Q&A # 248 - August 12, 2001

Staff

Q I've enjoyed your online journal for sometime now. The thoroughness of your equipment reviews goes levels above and beyond those of your print competitors, in my opinion. I've been overwhelmingly pleased with the knowledge exuded by your review staff (Stacey Spears, John Kotches, et al.) and amount of information included in their reviews and special reports.

Since I am currently in the market for a DVD player (which would be my first), I've been waiting with great anticipation for the results of the second DVD player shoot-out to be published. I've narrowed my purchase options down to two units (a Denon and a Panasonic) and strongly believe that the commentaries provided by your respected review team will greatly assist me with my purchase decision.

So my question is, can you give your readers any indication as to when the results of the shoot-out will be published in your journal? I've read comments on certain Internet forums that indicated that the reviews would be published by the end of July. However, subsequent comments indicated that special circumstances required that the release be pushed back.  Unfortunately, no information was provided as to a timeline. Will it be another week or two? Sometime in September?

In any case, I would appreciate any timeline information you could provide. And, I would also like to take this opportunity to simply say "Thanks" for a great online magazine!

A We are working our tails off to get publication of the B2 results underway, as many readers, including some industry engineers, have e-mailed us with the same requests for the results. A number of chip and player manufacturers have instigated consulting contracts with the staff in order to get the next models correct. In the meantime, we have to deal with the players that are here now, and will report on them as soon as we can. I anticipate the first reports in September.

Q I'm about to get my new subwoofer, a PSB Subsonic 3i. I've never had  a sub before, so it's all very confusing. My main concern is if I'll be able to use the subwoofer for two-channel music playback with my Sony STR-DE 545  receiver. Will I be able to use the sub for music using the receiver's line level subwoofer output, or will I have to run speaker wire from the front speakers to the sub, then back to the amp? What crossover level should I set the sub to when it's all set up?

A Some years ago, there was a notion that you needed a set of speakers for music and a different set for home theater. If it ever was true then, it certainly is not now, and one never really needed two different subwoofers in any case. Use the line-level connection out of your receiver (sub-out RCA jack) to your subwoofer, and set your speakers to "Small" if they are small, and "Large" if they are floor-standers or big shelf speakers. Set your subwoofer crossover to 50 Hz if your speakers are set to "Large" and to 80 Hz if they are set to "Small".

Q I would like to buy a complete 5.1 speaker system for less than $1,500. I would like your advice on some of the better systems you have tested. I keep reading about the Energy Take 5 and Encores, some of the Klipsch's systems, and The Edge Audio Home theater system. Are there other systems that you have listened to that need to be added to my list and which one(s) do you like the best.

A The ones you mentioned are all nice. You can't look at everything, but I would add the Velodyne Home Theater speakers we reviewed a while back, with a CT-150 subwoofer, some of the Paradigm packages, and PSB. Among those, you should be able to put together an excellent system.

Q My current system comprises of the B&K307, M&K150 , Sony 9000es for DVD/AUDIO, and a Pioneer710 for video. What I want to do for upgrading the audio system is to take the l/c/r M&K150 and move those for my rear surrounds and upgrade my front soundstage to the Aerial10t with the CC5 , using the 307 as a preamp and getting a three channel amp to power the front portion of this system . In the future, plans would be a Sony 5.1 SACD. Is this system matched well for HT/AUDIO and any suggestions?

A The M&K and Aerial are good speakers, but you need to be very careful about tonality. Neutral is best when mixing and matching, but most speakers are not really neutral. You might need to take a pair of your M&Ks into an Aerial dealer and set them up together, with an A/B speaker switcher to test them for compatibility.

Q My system:
1) Denon AVC 1530 Pro Logic Amplifier
2) Mission 733 (main), 73C (centre), 73 (surround) Speakers
3) Acoustic Energy Aegis Sub Subwoofer
4) Grundig 25" TV
5) Sony DVP-S305 DVD Player
6) Audioquest Indigo 2 Speaker Cable
7) Cable Talk Monitor 2 Interconnect

Problems:

1) How can I upgrade my systems from Pro Logic to Digital without sacrificing my existing system?

2) Can my small surround speaker fits in with this upgrade?


A  I would suggest using your Denon as an outboard amplifier with any new digital mass market receiver. Just connect the rear channel pre-outs of the new receiver to a pair of analog input jacks on the Denon. Your present rear surround speakers will be fine.

Q I was just given an Onkyo Integra M506 amplifier. I am trying to find some information out about it, so can you help me out? I see plenty of stuff about M 504s but nothing about this particular one. Is it worth hanging on to?

A I can't find any info on the M506 either. It might be a model meant for a foreign market. However, if it works well, certainly hang onto it.

Q Regarding the first Q & A from Q&A # 211 - December 21, 2000 . . .

I too have been having a problem with center channel crackling with certain Dolby Digital 5.1 DVDs. However, after researching and experimentation, I have come to the (possibly false) conclusion that this is actually a problem with many DVDs, and not the system itself. My own setup is a Marantz SR7000 receiver driving the Polk RM7500 set of speakers. What drove the point home for me was Toy Story vs. Toy Story 2. I hear quite a lot of crackling in Woody's voice in many parts of Toy Story, but hear absolutely none in Toy Story 2. I'd love to find out that this really is a hardware issue and I can fix it, but at this point I'm not very confident.

A Yes, some DVDs and CDs for that matter, are not well produced. I watched a DVD recently that had poor center channel sound during the end credits. And, about the time engineers start getting them all right, we will probably have a new format to deal with.

Q My A/V Receiver (as well as most others I'm sure) allows you to set the subwoofers crossover frequency for Dolby Digital and DTS surround modes. Yet it's my understanding that these digital surround modes have the subwoofers signal encoded on its own separate channel. If the subwoofer signal has already been derived, how can the receiver modify its crossover frequency?

A The crossover frequency in a receiver's or processor's bass management menu merely directs the audio to various outputs after it has been decoded. So, if the LFE channel has some bass at 80 Hz and below during a movie, you can set your bass management to send it to the front left/right speakers if you don't have a subwoofer. Use of a particular crossover frequency in the bass management menu could result in a rolloff below 50 Hz. All the choices we have in the receivers along with those in subwoofers mean we have to be careful in our settings so that we don't eliminate all together a portion of the bass signal, which can happen if you set speakers to large vs. small, route the LFE, and adjust the crossover in the sub too low.

� Copyright 2001 Secrets of Home Theater & High Fidelity
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