Q&A # 113 - April 27, 1999

Staff

Q I have not yet made the transition to DD and DTS. I have a 5-year old Carver HR-875 and really like the sound. I recently tried out an HK AVR-85 from Circuit City. Of course the movie was better at the theater, but in stereo I can honestly say my Carver sounded better than the HK. I had a couple of friends over that were not biased, and they emphatically chose the Carver in a comparison. I was happy (I've got a nice receiver) and sad (I wouldn't be happy with the 85). I really don't know what to do to upgrade, because I want DD. I was told by a lady at a mail order company that supposedly knew Bob Carver, that Carver would be back up and running this summer with some new products. Do you have the same positive opinion about Bob's stuff and can therefore suggest another brand that you think would make me happy? Also, I recently tried to connect the Technics SHAC-500D Decoder to my Carver and it sounded terrible. I had no control over the sound whatsoever from my receiver, not even volume. The receiver has pre-outs/main-ins for all 5 channels, and I was told this would work. Have you tried this with an older receiver like mine?

A Some of the old two-channel receivers have better power amplifiers than some of the surround sound receivers manufactured in the early 1990s. However, that is changing, and good amplifiers are appearing again in receivers. The problem stems from suddenly having to provide consumers with five channels of power amplification instead of two. Keeping costs down meant lowering the quality of the power amplifiers. Rear channels were the worst, being relegated to amplifiers on a chip. Center channel amplifiers were not as good as the front left/right amplifiers, in spite of the center channel needing the most power. They seemed to have learned their lesson though, and now, even mid-priced receivers have equal power in all five channels.

Main-ins are not the same thing as having a set of 5.1 inputs, because main-ins usually are just line-level inputs to the power amplifiers, bypassing the volume control. The 5.1 inputs, on the other hand, pass through the volume control, but not through DSP circuits. What I would suggest doing is getting another receiver, and using the power amplifiers on your old receiver with the pre-outs on the new receiver. This will use your old power amps that you like, and lift some of the strain from the power amplifiers in the new receiver. Get a new receiver that has DD and DTS decoding built-in, along with pre-ins and pre-outs. That way, you are prepared for anything. Yes, I do like Bob Carver's products. We have lots of them here in the lab. However, if you cannot wait until Carver Corporation is back in production, you could either purchase a Sunfire Theater Grand processor, which Bob also designed, or something like a Yamaha RX-V795 or RX-V995 receiver.

Q I just ordered DSS (Direct TV) and was wondering what is the best way to configure my system. In particular, I am interested in the best way to connect my VCR. It seems to me that there are a multitude of options that each have their strengths and weaknesses. Robert Harley recommends, in his book on Home Theater, connecting the VCR directly to the preamp (Proceed AVP); this allows for recording any source (DSS, TV, DVD, tuner, etc.) but would seem to require that the preamp be left on in order to record when one isn't home and to require the DSS receiver and VCR to be programmed. Is there a less complex approach?

A The way I would do it is to use a set of Y connectors with one set of the two analog RCA audio outputs from the DSS receiver to your VCR, and the other set to your TV. To get the best video signal to your TV, you should use the S-Video output from your DSS receiver directly to your TV. Assuming you have a regular VHS VCR, use the composite video output from the DSS receiver to the VCR. This way, you won't have to turn on the VCR to watch TV, nor will you have to turn on your preamp to record a TV program while you are away from home. You can't record anything from DVDs anyway, so that connection doesn't need to go though the VCR. The only possible difficulty I can think of is the simultaneous use of composite video jacks (RCA) and S-Video jacks from one source (DSS). Sometimes, a component is designed so you can use one or the other, but not both at the same time. In this case, it may be necessary to disconnect the S-Video cable when you are recording something so that the composite video RCA jack is active. Make sure you try the entire configuration out before you leave home expecting to record a favorite program while you are gone. Otherwise, you might return to find a video tape that has sound but no picture.

Q I need some advice on a subwoofer hookup that I'm planning. I have Harman Kardon AVR-75 receiver, but it is only used as a preamp/decoder. I am using a five-channel Carver AV-705x to power the front three and a Carver HTR 880 pro logic reciever being used just to power up the surrounds via the tape monitor since it does not have pre-outs. I am also using a powered subwoofer from the sub-out of the AVR-75. I also have another subwoofer connected via speaker level inputs from an integrated tube amp as a dedicated music system totally independent from the home theater setup. My question is, can I connect the HTR 880's sub-out to the music subwoofer using line level connection to maximize the lower frequencies that are coming from the surround speakers especially during Dolby Digital playback? Will there be any adverse effect since this sub will be simultaneously connected to both the surround sound system and my music system?

A As far as I can tell, there should be no problem. However, to play it as safely as possible, use one channel of the subwoofer, e.g., the left channel line level input on the subwoofer, for the surround sound receiver input, and the other channel of the subwoofer, i.e., the right channel speaker level input on the subwoofer, for the tube amplifier. This way, you could accidentally have the surround sound receiver and the tube amplifier on at the same time, along with the subwoofer, and not cause any electrical problems. (However, I would suggest not turning them both on just to see what happens.)

