Stagea

There are 8K reference monitors for professionals (used for making 8K content); they are expensive though. Canon, Sony, Samsung, Konvision, etc. sell them (not through retail channels). Dell and ViewSonic make the cheaper ones. That being said, large 16K microled screens also exist (at a very high price).

@RevTadd Great to hear that you have plans to improve the room's acoustics. That would be the largest performance determinant in a setup like this. The Evo 150 is a very good product. I've owned tons of CA gear and have had my share of ups and downs with them (generally a good mainstream brand like NAD, Marantz, Rotel, etc.). That being said, I don't think CA products have native Amazon integration at the moment (Amazon Music would only work down-sampled via the Chromecast/Airplay functionality). The best streaming source for CA products would be Qobuz (followed by Tidal). Like most products in this class, the Evo line lacks proper bass management (HPF / LPF) and isn't equipped with a room correction EQ. You can surely make it sound great with proper matching and playing around with positioning (like how traditional HiFi people have been doing it for a long time), but the built in features of the M10 V2 should make setup and tuning much easier. I generally prefer larger floor-standing speakers for integration and simplicity, but bookshelf speakers and a sub can offer greater extension and may be easier to position. Almost all major brands make good speakers, thanks to the robust design tools, testing equipment and parts that are available today. We all hear a little differently and prefer some things over others, so trust your ears when it comes to this. A popular practice in my country is bringing your chosen amp to stores to mix and match with their speakers. Once you're able to narrow down your choices, you can purchase a speaker set to see how it integrates with your room with the option to swap it out with another set that the dealer carries as needed.

Aside from the Audiophile marketing, Tidal's main draw is the support from streaming devices. Right now there are fewer devices that support high res streaming from other platforms (unless you plan to use a PC as a source). For Amazon Music HD and your room issues, the NAD M10 V2 looks like a good option for a source and amplifier unit. Though NAD isn't always my first choice these days, they are one of the few that offer room correction and bass management in the HiFi market (making this particular model easier to integrate in less ideal listening environments). There are a lot of good speaker options that you can consider. If there are local dealers near you, I suggest visiting them to decide if there is a sonic signature and/or look/finish that you'd prefer. Bring some media with your preferred tracks when you go.

That is a US model that has a US-specific tuner (ATSC for HD and NTSC for SD). Armenia uses DVB for HD and PAL for SD. Are you saying that your 'analogue' cable also offers HD channels? Do you have a cable box? Could you share a video or photo of what you're seeing on the screen? Depending on the issue that you're getting, a cable box with an HDMI output from your cable provider may be the quickest way to improve the image quality.

To add, 1080 -> 4K -> 8K only require integer scaling. That ensures that the new TV is at least as sharp as the previous kind when playing legacy formats. It'd be hard to sell a 6K TV that looks worse than a 4K TV when playing 4K content. That's because 4K -> 6K would need 1.5X scaling... that'd result in image softness, even when done correctly. An 8K TV will perform 2.0X scaling on 4K content and will perform at least on par with a 4K TV when playing 4K videos (oftentimes it'd do slightly better, thanks to intelligent scaling techniques).

I'd say Tidal is the most popular streaming provider among people in the HiFi circle, but Tidal MQA is not lossless. Amazon and Qobuz send lossless high resolution streams, so I prefer them over Tidal. That's a very good range and you'd have a lot of options open to you. Set aside part of the amount for improving room acoustics, as that would have a tremendous impact to your listening pleasure. Having a square room, you may also come across some prominent resonance peaks that you'd have to consider when building and tuning your system. After planning out your room's layout and acoustics, consider your preferences: 1. Do you like seeing your gear or do you prefer the boxes to be stowed out of sight? How much of the budget are you allocating to HiFi furniture (racks, stands, etc.)? 2. What sort of music do you normally play? How loud do you play? 3. Are you fond of certain system colorations (warm and round, fast and dynamic, crisp and clear, etc.) or do you prefer a technically accurate system? 4. Are there brand and form factor preferences? Separate components or integrated? Bookshelf speakers and subwoofer or tower speakers? Take time in planning your system as it can save you money in the long term. Buying twice is extra costly as the resale value of used gear isn't very good (I've lost quite some amount over time by swapping gear frequently).

