work best depends on your usage. For example I’m doing 100% home theater and gaming, with 0% stereo music. For a home theater you want front speakers with great dialogue coverage, especially the center speaker (hence my SVS upgrade plan). Expecting your subwoofer(s) to handle the low end bass.

If on the other hand you listen to a lot of music in addition to home theater usage then most people prefer beefier left and right speakers with more low bass output vs depending on a subwoofer for the low end. I wouldn’t recommend my old RTi A5s for this usage mix—I’d be upgrading them.

 

[WeDislikeEich]

2 speaker Atmos is a supported configuration, but to really experience Atmos you need a 4 speaker setup. Good Atmos soundtracks will pan objects front to back as well as side to side. You don’t get that front to back effect with only 2 speakers. Such as a helicopter, missile or Smaug the dragon flying over your head.

Atmos is all about the angles. With a 2 speaker setup on a 7’ ceiling your two Atmos speakers should be located on the ceiling approximately 8 inches in front of your main listening position (almost directly overhead) and approximately 4 feet to the left and right of your main listening position.

Also, lots of content (like Top Gun Maverick) simply has poor or no Atmos. A good AVR will upmix your base (5.X/7.X) surround layer into the Atmos speakers, which keeps a nice 3D “sound bubble“. But the upmix is nowhere near the listening experience of a movie with a well done Atmos soundtrack. The # of movies with good home Atmos soundtracks has been increasing in recent years, expecting this trend to continue.


I’m using the RSL 10S MKII Speedwoofers:

https://rslspeakers.com/speedwoofer10s-mkii/

I don’t think you can find a better subwoofer for under their $450 price. And there are many more expensive subwoofers which don’t perform as well. How much subwoofer power a setup requires can vary by room size, so the 10S might not fit everyone’s needs or budgets. It is sitting in a nice sweet spot imo of being the best value in that price range.

Front speakers are (15 year old) Polk RTi A5s and a Polk CSi A4. I‘m planning to upgrade the Polk center to a SVS Ultra Center within the next week or two—massive upgrade, but maybe not the best value for cost ($800). Have no plans to upgrade the left/right A5s, they’re doing great for my needs.

What types of front speakers work best depends on your usage. For example I’m doing 100% home theater and gaming, with 0% stereo music. For a home theater you want front speakers with great dialogue coverage, especially the center speaker (hence my SVS upgrade plan). Expecting your subwoofer(s) to handle the low end bass.

If on the other hand you listen to a lot of music in addition to home theater usage then most people prefer beefier left and right speakers with more low bass output vs depending on a subwoofer for the low end. I wouldn’t recommend my old RTi A5s for this usage mix—I’d be upgrading them.

Yeah my setup doesn’t allow my atmos speakers to be 4 feet to the side of the main listening position. I do have them positioned properly in front (just under a foot in front of my front L+R). I do have 2 more speakers I could install for atmos and my avr supports it. Maybe I’ll give it a try to see if it improves the effects. I always planned on installing all 4 but then stopped at 2 because I didn’t really notice much.

I like the speedwoofers! They are a great bang for the buck. Like you said, one of the better values out there. I was super impressed with them when I heard them at a friend’s house.

I went with PSA Tv1813’s. 18” B&C pro drivers, 1920 watt ICE amps. Tuned to about 12hz. I got them for a really good price on pre sale.
My room is about 3400cu.ft total so I wanted big subwoofers. They definitely do the job, and because of the crazy strong motors on the pro drivers they sound amazingly detailed too. As clean and precise as any sealed subwoofer I’ve heard. Honestly though, I don’t think I’m done yet. I don’t need any more bass, but I want it! lol I think I might add in a JTR captivator 2400ULF next. Either that or something DIY/AIY (like the new dual woofer evolution kits from GSG audio). I am a bass head! I also like to run BEQ for movies (BassEQ). It requires a MiniDSP or similar device. Basically, it adds back in all of the bass that’s stripped out of movies when they are released on disc. It completely changed my movie watching experience.


