Audio chain
| Component | Today | After | Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Denon AVR-X3800H tuning | Audyssey default Reference target, single-seat cal, Couch B-side weighted | Audyssey Flat target, Couch A primary + Nicole position weighted, MultEQ Editor R-channel HF refinement | Flat target removes Reference's mid-treble roll-off; Couch A-weighted EQ corrects the asymmetric room — measurably flatter response at primary seats |
| KC62 placement | Floor-coupled, near front-right glass slider | IsoAcoustics GAIA III decoupled, position verified post-Audyssey — source: kef_speakers_placement.md §4 | Decouples cabinet vibration from floor; reduces structural resonance transmission to apartment below. Corner placement adds room modes — mid-wall front-wall preferred. |
| Speaker preset | Single preset, no per-mode persistence | Speaker Preset 1 (Movies) + Preset 2 (Music) full-dataset save — source: audyssey_couch_b_workflow.md §7 | Each preset stores the full MultEQ XT32 dataset. Must run Audyssey TWICE — select Preset 1, run calibration; select Preset 2, run calibration again. Cannot copy to Preset 2. |
| Music path | Apple TV to AVR (48 kHz capped — source: music_amp_needed_or_not.md §Q3) | AirPlay 2 iPhone to AVR (48 kHz ALAC, Apple Music Lossless — source: music_amp_needed_or_not.md §Q4) | Bypasses Apple TV's 48 kHz HDMI cap and internal Atmos decode. AirPlay 2 carries ALAC directly to AVR's own DAC. |
| Pure Direct vs Direct | Not used | Direct for critical listening (Audyssey off, all DSP off, full-range tone bypass) | A/B comparison enabled; identical DSP lockouts between modes (verified) |
Video — Samsung S95F
| Setting | Today (assumed Standard default) | After | Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Picture mode | Standard (over-saturated, processed) | Movie + HDR Tone Mapping Active (Nicole default) | Same perceived brightness (~1,100 cd/m² highlights per Rtings); accurate Warm 2 color; no AI sharpening; no motion smoothing — source: s95f_picture_mode_tuning.md |
| HDR Tone Mapping | Active (auto on Standard) | Active in Movie mode | Preserved highlight punch |
| Color Tone | Standard (cool — source: s95f_picture_mode_tuning.md) | Warm 2 (D65 reference — source: s95f_picture_mode_tuning.md) | Visible color accuracy improvement on skin tones; eliminates Standard's blue cast |
| Contrast Enhancer | On (Standard default) | Off | Removes Standard's "blown out" highlight crush; preserves shadow detail in dark scenes |
| AI Picture Pro | On (Standard default) | Off | Removes upscaling artifacts on already-4K content |
| Auto Motion Plus | On (Standard default; soap opera effect) | Off | Native 24p judder preserved; no motion artifacts on cinema |
| PC HDMI input label | "PC" (locks to Entertain/Graphic modes only) | "Game Console" | Full picture mode access + chroma 4:4:4 at 4K |
| Game HDR (HGIG) | Not set | On Basic (firmware 1203+ required) | Prevents double tone-mapping with PS5 Pro internal HDR cal |
Signal chain
| Element | Today | After | Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Source switching | Manual TV input cycling | CEC auto-switch via VRROOM (TMDS/ON SENSE) | Source-native remote wakes correct chain; no manual TV input changes |
| Dolby Vision titles | Samsung shows HDR10 fallback (S95F has no DV decoder) | VRROOM LLDV-to-HDR10 conversion with DV-derived dynamic per-scene metadata (Bank 10 EDID, 1,000-nit cap, BT.2020) — source: lldv_edid_nits_for_s95f.md | Dynamic metadata vs static SMPTE ST 2086 — measurable scene-by-scene tone mapping improvement on DV titles; S95F's native peak unlocked via downstream DTM |
| Hue Sync compatibility | Breaks on DV signals | Always-HDR10 input to Sync Box | Sync Box works on all titles including Kaleidescape DV |
| Audio extraction | TV to eARC only (lossy on some formats) | VRROOM HDMI audio direct to AVR (full bitstream, no eARC bottleneck) | TrueHD Atmos / DTS:X bit-perfect to AVR |
Network
| Element | Today | After | Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wired throughput | G3100 ONT 1 GbE WAN cap (~940 Mbps actual) | CR1000A ONT 10 GbE WAN | Up to full 2 Gbps wired (only RTX 5090 PC benefits — Strato V/PS5/AppleTV are 1 GbE-class) |
| Mesh backhaul | Wireless (default Deco) | Wired Ethernet to all 3 Deco nodes | Highest-impact stability change; eliminates backhaul contention on 5/6 GHz |
| DNS | Verizon defaults (slow CDN routing) | 8.8.8.8 / 1.1.1.1 manual | Google ECS forwards CDN context — faster Netflix/Apple TV start times |
| QoS | None | PS5 Pro + Apple TV set to High priority | Reduces buffering/stutter during heavy network use elsewhere in apt |
| 6 GHz | Not utilized | Wi-Fi 7 BE65 Pro 6 GHz + MLO On | Native Wi-Fi 7 for any 6 GHz-capable client; PC RTX 5090 wireless benefits |
Power + acoustic
| Element | Today | After | Delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| Power conditioning | None / shared circuit noise | Furman PST-8D Series Mode + LiFT filtering — source: power_and_acoustic.md §1-4 | SMP absorbs surges without degrading (vs. MOV which degrades silently). Two isolated banks: analog (AVR + KC62) and digital (sources). Appropriate class for a 15A NYC apartment circuit. |
| Right slider acoustic reflection | Bare glass | Floor-to-ceiling blackout drape — source: power_and_acoustic.md §6, §10 | Glass slider is Priority 1 early reflection point. Reflection from hard glass arrives 3–8 ms after direct signal, collapsing stereo image and causing comb filtering 500 Hz–4 kHz. Drape is the highest-ROI single action; no wall anchors required. |
Net audible delta: Music will improve perceptibly via AirPlay 2 lossless path + Audyssey Flat + slider drape — those three stack. Films and streaming TV will improve via the Movie+Active picture mode swap (immediate visible color accuracy) and the LLDV path on Kaleidescape (subtle on most titles, meaningful on DV reference titles like Mad Max Fury Road, Avatar 2, top-tier nature docs). Gaming gains: HGIG firmware accuracy + ALLM auto-switch + VRR (PS5 Pro only — Switch 2 has no VRR). Network: the "doesn't feel fast" issue is partially solved (ONT swap unlocks wired ceiling; device NICs still limit individual stream speed).
What WON'T change much: the Denon X3800H is not the music bottleneck at residential SPL (AVNirvana blind ABX: Krell/ML/Parasound vs Denon AVR — no one could reliably distinguish at level-matched residential SPL — source: music_amp_needed_or_not.md lines 43–45). The S95F is not the video bottleneck for DV content — the VRROOM is what unlocks the gain. Adding speculative bass traps without REW measurements is also unlikely to deliver audible improvement (source: power_and_acoustic.md lines 106–116).
Sources
s95f_picture_mode_tuning.md strato_v_lldv_verify.md lldv_edid_nits_for_s95f.md denon_x3800h_per_mode_deep.md vrroom_deep_menu.md music_amp_needed_or_not.md deco_be65_pro_wifi7.md power_and_acoustic.md