Sony A9 Master Series KE48A9 OLED winging its way to Marco Towers!

[struth]

of course its all about what an individual wants and sees as value to them, and gaz and marco think it good value so should go ahead and enjoy it.

[Marco]

Totally on board with this.

Appreciate the value of things here, so why not get the best out them?
Most of us here aren't satisfied going to Curry's, buying a Bluetooth soundbar and saying Well, that's the music system sorted!

Shared interest in improving the experience, whether from better interconnects, trying tube amps, open baffle speakers, better vinyl setups, vintage kit....

Indeed, but I suspect that the majority of TV-owning audiophiles aren't as passionate about picture quality, as sound quality, and so aren't as 'on board' as us with doing all that they can to optimise the former, as much as they would the latter - and that's fine. However, they should appreciate that for us its different, and if we can afford it, we'll spend what's necessary in order to achieve our goal, such as paying £300, or whatever, to have our ultra-high definition TVs professionally calibrated

However, this is where we differ, dude...

had a 5.1 setup back in the day but got rid of it all when I worked out (for what floats MY boat) that big surround sound at home distracts from the experience,
Would have been different if I had a huge dedicated cinema room, but no, just a normal living room.

Compared with some, I only have a very modest home-cinema system, in a small lounge, but despite many limitations, it works extremely well, and for me, distracts [or detracts] from nothing!

As I said, I was watching the film 1917 last night, in Dolby Vision, and the sheer quality of the visuals (which you'll also be used to, most likely to an even higher standard with your OLED) was honestly nothing short of breathtaking, not just in terms of fine details, which are normally blurred to the status of indistinctness on non-OLED TVs, but simply how strikingly lifelike the scenes were that were unfolding in front of me, such that I felt I could 'jump in' and be part of it, in turn creating the most immersive viewing experience I've ever had at home from movies.

Honestly folks, the difference a quality OLED screen makes, given an appropriately good hi-def signal, is NOT subtle - this is a veritable game changer!

The above, coupled with the superb sound quality from my Sony AV amp (which excels with both music and films), and my (modified) Celestion front and centre speakers, twin 10-inch active Yamaha subs and JPW surrounds, which add notable clarity and gravitas to proceedings, creates a convincing snapshot of a true cinematic experience - and in that respect, in my room and with my system, the audio (5.1) side of things is just as important as the visuals. There is no downside with that (compared with 2-channel); here is just 'works'

With OLED it's a big step up again,
And because of how it works (Black's are pixels that are switched OFF) along with HDR, Dolby Vision and the like) make for an amazing experience.

But not everyone wants or needs that, which is OK.
Maybe they'd rather upgrade their Car, Espresso machine, or even a nice Holiday for them and the better half.

Whatever tickles you Pickle I say..

Lol, indeed, and in my limited experience so far with OLED, I'd certainly have to concur. The trouble with me, however, in terms of the last bit, is I want all that too, especially with cars and coffee! That's why I've severely modded and optimised my choice of the former, and go to the lengths I do with trying to create the best of the latter - and that also applies with food and drink, and all sorts of other things I love!

Hey, I guess - once a bon vivant, always a bon vivant

Marco.

P.S when are you going to install the audio system we discussed in your Alfa? If you don't do it dude, you'll lose rep points for being a purveyor of the finer things in life

[Pharos]

I think the circle of confusion applies to both audio and video.

The industry standard is of course valid, ( I used to align/calibrate TV sets), and there are some standards for loudspeakers, for eg. deviation from flat, and whether extended bandwidth or not.
My concern is with the variation in quality of material heard and seen with very good replay equipment, which is a result of less than superb originating material.

One of the best situations for validating sound quality must surely be in the early days of the BBC, when a performer could be heard live in the studio, and for an engineer to then be able to go into the cubicle and hear that live event on the monitor as a comparison.

[Marco]

of course its all about what an individual wants and sees as value to them, and gaz and marco think it good value so should go ahead and enjoy it.

Yups... The princess certainly applies that principle when it comes to me funding her WANTS, lol

Marco.

[Marco]

I think the circle of confusion applies to both audio and video.

Well, there's certainly no 'confusion' here on my part, I can assure you!

Marco.

[struth]

Yups... The princess certainly applies that principle when it comes me funding her WANTS, lol

Marco.

want unky; now!

