Q&A # 107 - March 16, 1999

Staff

Q You have mentioned projection screens with ratings in gain numbers, like 1.3 or 2.0. What exactly does this mean?

A The gain rating represents how reflective the screen is, with a flat matte white surface being defined as having a gain of 1.0. So, a screen with a gain of 1.3 is 30% brighter than a matte surface, and a screen with a gain of 2.0 is twice as reflective as the matte surface. The choice of gain depends on how dark your viewing room is, how big the projected image is, and how powerful the projector is. With higher gain comes the problem of hot spots and less ability to view from the side. Rear projection TVs come with a screen that has a gain of 4 - 5, so that is why they look bright when sitting directly in front, and the brightness falls off as you move to the side. Another feature that you need to consider when buying a screen is whether or not speakers will be situated behind it. In this case, perforated screens are in order.

Q I have purchased Klipsch KG 3.5 speakers for the beginnings of my two-channel home system. I am a little concerned about the "harshness" of the highs I have heard from these speakers, and wonder what I should be looking for in an amplifier/preamp that would "mellow-out" the harshness. Are there specific features/specifications that I should be looking at? Also, I have narrowed my choices to two brands, one is the Rotel RB-981 and the other is the Classe CAP-80 integrated amplifier. Would the Rotel help in mellowing out these overly-bright highs?

A When new speakers are brought home, it is very common for the tweeters to sound a bit harsh. New woofers can be somewhat tight as well, and they don't put out as much bass as they will later on, but the tweeter problem is more noticeable. They require a break-in period to loosen them up. So, before getting a new amplifier, let your system play at moderate loudness during the day while you are at work for a period of perhaps two weeks. It may take 50 hours - 100 hours of playing to get the tweeters broken in so that they sound the way they are supposed to sound. Preamplifiers and power amplifiers, and even some audio cables, can require break-in periods too. If they still sound bright after 100 hours of use, it may be the amplifier that you are using right now. In that case, look for a triode class A tube preamplifier, and/or perhaps a MOSFET power amplifier to smooth things out.

Q I commend you all for your wonderful work with this publication, and thank you for all the help you've provided in the past, for me and everyone who reads "Secrets".

Many, many times in your reviews, articles, and Q&A letters, you have advised against using DVD players as CD players, if one wants high quality CD audio performance. The primary reason you all have given is that the lasers in DVD players are optimized for DVD media (~640 nm) while CD media are better read with a ~780nm laser. While some may debate the merits of using 780 nm light versus 640 nm light to read audio CDs, I won't.

I would, however, like to bring up another aspect of this issue. Although you have not (to my knowledge) done an actual review of the Sony DVP-S7000 DVD player, or any Sony DVD players for that matter, it is apparent from several Q&A responses, and other various articles on this web site, that you have used a DVP-S7000 extensively. As most people who've done any amount of research into DVD players know, Sony uses two separate lasers in their DVD players: one 640 nm laser for DVD media, and one 780 nm laser for CD media. This would, then, invalidate your argument against using a DVD player as one's primary CD player in a hi-fi system. Further, many others around the HT and online worlds have even hailed the 7000's abilities as a CD player/transport. In fact, one
rumor had it that when the 7000's were highly discounted late last year, in anticipation of the DVP-S7700's release, they were being snatched up by audio enthusiasts, simply to be used as CD transports!

Regardless of the rumors or facts about the 7000, I am curious as to why, in all the times you've stated that DVD players do not make decent CD players, you've never mentioned Sony DVD players as an exception, especially the 7000. They do not use the DVD laser to read CDs, which is your primary reason against this. Is there some other reason why you don't mention the 7000 as a quality CD player?

I hope to hear from you about this. I own a 7700, and my roommate owns a Sony ES CD player. We have connected both of them to my Yamaha RX-V995, and I really prefer the 7700 for CDs. I know that my ears are the final judge for me. And what I hear in my system will not be changed by what I read in your reply. But, being that I do respect your opinions and knowledge, I am curious as to what, if any, reasons you have for never mentioning that the 7000 makes a darn good CD player/transport.

A Stacey Spears feels that the Sony 7000 sounds as good as the Sony ES CD player, but that it does not sound as good as high performance CD players. I don't know about the new 7700. But for all the single-laser DVD players out there now, they just don't perform like dedicated CD players, at least the ones we have listened to. Keep in mind these are merely our subjective opinions, not laws of physics. As to Sony equipment in general, it has been very difficult to convince their PR people to send us items for review. They seem to be very cautious (suspicious?) about the Internet. Nothing I can do about that for now. This is why we have not reviewed very many Sony components. We can't get them. You should let Sony know you would like us to review their stuff. That might help. We have done all we can to get their PR firm to put us in the loop.

Q I have heard some discussion of DVD-18 discs and whether or not some players will play them. What are they talking about?

