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I went down to a hifi store today to listen to some speakers for a home theater. They had BW and Triangle which sounded good. The sales guy was pushing Anthem amps over Yamaha and Marantz. I haven't really heard of them, are they decent?
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Feb 19, 2022 08:40
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| # ? Jun 7, 2024 00:11 |
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Anthem is good but being a small company they have software quirks with their receivers. I don’t think the sound of their DAC or amps will be terribly different but their room correction is highly regarded. Triangle is a really good speaker brand, the Boreas in particular are regarded as a really good value. What are you shopping for?
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Feb 19, 2022 09:05
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V for Vegas posted:I went down to a hifi store today to listen to some speakers for a home theater. They had BW and Triangle which sounded good. The sales guy was pushing Anthem amps over Yamaha and Marantz. I haven't really heard of them, are they decent? They’re a much more boutique brand. Very well regarded, but with the attendant costs and drawbacks that come with buying from a tiny brand that historically specializes in higher end customers and doesn’t have the resources of a massive multinational. As stuff has moved further into the digital/streaming/‘connected’ realm, these small companies have lost a lot of their edge. At the same price point (let’s say <$3500) I think Yamaha’s a much better value tbh. Anthem gets much more expensive ($10k+) but Yamaha doesn’t, at least not in the Home Theater/multichannel space (they have some flagship-tier 2 channel amps in the $4k-$20k range). Anthem is exclusively a Home Theater company, whereas Yamaha is Yamaha. trilobite terror fucked around with this message at 09:21 on Feb 19, 2022 |
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Feb 19, 2022 09:17
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Anthem makes good 2 channel gear too but yeah it’s real expensive and there’s a lot of competition in that price range.
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Feb 19, 2022 09:29
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qirex posted:Anthem makes good 2 channel gear too but yeah it’s real expensive and there’s a lot of competition in that price range. Do they make any pres? I thought it was all power amps, the kind that a custom HT installer puts ten of in a rack unit in some rich dude’s basement
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Feb 19, 2022 09:34
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To start with I'm just after a 3.1 setup for a home theatre with floor speakers that I can expand to a 5.1 later. Speakers wise I'm just shopping around listening to some different ones. My wife liked the BW speakers which had a warmer sound. I liked the Triangle which had a much crisper sound. I also want to network a second zone connected to my outdoor speakers. Yamaha has a music cast zone amplifier which I think would do the job. I asked the sales guy if Anthem did that but he started going on with a ton of technical speak that I don't know what the answer was - I got the impression it didn't.
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Feb 19, 2022 09:42
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Forget about Anthem, Yamaha is more than good enough.
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Feb 19, 2022 09:50
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V for Vegas posted:To start with I'm just after a 3.1 setup for a home theatre with floor speakers that I can expand to a 5.1 later. Speakers wise I'm just shopping around listening to some different ones. My wife liked the BW speakers which had a warmer sound. I liked the Triangle which had a much crisper sound. If you can do a wired connection to zone 2, it’s probably better/less headache than wireless. If it’s something like a Yamaha AVENTAGE you’ll be able to control it via app. Alternatively, there’s nothing wrong with setting up a second amp to run Zone 2. MusicCast is nice because you can make amps talk to each other but really any second amp with the wireless/wired connectivity you desire will do the job. For example, in an old apartment I had a main stereo connected to an Airport Express, an Apple TV hooked up to the TV stereo, and a Bluetooth setup in the bedroom and I’d just switch between the different Airplay and Bluetooth devices.
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Feb 19, 2022 09:56
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For just power amps I’m sure Anthem is good but it’s high end boutique stuff. You can fill a rack with Crown or QSC pro amps for a fraction of the price.
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Feb 19, 2022 10:34
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qirex posted:For just power amps I’m sure Anthem is good but it’s high end boutique stuff. You can fill a rack with Crown or QSC pro amps for a fraction of the price. yeah but no Senior VP of Software wants to show off a rack of Crown amps to his buddies during a break in their wife-swap bbq
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Feb 19, 2022 10:41
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I run the Yamaha RX-A3060 for my 3.1 and love it. You can find higher end pieces on the secondary market at incredible prices.
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Feb 22, 2022 00:50
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Yeah if you don’t need Atmos or HDMI 2 you can get a deal, I had to literally give away my old 2008 Sony ES receiver, whereas I got over $100 for my 2000 era model.