The reason is because they can. It's cheaper for the manufacturers to stretch 4K production until 8K is viable than to make interim products that will just keep on making their parts inventory obsolete. They can still use the tooling that made 4K TV panels in 2013 today. Granted, the flagship-level part designs then may be the ones going to entry level 4K TVs today. If they were to make smaller resolution jumps, it'd cause a lot of fragmentation in their processes (plus it'd be crazy to distribute material in a myriad of different resolutions). Imagine having so many types of BluRay discs; it'd just confuse the regular customer. That being said, the jump from 8K to 16K may be more difficult. I wonder if they'd stretch 8K tech for as long as they did 1080 (~15 years) or 4K (~7 years), or if they'd market an interim resolution like 12K before 16K gets ready.

For lower cost turntables, Fluance makes very good ones for the price. Decent turntables like these will make her records last, thanks to the lower tracking force. The RT81 and the RT80 come with a built-in Phono Preamp: Hifi Turntables | Vinyl Record Players | Fluance

a) Digital purchase of studio master recordings offer the highest technical resolution (upto DSD2048 at the moment) if you're picky, but HD Audio from online streaming platforms is good enough that the difference should no longer matter. For the streaming providers, I suggest looking at Amazon Music HD (their Ultra HD streams are comparable to high-res downloads from the likes of HD Tracks). Qobuz Hi-Res offers the same resolution, so it can be another option. b) This is really relative to your expectations, listening level, listening environment, material being played, etc. Based on my experience setting up hi-fi systems for myself and other people, it tapers off at a price beyond most budgets ($20k or so for smaller rooms and $50k or so for larger domestic spaces if you're looking for a high level of linearity and realistic dynamics). That being said, you can build very good sounding systems at most price points as long as you're aware of the compromises that you'd have to make. If you have decent acoustics in your room, even just a good pair of large active monitors or a basic HiFi set may do the job (again depending on your expectations). Think about your goals for the system (pleasant-sounding music system for low level listening? life-like live music reproduction?), your available budget, your room size and the music that you enjoy. Listening to other systems may be a great way to experience the differences.

Those are the cheapest entry-level models from the major brands if you're buying new. If you're looking for a less expensive product, then look for something used or refurbished that would fit the bill. There are a lot of pre-owned options in eBay that have what you need. The cheaper new products from off-brands like Pyle do not have even the basic Dolby AC-3 and DTS decoders, let alone proper methods for time alignment.

A higher end receiver will get you audio with less distortion and will give you access to better audio processing. That being said, if you're sticking with this speaker set then any entry level receiver would likely be okay. You'd be running a high crossover point with those satellites anyway that there won't be any heavy lifting done by the amp section of the receiver. Check out entry level receivers like these to see if the feature set matches what you have in mind: Amazon.com: YAMAHA RX-V385 5.1-Channel 4K Ultra HD AV Receiver with Bluetooth : Electronics Amazon.com: Sony STRDH590 5.2 Channel Surround Sound Home Theater Receiver: 4K HDR AV Receiver with Bluetooth,Black : Electronics There might be deals on Black Friday / Cyber Monday.

Almost all recent Sony TVs run Mediatek SoCs, but they are of different specs. Sony hides them under generic marketing names like Cognitive Processor XR, 4K HDR Processor X1 Ultimate, 4K HDR Processor X1 Extreme, 4K HDR Processor X1, 4K Processor X1, etc. Some come with add-on VPUs, while others run everything in one SoC. The 2021 models are supposedly running the MT5895 aka MT9950. This SoC on paper is capable of decoding up to 4K60 and 8K30, but Sony has locked out 8K functionality at this point (probably due to performance). Samsung and LG 8K TVs supported 8K30 on certain apps for 2020, but I believe this had been bumped up to 8K60 for 2021. Samsung makes their own chips so they're not dependent on Mediatek outside of things that need specific licensing (like WiFi radios). My hunch is that the LG TVs are running Samsung SoCs too, but with their own software (as I'm not aware of other DTV SoCs capable of AV1 8K60).

16K (or something close to that) is supposedly something like the end-state in fixed TV display resolution as it offers enough resolution to saturate the eye's ability to distinguish detail if you are to fill your field of view. That being said, 4K is the sensible choice at the moment as most people aren't getting 100" or larger screens to fill the FOV from typical viewing distances. Gamut, contrast ratio, motion handling, etc. are definitely important considerations.