I am 95% movies, TV and gaming too. I agree on not needing tower speakers for movies but I kind of disagree on not needing good front L+R and even surround speakers for gaming. Unlike movies, games make a lot of use of all 5(+) bed layer speakers. There are times when all of the sound effects + audio are coming from the surrounds in games (depending on which way you have the camera/character facing in the game). I actually plan to eventually even upgrade my surrounds to full tower speakers. My plan is to just move my current front L+R towers to surround duty when I upgrade my front sound stage.

I have an Emotiva C2+ for my center channel. JBL studio 590’s for the front L+R and emotiva B1+ for surrounds. I really love the sound of the emotiva AMT tweeters (similar to ribbon tweeters). Very detailed. The emotiva speakers are excellent for voice reproduction, even at low volumes. Dialogue clarity is excellent. I got the JBL 590’s on a ridiculous employee pricing “glitch” sale that happened a while back. Under $500 for the pair. Price was just too good to pass up. They aren’t my forever speakers but they are great for the money. Even if I had paid $1000 for the pair (their normal sale price) I’d be happy with them.


You should check out the Monoprice monolith THX 365c center channel. I heard one recently and was super impressed for the money they cost ($399 open box or $499 new). My buddy actually sent back his SVS ultra to keep the cheaper monoprice.
I still preferred the sound of my emotiva c2+ over the mono but it was close. The c2+ just sounded fuller to me. It isn’t the best choice if you are going to be doing off axis listening of more than about 15° though. For me that’s not a problem since I mostly care about my main listening position.

If you can find an Infinity RC263 center channel (even used!) that would be my recommendation. It would match up well with your front speakers and it’s a beast of a center channel speaker. One of the best I’ve heard for the money.


My favorite ever was a JTR center channel I heard, but the price is crazy. That would be my dream setup though.

Since I can’t justify the cost of JTR speakers, I am thinking of going with DIY kits for my front L/C/R speakers eventually. I really like the Titan 818’s from DIY sound group. 18” woofers with horn mids and compression driver horn tweeters. A friend of mine has the titan 615’s (15” woofers) and they are incredible. Ridiculous output and a massive sound stage. Pretty easy to assemble too. Everything you need comes in the kit, including the flat packs for the speaker cabinets. DIYSG has some really nice speaker kits. Their HT series is good too if you’re looking for smaller speakers.

 

[mouser]

All great speaker choices. Emotiva and JBL (on sale, but they're frequently on sale) are some of the most popular price/performance options. My room is 2100cu ft. It's not completely enclosed, but close enough to it that the 10S subwoofers work great for my space.

I've been considering a lot of center channel options. The C2+ and THX 365c are on my research list. The Infinity RC263c has been discontinued for a couple years. I might never notice the difference, but the dual mids on the C2+ make me uncomfortable for potential lobbing. Leaning towards the pricier SVS Ultra Center. I know it's not the best bang for the buck—costing twice as much as the C2+ and 365c while not performing twice as well. Confident I'll love the SVS Ultra without worrying about upgrading again in the future. I frequently sit 20 degrees off-axis, with the widest seating at 30 degrees. One of the reasons I liked the SVS centers as they have outstanding wide off-axis coverage.

After getting the new center the next thing to sort out will be two new surrounds to replace my RTi A1s. The A1s work fine, but I want to switch over to wall mounted speakers and they're too deep to wall mount with my room layout. In-wall speakers aren't an option either. So looking around for solid compact surround speakers with low depth. One option is the Ascend 200SE's at 6.5" depth.

One of the best things when upgrading to my Atmos setup was getting a receiver with Dirac Live room correction. Dirac is so much nicer to use than the Audyssey room correction I had on my previous receiver.

 

[WeDislikeEich]

All great speaker choices. Emotiva and JBL (on sale, but they're frequently on sale) are some of the most popular price/performance options. My room is 2100cu ft. It's not completely enclosed, but close enough to it that the 10S subwoofers work great for my space.

