Q&A # 258 - October 16, 2001

Staff

Q I am trying to decide between the McIntosh MC-602 that you recently reviewed, and the Balanced Audio Technology VK-500 that you reviewed some time ago. I have not been able to hear them side-by-side. What is your opinion on these amps?

A The MC-602 has a bit more snap to it than the BAT, perhaps in part because the Mac uses bipolar output devices, while the BAT uses MOSFETs. Both are fantastic amplifiers, so I don't think you could go wrong either way. We routinely show both of them to visitors, and everyone loves their sound quality. They make ideal comparisons because they are both very powerful, clean, fully balanced, and have subtle sound differences.

Q First of all, let me say that your progressive scan DVD shootout was the most non-biased and informative article I have ever seen on DVD players.  It not only educated me on the lingo but also gave me the knowledge of what to look for when shopping. I know that is impossible to review every progressive scan DVD player out there, but you have previously reviewed a Marantz DVD player and I was wondering if a review of their progressive scan players might be in the future. I was particularly interested if they were using the Genesis chipset or maybe the Sage/Faroudja or Silicon.

A Yes, we do intend to include Marantz players in our future reports. It is really just a matter of staff and time.

Q I have been following a forum on the Denon AVR-5800 and have heard different rumors to the affect that there is either an upgrade that Denon will be making available for the 5800 to add Dolby Pro Logic II, DTS-ES THX post-processing, added bass management etc., but I have also read that a brand new model, possibly the AVR-5802 might instead come out. Have you all heard anything that might support either rumor? I do not want to buy a product that they claim is upgradeable, to then have a brand new model come out 2-3 months later with some features (DPL-II) that I would very much like to have.

A We don't have info on this, but I would think that such complicated upgrades would be better served by a totally new model rather than adding an upgrade to an existing one. The 5800 is basically a good player, but my vote would be to wait for the 5802, if that is what might be coming out.

Q I have a Yamaha DSP A1000. I was planning on connecting my Onkyo TX870 receiver to the Yamaha so I could play FM through my Yamaha surround system. The A1000 has and audio in for a tuner, but the Onkyo does not have an audio out for a tuner. It has audio out for just about everything else, such as phono, CD, VCR, tape, etc. How do I get the audio out of the Onkyo?

A The Rec-Out jacks on the Onkyo will be the best jack to use because they are not affected by the volume control on the Onkyo.

Q I have recently acquired a relatively high end video system, with a Runco 980 Ultra front projector and a Faroudja VP300 decoder. It is my understanding that the Faroudja will output 650p from interlaced sources. I am in a quandary about what DVD player to get, interlaced or progressive. Presumably the output from the Faroudja would better all progressive players in progressive mode, but what about interlaced mode? Am I better off buying a relatively inexpensive DVD player (like a Panasonic) that does not have the chroma bug, and relying on the Faroudja to handle the upsampling, or will a higher end progressive DVD player give me a better picture through the Faroudja even if I do not use its progressive capabilities?

A Since progressive output is becoming more and more common, it might be difficult to find an overall good player that does not have it. Secondly, at some point, you may want to go direct to the TV with a progressive signal. Third, the progressive feature on DVD players can be very high quality. So, I suggest that you get a progressive player.

Q I have the Marantz DV 18 DVD Player with component and S-Video out connections. The latest Sony HDTV I recently bought (KVEH36M31) in New Zealand is made in Europe and has Scart inputs. It only accepts component input in Progressive Scan mode. Is there a cable available with component to Scart connection? Any other suggestions which will help me make the best use of my TV's specs?

A I have checked in the US and could not find anyone who makes a Component Video-to-Scart cable. If one of our readers knows of such a product, please e-mail us and we will post it.

Q After reading your DVD benchmark, I've noticed the chroma upsampling bug . I have a Sony S530D feeding my Pioneer Elite Pro-510, and in your review of the 510, I've noticed that you didn't do the Toy Story Test. Do you know which device has the bug? If it's the DVD player, will an Iscan Pro line doubler fix the problem, or should I upgrade to a progressive scan DVD player? Also, you mentioned "We did all our tests in the factory default deinterlacing mode, labeled "advanced"". How do I set the deinterlacing mode to advanced? And will that fix/minimize the bug (helping me to save money)?

A The upsampling is performed by your DVD player, not your display (TV). The iScan Pro cannot hide the problem. There was no need to run the Toy Story test on the 510 because it was a TV and that test is for DVD players. There is a menu option in your 510 and you can select HQ or SQ I believe. We have not been around that TV for many months now.

Q I purchased a Yamaha Amplifier and couldn't figure out why there were connections for video signals (I don't have on screen display). With all the wires for surround speakers, CD, DVD, it looks like a big pile of spaghetti back there, so why would you add more!? Also, if you add so many video connections won't you start to get interference from all those wires? I could see if the receiver had on screen display or gave a cleaner video signal, but it doesn't, so what gives?

A It may just be that the video switching circuitry is there for your convenience, but there is no On Screen Display (OSD). However, I have not seen a receiver with no OSD before. Depending on the type of cables you use, there could be some interference between cables, so to minimize this, don't bundle them together in parallel. Let them cross over each other in a random way. Lastly, unless it is a very high end model, you are better off running video direct from the source (DVD player) to the TV anyway, as switchers tend to degrade the signal somewhat.

� Copyright 2001 Secrets of Home Theater & High Fidelity
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