If you're looking at buying new, the EOS M50 or the EOS M200 would be much easier for the first time user. It's very similar to shooting with a phone and it offers better subject tracking / continuous autofocus when compared to most DSLRs.

I have a Sony 85x950h. I know it's not an OLED model, but I believe the OLED models run the same software. My only main qualm with Sony is that their Smart features run at 1080P. This is not just the interface (as done by other makers), but also the video itself. I believe they do this to keep both the interface and the overlays smooth, given the low power SoC inside. This can be validated by checking the viewport within the playback apps (YouTube would be easiest using the stats for nerds feature). Like you, I use an external player (HTPC) to feed native 4K content. I just dislike the fact that I get stuck with 1080P when I cast media from my handheld devices. I'm hoping that they fix this soon as it can discourage people who use the smart features a lot (maybe it has been fixed for the latest flagships, idk). Their older 4K units can run the video at 4K natively but probably had frame drop / sync / smoothness issues, so they updated the software to run at 1080P. My brother reverted his older Sony to an old software version to keep 4K functionality. **Update: Just found out that they're running new SoCs on their 2021 models. Hoping that they rectified this problem on their latest units. Their new SoCs (probably also from Mediatek) are supposedly able to handle HEVC, VP9 and AV1 at 4K (no 8K support for the smart features, even on 8K units). This is an improvement, though still a step behind the competition that have been able to run 8K AV1 since last year.

TPM Support in older BIOSes can be terrible (especially for retail consumer products). I have an ASUS laptop with a 2019 BIOS that does have TPM (Windows can see it), but the BIOS can't enable it properly. It's the big brand integrators that usually have this running even on older machines (I have a 2013 HP that has TPM working properly). Somewhat related: I don't know if it's a placebo, but the updated task scheduler in Win 11 seems to get better use out of my older AMD FX processors. Applications seem to run smoother on these devices versus Windows 10 (no noticeable change for my newer devices based on recent Intel and AMD microarchitectures). I wonder if their asymmetrical optimizations for Alder Lake included scheduling profiles for Bulldozer/Piledriver designs. I have 4 machines running Windows 11 (Zen+, Zen2, Coffee Lake and Piledriver).

It can do quite a bit with the right user, so master its controls and shoot as much as you can. As for gear to add, you'd learn about that as you encounter limitations. You'd realize the limits of the kit lens and the built-in flash down the line, for example.

Sigma is giving it some love with their new prime lenses. Let's hope that they make some more.

The SL3 is a great camera overall; 500 sounds like a good price for it. The M50 is another solid option.

I suggest looking at the Canon EOS RP or the Sony A7 II. These cost a bit more, but the larger sensors can grow with your kit. You can adapt your lenses and run in APS-C mode until you get full frame lenses. The Canon SL3 and M50 are also great options that'd give you back some funds for a brighter lens (you'd probably want it for video indoors).

I actually prefer VA over IPS on TVs because of the much better contrast ratio. Blacks appear to be grey on most IPS TVs when the lights are down.

I was astonished with the results of this A/B comparison: http://youtu.be/2U9Vw0U1f0A The Building 1 and Building 2 tests threw me off, as I am partial towards dedicated cameras.

2:2 pulldowns are done on 50, 75 and 100 Hz panels too (2:2:2:2:2:2:2:2:2:2:2:3 pulldown to be precise; some people just call it 'Euro pulldown'). They still call it 2:2 pulldown to be concise, but it is converting 24 Hz to 25 Hz. Panasonic sold a lot of 100 Hz Plasmas (mostly to PAL countries). I actually own one (and it lets you choose if you want it to run at 50Hz or 100Hz). These TVs exhibit noticeable judder when displaying 24 Hz material.

You are correct in saying *most*. Panasonic and some other makers released Plasma TVs that cannot handle 24Hz natively (they had to perform 2:2 or 3:2 pulldowns); it stayed this way for a long time (especially for entry level models).

An ADS panel is virtually the same as IPS. I suggest looking for a model with a VA panel if you want good contrast. Direct LED is generally better for uniformity, especially for entry level TVs with IPS panels.