Thanks Kalojado, the audio issue stems from having to use my headset mike leying down on a table infront of me, also a reason for the extreme close-up. I hadn't used my desktop mike in so long the cone actually split redering it useless.
I found it odd on the little to no taste with a LR as well considering it's almost the same wattage between LR/3.7, standard/5v, & HV/6v. The flavor does increase with the voltage but tastes a little burnt wit standard/6v. Hence why the video is using hv/6v, that's where the best flavor is IMHO.