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Feb 22, 2022 04:02
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The Denon S760H is back in stock if anyone is looking: https://www.costco.com/denon-avr-s760h-7.2ch-8k-av-receiver.product.100774339.html
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Feb 24, 2022 03:00
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CloFan posted:The Denon S760H is back in stock if anyone is looking: lol literally gone within an hour 😂
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Feb 24, 2022 04:15
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Hopefully this is the right thread. I am looking for a device that would do the following: 1. is a DA Converter, using SPDIF 2. Can accept one or two analogue sources as well 3. Has preferably two analogue outputs as well. Not speakers but line out/ Headphones or something I currently have a Sabaj D3 that I am really happy with but it does not have analogue in. Since I play more XBox I was looking for something small like that as I do not even have big speakers, only "pebble" USB speaker (Logitech?) that are really good though (for me). I don't think something like this exists though. There are many DA converters but none that take analogue inputs as well. Still I thought I'd ask. Thanks.
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Feb 24, 2022 20:47
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lllllllllllllllllll posted:Hopefully this is the right thread. I am looking for a device that would do the following: Nah, your best bet would be to get some kind of small analogue line switch (like a Schiit SYS, for example, tho there are many cheap options out there) with 2+ analogue ins and put that behind your DAC. Although that would still leave you without a built in headphone out. Alternatively you could spend tens of dollars more and get a tiny desktop headphone amp with a preamp out for your speakers and either multiple analog ins or DAC + line. Depending on what you got you might still need an analog switch tho, because lol.
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Feb 24, 2022 20:55
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Yeah, not a ton of DACs with analog inputs. There's this headphone amp but if you want more than one input getting a cheap DAC and a cheap preamp might be best.
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Feb 24, 2022 22:18
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That's helpful. Ok Comboomer and qirex thanks for that!
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Feb 25, 2022 08:03
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Hello, I'm just trying to get my PC, TV, and Digital Piano to play through the single set of nice desktop speakers I have. I purchased a SHURE SCM262 Stereo Mixer thinking it would get the job, but it has a horrible hum when the volume is up and no music is playing. Could it just be defective? Is there another similar product I can buy that will let me just control 3 separate volumes and one master volume through RCA inputs? Budget doesnt really matter, under $500? I just don't want something with a million knobs or that will lower the quality of the sound.
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Feb 25, 2022 19:44
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Mixers shouldn't do that, either yours is defective, you've got a ground loop or the design of the thing is bad.
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Feb 25, 2022 19:59
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Does anyone have recommendations for a powered sub under $300? My living room set up is a couple of B&W bookshelves running off a chifi T-amp. Happy with the setup for non critical listening, but want to add some oompf to movies. Thinking of just getting whatever a monoprice meets my budget but open to other suggestions.
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Feb 28, 2022 20:22
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Os Furoris posted:Does anyone have recommendations for a powered sub under $300? My living room set up is a couple of B&W bookshelves running off a chifi T-amp. Happy with the setup for non critical listening, but want to add some oompf to movies. This thread has good info if you read the most recent several pages.
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Feb 28, 2022 21:38
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Looking for a $500 speaker set up. I went through the thread but didn't find anything in the last 10 pages or so. I was looking at something like this. https://www.monoprice.com/Product?p_id=42034 The TV is a Sony X91J. It has xfinity cable, PS5 and Chromecast Ultra connected to it. Mostly looking to better the audio, but without tossing $1000+ at it. The super bowl halftime show was real lame on the built in speakers.
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Mar 17, 2022 21:16
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deong posted:Looking for a $500 speaker set up. I went through the thread but didn't find anything in the last 10 pages or so. The Jamo S803 5-speaker set is like $190 right now. Combine that with a $300-350 5.1 receiver and a $130 Polk sub and you’ll have something better than that soundbar thing you linked. Alternatively, you could build a stereo/2.1 set up and put more money toward bigger drivers up front and probably get an overall better experience if you’re not set on surround sound.
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Mar 17, 2022 22:52
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I had a chunk of junk typed up of what I bought that I can paste back but probably rambling past my bedtime and the thing I was waiting for is done so lol shorter version: I wasted time and money when going crazy during COVID lockdown by getting a 7.2 setup, and wished I instead went with the suggestion that I've seen pop up periodically in the thread that front speakers matter the most, then sub/center, and then surrounds and especially Atmos is a waste of time and money until you already have a kickin rad expensive awesome 3.1 setup. If I could have a do-over on mine I would've spent ~$550 on a 5.1 receiver and great pair of front speakers. Then over time watched CL/FB Marketplace for used and set up price alerts to at some point add the biggest center that would fit aesthetically then after that a good sub and be thrilled with my audio for many years for like ~$850. Good speakers last a lifetime and are awesome. Sound bars and little surround systems and stuff are neat and a hell of a lot better than they used to be, and if you have to get them for aesthetics then cool. Otherwise, I generally see it as the more you spread your money around multiple speakers, the worse it will sound than just getting fewer nicer speakers. I love gimmicks but doing A/B on/off testing of surrounds set in an unrealistic perfect position on stands just made me wish I had spent the money on better fronts.
