Q&

Q&A - #11 - May 5, 1997
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Q I was on the point of purchasing a pair of Sunfire subs when I read the April 1997 issue of Audio Magazine and noticed where on page 8, Letters, Tom Nousaine claims that the Sunfire manages "a little less than 100 dB over the range from 25 to 60 Hz". The Sensible Sound review gave the average SPL in the range of 20 to 48 Hz as 120 dB!

Who is telling the truth?

A Test results are a matter of how they are gathered. In the case of subwoofers, placement in a corner, as is recommended for the Sunfire, results in higher SPL. The size of the room and its contents also affect the measurements. We did not measure the Sunfire Subwoofer's output from its placement in a corner, because we don't test any sub that way. The corner boosts the output. So to fairly measure the sub against all others we have tested, we placed the Sunfire in the same position as the others, namely, out from the wall and not in a corner.

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Q What is the trend of home entertainment for the next 5 years? I have the feeling that computers are intruding into the A/V world. Is it possible that in the near future we will have a computer which acts as a control panel for all home entertainment equipment? Just want to know in which area should I spend my money.

A If I (JEJ) knew the answer to your question, I would stop publishing this magazine and spend all my time in the stock market! However, I do think that the computer will become more and more a part of our everyday lives as time marches on. As I mentioned in the last Q&A, I feel that it won't be long before we walk into our homes and use a TV touch screen (probably LCD or gas plasma) to turn off the burglar alarm, adjust the lights, check mail, and turn on the hi-fi or television. Each room will probably have a touch screen for various functions, somewhat like the multi-level LCD remote controls that are now available. I don't think that they will interfere with the audio and video components we have now. The touch screen controls will just turn them on and off, and adjust them.

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Q I have a small home theater (12' x 11') with wall-to-wall carpet on the floor. The walls are drywall and a large stuffed couch is along the back wall. I have a 52" RCA TV in the front of the room and a cabinet along one of the side walls to hold the electronics. I am looking for advice on the best way to acoustically treat the room to improve the sound. I do not want to cover all of the walls and I cannot fit any more furniture in the room (e.g., using a bookcase as a diffuser). I would like to make my own treatments to save money. Do you have any suggestions? Thanks.

A Commercial room treatments are the best, but they are, indeed, quite expensive. If you want to do your own, I would suggest the following: go to a bed linen store (sheets, pillows, etc.) and get what they call an "Egg carton foam mattress pad". The one we got was king size (about 6' x 7'). It has an irregular surface and is 1" - 2" thick. Ours was 2" thick and cost $35. You can get single bed sizes too. Then, attach it to the wall with push pins (get the ones with long shanks that are sold in art supply stores). One big pad should go on the wall between the two front speakers, and one smaller pad on each side wall. Place them so that a line drawn from the speakers goes to the pad and out to you as the listener (i.e., where the sound would be reflected off the wall from the speakers and reach you in your listening position). Frankly, these are not very attractive, but they do the job almost as well as the commercial room treatments. You can also use artistic rugs as wall hangings (they don't absorb sound as well as the foam pads, but they are a heck of lot nicer to look at). For example, a 5' x 7' Oriental carpet on the wall between the two front speakers, and one 4' x 5' carpet on each of the side walls. Home Depot and Price Club have carpets at reasonable prices. You would have to use heavier mounting hardware for these since they weigh more than the mattress pads. For the corners, get some polyfil (polyester cotton that is used to stuff pillows) at the linen store or arts and crafts supply store. Sew loose-weave cloth triangles together about 12" x12" x12" with one edge open, stuff them with the polyfil to about 2" thick, and finish sewing them up. Use pushpins to attach them in the top of the room corners near the ceiling. One horizontal edge goes up against the ceiling, and the bottom corner of the triangle then goes down where the two walls meet. They should be angled downward so that, if they were mirrors, you would be able to see yourself in them if you sat in the center of the room.

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Q I see in one of your articles that you blast the Pioneer DVD combi player into the ground. Up until I read that article, all I had heard were good words about this player, and as a matter of fact was about to purchase one myself, but after reading your article I am hesitant to.

Are you sure that all you have stated is right on? I just do not see how so many folks praise the unit, but you find so many faults. Are the faults you see (and hear) in the unit only able to be seen by a video pro like yourself, or will they be seen by everyday consumers like me? Possibly could the problems have been from the presenters of the units not knowing what they were doing?

The Pioneer seems to be the only reasonably priced unit that will play DVD, LD, and CD all in one package. Are there any other manufacturers that offer a combi player like this that are better than the Pioneer DVL-700 for the same price (around $900)? Would I be better off to purchase a good LD player now for $800-$900 and then a year from now purchase a DVD player?

A I (Stacey Spears) have read several reviews praising it as well, but these reviews were about the LD portion. At the time of the reviews they did not have any DVD software to test it.

I am holding off taking another look at the Pioneer units until Video Essentials DVD comes out. This should be in the next few weeks and will allow me to look at both movies and test material. Hopefully I will have a couple more DVD players to compare it with too.

Pioneer is the only company presently offering a combi player. There is at least one other company thinking about a combi player, but they will use the Pioneer transport if they decide to do it.

I would purchase either a DVD player or an LD player now, then down the road purchase the other unit. I have been slowly replacing my LD collection with the DVD counterparts as they arrive. In most cases, the DVD has been better.

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Q With the advent of DVD and Dolby Digital I have decided to sell my old Dolby Pro Logic system and start fresh. I started by buying NHT 2.5is for the front speakers and NHT Audio Center One for the center channel. I have home-made speakers for the rear surrounds and a Mirage sub-woofer. My question is this, my budget is about $1,500. Is it best to go for an A/V receiver or are there separates that fit into my budget? I also like the idea of being able to add a DTS decoder in the future.

A Since you want to be able to add DTS, I would recommend getting one of the receivers that has a set of 5.1 inputs, along with pre-ins and pre-outs. You will also need a DD decoder. These two items will be in the $1,500 range (total). You will be able to add the DTS decoder later, as well as more powerful amplifiers if you choose. To do everything with separates at the start would cost more than your allotted budget. Within a year, there should be a number of receivers that have DD and DTS built-in, but for fine speakers like the NHTs, I still feel it is important to have the capability of adding a good outboard 5 channel power amp (needs pre-outs on the receiver).