Expert Advice
404 ARTICLES
Heco 5.1.2 Premium Home Theater Showcase
Watch our latest video featuring a near-field home theater that we recently installed in a relatively compact bonus room. While we have many home theater showcases, the majority of them cover homes with dedicated theater rooms. The reality is that many people don’t have that kind of extra space available, but still want to create a cinematic experience in their homes. In this video, we’re going to show you how you can put a terrific theater in a more compact space, such as a bonus room, living room, or larger bedroom. Check out the overview where we look at what the space looked like before we started installing, a full time-lapse of the install, and then a demo of a few clips to see how well it performs.
How to Mount a Phono Cartridge
A phono cartridge is responsible for converting vibrational energy from the stylus to an electrical signal that your amp/speakers turn into music. This is an important job and the quality of your cartridge has a huge impact on playback quality. Many turntables come with the cartridge installed, calibrated, and ready to play. However, upgrading the cartridge is a great way to take your turntable's performance to the next level. Watch our video for step-by-step instructions on mounting, upgrading, or replacing your turntable's phono cartridge!
Sennheiser AMBEO Soundbar Review
The Sennheiser AMBEO Soundbar will give you a complete Dolby Atmos experience and deep bass — without a subwoofer or anything else. While there's an output to connect a sub, you don’t need one. This state-of-the-art soundbar is capable of reproducing extreme 30Hz bass all on its own. If you like keeping your living room clean and simple without any compromises to your studio-grade experience, the AMBEO is hard to beat.
Elevated Apartment Living With Signature Audio, Video, & Smart Home Amenities
In addition to residential services, Audio Advice has a specialty in audio, video, and smart systems in commercial spaces. Audio Advice recently installed incredible audio and video systems in the Bainbridge Aviation Crossings apartment complex in Morrisville, NC. The concept was to create a terrific ambiance in the common areas and great functionality in the fitness, yoga, pool, and clubrooms.
Pro-Ject Debut Pro vs Debut Carbon EVO Turntable Comparison
To celebrate their 30th anniversary, Pro-Ject Audio Systems is introducing the Debut PRO turntable. This beautiful turntable is a true audiophile-level turntable for far less than you might expect with an amazing upgrade path as well. We were bowled over when we tested it for both its build and sound quality.
Audio Advice Revolution Home Theater Seating Setup Guide
Our guide will help you get your Audio Advice Revolution Home Theater seating set up and ready for maximum comfort when enjoying your favorite movies in your home theater!
Home Theater Design Best Practices
A guide on how to design your ideal home theater or media room so all your friends and family experience a beautiful picture with great surround sound. Learn about how the dimensions of your room can impact the sound, finding the ideal screen viewing height, and how to design a home theater riser so everyone has a great seat.
JVC DLA-NZ Series Projector Comparison
Discover the incredible picture quality of the JVC DLA-NZ 8K Home Theater Projector lineup. We were very excited when JVC gave us the early scoop on these new projectors and provided us with a sample to test weeks before the official release. Watch our overview where we cover the great features these 3 new projectors share, then get into the differences as you move up in the series.
How to Setup and Calibrate a Subwoofer
Adding a subwoofer to your home stereo system or home theater system can make a huge improvement in your sound if you know how to properly position and adjust the settings.
Bowers and Wilkins 800 D4 Diamond Series Speaker Review
Now in their 4th revision, The Bowers & Wilkins 800 Series Diamond has been the pinnacle of audio engineering and innovation for over 40 years. Designed and built in Britain, 800 Series Diamond embodies true sound, the B&W core design belief, and has become the monitor loudspeaker of choice at recording studios across the world, including Abbey Road and Skywalker studios. The new 800 Series Diamond features many product developments and exciting innovations that evolve its performance.
What Is Dolby Atmos Sound?
As more original Dolby Atmos movies continue to come to streaming platforms, you will not want to choose upgrades for your home theater system until you watch our next video. Since you already own most of the key parts, you won’t even have to change that many components! We will cover essential tips & tricks to get great-sounding uncompressed Atmos — so you will know exactly what to look for when shopping for Dolby Atmos upgrades this year.
Widescreen Explained: What’s with the Black Bars?
Have you ever wondered why you have black bars at the top and bottom of movies? In this video, we explain everything you need to know about widescreen. If you have a home theater or are thinking about building one, this video will demystify aspect ratios and explain how to design and set up your system to get the best experience possible for news, sports, and movies.
DIY Home Theater AV Receiver Rack Best Practices
One of the best ways to house your gear is in a commercial-like equipment rack. These types of racks have been used for decades in data centers, studios, concert halls, and high performance home theaters. We like them because they are very easy to service and make changing things out as you upgrade super simple.
What is a Phono Preamp?
With the resurgence of vinyl over the last several years, a whole new generation is getting into turntables. With so much “plug and play” technology, we find that people who are younger or have never used a turntable before expect to that a turntable will just play, or at least simply connect to their existing stereo system or speakers.
What they’re forgetting is one of the most critical pieces to any vinyl playback system — a phono preamp.
JBL Synthesis Monster Home Theater with 18' Screen, 18 Seats and Five 18" Subs
When we were approached by a long-time customer in 2017 about building an ultimate home theater, we knew this was going to be a fun project. The client had a small theater we installed in 2010 and had upgraded a couple of times. The couple was building a new garage and wanted to make the room above the garage a state-of-the-art theater with as big a screen as possible. Seating for up to 18 people was also on their wish list. They wanted to try and re-use some of their current gear in the new system. We took them to hear a JBL Synthesis home theater system we had recently completed in a large room and after that, there was no question, they wanted a JBL Synthesis system!
Cambridge Audio AXR85 & AXR100 Stereo Receiver Comparison
Cambridge Audio’s new stereo receivers once again set new price/performance levels. The new AXR85 and AXR100 offer analog inputs, a phono preamp, and Bluetooth 5.0 with sound that defies their low cost. Music lovers will love the pure, effortless, and toe-tapping sound of these two great new receivers.