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Mar 18, 2022 04:56
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I've been thinking of ditching my sound bar since the wife complains about it. I know the Denon AVR S760H is the hot poo poo, but is there anything around that isn't a 4-8k AVR? Something that can do 5.1.4, Atmosphere, but doesn't necessarily offer 12 HDMI ports?
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Mar 19, 2022 01:42
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FilthyImp posted:I've been thinking of ditching my sound bar since the wife complains about it. If your goal is to save money with a more simple receiver I really wouldn’t bother with ATMOS or I’d content myself with a 7-channel receiver that can do 5.1.2 or 5.2.2
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Mar 19, 2022 01:49
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If you don’t need high framerate 4K for games feel free to get a good 2018 or 2019 model. People are upgrading for HDMI 2.1 so you might be able to find a deal. The better receivers have more inputs, you don’t need to use them. e: also agreed on Atmos begin wholly unnecessary if you're trying to keep things "simple." qirex fucked around with this message at 17:15 on Mar 19, 2022 |
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Mar 19, 2022 02:02
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deong posted:Looking for a $500 speaker set up. I went through the thread but didn't find anything in the last 10 pages or so. And PS I personally really don't like the idea of spending more than like, $150-200 on any kind of sound bar type packaged setup unless for looks you /really/ need to stick with a bar. Above $200 you're getting into money that can go towards "real" speakers, and regular speakers you can keep using forever and just replace the receiver as technology needs change or easily swap speakers if something breaks or you just want to. I don't like the idea of a pricy bar/bundle kind of thing that may work now but what if in 2 years a component breaks or a new HDMI spec you want to use comes out etc, can you even reuse any of those parts or do you just have to throw it in the trash and start over.
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Mar 19, 2022 14:23
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Looking for the older models is a good idea. I was initially worried they wouldn't do Atmos/3d Audio/eARC but then I realized those things aren't as cutting edge as I thought.qirex posted:e: also agreed on Atmos begin wholly unnecessary if you're trying to keep things "simple." I have like 6 Pairs of bookshelf/satellite speakers so I figure I'd at least try two height speakers with direct audio instead of the bouncy virtualization I've got now. Ok Comboomer posted:If your goal is to save money with a more simple receiver I really wouldn’t bother with ATMOS
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Mar 19, 2022 21:13
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FilthyImp posted:I can see that. I'm also the kind of idiot that sees 3D Object Based Audio on PS5/4k poo poo and goes "OH nO I'M MISSING OUT" ATMOS has been on the market for like over a decade at this point and it still gets treated like an afterthought Maybe 1% of consumers are properly implementing it, and that’s about double as much effort as any production house really wants to invest in making an audio track for it Like, cool, you can hear the occasional car driveby and the echo of your footsteps. Most places will do an utterly paint-by-numbers job where the occasional noise track will get bumped to Atmosphere and it’s super not worth it. A demo disc meant to showcase the technology and sell people on it will give you far and away the best experience, and everything else is going to be a downgrade from that
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Mar 19, 2022 22:24
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Ok Comboomer posted:ATMOS has been on the market for like over a decade at this point and it still gets treated like an afterthought Do you have any experience on how well implemented it is on games? From my experience most games do a better job of surround sound implementation than tv / movies, so I wonder if that is true for atmos as well. Gonna assume that it's probably not well done and an afterthought like you said, but I'd love to be wrong.