I've been considering a lot of center channel options. The C2+ and THX 365c are on my research list. The Infinity RC263c has been discontinued for a couple years. I might never notice the difference, but the dual mids on the C2+ make me uncomfortable for potential lobbing. Leaning towards the pricier SVS Ultra Center. I know it's not the best bang for the buck—costing twice as much as the C2+ and 365c while not performing twice as well. Confident I'll love the SVS Ultra without worrying about upgrading again in the future. I frequently sit 20 degrees off-axis, with the widest seating at 30 degrees. One of the reasons I liked the SVS centers as they have outstanding wide off-axis coverage.

After getting the new center the next thing to sort out will be two new surrounds to replace my RTi A1s. The A1s work fine, but I want to switch over to wall mounted speakers and they're too deep to wall mount with my room layout. In-wall speakers aren't an option either. So looking around for solid compact surround speakers with low depth. One option is the Ascend 200SE's at 6.5" depth.

One of the best things when upgrading to my Atmos setup was getting a receiver with Dirac Live room correction. Dirac is so much nicer to use than the Audyssey room correction I had on my previous receiver.

SVS has the free returns, so worst case you send it back and get all your money back!
I still have my SVS PB12-NSD subwoofer. That timing was great for the money. I have it hooked up to my bedroom TV with an old Denon receiver in a 2.1 system (sure beats Tv speakers! Lol)

Yeah it’s a bummer that RC263 was discontinued. That thing was a crazy good value. I almost bought one used instead of getting the C2+, but I hadn’t heard it at that point so I was hesitant. After hearing it in person I regretted not buying it when I saw it for sale used locally.

Have you looked at Chane speakers at all? That’s one I’ve been intrigued by for a while. I almost went with their A series over the Emotiva’s but got sick of waiting for them to come in stock. I really like their new 700 series though and they get rave reviews.

Ascend Acoustic’s new updated CMB340 is a great bargain too. Crazy output for the money.

Yes, the Emotiva C2+ didn’t do too well when Erin (Erin’s audio corner on YouTube) tested it with his klippel. I don’t notice the lobing but I sit directly in front of my center channel. I never noticed anything weird sitting off to the side but the klippel doesn’t lie. With how off axis you sit I don’t think it would be a good choice for you.
I was surprised how much I like the sound of emotiva’s speakers though. I can see why they are “budget” darlings. I ordered the b1+’s to start just to see if I liked them, thinking they’d be the cheapest to send back. And I loved them so I ordered the C2+. I was planning to order T2+’s to match but then heard my friend’s high efficiency horn speakers (JTR Noesis 212) and that totally changed my thinking. I fell in love with the insane dynamics. So then I started looking at PSA, JTR, the big QSC and JBL cinema speakers (like the 4722n’s or better), and DIY options.

The JBL studio 590’s weren’t really on my radar but then that crazy “glitch” sale happened (you had to add the speakers to your cart then wait an hour or so or just reload your browser page and the price would drop to employee pricing. It worked on almost everything on the Harman audio site!) where they were $239 a piece new ($479 total) and I just couldn’t pass it up. I figured at worst they’d at least make good surround sound speakers one day. But I like them for now. I still fully plan to upgrade though.


Dirac is great! I agree it’s better than audyssey. Although audyssey XT32 with the $199 MultiEQ-X program for PC definitely closed the gap.

Does your receiver have DLBC? I’ve heard that’s a real game changer for integrating 2 or more subwoofers.

I’m still dealing with some cancellation + null issues. I bought a UMIK-1, MiniDSP 2x4HD and have been learning REW to really dial everything in.

 

[mouser]

I’ve seen a lot of value recommendation for the Chane bookshelves and towers, not as much on the centers. But i could have overlooked that.

Didn’t get DLBC. I’m fortunate in that I was able to place my MLP at exactly 2/3rd room depth. And the back wall of the room is roughly 50% open to other rooms. So my front to back standing wave issues seem relatively mild.

Only recently added the second subwoofer, and making furniture changes to the room now. Cant quite locate the subwoofers at 1/3rd room width to minimize left to right standing nulls, due to my AV table. Once I finish the furniture change and get the new center planning to do some more extensive testing on the optimal positions for the two subwoofers. Also sorting out whether to raise my center channel (and thus tv height). Gone back and forth on that. Leaning towards not raising it, but want to see how the new center performs in the lower position first.