Q I just bought a Pioneer 606 DVD player and have connected it to my Denon 2700. The problem is on some DVD rentals I get only French audio and cannot get the English. Some movies are fine. It seems to occur just on the DVDs that say "English: 5.1, French: Dolby 2.0" on the back of the box. I don't speak French. The sound track otherwise seems OK. I have worked my way through all the help menus and can't locate anything that I may have done incorrectly. Please help. I want to watch some movies.

A Are the titles you are having these problems with coming from a specific studio like Paramount or Fox? They have disabled the audio button on the remote when viewing the movie. To change the soundtrack you must go into the menu on the DVD and select the correct soundtrack. Also you might want to look at the Pioneer setup menu and see which language you have your player set to default to.

Q I'm a musician, so audio quality is of great importance to me. At the same time, being a musician, I have a limited budget. I'm about to purchase a Yamaha RX-V995 home theater receiver, and am thinking about purchasing speakers from Cambridge SoundWorks, a company several friends (whose opinions I trust) have recommended to me, two of whom are respected studio engineers who have access to all the latest and greatest pro-audio equipment. I would like to know your opinion of CSW's speakers, as well as possible recommendations within their product line. While I am most concerned with CD audio quality, I would like a setup that is well-balanced for HT use.

I do like what I've read about CSW speakers (I also use their MicroWorks speakers for my PC, which I love), but I'm skeptical about the company's recommendations for 5.1-channel setups. For example, one of the speakers I'm interested in for the front L/R channels is the New Ensemble, which is a sub/sat pair. CSW recommends what is essentially a satellite pair for the surround channels; however, my thought is that, especially for DD 5.1, the rear speakers should have timbral properties identical to the front speakers. In addition, I'm thinking about their CenterChannel Plus or CenterStage speaker for the center channel and their best subwoofer (or a Velodyne). I would greatly appreciate your thoughts/suggestions.

A CSW seems to be a good value for the dollar. I would suggest that you follow your instincts about the rear sat idea and get the same speakers for the front and the rear. Secondly, since it is obvious you will be getting into 5.1 digital surround, I would suggest that you get four of their floorstanding speakers rather than a sub/sat combo. This will give you the full range sound that is present in not only movie soundtracks, but 5.1 CDs (such as the "Holzt: The Planets" DTS CD I reviewed recently), and 5.1 DVD audio discs. I would also suggest a top notch subwoofer, such as the Velodyne HGS-10 or HGS-12, which will give you the pedal notes for pipe organ classical music. I use a 10" Sunfire high-powered sub in one of my music reference systems, and it adds the lowest octave (20 Hz - 40 Hz) that I just can't get from most floorstanding speakers.

Q I have just upgraded my CD player. I mostly listen to my favorite CDs (classical and pop too) with headphones (AKG K-501). Some CD players (including high quality ones) have a headphone jack (sometimes gold-plated) with a volume control. I would like to know if they are good enough for my headphones. Is the headphone amplifier needless in this case? Can I get the same quality from the headphone jack as from the output of the CD player? I am interested mainly in Marantz and Technics CD players.

A A typical headphone jack uses an op-amp, which is not very good quality (about $2). If you want the very best sound for your headphones, then get a headphone amplifier and take the output directly from the audio-out jacks on your CD player rather than the headphone jack.

Q Two of us here in the office are experimenting with a Technics receiver and tactile transducers. We are attempting to hook up using the 0.1 of the 5.1 channels for the transducer, since we are using the sub line-out for a powered sub. Do you think this will work?

A Yes, it should work. However, you should note that some movies don't have any signal in the 0.1 channel. So, you might want to use a Y connector from the sub-out on the receiver, and feed one leg of the Y to the line-in on your powered subwoofer, while the other leg goes to the amplifier for your tactile transducer. This will also give you tactile activity when viewing any movie, whether it is DD, DTS, or just plain Dolby Pro Logic, and also with stereo CDs. You could use a line-level input/output selector to route the 0.1 just to the transducer for the movies that have deep bass in that channel, and to the powered subwoofer for other situations.

Q In a home theater setup, and so as not to sacrifice audio quality when playing plain ol' CD's, is it "better" to use front L/R loudspeakers that don't have real bottom and 'entrust' the bottom to a powered subwoofer, or is it better to use full-spectrum L/R speakers? For example, I'm considering Paradigm speakers for most of my setup, but I'm having trouble deciding on the front L/Rs. I could place something like the Monitor 3s up front, which have more bass (response of ~ 55 Hz - 20 kHz), or I could go with LCR-350s instead, which are supposed to be quite fine in the 70 Hz - 20 kHz range, and have the sub kick-in at ~ 70 Hz. Or am I missing something?

A When manufacturers specify frequency response of their speakers, it usually is - 3 dB at the low end. And usually, the specified response is with anechoic chambers. In actual use, I have found that a good subwoofer helps a great deal even with big floorstanding speakers, adding the lowest octave (20 Hz - 40 Hz). Up around 70 Hz and higher, subwoofers tend to get boomy, so I like to use floorstanders with a subwoofer lowpass setting at about 40 Hz - 50 Hz. It all depends on how important deep bass is to you. If it's not all that important, then the monitors and a lowpass of 70 Hz to the sub will be fine. If it is important, then get floorstanders and use a low pass of 40 Hz or so.

 

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