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Q I own a Toshiba SD-3107 DVD player and a standard 4:3 Mitsubishi TV. In the function menu for the DVD player, you are asked to choose the aspect ratio of the TV. If you choose 4:3, then you are asked to choose your preference of pan & scan or letterbox. However, switching between these two choices does not seem to make any difference in the way the disc actually ends up being displayed. I enjoy seeing the widescreen versions of films, but many people I talk to are frustrated by the reduced size of the picture. Is there a way to watch a DVD that is mastered in 2.35 widescreen in any fuller frame display? Is the menu choice for picture display just another DVD feature that will never be taken advantage of?
A When
DVD was first being shown at the CES in Las Vegas a few years
ago, they demonstrated what they referrred to as being a switch
between letterbox and P&S. However, this feature has not been
used as such. DVD producers have, instead, put letterbox (widescreen)
versions and P&S versions separately on the disc and you choose
which one you want to watch. At least, that is what they did at
first. Now, many of them only have the widescreen versions. The
technique of using one version to show it either way (widescreen
or P&S) just never worked properly, and it became more cost
effective just to put both versions on the disc.
Q I
have a Yamaha DSP-A3090 receiver that is AC-3 ready. I am in the
process of buying a DVD player. My question is, do I have to buy
a DVD player that has a built-in decoder or can I get by with
a player that doesn't have one? It seems that some players have
a built-in decoder and some do not. This part confuses me. Could
you please help?
A The
term "AC-3 Ready" or "Dolby Digital Ready"
is a little confusing, because it might imply that DD decoding
is built-in or that it has the connections for an outboard decoder
(it is supposed to mean the latter). The 3090 has AC-3 (Dolby
Digital - DD) decoding built-in, so any DVD player will work just
fine with this processor/amplifier. To be certain as to what you
are buying when shopping for a receiver, check to make sure that
it has DD (and DTS if you want it) decoding built-in if you are
planning to use it with a DVD or laserdisc player. The rear panel
will have digital input jacks and perhaps an AC-3 RF input jack
for use with a laserdisc player. There are many new receivers
now that have DD and DTS decoding from about $800 and up, and
DD decoding for about $350 and up. DVD players with DD decoding
built-in have 5.1 output jacks (RCA) for all five channels plus
the subwoofer (called the LFE channel), and can be used with receivers
that have a set of 5.1 inputs (the ones that are usually called
"AC-3 Ready"). However, using the 5.1 outputs from a
DVD player with the 5.1 inputs on a receiver bypasses the DSP
modes ("70 mm Spectacle", etc.) available on most receivers.
But it will save money, and it does work.
Q I
really enjoy reading Secrets (especially the Q&A section)
and eagerly await each issue, as I find your approach to audio
and home theater to be a sensible mix of high end aspirations
with real world budgetary constraints. Due in part to your recommendation,
I have a Toshiba SD-3107 DVD player and am very satisfied with
its Dolby Digital playback performance. However, it doen't have
the DTS logo on the faceplate and the manual makes no reference
to DTS playback capability. Do you know if it is DTS capable?
If not, is there any hope that Toshiba will make any sort of retrofit
(replacement chip, etc.) available to enable DTS playback? I would
hate to spend $500 to replace it so soon after getting it.
A I
had been told that a processor manufacturer was going to be marketing
a chip for the Toshiba, but it never materialized. I guess it
was not financially prudent due to the length of time it took
to finalize the flagging method for recognizing DTS bitstreams
on DVDs. The 3107 does not play DTS DVDs. I had another model
Toshiba with the same problem, and I had to buy a new DVD player
to get DTS capability with DVDs. Now we are waiting for DTS DVDs.
Fortunately, DTS CDs can be played with your Toshiba, and DTS
laserdiscs can be played with any laserdisc player that has a
digital output. Frankly, I don't think you are missing much with
your present Toshiba because there is only one DTS DVD that has
been released, while there are more than 2,000 DD DVDs out there.
So, don't worry about it. Just enjoy the many DD DVDs available,
because by the time DTS DVDs are available in any significant
number, you will probably be ready for a new DVD player anyway.
The forward compatibility issue is the price that we pay for being
early adopters.
