Q I know Secrets (or at least J.J.) is a believer in balanced connections between components, but I'm unsure of one aspect and hoping for clarification. Is there any use in connecting just a preamp and amp via XLR if the source is fed via single ended into the preamp? I know of few sources with XLR outs, and I was told the 2nd leg is not an improvement unless the entire system is balanced. Is this correct or is there some benefit to using XLR connections from only the preamp to amp?

A If the source (CD player) is unbalanced, but the preamp is balanced, and you feed the source into the preamp via its unbalanced input, you still gain the benefits of the preamp's internal balanced circuitry. If you had an unbalanced preamp and unbalanced power amp, but connected them together using a balanced jack adapter and balanced cable, you gain only the benefit of eliminating noise that gets into the balanced cable along its path. Balanced internal circuits will reduce the noise, but also cancel some of the harmonic distortion. The only downside of balanced circuits, besides the increased cost, is that the amplifier has a tougher time with deep bass if the power supply is not designed specifically for balanced operation.

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Q I am considering the purchase of a new AV receiver but with my sixth child on the way, funds are a little tight. What I want are:
 
7.1 speaker outputs (I already have all the speakers), pre-outs (I want to add external amps later), phono input (I still have lots of old records), DTS, DD, etc., pre-ins for ability to use 5.1 inputs for DVD-A, serial port for future updates, Toslink and coax inputs, and lots of power (my speakers are power hogs). Given a budget of around $1000 or less (less is definitely easier to get by the wife), can you suggest what receivers I should be looking for? I am really having a hard time with this.

A I would suggest the Denon AVR-3802 ($999), or the Onkyo TX-DS797 ($999). You might even look at reconditioned receivers. Nothing in the $1,000 price range is going to have all the features you want.

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Q My Harman Kardon 7000 works great for theater sound, but long term loud music listening keeps blowing up my Infinity IL speakers. The Infinity dealer says there is nothing wrong with the speakers. The Harman service people say there is nothing wrong with the receiver. Should I consider a power amp upgrade? If so, Is the HK7000 Pre/Processor section worth the investment of an external amp or should I just start over?

A You are going to need an outboard power amp no matter which way you go, so just get the amplifier and try it with your HK's pre-outs. If you are not satisfied with the sound, then upgrade to a dedicated processor.

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Q My system consists of: Marants SR-5000 receiver, Mission M74, Yamaha YST SW-320, Mission M71 surrounds, Mission M7C1 centre. I set my mains to "large", centre to "small", surround to "small", sub to "on" and a low pass of 50 Hz on the sub. In stereo my sub blends in perfectly with my mains. However in DD and Pro Logic mode I'm missing frequencies from the centre and surrounds. Frequencies below 80 Hz or higher (I'm still not sure about the crossover of the Marantz SR-5000) from the centre and surrounds, which are set to "small", is directed to the sub, but the sub can't play all those frequencies because its lowpass is set to 50 Hz. So there is a gap between 50 Hz and 80 Hz which isn't played. What can I do to solve this problem? If I set the lowpass of the sub to 90 Hz, it won't blend in with my mains.

A You could set the mains to "Small" and raise the low-pass on the sub to about 80 Hz, or set the center and surrounds to "Large". This might require you to drive the sub with a connection from the rec-out jack if there is not enough bass coming from the sub pre-out at that point.

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Q I will be purchasing a new widescreen HDTV ready television and am having problems deciding between rear projection and CRT, as well as between models. Due to space the largest rear projection TV I can accommodate is approximately 44" in width limiting my choices to 40"- 43" models. And I am looking at 34" HDTV ready widescreen picture tube models. I have narrowed the choice down to the Toshiba 42H82 and the Hitachi 43UWX10B for projection screen, and Sony, Panasonic and Toshiba for 34" HDTV widescreen CRT models. Do you have a recommendation between these models, and any suggestions in deciding between CRT and rear projection? The viewing distance would be about 7-10 feet.

A First, I need to mention that what you are referring to is Direct View CRT TV as opposed to Rear Projection TV, since RPTVs can also use CRTs. Some of them now use LCD though. Given your limitations, I would go with the 34" direct view. That will give you the best picture quality and is not much smaller than your limitation of 43".

