Home AV

Following Steve's rant on the podcast, how many AV enthusiasts reckon their personal home cinema also provides a more satisfying experience than the local fleapit? Lets us know how you rate your own sofaplex. And what about the snacks, can you rustle up cheesy nachos too?  

Indifference, acceptance or fully on board - how does your better half react to the disruption, cost and results of your all-consuming passion? Leave your stories in the discussion thread.  

McIntosh, purveyor of high end home entertainment and audio products for over 7 decades has unveiled the new MI1250 12-Channel power amplifier.  

Hisense enters the UK soundbar market with its new HS214 all-in-one soundbar. The pricing is attractive, but will it perform as well?  

This week we discuss the latest AV news including the new Sky Glass TVs and 4k laser projectors announced by Epson. Plus, we have a soundbar round-up from Steve looking at Hisense and Denon models, plus in our latest discussion on building a dedicated home cinema, we look at subwoofers and their placement in your room. Plus, we have the usual album and 4K discs of the week.  

The AVR5 delivers 12 channels of Dolby Atmos and DTS:X decoding, supports Dolby Vision up to 4K and is equipped with numerous streaming features including AirPlay2, Bluetooth aptX HD and Chromecast.  

XGIMI’s brand new Aura 4K laser TV is an ultra short throw (UST) projector which can deliver screen sizes of up to 150-inches and is designed for the living room experience.  

The new BenQ V7000i ultra-short-throw 4K HDR DLP projector not only delivers gorgeous big-screen laser images but adds Filmmaker Mode and Android TV.  

The Yamaha SR-C20A is a compact 2.1-channel soundbar that delivers a surprisingly big sound thanks to a built-in subwoofer, making it a great choice for smaller lounges, bedrooms and desktop gaming.  

UK speaker specialist Q Acoustics has updated its Concept stereo and home cinema loudspeaker range with three new models; the Concept 30 standmount, Concept 50 floorstander and Concept 90 centre channel.  

Sharp has added the affordable 2.1 channel HT-SBW202 to its portfolio of soundbars. Complete with a wireless subwoofer, the SBW202 is designed as an easy and affordable solution to upgrade TV audio at home and is suitable for screen sizes of 40-inches and above.  

Newcomer Reavon hopes its high-end UBR-X100 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray player can fill the gap left by the departure of Oppo. Those are some big shoes to fill, let's see if it's up to the task.  

Trinnov Audio has revealed its new Amplitude 16 power amp which showcases an ability to meet diverse channel counts and power requirements in high-end home theatre installations.  

The SRS-NS7 is Sony’s new wireless neckband speaker and is its first to support Dolby Atmos.  

German electronics firm Loewe has announced a trio of audio products as it returns to the high end AV sector, with two new soundbars and a subwoofer in the form of the klang bar i, klang bar 5 and klang sub 5.  

A major firmware update will bring Amazon Alexa voice assistant integration to the full Denon Home speaker lineup, along with wireless 5.1 surround sound capabilities and improved bass for the Denon Home Sound Bar 550.  

Epson’s new EH-LS11000W and EH-LS12000B home cinema projectors aim to deliver big screen entertainment for film nights, streaming, sporting events and gaming.  

This week we cover the subject of which speakers you should choose for your dedicated home cinema build and the best placement points for them. Plus, Ed looks at the iFi Zen Stream and Steve looks at the Paradigm Founder 70 LCR speakers, and we give you the album and 4K discs of the week.