Q Recently,
I've been looking for a 5.1 home theater system, and I stumbled
across an incredible deal. The Carver Cinema 5.2 system can be
bought online for $699+$130 shipping from www.costco.com! I can't
believe it. This system used to retail for $2,499. After reading
Stacey Spears' review (of the 5.1 system), in which he says "These
speakers are very musical, and a downright steal at $1,699. ",
I'm simply dumbfounded. This has to be one of the best home theater
deals around right now. I guess my only concern is powering these
babies. 50 watts into 4 Ohms is the minimum recomendation? I plan
on buying a new Yamaha RX-V2095 soon, but in the meantime I'll
be using a 50 watt into 8 Ohm receiver. Is there any chance I
will damage my receiver and/or speakers by trying to use these
together (I don't mind a low volume for a while)? The manual for
my receiver doesn't mention 4 Ohm support anywhere.
A The
low price is because Carver Corporation cancelled production of
these speakers when they had a financial crisis. Although Bob
Carver has taken over, and the company will undoubtedly make a
good recovery, the speaker series are still not being manufactured,
so it really is a great deal. You should be careful when driving
them with a receiver though, since low impedance is not receivers'
forte. Just keep the volume down until you can afford to get an
outboard five channel power amplifier, which would be recommended
for these speakers even though the 2095 has a pretty big set of
amplifiers (we will be publishing a review of this receiver shortly).
Q I
have a good home theater system, but I am using and older, passive,
Optimus subwoofer fron Radio Shack. I power it with a bridged
75 watt Pioneer amplifier; but my subwoofer doesn´t have
a crossover frequency control, so I put an old but mint working
Pioneer equalizer with a 12 band control for each channel (I use
it in mono) to process the signal before it enters the amplifier.
Thus, I can control the exact frequency that reaches the sub.
Am I doing the correct thing?, Or is the frequency response of
the sub already given by the maker and my tweaking is almost meaningless?
Which frequencies should I give preference to for a better performance?
A Actually,
you are doing the exact right thing. I would suggest turning the
sliders all the way down for the frequencies above about 50 Hz
or so, and then fine tuning the frequencies below that as suits
your tastes in your own listening room. For example, at 31.5 Hz,
you might find that the slider needs to be turned down a bit,
since this seems to be a frequency that resonates in many rooms.
You can also turn down the frequencies below 25 Hz, and this will
improve the amplifier's performance as well as the subwoofer driver.
Q My
front speakers of my home theater system are not shielded. How
far away from the TV should they be located so as not to affect
the picture on the TV?
A I
would say a minimum of about 12 inches, but actually, you can
easily spot the effect of speaker magnets on the TV. You will
see the edges of the image turning purple. It is not a permanent
effect though, so you can experiment with the placement. Move
your speakers right up next to the TV to see the artifact, and
then slowly move them away until the artifact disappears. I notice
the problem more with center channel speakers that have to be
placed on top of direct view TVs. I have not experienced this
difficulty with front left/right speakers, even unshielded ones,
but I don't have to place them right up against the TV like I
do with the center channel speaker.
Q I
am currently using a DSP-A1 connected to an external two-channel
vaccum tube amplifier. (1) Even though my external amp is rated
at 100 w/ch (the DSP-A1 is rated at 150w/ch in stereo mode), it
seems to sound a lot louder than the Yamaha such that I have to
adjust the center and rear channels of the Yamaha to a +6 db gain
in order to balance all five channels. Is this being too stressful
on the DSP-A1? Should I do it the other way around by lowering
the gain on the external amplifier instead? (2) Somebody suggested
that I get another high quality tube preamplifier with a processor
loop in order to get the most out of my power amp. But I am actually
quite happy with my DSP-A1 pre-out performance right now. My budget
only allows me to go for, say, a Sonic Frontier Line 1 preamp
($3200 Cdn) at the most. Will this give me any noticeable sonic
difference at all?
A The
loudness differences you are experiencing are due to the input
sensitivity of the various amplifiers (the amount of voltage required
to drive them to a certain level). You can balance the loudness
either way you described with the same results. Since you are
happy with the two channel tube amp and the rest of the channels
through the DSP-A1's power amplifiers, there is no reason to buy
another tube amplifier. There would be a difference in the sound
quality (improvement) though, if you did decide to buy a three
channel tube power amplifier at a later date.
Q I'm
interested in getting a three or four way active crossover. I
understand that they are fairly common in car audio, but I'm having
a hard time finding one for home audio. I don't want to spend
too much as I'm gettting ready to pay for next semester's tuition.
I build a lot of speakers, and I always keep the crossovers outside
of the boxes to ensure I can upgrade things easily. My speakers
would lend themselves wonderfully to the use of an active crossover.
Perhaps you can recommend a flexible (rolloff, phase, f3 point)
active crossover, or at least give me some hints on what to look
for in one.
A I've
been searching around for one of these too, but they are terribly
expensive. Marchand Electronics (http://www.marchandelec.com)
has kits that look pretty interesting.