|
Q I have an old Sony CD player which has both analog and optical
digital outs. I have connected this to my Denon 1804 receiver. How should I hook
this up to get the best sound - analog or optical? The Sony CD player says 18
bit Linear D/A and the Denon has "24 bit, 96 kHz High Resolution D/A Conversion"
A Either way, you are dealing with 16/44 CDs, and what it probably
means is that the Denon DACs are capable of 24/96 bit depth/sample rates, which
is fairly irrelevant in itself when reproducing CDs. However, 18 bit DACs in the
Sony imply that they're rather old, in which case unless they were exceptional
for their time, my money would be on the Denon. However, none of these number
games gives any indication on the quality of the reconstruction filters, be it
via oversampling or the good old analog filter, which can have substantial
effects on the top end response of the digital to analog conversion outputs.
T
Q I have a Panasonic DVD RP-91 player and a Toshiba
Direct View HD monitor 34hfx83 and I am noticing issues when watching DVDs. I
have the DVD and TV connected to my Yamaha RX-V540 receiver using the component
in and out. This only happens occasionally, and during playback the picture
loses some color, only red though. Red seems to fade entirely and flesh goes
very dull. Bright and yellowish color seems to take over. Now this only happens
once in a while and it doesn't matter what DVD I am watching. Turning the RP-91
off corrects the issue and usually never comes back for the rest of the movie.
It seems to be intermittent. I am wondering if it is the RP-91 as is not new, it
was the store's demo, and other than this it is excellent player. I am using
UltaLink Component video cables and they are all connected accordingly.
A Component video has
separate conductors for luma and two of the colors (the third color is obtained
by the difference), so it sounds a color conductor is
intermittent. Try using S-Video and see if the same problem happens. It might be
a loose component RCA jack.
T
Q I have a Pioneer Elite
PRO-530HDI connected to a Dish Network 811 HD Satelite receiver. The 811 outputs
HD signals in both component and DVI signals in 1080i format. The television has
inputs for component and HDMI for the HD signals. Both of these are 1080i. I
might also add that the component cables are Monster brand and the DVI-HDMI
cable is made by Gefen Inc (there aren't many companies making these cables).
Now my question:
Why would the component video connection have a clearer and brighter picture
than the HDMI connection?
I hooked up the DVI-HDMI connection and switched between the component
connection and the DVI connection and could tell a difference. I was pretty
disappointed because I thought that the DVI would give a noticeably better,
crisper, brighter picture.
I tried switching to 720p and that made things worse.
Any ideas? Should I return the DVI cable or is this just the difference between
the two?
A I don't think it is the
cable. If there were a cable problem, you would likely not get any picture at
all. Remember that component is analog and DVI/HDMI is digital. With component,
the player is doing the decoding, while with DVI/HDMI, the display is doing it.
I see differences between interlaced and progressive in terms of brightness as
well. It all depends on how the player handles the video vs. the display. It is
not necessarily due to some basic differences in component vs. DVI/HDMI. Also,
the player may not be outputting the DVI signal correctly.
T
Q My DVD player doesn't have
5.1 output, but it does have an optical output. Can I connect the optical output
to the receiver optical input and let the receiver decode? Will that work ok or
should I find another DVD player that decodes 5.1?
A All modern receivers
decode 5.1 DD and DTS movie soundtracks, and all modern DVD players output the
DD and DTS signal through the digital output jacks, either coaxial or Toslink
optical. However, with SACD and DVD-A, there has been some confusion since they
are 5.1 as well, and none of them outputs SACD or DVD-A 5.1 digital signals
through standard coaxial or Toslink optical jacks yet. If you have a Universal
Player, it outputs DD and DTS through the coaxial and Toslink optical jacks, but
they will have a set of 5.1 analog RCA jacks through which the analog 5.1 output
from SACD and DVD-A discs will be sent. You connect those to a set of 5.1 analog
input jacks on your receiver for use when you play such discs.
T
Q I enjoyed your work on the Secrets progressive
shootout. I have kept up with it for the past couple of years. But can you
recommend a good interlaced player? I recently picked up an IScan Ultra,
therefore I don't need an expensive progressive player. I'm currently using my
Denon 2800 (in interlaced mode), but I find it soft.
A I don't think anyone makes
a player that is interlaced only now. They are all switchable
interlaced/progressive. The softness in your interlaced mode may be a property
of the IScan settings, as it does the deinterlacing when you send it out from
the player as an interlaced signal. I see it both ways from player to player.
Some look better when you let the player do the deinterlacing, and some look
better when you let the display do it. You might want to take your IScan to a
store with several players and just change the player, using the IScan and the
same display for all the comparisons, making sure of course, that each player is
set to output interlaced signals.
T
Q How is Denon 2900's Redbook
CD playback as compared to a dedicated CD player like the NAD C541i?
A The DACs in DVD players have gotten so good, it
is unlikely that there is much difference, assuming all other variables the
same. To do a proper comparison, though, it is more likely that you need to
compare the Denon 2900 with a Denon CD player rather than a NAD CD player. Some
engineers seem to feel that having DVD and DVD-A (also plays CDs) in one player
is OK, but if you try to fit everything in there, i.e., DVD, DVD-A, and SACD
(also plays CDs), it is too much circuitry that interferes with each other. I
use a Denon DVD-5900 for most things, but a
Classé CDP-10 dedicated CD player
for other listening because it is fully balanced and has some of the best bench
test results I have ever seen. But, even that wonderful player has a tough time
competing against SACD or DVD-A because of the increased
resolution of those discs.
T
Q I have put together over the last five years what
I regard as a fairly successful mid-range HT setup. It includes a Sony GA7ES
receiver, DVP-S7000 DVD, EP9ES DSP, SAT-T60 DirecTivo, Samsung SIR-T151 HDTV
decoder and (most recently) a Pioneer Elite Pro-530HD RPTV. Output is through
B&W DM603 fronts, CC6 center, AS6 subwoofer and JVC in-the-wall rear speakers.
Recently I have been considering updating the DVD to support progressive scan,
and to possibly retire the DSP to reduce complexity. In general I am confused
identifying the weak links in this system and the proper components to replace.
Can you recommend which pieces should be replaced, and in which order (or
simultaneously) to maintain a reasonably balanced system?
A I would suggest getting a high def satellite box
first, then a 7.1 receiver or SSP with outboard power amplifiers. The rest of
your system looks fine as is.
T
Q I have a Paradigm PS-1000 sub, 175 watts
rms, 525 peak. It is a 10 inch band pass enclosure with three very substantial
ports supplying the only pathway for the bass to reach the room. Aside from
doing this and coming to my own conclusions, what would happen to the power and
performance or anything else if I plugged one or even two of the ports. Do I
stand to gain anything or just lose bass?
A Likely, it will give you response to lower
frequencies, but won't play as loud. Some subwoofers are designed for you
to plug one or more ports at your choosing, depending on whether you prefer
loudness or deep response. Your sub is a band pass design, so all the
bass must come through the ports. Plug the ports, it may go a little
deeper, but will certainly lose loudness. Considering that band pass designs are
carefully tuned, I'd suggest not doing it. Even most bass reflex designs really
shouldn't be messed with unless they were specifically designed to allow
plugging the ports for a different response. On many designs, plugging the port
will simply roll off deep bass response sooner, and the deepest bass will only
increase far out of the useable range/amplitude, i.e., it'd be down 30 dB at 20
Hz instead of 50 dB, and it'd be down 20 dB at 45 Hz instead of flat. Some
designs allow you to do such, but it's not the norm.
Terms and Conditions of Use
|
