· Answer: Good question. I here this a lot. Check to make sure you have selected the correct input button on the front of your stereo. But most of the time it's because the TV has variable audio outputs, which means you need to turn the volume up on your TV to get any signal to your stereo receiver. You should be able to turn off your speakers on your TV. Your TV should be about 1/2 half the way up.
· Answer: This can be several things to check, but most common is you have the receiver's center channel mode set to phantom. If you see that word on your receivers display you need to select normal mode for your center channel. Also if your receiver has a two speaker center channel hookup, you need to check to see if you have followed the diagram on the back of your receiver. Right by the center hookup terminals it will show you that for one speaker you hook + terminal on one channel and - terminal on the other channel. Or there may be a switch that you select for one or two center channels. If that doesn't work let me know the model and brand of receiver you have, that will help me. Keep your question coming. I will answer them when I can. Also It helps sometimes to include brand names.
· Answer: This could be an easy fix. On many remotes there are buttons or switches that tells the remote witch piece of equipment to operate. If your remote is suppose to operate both your VCR and TV, you need to check to see if the switch is in VCR position. On some remotes it is a button you push, one for VCR and one for TV. Some remotes also control cable boxes and other related equipment. Press the button or slide the switch to TV and give it another try.
· Answer: If you are hooked up to cable TV or satellite or even an outside TV antenna that is grounded, you may have a ground loop. Disconnect the cable line from the wall and see if the hum goes away. If it does, go by your local audio/video store and purchase a ground isolation cable. Use it to go from the wall to your equipment.
· Answer: Age doesn't have much to do with it. If you have checked the connections on both the speakers and the back of the amp, you then need to hook up just one speaker at a time. Always turn the amp off while connecting wires. First hook up only one speaker and see if you get sound. If you do then take that wire and hook it up to the other speaker. If you still get sound, that tells us your speakers are OK. But next take that same speaker wire, leave it hooked up to one of your speakers, but connect it to the other speaker output on the back of your amp. If you don't get sound then your amp needs service. By the way for this procedure only use radio to check for sound. If you get sound from both speakers with radio but only one speaker with your CD your tape deck then the problem could be a bad cable or CD or deck, but probably not your amp.
· Answer: It's very important to have a clear shot of the satellites. NO TREES in the way. Also if you did the installation yourself check the signal strength, try to adjust the dish to the maximum signal. With an 18" dish it needs to be as accurate as possible. Somewhere around 95 would be great. The stronger the signal the less rain outage.
· Answer: In most cases A good quality speaker selector would be the safest and most economical way to add a few pairs of speakers to your receiver. Look for a selector that has "impedance load protection". And get one that can handle the power of your amp or the loudest volume you like to listen to music at. If you play it loud you need a selector that can handle the power. If you don't ever play it loud then you could get by with a smaller one. But in this case bigger is better.
· Answer: Here again "bigger is better" But also it should be wire made for speakers, no lamp cord. Yes lamp cord will work but it's not that much more expensive to buy good quality wire made for speakers. You do here a difference with good wire. At least you will think you do, because it cost more. All joking aside, good speaker wire is a good investment. It doesn't have to be outrageous in price unless you have an outrageous system. Good wire will cost between $40.00 and $150.00 a 10 ft. pair. Not bad if your speakers cost 4 to 5 times that amount. Now of course if you have a very highend system your going to want to spend a lot more for your wire.
· Answer: It's hard to say. There are several things that can cause skipping. Lets assume CD's are clean and not scratched. Vibration from nearby speakers can cause skipping. Laser in player bad or needs aligned. Poor motor speed {CD not turning at correct speed}. Laser sled needs cleaning. In any case if your not a tech. and it's not vibration from your speakers or dirty/scratched CD's then it's off to the CD hospital!
· Answer: I have seen some inexpensive audio/video switchers in local stores that deal with surplus electronics. Also in the back of some magazines {Popular Mechanics, Audio, stereo review} you can sometimes find adds from some mail order companies that deal with surplus electronics. But, I almost never recommend using low cost equipment. Even though these passive switchers seem like they should be inexpensive there are reasons why one sells for $10 and another sells for $69. The RCA phone jacks and the contact switches used in inexpensive boxes are of a lower grade. The selector switch does not pass the delicate audio or video signal as well and this causes more loss and reduced signal quality. The jacks and selector also wear out faster. I have seen some low cost switchers with little or no shielding inside the case. Audio/video signal should be shielded from one end to the other. Some of the more expensive switchers have good buffer circuits. This reduces cross talk or stray signal from bleeding into each of the connected equipment. But its your call, these things may not be important for your project. Sorry I can't be of more help.
