Q How do you tell if a widescreen movie is filmed with anamorphic lenses or regular lenses? It's obviously regular lenses with the 1.85:1 movies, but what about the 2.35:1 movies?

A Look at small out of focus lights behind the main subject in a night scene. For example, here (photo on left) is a shot from "L.A. Confidential" where two of the characters (Kevin Spacey and friend) are dancing, and there are Christmas tree lights on the other side of the room. Notice that the out of focus lights appear round. This means the movie was filmed with spherical lenses (conventional lenses). Now look at this night scene (photo on right, upper) from "The Jackal", where Bruce Willis is driving in a car. The out of focus lights seen behind the car through the rear window appear as vertical ovals. This is an indicator of anamorphic lenses (such as CinemaScope and Panavision) having been used. If you look at out of focus small objects during a daylight scene, such as this example from "The Jackal" (photo on right, lower), the objects often appear spherical even with anamorphic lenses because the depth of field is large due to use of a small lens aperture. This is why you need to look at night scenes when large lens apertures are used. Sometimes, the movie is filmed with spherical lenses, and the release print shown at the theater is anamorphic 2.35:1. In this case, the out of focus lights will still be spherical. Some of the older widescreen laserdiscs cropped CinemaScope and Panavision movies to 1.9:1, so you can't assume it is spherical just because of the aspect ratio. (All screen shots copyright respective studios.)

Q I bought a 200 watt per channel power amplifier to replace an 80 watt per channel amplifier, but when I set the volume control on my preamp at 9 o'clock, the loudness is about the same as it was with the 80 watt amplifier. Shouldn't it be louder with the 200 watt amp at that setting?

A This is a result of differences in sensitivity between the two amplifiers. The input sensitivity is the amount of voltage necessary to produce the rated output. It might be 0.5 volt on one amplifier and 0.75 volt on another. Your preamplifier is producing a fixed output voltage at the 9'oclock setting (assuming no attenuation due to wide variation between power amplifier input impedances), and undoubtedly, your 200 watt amplifier has a larger sensitivity value to produce the rated output, meaning that it takes more preamplifier voltage to produce the 200 watts than your old power amplifier required to produce 80 watts. This is a good thing though, because otherwise, you would probably be getting more volume than you wanted at the 9 o'clock setting on the volume control, and this would cause you to have a very narrow range of acceptable volume adjustment on the control. The bottom line is that you will be able to turn it up a little more without clipping, and at the 9 o'clock setting, you will have better dynamics without distortion when the high impact sounds come along.

Q My old Mitsubishi VHS VCR has finally given up the ghost. I want to purchase an S-VHS VCR since I want to record off of DSS. In addition, I would like to be able to do some basic editing since I have a Sony TRV-62 camcorder. What would be the most inexpensive option that would accomplish these objectives? I have heard mixed results on JVC's 5400 series but it is in the affordable range. Are there other SVHS VCRs in this price point that I should consider?

A This is a very tricky point to be purchasing high resolution VCRs because of the advent of HDTV this Fall. Digital VCRs are just around the corner in terms of mass market, and a few "Early Adopter" models are already available. These will be the best choice for recording DSS once the DSS broadcast signals are available as digital bitstreams out of the decoder, and also with HDTV digital signals. But as for S-VHS, Mitsubishi makes a couple of S-VHS VCR models. I would suggest the lower priced model of the two.

Q I already own a hi-fi system, and I want to add a home cinema system. I read a book that says all I have to do is just buy a surround processor, center channel speaker, two surround speakers and a three channel amplifier. My friend told me that I can still get my hi-fi sounds from my preamp by just bypassing the signal through the surround processor. But I don't know whether every surround processor has the bypass channel. So, my question is whether every surround processor such as the EAD Theatermaster Encore has a bypass channel.