[Barry]

Lol - big screens look surprisingly different when they're wall-mounted

Oh, and when was the last time you were at the cinema - do you baulk at the size of the screen there too, which makes a 55" TV look like a postage stamp!

Marco.

As I have said previously, when at a cinema I like to sit as far away from the screen as possible. In the days of the old single screen cinemas wher you could buy a ticket for the 'circle', I would do that and sit as close to the front row and as close to the centre aisle as I could.

Nowadays with multi-screen cinemas, this is not possible, so I rarely go to the cinema. Watching a film way off-axis or too close to the screen is not a pleasant experience for me.

I used to be a member of a film club (as I enjoy foreign language films), where the films were screened in a relatively small room with a screen size to match. Even then I would sit at the back in an aisle seat.

[Barry]

Agree with Martin,
But as with everything its not always black and white.

As far as Callibration goes...

AV folks talk about "getting as close to the Directors original vision" with tweaking picture to a "standard'.
That's a great thing,

But there's no such a thing as a Directors "Original Vision"!
The 'Directors original vision" is a marketing term, given a lot of the time (unless your Christopher Nolan) a Director is up against others who push against him till final cut?
He doesn't always get what he wants.

And even if he does,
What if you find the colours muted, or just too much like a video game cut scene?

Like in a music recording,
Unless you have a detailed breakdown of players, setting and intent of the recording, there's just too many variables to know (or care) about.
Just enjoy it!

And if it means turning down the treble on that Oasis album...to enjoy it better.. what's wrong with that?

Exactly so. How do we know what the director sees - we don't have have his eyes.

You and I can look at a red rose, and agree by convention that the colour is 'red', but the red you see may not be the same as the red that I see.


When I used to take photographs, the colour fidelity of the film used would vary markedly depending on manufacturer. Agfachrome (CT18) was very good (i.e. flattering and over saturated) for greens, Ektachrome for blues. The best, but not perfect, IMO was Kodachrome 64. Once when I was on a lake I had been taking photo of a 'floating' village there, using Kodachrome. I ran out of film and had to reload with Ektachrome. When the results came back I was surprised to see how much bluer and more attractive the water looked compared to the scene shot on Kodachrome, which showed the water to be much greyer as it was.

[Marco]

As an aside, another thing this experience has reinforced for me, is the importance of cable 'dressing'/cable management!

Like most other folks, I'd imagine, especially those running a full AV 'home entertainment' system, behind the cabinet housing all the necessary boxes is a veritable rat's nest of cables, carrying both audio and visual signals, plus mains power - not to mention the DUST that accumulates there after time, as it's an area that's very difficult to properly clean...

So yesterday, we took the opportunity, first of all to rip out all the old coaxial cables, which were strewn around, coming from the satellite dish we used when we were with SKY (as we're using Virgin now, with their underground fibre-optic cables). Then simply unplugged everything, took all the cables we were keeping out and started again, removing any that weren't being used, then tidying and 'dressing' them all, so that mains and signal ones were kept as far apart as possible, just as I do with my 2-channel system upstairs.

Then after that, plugging everything into the 6-way Supra Lo-Rad MK3 mains block I use for this system, in the right order to optimise the performance of the most important bits of kit, sonically and visually.

Everything, apart from the TV (as it has a captive mains lead), is fitted with an audiophile-designed power cable (ones from different manufacturers), with all phono interconnects being either Mark Grant HDX1s or Klotz MC5000 with MS Audio plugs, with the mains block itself supported on Nordost Pulsar Points, in order to minimise the effect of vibration being transferred to the equipment, via the mains lead powering it acting as a conduit.

Then I switched everything back on and waited for it all to bootup/power up... Result? A slight, but noticeable improvement in picture sharpness from the Sony, *but* a very distinct improvement in sound quality, from either streaming from the RPi or playing CDs through the Panasonic Blu-ray player and Beresford Bushmeister MKII DAC. Everything now just sounds more open and clearer, with low-frequences more extended and better controlled - a free upgrade then, aside from a bit of elbow grease!

Therefore the message is folks, tidy up that rat's nest at the back of your TV or system, as the rewards will be worth it

Marco.

[Marco]

want unky; now!

Lol - does unky want/need her?

Marco.