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Q It was interesting to read the information provided on the new THX Ultra 2 speaker setup. I have been wondering for some time what the ideal speaker setup would be for a seven channel system -- whether dipole or monopole and where. With the seven channel setup that was suggested by THX for the Ultra2 -- dipoles on the sides and monopoles in the rear, how would Dolby Digital or DTS soundtracks ideally be played? Could you play them with the seven channel setup using all seven channels? Do some surround sound processors do this, or is it possible to be able to easily switch speakers so that when playing a DTS movie soundtrack, you could use the side dipoles and then when switching to a DVD-Audio disc, you could switch to using the monopoles in the back? The recommendation from many is to use monopoles for music -- especially multi-channel music, and dipoles for movies. With the standard seven speaker setup given by THX Ultra2 recommendations, could you easily accommodate all types of setups for optimal listening and what is the easiest method to do so? Can some surround sound processors be programmed to accomplish such a custom setup for different speaker setups for DVD-video or DVD-audio playback? Or is it possible or recommended to split signals in order to use all seven channels for all DVD playback -- DD, DTS or THX?

A Remember that 7.1 is actually synthesized from 5.1. DTS Discrete 6.1 is the only format with a sixth discrete channel. THX-EX matrixes the sixth channel in the two surround channels. And, 7.1 has to contend with 10.2 which is on the horizon. I suspect we will end up with processors that just change whatever the input format is, into whatever output format you like, using as many or as few speakers as you might have in your theater.

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Q I am upgrading (completely revamping) my home theater system. The dealer whom I've decided to go with is recommending the following components in order to achieve a theater effect within my budget:

- Toshiba 65H81 65" TheaterWide HD Projection TV.
- Sony HD-100 Hi-Definition Satelite Receiver.
- Denon 3802 Surround Receiver.
- Denon DVD 2800 Progressive Scan DVD Player.
- Sony CDPCX 400 Disc Changer.
- 3 PSB 6x6.1 in-wall speakers for the front.
- PSB Subsonic 5 Subwoofer.
- 2 PSB 6x1 in-wall speakers for the rear.

My goals are to be able to watch HDTV from my satellite and to be able to watch DVDs in the best possible quality with the audio to go with it. Do you feel the combination of components above makes sense? Will they interact to achieve what I'm looking for?

Here are my concerns:

A) The Toshiba 65H81 is HD ready, not HDTV, hence the Sony HD-100 satellite receiver. Is this a problem? Will I be able to run the signal through the Denon 3802?
B) The Denon 3802 receiver has Dolby Digital and DTS formats, but it does not  have THX. Is this a problem?

A The only thing I might change is to go with the Denon DVD-1600 rather than the 2800. Other than that, the system looks fine. The sat box and TV combo should be fine too, but there is still that nagging problem of what the studios are trying to require for encoding with DVI. If it happens, you would need a DVI output on the sat box and a DVI input on the TV. Otherwise, you could end up with only 480p to the TV, regardless of the original signal (1080i). The lack of THX on the receiver does not really affect the performance of most features.

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Q When I bought my system a couple of years ago, I really didn't know anything about Hi-Fi or stereo systems, and although I tried to research as best I could, to this day I can't help but feel that I could have done better. Considering you guys really know your stuff, I was hoping you could give me your opinions on the setup that I've got, and tell me if you think I could have gotten something better for what I ended up paying.

Here is my system:

Sony KV-27V42 - 27" Trinitron Television - $450
Sony DVP-S330 - DVD Player - $300
Sony STR-DE935 - Receiver - $500 (110 Watts/channel, Built-In DTS &
DD5.1 Decoder)
Infinity RS-5 - Front Left/Right Tower Speakers - $300 (each)
Infinity CC2 - Center Channel Speaker - $200
Infinity RS2 - Rear Left/Right Bookshelf Speakers - $200 (each)
Velodyne CT100 - Subwoofer - $400

Anyhow, overall I'm fairly happy with the quality when it comes to watching DVD movies, but I tend to feel that something is missing when it comes to music. It's hard to put my finger on, but there just seems to be a certain richness that is missing. In your experience, do you think I should have gone with Polk Audio speakers and maybe a Yamaha or Onkyo or Harman Kardon receiver?

A Most mass market receivers in the $500 price range are going to lack that richness you are talking about, for one reason or another, and I think that is where your problem is, not the speakers or other components. I would suggest one of the top end receivers and a larger subwoofer (15" - 18"). Use the CT100 with the center pre-out, and the new sub with the sub-out.

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