· Answer: There are several reasons I can think of to suggest not to use electrical cable. One reason is the stiffness of NM {non-metallic, Romex is a brand name}. This stiffness would make it very very difficult to work with when connecting it to your amp and speakers. Another big reason is it has zero protection from outside stray signal leaking in. The strands in multi-stranded speaker wire are twisted. This helps reject outside stray signal. The better the twist the better rejection. You should also use a speaker wire that has both the negative and positive lead twisted for that long of a run. Monster Cable and others make a good four-wire twisted heavy gage wire that is jacketed. It's flexible easy to work with and "CL" rated for installing in walls and attics. Because there is four wires inside the jacket you only need to run one long run and just loop out to your left or right speaker. You can do that for rears, sides and front speakers. Each pair has one line back to the amp. I asked Bob Sciacca, an expert and critic in the audio/video industry, about NM. He pointed out that NM is not all "oxygen free copper" as is good speaker wire. Also the fact that signal travels on the outside "skin" of the wire. With multi-strand there would be a lot more surface for signal to travel on. I will say NM will work but I wouldn't want to run all that cable to find out it doesn't work well.
· Answer: You should get great sound from your new speakers with your Pioneer VSX-451 receiver. Cerwin's don't take much to drive. I always like a lot of power. If your are one who plays music real loud, you could use more power. You need to remember, It's distortion from the amp, running out of power, that can damage a speaker. Small amps driving big speakers cause more harm. You have a good combination, but don't over do the volume on the receiver. At hi volume it could distort.
· Answer: Nice choice of gear. This should sound good with either type of rear surround speakers. "But" my experience with both types of surround speakers is this, full dynamic rear speakers always sounds better in AC-3 with an AC-3 recording. Yes, it's true that non localized sound in the rear is what some "experts" tell us we should have. But that's "some experts." The non localized sound was the brainstorm idea of George Lucas and his THX team. That was to have bipolar speakers mounted on the side walls in your Home Theater room shooting along the side wall to simulate the side speakers in a large theater. Does it work? Yes, it does, sound reflects off the rear wall slides along the side wall and is non local. Is it what we like to here? Well, It is not as dynamic and as loud as it seems most people want. The question most people ask me about their rear speakers is "how do I make them louder?" and shooting the sound along the side-wall isn't the way to do it. I think the AC-3 Idea is on the right track. Full range and full dynamic sound to all speakers. The best rear sound I have heard yet had a subwoofer on the rear channel. m/j
· Answer: First Ethan, you need to check to see if you have audio output jacks on the back of your TV. These are RCA type phono jacks, that will allow you to hookup your TV to either a stereo system or a self-powered speaker system. Most component stereo systems will have auxiliary input jacks to hookup other components, such as your TV or computer. Of course your stereo amp will need two empty pairs of inputs to hookup both your TV and computer at the same time. There are some self-powered speakers that will have two inputs on them also. Such as the Altec Lansing ACS300.1. These are usually found in most computer stores. If you don't have audio outputs on your TV then you can use the audio output jacks found on most all VCR's. Make sure it's a stereo VCR if you want to have stereo playback from your movies or TV programs. m/j
. Answer: Henry, You will need to buy a receiver with an AC-3 decoder already built in or you need a Dolby Digital (AC-3) "ready" receiver. This is a receiver that has the 5.1 inputs for a decoder. The Technics equalizer is OK. But check your receiver, or your new receiver, for a tape monitor. Some of these receivers now days have a tape input but not a monitor. Let me know how it goes.m/j
. Answer: Mark L, your sub is best placed toward the front of the listening/viewing area. If you can place it up against the wall near (about a foot away) a corner it will produce the most bass. Of course it should be on the floor not in a cabinet or on a shelf. You have a passive sub not a powered sub, that is why it does not hook up to the sub out. Powered subs are known to offer more bass, but usually cost more. If you feel like you want more pounding bass for some of those great movies, you may want to add a powered sub-woofer to your system.m/j
. Answer: Godfrey; I know that there is a company that now makes an RCA to "S" converter. Or is it "S" to RCA? I'm not sure but I'll check into it and let you know what I find out. I need some time to research it. But I'm not sure why you want to use the "S" input with your non-S VCR! m/j
. Answer: Steven, Your problem is not the power, although you do want a lot of it. The problem is in the Martin Logan Quests. You are very lucky to own a pair of Quest speakers, I envy you. Accept for the arcing in the stators, I'll bet your system sounds great. I recommend calling Martin Logan. The crackling you here at loud volume is probably arcing from the thin film to the stator. This is sometimes caused by dirt lodged between them. At least that's one thought from Martin Logan. I'm sure there could be other causes. But the best thing to do is call M.L. The crew at M.L. will be more then happy to help solve your problem. Their phone number is 913-749-0133. Their address is P.O.Box 741, 2001 Delaware Lawrence, Kansas 66044. Let me know how it goes. m/j