A The bypass needs to be in your preamplifier, not in the surround sound processor. Some preamps have a "Processor Loop" that routes the two channel input from the preamp to the surround sound processor, and the processor routes the front left/right of the decoded Pro Logic back to the preamplifier. You can also use a tape loop on the preamplifier if it does not have the processor loop. This will accomplish the same thing. When in DD or DTS mode, the processor loop on the preamplifier will give you the front left/right output of the surround sound processor back to the preamp as well. The two outputs of the preamplifier are connected to the front left/right power amplifier, so that when you are using your system as two channel hi-fi, the CD player goes through the preamplifier to the power amplifier without having to pass through switches in the surround sound processor.

Q I had just renovated my house and realized that my rear speaker wire laid in the false ceiling is not long enough to reach the receiver end for one of the speakers. The other speaker, however, has lots of extra. Each of the speaker wires is now 25 meters long. My questions are below:

a) Is there a better way to extend the shorter wire or can I just simply buy the same type of wire and join them together so that it is long enough
to reach the receiver end?

b) I read that it is not advisable to have different lengths of the speaker wire connected to the speaker. Is it true? Does that mean that I cannot
cut the longer wire and using the extra, connect to and extend the shorter wire? Does that mean that if I choose not to cut the extra wire, I have
to buy additional length to connect to both wires so that both are same length?

A Purists would say that the cables to each pair of speakers should be the same length, but it probably does not make any discernible difference, unless one were 5 feet long and the other were 75 feet long. If you have one at 75 feet and the other is 65 feet, I would not worry about it (except for possible signal loss due to this extraordinarily long cable in the first place). However, you should be careful when connecting two cables together. Make sure you have a good solder joint, and not a cold one (the solder should look shiny instead of dull). Use a wire nut, bend the last few inches of each cable near the joint together, and wrap the joint, including the complete bend, with plenty of electrical tape. The taped bend will prevent the joint from coming apart if you pull on the cables (inevitable when working with them). For such a long cable run as yours, it would be best to have 12 - 13 gauge wire, available in bulk at electronic super market stores (such as Fry's Electronics in the San Francisco Bay Area). This will lower the resistance and lessen the signal loss.

Q I am a little confused. While on-line with a few HT forums, I read that the Yamaha RX-V992 has a bigger and better power supply than the RX-V793. The Yamaha Infostation lead me to believe that these receivers are almost identical. The only differences that are evident are: the 992 has a servo motor driven volume control, it enables you to listen to 2 channels at the same time, and it has a sub volume control. Is the 793 that different, internally? There is also about a 5 pound increase in weight with the 992, and whether that accounts for the better power supply or the extra features, I do not know. Also on another forum there seems to be definite bias towards the Denon AVR-3200. How does this stack up against the Yamahas mentioned above?

A The 793 is a later design than the 992. I believe Yamaha sold out of some of the 92 series and put out a couple of the later models earlier than they had planned. The 992 has more inputs than the 793 and also more DSP modes. Both receivers have the same power output rating, and both have DD built-in. It is hard to say what is the reason for the difference in weight without having them both here to examine. Neither has a set of 5.1 input jacks, so connection with DTS processors is more difficult, but can be done since both receivers have pre-outs for all channels (the DTS processor would go between the pre-outs of the receiver and an outboard five channel power amplifier). The Denon 3200 is a good receiver (we tested it), and has DD built-in, along with a set of 5.1 input jacks for a DTS decoder, but since it has pre-out jacks only for the front left/right and center channels, you can only connect a three-channel outboard power amplifier and have to make do with the onboard power amplifiers for the rear channels. Bottom line: no receiver has every desired feature. Due to the availability of new decoding chips, the next generation of receivers will decode all the formats, including DD and DTS. But, if you want to have lots of power, it will still be important to look for pre-outs so you can add an outboard power amplifier capable of delivering, say, 150 watts - 200 watts per channel.

