Q I really appreciate your in-depth research on chroma upsampling error. As a home theater installer, I found out that many of my clients are educated about the subject. Most of my installations these days are plasma sets or HD rear projection sets, and the chroma error is very noticeable for some players. The chroma problem is another example that not all DVD players are created alike, and a more expensive DVD player does not mean it will be free of the chroma bug. I hope the DVD manufacturers are listening to your findings.

Here is the question:

If I want to get a progressive DVD with SACD (and without the chroma bug), what are your recommendations? The price level is around $500. Some of the players that I am considering are as follows: 1) Sony DVP NS755 - 12 bit/108 MHz (I wonder who made the video processor?) 2) Philips DVD 962SA - 10 bit/54 MHz (Sage/Faroudja chip FLI2200?) 3) Philips DVD 963SA - 12 bit/108 MHz (Sage/Faroudja chip?)

I understand that there are a few good DVD/DVD-A players that do not have the chroma bug. However, the SACD software is far more comprehensive with very good recording.

A As far as we know at this time, the Sony and Philips players still have the chroma bug. However, we have not tested these specific players. We just have not seen models from them yet, that don't have the bug.

T

Q Is it possible to connect the rear surround speakers of a five-speaker configuration to the jacks of the front mains, with the front mains then connected to the surrounds' jacks, and in order to activate only the surrrounds late at night when others are sleeping nearby (as I might with the Onkyo TX-SR500 in its two-speaker mode, but front mains only according to the manual), and without compromising the integrity of the audio when switched to the full five-speaker mode?

A I assume you are trying to use smaller speakers at night. You can get a couple of speaker selectors at Radio Shack that will let you just switch the mains to the rears, and the rears to the mains. Just be sure to have the receiver power off when you are making the switch, and make sure you DO NOT connect two amplifier outputs to the same set of speakers at the same time.

T

Q I have heard a lot about using cat 5 cable for speaker wire and interconnects. What is your take on it, and do you have any specs such as power ratings that would help me decide if I should try it?

A I (Sandy Bird) personally have never tried a complex cat 5 speaker cable design. I did however try using cat 5 as a simple speaker wire a couple of times. In general, it worked. Did it work any better than other speaker cables I was using at the time? Probably not, but it was cheaper.

In theory, the twisted pair design should provide very good sonics, as it is designed to reject noise and have a low inductance. As far as power rating, you can build the wire up to any gauge you need by adding more twisted pairs. If you have been doing your own research I am sure you have already visited this site:

http://www.venhaus1.com/diycatfivecables.html

That was the design I planned on trying when I had a free weekend. I am a believer of DIY solutions, you should try it if you have the time. Cat 5 wire is cheap, just be sure to buy solid core wire and be consistent in your braiding. Also, note that the design has high capacitance, and it could cause your amplifier to oscillate.

T

Q I need an S-Video distribution amplifier for runs of 50 feet to several TVs.

A There are a lot of them out there. Good ones will cost a couple hundred dollars. Here are some links: http://www.svideo.com/svideosplitter.html    http://www.mivs.com/products/videoproducts/distribution/vda206_d.html    http://www.milestek.com/SVideoDistributionAmp.htm.

T

Q I would like to know if it would be okay to use Mission 780 loudspeakers with the Harman Kardon AVR 30. The speakers are rated 50-200 watts while the receiver is rated 45 watts rms.

A Although the Mission 780s are 8 Ohms, they are only 87 dB sensitivity. I don't think these speakers would be a good match for your receiver. Better to go with some that have a sensitivity of at least 92 dB, but make sure also that they are 8 Ohms.

T

Q I was just wondering if bi-amping takes any power away from your main receiver or does it put it under any stress? My setup at the moment is. Denon AVR 3300, and I have bi-amped my two fronts with an Onkyo SVS 525. I would like to do the same with the back but not if it's putting my Denon under too much stress. My speakers are Magnat Vintage 550.

A I assume you are using the Onkyo to drive the tweeter and woofer separately on each speaker, i.e., one amplifier channel for the tweeter, and a second for the woofer. This should work fine and won't unduly stress your Denon.

T

Q I have a Sony DVD player and a Sherwood amp. I have been running RCA cables from the six channel outputs from the DVD player into the six channel direct jacks in my amp. Recently I heard about the benefits of 75 ohm coax cable. So I tried that, but six channel direct seams to have greater clarity than the coax? Do you know why this could be?

A What you are doing with the 75 Ohm coaxial digital cable is having your receiver do the DD and DTS decoding instead of your DVD player. In your situation, it sounds like the player does the better job of the two, so just leave it that way (six analog cables to the receiver). However, with these connections, you can't use the DSP modes in your receiver.

T

Q I have read from many reviewers that a large speaker system in a small room can overpower the room and end up sounding bad. I have a room that measures 14'w x 18"d x 8'h that I want to set up a music/theater system in. I already have a Sunfire theater grand II and a cinema grand signature amp. Would I be better off with smaller floor standers or stand mount speakers and a sub? Who makes a high quality small speaker that can handle my amps power and play at Dolby reference level if there is such a thing?

A The choice of large or small speakers is really just personal preference and the size of your room. Large speakers will not overpower a small room, except perhaps just in decor. However, you don't want to be sitting too close to a large speaker (which you might have to do in a small room), because you could end up hearing the tweeter separately from the woofer if the tweeter is at the top of the enclosure and the woofer is at the bottom. So, if you want floor-standers in a small room, where you don't have much space to sit back, get some that have the drivers close together rather than spread out over the length of the enclosure. In choosing speakers that you want to play loud, look for the recommended power specification. A larger (higher power) rating usually means that it will play louder without problems.

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