. Answer: Bobby, choosing a sub can be tough sometimes with all the good brands out there. Listen to the subs at high volume with a laser disc like Jurassic Park and the stomp of the dinosaur's foot steps. You want to here clean deep base without crackling and with no distortion. Probably the lowest distortion sub is Veladyne. But only their models with servo control. As far as your speakers, try to keep the same brand. This will help maintain better timber matching for better sound. With Dolby digital becoming so popular having all 5 speakers the same size or at least the rears close to as large as the fronts would be nice. For right now I like Yamaha receivers, B&W or Boston Acoustic speakers (and many others) and Veladyne subs with servo control. At least in the price ranges that you are looking at. But these things change each year so my likes could change to. m/j
. Answer: Janine, You must have followed the directions from your new receiver. This is good, but it operates just as you describe. That's not always the easiest way but it will be the best sound quality when you watch a movie from your VCR. Now if you will add another good audio cable from the audio output on the back of your TV to the AUX. or TV input on the back of the receiver, and switch your receiver to that input (AUX. or TV) your system will then operate like your old system did. Let me know if that helps you. m/j
. Answer: Janine, your CLD/DVD input will work just fine. m/j
. Answer: Scott, Yes there is a converter. It's called an RF modulator. You can probably find an inexpensive one at Radio Shack. There have been video stabilizers advertised in the back of video magazines for video tape recorders. I have not tried them on a DVD yet. It's upsetting that they put copy-guard on tape and DVD because of the reduced picture quality and the problem your having on your system. But those stabilizers do work for VHS. They might work for DVD. It would be a good idea to call one of the advertisers and check with them. m/j
. Answer: Jim, It's great your planning ahead and getting this wire in before the sheet rock. It makes your job a lot easier. Find a dealer that carries Monster cable. They make a 4 wire and 2 wire "CL" rated cable to go in wall and attics for prewire. The "CL" rating should pass any electrical code enforcement issues that you may have. Both cables come in 14 and 16 gage. I recommend 14 gage if you can afford it, it's not much more, or 16 gage for the "not to significant" rooms. The 4 wire cable should go from the amp location to the volume control in each room. Leave several feet of wire where it will come out of the wall at the amp. This end of the wire will need to connect to a speaker switch box placed next to your amp. Niles Audio and ADCOM are good brands for your switch box. Then the 2-wire cable, from the volume control location, to each left speaker and right speaker that will be controlled by the volume control. Place the volume control in each room next to the main light switch for that room. (These are in-wall mounted volume controls) Using a single-gang mud ring installed next to the light switch box. Make sure its in perfect level and height with the light switch box. Leave about 1 foot of wire in this box. Speakers can be in-wall, in-ceiling, on bookshelf, or floor standing. If your after looks, get in-wall or in-ceiling speakers. They don't sound as good but they look better and take up a lot less room. In-wall sounds better and projects better of the two. If you need to have in-ceiling speakers, place them near a wall, not in the middle of the room. If you have a big room put a pair at each end. Place your in-wall speakers on the same wall about 2 feet in from each side wall and about 1 foot below the ceiling. If your ceiling is 12 feet or higher keep them at about 2-3 feet above your head. The speaker selector switch box can be hooked up to your "Home Theater" amp or receiver. It hooks up to the front main speaker terminals. It has nothing to do with center or rear speakers. If you have 3 rooms in addition to your home theater room, buy a 4 room switch box. If you have 5 rooms buy a 6 room switch box. Hook the box up to the main front speaker terminal output jacks on your home theater receiver and your main front speakers and all the other rooms to the selector box. If this info is to much to handle, contact your local "CEDIA" custom installation dealer. He will be glad to help you with your installation. (for a price). But if you have any other questions let me know I'll be glade to help. m/j
. Answer: Jorge, I would probably go with the Yamaha RXV2092, at about $1500.00 it makes for a very good home theater receiver. It's quality is very good and Yamaha has a history of building very reliable equipment. It's rare to see a Yamaha receiver needing service. The problem is usually not in the receiver, but a short between the headsets. m/j
. Answer: Mark, It's hard to recommend an inexpensive VCR that will last. I'm not sure an expensive VCR will last. I do think Sony and Mitsubishi both have inexpensive low frill VCR's that are worth looking into. They will be a little more then GE or Sharp, but probably worth it. m/j
. Answer: Matt, your Bose speakers need to hook up to an amplifier. Probably one that has more power than your audio card puts out. If your Advents were plugged into a wall, then they had their own built-in amp. If they didn't plug into a wall then your audio card has a small amp in it, but it's probably to small to power the Bose. If you want to try hooking up your Bose directly to your board, go to Radio Shack and get a speaker wire with the correct plug on one end for the card and bare wire on the other end for the Bose. You might get some sound but not much. But, hookup an amplifier or receiver to your card (via the same output jack) and hook up the Bose to the amp and you should have great sound. m/j
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