Q My current system is the following:

Yamaha RX-V490 (driving rear and center)
Pioneer SX-303R (driving fronts)
Paradigm Monitor 5
Paradigm Atom
Paradigm CC-150

plus a cassette audio tape deck, CD changer, and mono VCR. I also have a 26" TV with no S-Video inputs.

You originally highly recommended the Sunfire MkII subwoofer, but a local dealer said that the price on the Sunfire was a reflection of its small
size rather than its ability to play loud and deep. He mentioned that I could get similar performance in my 20' x 15' x 10' listening room with an NHT SW2-P, a sub which I've also heard good things about, and costs less than half the price of the Sunfire.

I've taken the NHT sub home and am in the middle of auditioning it. I have some questions which I hope you will be so good as to answer for me:

1. I've watched "Heat" (well, just the explosion on the armored truck in the very beginning) and most of "Jurassic Park" with the sub turned up just high enough that it doesn't feel too thumpy, and while it certainly made a tremendous difference, the explosion scene felt like the sub cut out at a certain low frequency, and the scenes from Jurassic Park just didn't have the gut-thumping impact it did in the theater. Will the Sunfire go low enough to fix these anomalies, or am I spoiled by frequent movie watching?

2. The salesman mentioned also that in the price range of the Sunfire there are quite a few other models that are worth taking a look at, naming Velodyne, M&K, and PSB as the top contenders. I have read the reviews of the HGS-10, but what are your feelings on these other subs, all priced around $1000?

3. If I turn it up more than a little, the sub feels thumpy, and it overpowers the midrange and high frequencies, making the music seem muddled, and making me a little dizzy after prolonged listening periods (I ignored this at first because I was having so much fun playing with my new toy). Is this a problem with the sub, or with the placement in my room?

4. What are your opinions of the NHT SW-2P? It is the model which was replaced by the SW-2Pi, and I got it for $400, slightly used. The dealer suggested that I try it out, saying that it rumbles his listening room, which is slightly larger than mine. I trusted his recommendation, since he had already stated that he would order a Sunfire for me, and was pushing a lower priced model. He also hinted that it might not be good sytem-building strategy to have a $1000 sub, when the mains are only $500 speakers, and said that the NHT would be good enough to stay with me as I upgrade the other speakers. Is this true?

5. You have recommended in the past that users who have receivers with no sub out should hook up the sub via the tape out. This works, but is there any way to make it so that I don't have to adjust the sub volume every time I adjust the receiver volume?

6. Putting the NHT sub amplifier in my component stack makes it run pretty hot, and now that I have six components intead of the two I had last August, I am afraid that I might be hurting something (in particular, the components on the bottom, and the amps, which don't have much airflow above their heat vents). Is there some sort of inexpensive way to separate the components, with maybe a nice side-effect of improving the sound, or will I have to bite the bullet and pick up a component shelf/rack?

7. If the NHT is indeed good enough for my listening room and current system, then I have a $600-700 dollar overflow in my budget, which I'd like to spend on some new toys. Auditioning the sub in the store by watching T2 opened my eyes to the superb picture quality of DVD, so my top contenders are: Receiver, probably the Yamaha 992, DVD player, possibly the Sony DVP-300, Hi-Fi VCR, another sub (another local store is selling a used Paradigm PS-1200 for half the list price). What component would you recommend upgrading first, and what would you suggest buying with the money? I mentioned this question to the dealer, and he told me that the 992 is a piece of junk. He recommended Sony's 80-ES, Onkyo's 919, and Denon's AVR-3200 over the Yamaha. What are your comparitive thoughts on this advice?

Well, that's all, for now. Sorry to take advantage of you, but you have provided excellent advice in the past, and I cannot find any other sources
as knowledgable whom I am not afraid have their own agenda (dealers who are trying to sell what they have, for example).

