Al Griffin

Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q I currently have a Dolby Atmos/DTS-X 7.1.4 speaker setup that uses a Marantz SR7011 A/V receiver, which I'm interested in upgrading to Auro-3D. Can Auro-3D decode/convert Atmos and DTS-X? And should I set up the ceiling speakers the way Auro-3D suggests or leave them in their Dolby Atmos recommended positions? After reading several articles praising the immersive sound quality of Auro-3D, I’m anxious to check it out. —Dave Davey, Mount Arlington, NJ

Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q I want to listen to Amazon Music Unlimited’s Dolby Atmos music tracks on my home theater system. Amazon Music support says my subscription will only output Atmos to a few devices including headphones. But when I play the Best of Dolby Atmos playlist on my Roku Ultra streamer, the display on my Sony A/V receiver reads “Atmos” and I hear sounds coming from all of the speakers in my 7.1-channel system. Am I experiencing a real Atmos mix, or is this a case of wishful hearing? — Bill Heestand, Round Rock, TX

In recent months we experienced the happy convergence of having three formidable THX Certified subwoofers in house for testing, including M&K’s beastly X15+, all of which tied in perfectly with technical editor Thomas J. Norton’s overview of the latest version of Audyssey’s room EQ processing, MultEQ-X

PRICE $2,499

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Impressive contrast
Flexible zoom and lens shift range
Built-in streaming platform with HDMI eARC
Minus
Limited brightness necessitates dark room viewing
Smart interface not for everyone

THE VERDICT
LG’s 4K laser DLP projector delivers impressive picture quality and value, but its limited brightness requires a dark room for best performance.

LG has been at the vanguard in manufacturing "smart" projectors—models that, like more traditional offerings, sit at the back of the room and beam images to a separate screen, but also provide the streaming and voice control features you'd find in any smart OLED or LCD flat-panel TV. In 2021 we reviewed the company's HU810PW ($2,999), a single-chip (0.47-inch) DLP projector that delivered 4K images via pixel-shifting. Now, we have that model's sibling, the HU710PW, a similarly featured projector that arrives with a lower 2,000 ANSI lumens brightness spec, but also a lower price ($2,499 MSRP).