A DVD-18 (meaning 18 gigabytes of data storage capability) discs are dual-sided and dual-layered. DVD-9 (9 gigabytes) discs are single-sided and dual-layered. You might also see the term "RSDL" which means Reverse Spiral Dual Layer. Dual-layered discs work by having the first part (layer 1) of the movie arranged on the disc from the center out to the outer rim and the second part (layer 2) arranged from the outer rim back to the center. Layer 2 is a reverse spiral in relation to layer 1, so that is why they call it "reverse spiral" and "dual layer", or "RSDL". All DVD players are supposed to be able to play both DVD-9 and DVD-18 discs. "The Stand", by Steven King, will be the first DVD-18 disc, whereas many DVD-9s are already out there.

Q A salesman told me that I couldn't use the subwoofer in my NHT 2.3 speakers with 5.1 digital surround sound and that I'd have to buy a separate sub to use with the LFE output from 5.1 receivers. Another salesman said I wouldn't have to buy a separate sub???

A This has to do with bass management. You can use the low frequency drivers in your existing speakers simply by routing the LFE channel to the main front speakers. All DD/DTS receivers can do this from the setup menu. However, I recommend having a good subwoofer regardless of this possibility, since there are plenty of great powered subwoofers these days that will go down to 20 Hz, and the woofers in most floorstanding speakers just can't handle the 20 Hz - 40 Hz octave like dedicated subwoofers can.

Q I have two pairs of Magnepan MGI speakers that are about 20 years old. I just had them factory re-wired and do not want to damage them. Can you recommend a home theater five or six channel power amp and preamp processor that will drive my 4 Ohm Maggies to there fullest? A center channel Maggie will come in about 10 days. I have a Hsu Research TN1220HO subwoofer with
their 500-watt amp and I am thinking about getting another subwoofer to run in parallel. I would like the preamp processor to have Dolby Digital and DTS with good flexibility in bass management. I need at least one component video in and output for my Toshiba 55" TV and S-Video to accommodate an upgrade to Direct TV. I can afford up to $6,000 for the combination. I want as much power as my dollars can get and possibly a DB-25 connection between components.

A This is a situation where a receiver with all the bells and whistles would be nice, but with an outboard power amplifier due to your 4 Ohm loads. However, to give yourself more choices, I would suggest connecting the component video from your DVD player directly to the TV and going through the receiver for the S-Video, or even going direct to the TV with the S-Video too. It means using the remote control to change the TV input, but you will not lose any signal that otherwise occurs when going through receiver/processor jacks and switches (unavoidable no matter how good they are). A great combination that comes to mind is the Yamaha DSP-A1 and the Cinepro 2k5 five-channel power amplifier. We have tested this pair together, and the sound is awesome. That setup will give you plenty of power and a stereo pair of subwoofer output jacks for your dual subwoofers. The DSP-A1 also has seven channels, with the front effects being the two extra channels. The power amplifier built into the DSP-A1 is fine for the front effects, and any pair of bookshelf speakers will work, since the front effects just add ambience and are best played at low level.

Q I have a Yamaha DSP-A1, Panasonic A-110 DVD player, Panasonic laserdisc player, Yamaha tuner, and a DD Sony DSS receiver. My Monitor is a Mits 40". My main speakers are Mirage M-7s, my center speaker is a Mirage MC-si, my rears are Sonance 7001s in wall speakers, and my sub is a Def Tech Power 1500. After long thought and consideration, I have decided to purchase the Mirage OM-6 over the Martin Logan Aerius. I listen to music 50% of the time, and the other 50% is home theater.

1. Do you think I made a good choice as far as home theater by choosing the OM-6 over the Aerius?

2. Since the OM-6s have built in power subs, can I set my Def tech sub to the lowest freq (50 Hz) for a more realistic theater sound that will only come to life during mothership, T-rex, and bombs scenes? And will this be a friendlier setting for music? Don't get me wrong, when it comes to house music (Dance/DJ) and DTS/DD movies, I want my foundation to shake, rattle and role.

3. What and how do you select the proper phase setting in the rear of my Def Tech sub?

A The OM-6s will be the better choice indeed, because the Aerius combined with your M-7s would give you tonal imbalances. Yes, set the Definitive Technology subwoofer to its lowest crossover frequency. This will give you deep bass without boominess for music and movies. For the phase adjustment, you just have to try all combinations and select the one that sounds best to your ears.

Q I am interested in purchasing some DVDs meant for distribution in the UK. Assuming that there is no regional coding, will these British discs work on my NTSC television?

A Yes, they will work. The discs are all the same except for the regional coding, and if your player can handle various regional codes, even those will play. The regional codes are meant to keep discs from one country (e.g., USA) from being played in another country (e.g., UK) before the movie is released in the second country's movie theaters, since movies are not released to theaters in all parts of the world at the same time. The player is responsible for outputting the video in NTSC or PAL for the respective TV. If your player were PAL and your TV were NTSC, then you would have a problem, but if your player is NTSC and your TV is NTSC, you are all set to rock and roll with whatever discs your player will play.

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