Q How do you ascertain whether a given HDTV is "progressive" or not? For a neophyte, such as me, it's difficult to determine this since the terminology in the specifications don't refer to "progressive TV".

A It's easy, because all HDTVs are progressive. It means that they can display non-interlaced (same thing as progressive) TV images. Conventional TV is 480i which is 480 interlaced lines, shown first as all the odd numbered lines, then the even numbered lines. 480p is how your HDTV will show the conventional TV image, with all 480 lines shown at the same time. Note that some HDTVs will take 480i and upconvert it to 1080i rather than 480p, but the point is that, electronically, it is capable of progressive display.

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Q The following models of receivers are available to me in China.

Pioneer VSX-D810S
Yamaha RX-V620
Kenwood KRF-V7050D
Denon AVR 1820

Please tell me which one has the best  sound quality.

A For mass market receivers in the same price range, the sound quality is pretty much indistinguishable. What you should look for are the features that you like, an easy to use remote control, enough inputs for all your sources, and pre-outs for each channel should you want to get an outboard power amplifier later on.

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Q  I bought a lightly used Marantz SR-880 receiver a few years back from a stereo shop employee. Unfortunately, he had neglected to save the manual. Now I have a setup problem--I can't figure out the best way to set up my subwoofer through the "Subwoofer Out." Do I set the main/center/rears to "Large" or "Small"? (Because I don't have the manual, I don't know what the receiver's crossover settings are.). I am running B&W 602s (L, R), B&W CC6s1 (C), B&W 601 (Rears) with an ACI Quake subwoofer. The 602s supposedly go down to 52 Hz ± 3 dB.

A I would say set your rears to "Small" and the front left/right to "Large". Set the center to "Small". It is likely the crossover for your receiver is 80 Hz.

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Q I have a Sony STR-K502 system, and I'm not getting the sound quality I thought I would from it. Would different speakers actually help and how do I go about buying the right ones to fit my system?

A The K502 is a receiver, so I don't know what speakers you got with it, but if it came with some speakers, they are likely not all that great. Go to a dealer and listen to some speakers that have a sensitivity of at least 91 dB and impedance of 8 Ohms. Your dealer may even let you bring in your receiver and connect the speakers he has there for you to listen to with your K502.

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Q I've just purchased a Yamaha DV-C6480 DVD player (my sixth DVD player to date) because it has progressive scan coupled with onboard DD and DTS for output to my DD analog Yamaha 2090 receiver. I noticed that you haven't tested very many Yamaha DVD players and was wondering if you were considering testing a few in the near future.

I passed on Yamaha's flagship DVD-CX1 due to the price difference between the two models. I'm pretty happy with the price/performance of the 6480, but I'd like to know what I passed up. I'm hoping that you will be evaluating the two soon because like the bank robber in Dirty Harry says, "I gots to know."

My stuff:

Yamaha RX-V2090
Yamaha DV-C6480
Dahlquist DQ-10 mains
Infinity 4 speaker (QPS?) surrounds
RCA Scenium HD65W20

A It is about time for us to review some Yamaha players, so I will get them as soon as possible.

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Q I've been looking for a 24 inch (maybe 27") TV for my bedroom. I had almost settled on the new Sony KFV300 when I heard there were geometry problems. This week I saw a UK magazine that showed widescreen 24 and 28 inch TVs. Why aren't they in the US? Are they coming soon?

A Manufacturers know what sells well in various countries, and it is probable that those sizes just don't do well here in the USA. The 32" seems to be the popular widescreen TV size here.

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Q While I've owned receivers for many years, I'm considering my first foray into separates. My HT receiver (100 watt x 5) has preamp outputs for all five channels + subwoofer. I'm considering purchasing a 150 - 200 watt amp to drive my front L/R speakers. My questions: (1) Will this make it easier on the receiver to drive the remaining center and surround channels? (2) Will this provide extra power to the center and surround channels (i.e., if it is 100 watt X 5, then with only three channels powered will it be more than 100 watt X 3)? (3) If I later decide to add an amp for the center and surround channels, are there 3-channel amps on the market? I usually just see mono, stereo, or 5-channel amps for sale.

A It will be easier on your receiver's center and surround channels, but it won't necessarily deliver more than 100 watts for each of those three channels, because the voltage rail on the output stage is at a specific limit, and that keeps the wattage delivery within spec. However, it will make it more likely that those three channels could actually deliver those 100 watts, and if your speakers are 4 Ohms, the receiver will play a little louder without clipping. There are a few three-channel power amplifiers out there, such as made by Adcom.

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Q I remember once you said in Q&A that a good receiver can be used as a preamplifier. I have a Denon 4800 receiver and recently bought a pair of NHT 3.3 speakers. The Denon 4800 seems to not have enough power for the 3.3. I borrowed a McIntosh MC2200 and used the Denon 4800 as a preamp, but it sounds very dry and thin. I read your review of the Aragon 8008BB, and it also mentioned that the preamp should be carefully matched. Could you recommend some power-amps to match the Denon 4800 for NHT 3.3? My budget is about $2000. I prefer the sound to be a little warm.

A I would suggest a power amplifier with Mosfet output devices, as they tend to have a warmer sound than amps with bipolar output devices such as the McIntosh (most amps use bipolar output devices). Adcom uses Mosfets, and their power amps are right in your price range.

Since the preamplifier outputs of most receivers isn't very "beefy," a parameter to look for in a power amplifier is the input impedance. 10 kOhms is on the low side. 50 kOhms should not be a problem for any preamp.

Secondly, aside from the sonic character differences between amplifiers, it's interesting to note that less distortion means less harmonics, and hence, the sound will be dryer, IF that is describing less texture.

In my (Colin Miller) experience, the NHT 3.3s worked very well in a slightly deader than average room, and with some Bryston amplifiers, which are bipolar output devices, though I think that generally speaking, our comment regarding the fet-based amplifiers is a fairly safe bet, as the 3.3s (and the 2.9s) have the potential to turn really nasty given a particular source/electronics/room scenario.

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