Questions And Answers Page 3
. Question: Hey Mark,
You have a great page..Im glad to see there are people out there I can
turn to for my HT problems. Now on too business. I have 2 questions.
Number 1: I have a Pioneer VSX-D506S as my A/V reciever and I love it.
The problem is its compatibility with my speakers (Cerwin Vega 380SE).
My receiver is rated at 100W/channel for speakers ranging from either
8-16 ohms or 6-16 ohms. My speakers are 4 ohm speakers though. What is
the solution to bring my speakers up to 8 ohm (like the rest of the
speakers in the world) without introducing noise into my system. I know
there are impedance correctors out there but cant seem to find a site
that sells them. I have also toyed with the idea of putting a 4 ohm
resistor (rated at like 200W of course) inline with my speaker wire.
What do you suggest and how much should it run me?
Number 2: Now that you know what my system core is, can you recommend a
center channel and rear channel speakers for me. I kind of wanted
either Cerwin Vega or Yamaha, or even Polk. Not really sure. I want to
also use my rear channel speakers as B speakers for stereo music, not
just ProLogic surround sound applications. Is it unreal to spend less
than $350? Give me high end, midrange, and economy possible solutions.
Bear with me, Im kinda new to this. If its any help, I have a JVC
HR-DD740U Hi-Fi VCR that is used as my video source.
. Answer: Kevin, you don't want to do anything to your speakers impedance. Anything
you do will change the sound for the worst. It is my experience with this set up,
that your amp will do OK. As for the center channel, I would stay with a matching center
to your fronts. Get the same brand with their recommended center to match your speakers.
Now if you might be changing speakers soon, I would take a good listen to Acoustic
Research HO for both rear and center. Then some day replace your fronts with
AR-HO as well. A great line of speakers that will go well with your Pioneer
receiver. HO stands for "high output". Very efficient, but can handle a lot.
As far as playing your rear speakers on "speaker B" when you listen to music, then
changing them to surround when you listen to movies, there is an a A/B switch put out by
Nile's Audio at "800-buyhifi". It will allow you to hook up your rear speakers to
both "B" and rear outputs and easily switch between them. M/J
. Question: I have a system that includes a Denno AVR 3200, Panasonic Super
Flat TV, and the Atlantic Technology 250.1 speaker system. I
am experiencing a couple of problems. First, in the surround sound mode (music) only
the center and right front speakers are delivering full sound (with bass), the other
speakers are delivering sound but no bass. The front and center speakers
sit on top of the entertainment center and the rear speakers
on are small stands. The room is 25x15,should speaking setting be on large or small.
Secound, when I play the TV through the receiver in the surround mode I get this
high pitch sound. Also, I am in the process of buying a DVD player, should I go with
one with DTS? I understand that I will have to add a DTS processor to my Dennon
receiver, is this true (do you know what it might cost). Thanks
. Answer: Ken, I would check to make sure all your speakers are hooked up correctly
and in phase. Positive to positive negative to negative. Play the system in stereo
and listen to each front speaker one at a time to make sure both have bass. If not,
swap the hook up and see if it changes to the other speaker to see if it's a bad
speaker or not. If all is hooked up correctly and speakers work OK independently,
then call Denon technical support, find out how to reset the receiver and also ask
them about hooking up a DTS decoder to that model receiver, you might not be able too.
And yes you should get a DVD with DTS output just in case DTS becomes
a big hit. M/J
. Question: Hi Mark
My name is paul and i live in south africa (Durban). I recently moved and in the process
my books and software for my VGA AVer Audio Video converter card got mislaid. I did not
have the software on hard drive as i had recently been burgaled and my pc was stolen.
I was fortunate notto have had the cards installed as the cards are ISA / VLBUS cards
and i Never had enough space in the pc for them. I'm busy building up a 486 DX 100 just
for the cards and software. Why the delimer is that my brother recently got married and
i want to clear and edit the video.