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Mar 20, 2022 19:59
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CAPTAIN CAPSLOCK posted:Do you have any experience on how well implemented it is on games? From my experience most games do a better job of surround sound implementation than tv / movies, so I wonder if that is true for atmos as well. Gonna assume that it's probably not well done and an afterthought like you said, but I'd love to be wrong. It’s probably way easier, tbh, because a lot of the tools + workflow that game developers use make it relatively trivial to place your audio spatially. Plus a lot of gamers are on headsets which I assume makes it much easier to implement binaural processing or at least approach that effect in the stereo audio track (no clue what the current state or adoption rate of that is, I just got back into PC gaming and I have two speakers that I use and don’t think about it beyond that). A lot of the contemporary tech around ray tracing in graphics has roots in 3D audio processing Other goons would know way better than me
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Mar 20, 2022 20:28
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Sony made a huge thing about their audio engine being an Atmos-competitor, to the point that Folby came out and said atmos actually has tons more possible point-sound locations. I haven't really heard it wearing headphones. But I connect audio through Optical out of the TV. I'll try a straight USB dongle and see. I do know that PS5 has a 3D audio through Headset toggle.
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Mar 20, 2022 22:19
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If I want a 5.1 surround system, but the only thing I'm going to plug it into is my smart TV, and I want wireless for the rear speakers at least. Do I even need a receiver? Can I get something that just connects to my TV and call it a day?
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Mar 21, 2022 00:05
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NZAmoeba posted:If I want a 5.1 surround system, but the only thing I'm going to plug it into is my smart TV, and I want wireless for the rear speakers at least. Do I even need a receiver? Can I get something that just connects to my TV and call it a day? You can get Sonos. That’s p much the only wireless system I’d recommend buying into, and that’s not exactly a ringing endorsement on my part but you can get something like a Sonos sound bar, hook your TV up to that and then wirelessly link some surrounds
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Mar 21, 2022 00:28
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Ok Comboomer posted:You can get Sonos. That’s p much the only wireless system I’d recommend buying into, and that’s not exactly a ringing endorsement on my part I'm kind of surprised that wireless still hasn't advanced yet. I've got a good living room layout for surround, but there would be no viable way to run cable without a poo poo ton of work to just run a little wire.
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Mar 21, 2022 13:55
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Wireless connections for rear speakers and subs etc. exist, just not integrated into receivers. https://audioengineusa.com/shop/adapters/w3-wireless-audio-adapter/ There is a standard called WiSA, but I don't think it's used very much.
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Mar 21, 2022 14:31
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NZAmoeba posted:I'm kind of surprised that wireless still hasn't advanced yet. I've got a good living room layout for surround, but there would be no viable way to run cable without a poo poo ton of work to just run a little wire. Some of the mid to higher end soundbars have wireless rear speakers. I have no direct experience with them though. I've heard Vizio's soundbars are actually pretty good in the mid to higher end range. I upgraded my Yamaha YAS107 a few months ago to the TCL Alto8+ (TS8132) soundbar which is a 3.1.2 Atmos enabled soundbar that I got on clearance at Walmart for like 147 bucks. Very happy with it in our main living area. FWIW I ran 3.1 for years and it was great. When I moved I setup the 5.1 in the game/media room of the house, and I almost never use it anymore. I wouldn't stress about the rear speakers unless you just have to have them. I don't feel like I'm missing out by not having them. I do agree though that Sonos has pretty good reviews when it comes to wireless surrounds and everything staying in sync. It could be worth the money. 1600 to 2000 dollars for a full Sonos setup is some premium $$$$ though. The wirecutter does have 2 Vizio sound bars as recommended options and would probably have been my choice if I didn't find that TCL on clearance a few months ago. I'd check out the 400 dollar option from some place with a good return policy and see how you like it.
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Mar 21, 2022 14:31
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NZAmoeba posted:I'm kind of surprised that wireless still hasn't advanced yet. I've got a good living room layout for surround, but there would be no viable way to run cable without a poo poo ton of work to just run a little wire. The only one that’s really worth a drat and has any real upgrade pathway is SONOS, IMO There’s a lot of smaller dealies on the market, but they’re all bespoke little Balkanized fiefdoms. So you buy an AV receiver of your choosing and then you gotta like buy a pair of powered surrounds that come with their own little powered transmitter dongle that has to be plugged into said receiver like a pair of speakers. And then it’s an extra thing that you have to power cycle and synchronize. And sometimes you’ll power on the receiver and the wireless dongle won’t wake itself from sleep, or the volume won’t go up and down with your wired speakers. It’s a mess. And then when you want to upgrade or replace something you have to buy a bunch of new gear. SONOS is far from perfect but it’s a complete integrated system that prioritizes wireless connectivity. So you buy a hub or a base station or whatever (ie usually a soundbar of some sort) and then all of your compatible peripherals and additional speakers get added to that base. It works and it does so simply, and that’s the most important thing when you’re talking about building a wireless surround system.
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Mar 21, 2022 15:45
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