A What you have here is a good example of human nature at work. We all like to think we are altruistic to some degree, but in the final analysis, we look out for ourselves first. So, here is the scenario: Inventory costs money just to keep it on hand because the money used to buy the inventory could be earning interest in the bank. As a result, retailers like to sell what they have on hand instead of ordering something for the customer. The comment he gave you about a $1,000 sub not being good strategy because your main speakers are $500 is a crock of nonsense. Powered subwoofers have the amplifier as part of the cost. The Sunfire and the HGS-10 are expensive because they use new digital switching technology that delivers more than 1,000 watts of amplifier power, and the drivers are highly engineered to have a long throw. These two factors (amplifier power and linear voice coil excursion capability) determine the performance. A good sub moves a lot of air, and it takes a big amplifier to do that with a 10" driver. Also, the lower priced subwoofers are not really designed to play loud without harmonic distortion. That distortion is what you are hearing as muddiness when you crank it up. This is pretty much the case with the entry level models of all brands to one degree or another. There is really no way around having to pay good money for a good subwoofer. In the $1,000 - $1,500 price range, the Sunfire and Velodyne HGS-10 are top notch. Each will go down to 20 Hz with no problem. The Sunfire plays a little louder, while the Velodyne is a little cleaner. Give a listen to both of these before you make your final decision, but with either one, there goes your extra $600, and it will be $600 very well spent.

Besides a subwoofer out jack, the only other way to control the subwoofer volume with the main volume is to use a y connector between the pre-out jacks of the front left/right and the inputs of an outboard power amplifier. One branch of the y goes to the power amplifier input and the other goes to the subwoofer line level input jack. However, I have found that I often need to change the subwoofer volume separately in any case, because at low overall volume, I want more bass than occurs when I just reduce the main volume control. So, I don't sweat the fact I am adjusting more than one control when I change the volume because I am getting a better listening experience by doing it that way.

With so many components stacked one on top of the other, you could indeed generate too much heat for one or more of them. An A/V rack is the best choice, but in lieu of that, you could use some spacers in between the components. The most important ones to vent properly are the receiver and power amplifier because they generate lots of heat. Racquet balls cut in half would work, and they are very inexpensive. You could cut a 2" wooden dowel in 1 1/2" pieces and place them under the component feet to separate the components. You might need a couple of felt furniture pads to take care of any uneveness of the dowel pieces. You need to be careful in stacking them so that they don't fall over. You probably don't need spacers on top of laserdisc players, DVD players, or VCRs, because they don't generate much heat, so this will make the stack less likely to topple. On the other hand, you could use some felt furniture pads by themselves for spacing these particular items. After you stack it all, see how stable it is by pushing carefully on the side. If it wobbles too much, then get a dedicated A/V rack.

As to the receiver, everyone has their own opinion, but I usually find that salespeople will tell you that what they sell is the best choice, and the product lines they don't carry are junk. If you plan to upgrade to DD and DTS (take a look at the results of our latest poll on this subject), make sure the receiver you buy is capable of doing it. This means having a set of 5.1 input jacks if DD and DTS are not built-in. It also means having a set of pre-out jacks for all channels if you want to have an outboard power amplifier (highly recommended for use with digital surround sound).

Q What is a good solution for rear surround speakers? Dipole, bipole or direct?

A This will depend on two things: the layout of your listening room and your sonic preferences. For a room that has no walls on one or both sides of the listening area, direct speakers would work best, even if you mounted them on the wall behind you or on the ceiling. If you have side walls near the sitting position, then you can use anything you want. With Pro Logic, bipoles and dipoles are very nice because they diffuse the mono sound and give it some ambiance. For DD and DTS, it really is just a matter of how focused a sound you like. I find that digital surround often gives a too focused rear, for example, a police radio sound effect. So, even though I have floorstanding direct speakers in the rear, I aim them toward the center of the room rather than directly at my sitting position. Dipoles or bipoles would probably be better for me, but they are difficult to place in my room. But, for the record, direct will give you the most focused sound, bipoles will give something less focused, and dipoles will give the least focused sound. If you like a huge soundstage, bipoles and dipoles are great, even in the front.

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