Thanks and i'm looking forward to hear from you. paul
. Answer: Paul, I'm sorry I can't help you on this one. My specialty is Home Audio Video
for music and movies from home theater systems. I would look for a friend with a VL/Bus
you can use or maybe your community or college library has one you can use. But that is
what you need. Sorry, M/J
. Question: i am not receiving audio in my pip connection.i checked all wires looks ok
its a fisher surround sound tv and sharp mono vcr
can you help?
thanks, Joseph
. Answer: Joseph, the one big reason for no audio is the audio output from the vcr is
hooked up wrong or the audio cable is defective. Be sure you have the audio
cable going from the audio output from the vcr to the left (mono) audio input
on the TV. M/J
. Question: Hi!
I'm just learning about audio and video and I was wondering if you could
point me to a good webpage or a book that has basic information about those
topics. ^_^ I'm a beginner, I don't know a lot of the terminology so I would
need something very basic.
Thanks,
. Answer: Katy, sorry it's taking me so long to answer, But I don't know of a web site yet
that has all there is to know to help you. Searching through the manufactures
sites should help. NHT, http://www.nhthifi.com/ has a great site for
understanding home speakers and their placement in your home. Yamaha,
http://www.yamaha.com/ has home theater information on good receivers and amps.
Of course, anything that comes to mind, you can e-mail markaj@ucnsb.net me and I
will try to help. It can get confusing out there. But check out both NHT & Yamaha
sites, they should help, and their product is excellent. M/J
. Question: I'm considering whole-house video distribution with the
installation of DSS System. I'm wondering if instead of using a modulator
for each source I would like to transmit (DVD, DSS, VCR) if I could run all
sources through my Yamaha DSP-A1000 and put one modulator on the output from
the integrate amp. Thus using the integrated amp to select between sources
which can be transmitted. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.
Joe Callahan
. Answer: Joe, back up just a minute. If you use video modulation for your sources to all
TV's each TV can select any source they want to watch. If you go through the Yamaha or
any other set up like that, you loose that capability. Only what you select on your
Yamaha will be transmitted to the varies TV's. No independence on each TV. You can do
it that way, but it's not the most versatile, but the cheapest way out. Take a
look at Channel Plus gear at http://www.Channelplus.com/ - you should find a pretty
good way to distribute video. Another way would be to run a separate set of A/V cables to
each outlet, with an A/V switcher at each TV if the TV didn't have enough
inputs. Or cheap coax , I prefer RG6 Quad cable, to each TV for each source.
This will give you A/V but in mono, OK for kids & guest bedrooms. You can use an
A/B/C switcher at each TV. Let me know if you have any other questions. M/J
https://www.angelfire.com/fl/audiovideo
. Question: Hi,
I'm a 12 year old that doesn't put up with bad audio. I have recently
been talking my relatives into giving me their old stereo systems and
restoring them for myself to use. The most recent reciever i have is my
grandma's Pioneer SX-650(don't laugh) It's in decent shape, but the left
and right channels bleed into each other a little, help me with that if
you could, but that's not my main concern. I just wore out a pair of my
dad's old RCA 350WA speakers, but the cabinets are still useable. I
actually have a small amount of cash for once and looking to actually
BUY some speakers to put in the cabinets. I thought JLaudio's
TR400CX 4" coaxial was good for the tweeter hole, and some JLAudio 10"
W6 Subs to put where the woofers were. I'm not sure if they will work
correctly with my reciever. Oh, and what is ohms?? the reciever is 8ohms
and those speakers i want to get are 4ohms, will that do anything to
them?? Well thanks, Zach.
. Answer: Zach, I would live with a little bleed over. That old receiver will still
sound pretty good. But I would keep it away from 4 ohm loads. Ohms, is a
measure of resistance, in this case from the speaker. Your amp will work
better with an 8 ohm speaker. Some amps are OK with 4, Your Pioneer will work with 4 but
wants 8. M/J
. Comment: Mark,
Thanks for the timely and informative response. What I am trying to do
ultimately is create somewhat of a whole-house audio/video system. The
system is only in planning stage and in coming up with a design, I'm
thinking of the audio/video as two separate systems.
The biggest problem is a completed house (dry wall up)with limited but
a reasonable way of running coax, speaker wire, and maybe IR transmitters.
I have primary entertainment system in downstairs room and would like to be
able to use those same sources in my upstairs bedroom. I will only be
watching one TV or the other at a time so I'm thinking the configuration of
using a stereo modulator would work for that. I'm not sure though about two
other bedroom sets. Whether to by one or two separate DSS receivers for
different channel watching with the possible addition of a line from the
modulator to allow sharing of VCR, etc on occasion.
Of course, I'm trying to get complex system for lowest cost. Of
importance is trying to keep stereo sound if possible - at least for the two
primary viewing site.
Thanks again and I'll check out the site you mention.
Joe,
. Comment: Mark,
Where did you come from? You're like a dream come true because you not only
know what you're talking about - but you helped this guy make a better
decision for his installation. Thanks for the copy on this - I'll distribute
it to our technical support people for a little real world drama.
Thank You!
Hallie @ ChannelPlus
. Question: Bonjour Mark,
I'm gonna try to express my interrogation as clear as possible in the " langue de
Sheakspeare ". I'm in the process of replacing my RX-590 Yamaha receiver (which is
only Prologic) for a RX-793 or a RX-992. Since I got my DVD (Toshiba 3007),
I'm more and more convinced of getting the Dolby Digital sound effect.
I'm a bit concerned about the DTS technology. My DVD won't be able to read the DTS
signal, and my future Yamaha receiver won't be able to reproduce it as well. Now,
I know that there are separate DTS decoders beginning to enter the market, as well
as there are a few receivers with both the DD and DTS decoders. (The DP-A1 from Yamaha
is too expensive for my budget and would force me to change all my speakers).
Finally, here is my question. Is it possible that DVD manufacturers will, in the future,
offer DTS built-in decoders machines that will be
adaptable to receivers that have only DD decoders? Or has it been done yet? In that
sense, I will only have to replace my DVD in the future
(which I need to do anyway because the Toshiba 3007 won't read DTS) and keep the DD
receiver for a long time.
If you have some advice to give me, I'll be more than happy to hear it.
I hope you will be able to answer that question and I thank you in advance for your time.
Pierre Gagné
Québec City, Canada
. Answer: Pierre, it is my understanding that as of to date, there is not a DVD player
with the DTS processor built in that would do what you want. That is, as of this date!
Any thing can happen in this business so tomorrow that may change. I like Yamaha products
very much. They have proven to be the most reliable line of equipment on the market to
date. I think the RX793 is a very good receiver. I also think the DSPA-1 would knock
your socks off if you could swing it. At least that would solve your DTS
problem when you switch DVD players. Listen, if having the latest technology is your
ONLY vise in this world, then GOD BLESS YOU , so go for it. You will be glad you did.
Sorry for this kind of an answer, but I want one too. M/J
. Question: I just had my pansonic 51" RPTV (PT-51G63) delivered. Delivery and set-up
were included in the cost. The set-up was little more than the deliverymen trying to
set the convergencce and it was apparent they weren't that sure of what they were doing.
I have noticed that towards the sides of the screen the focus appears to be off.
I have been able to play with the convergence calibrations to improve it somewhat but
can't seem to get it quite right. This is supposed to be Panasonic's top of the
line 51" set. Am I expecting too much from it. Do you think that the dealer should
do a proper calibration under the "included set-up"? Would I be able to get
satisfactory results myself with the Video Essentials DVD or would I require some way
of getting into the technician's sub-menu set-up? Thanks in advance.
. Answer: John, I don't recommend setting convergence unless you are a seasoned
technician. What you should do is request a service call. Tell them it is out of focus
near the edge and corners. And you can't line up the color convergence bars. If the
tech that comes out can't get it right, call back and let them know it's not correct
and please send another tech. They can probably get it pretty close but
not perfect. M/J
. Question: Hi I am setting up a home theatre at home. I want to construct a false wall
in the room to house the componets. I will be using PSB gold i's for main,
stratus c6 center, and stratus minis for rear, and 36 wega from sony. I will be
using separates not sure either rotel 985 or B+k 5000 for amp, and maybe new
Sony Ta- 9000es for pre amp. My concern is what sort of considerations should I take
when designing wall. Should I box the speakers and tv in? How far should the mains
be a part what should I look for in setting up the room acoustically correct.
Or can I just build the wall with the T.v and speakers flush with the wall, center
above t.v maybe leave space for sub underneath tv. And just find a place for shelving
in the wall for componets. How much space should I leave behind the wall for air
to flow. Please can you give me some advice how to design this wall. Or should I
hire a professional to make blue prints for wall is it worth it? Thanx
. Answer: Conrad, you have chosen very good equipment. Where did you find a 36'' Sony
Wega? I haven't seen the big one yet just the 32" and it blew me away. The answers
to your questions can be found at a great site now set up on the web. Point your
browser to http://www.cedia.org/. Their you will find suggestions for your room
acoustics as well as the suggestion to hire a pro. That may or may not be necessary
but after visiting this great site, you can be the judge. You should be able to trust
this organization, it's made up of several good companies. M/J
. Question: My receiver is supposed to have speakers with an impedance of 8 to 16
ohms. My speakers have an impedance of only 6 ohms. Will any huge problems arise
out of this?
Sorry if this is a stupid question.
Amy
. Answer: Amy, I hear it all the time. Your receiver shouldn't have any problem
with your 6 ohm speaker. M/J
. Question: Hi Mark,
I recently purchased a new Toshiba TV and want to hook it and my VCR to my
component stereo system. The TV has both audio and video inputs and
outputs. The problem is that if I hook it up to the VCR (which also has
audio and video outputs I can't figure out how to get all of this thru the
stereo system.
Are there any cabling schematics or an explanation somewhere that would
tell me how to hook all these components together properly?
Thanks.
Alan
. Answer: Alan, if your receiver has audio video inputs and a video output, hook up your
vcr to the receiver first then your video out on your receiver to the video in
on your TV. If your receiver doesn't have video out, also called monitor out, then
hook up your VCR to the TV's A/V inputs then hook up the TV's audio output to an audio
input on your receiver. Some TV's have variable audio out and fixed audio out.
Use the fixed. If it has only variable you will need to turn off the TV
speakers and turn up the volume about 3/4 of the way up to get signal to
your receiver.M/J
. Question: Mark,
You helped me before and I thank you very much. I need help once more and
hope you will be kind enough to help out again. I have an Audio Research
D130 amplifier which drives two Morton Logan SL3 speakers. Since I hooked
this up last year I have had problems. The first problem you helped me
solve by determining that the right channel of the amp had a short causing
a hissing sound. After I hand carried the amp back to the store and had it
replaced I began to have another problem.
The amp would shut down when I played the stereo at more than 3/4 of
volume. The preamp is an Audio Research Model LS9. At first I thought it
was a heat problem so I connected two fans to cool each side of the amp.
This helped but at high volumes the amp continued to shut down even though
the amp was running much cooler. I began thinking that the problem was
caused by improper power. All of the equipment is hook up to the same
circuit and there is no way for me to get around this. The amp is supposed
to be on its own circuit. I live in Ecuador and there are always power
fluctuations but I have everything hooked into a pretty good voltage
regulator and it never show fluctuations when the problem occurs. Now the
left side of the amp heats up twice as much as the right side and this
seems to be a new development. I am sure you can understand how
frustrating it is to have supposidely excellent equipment that you cannot
enjoy. Do you have any ideas. I have had some cheap stuff in my time but
except for sound quality never these equipment frustrations. Thank you.
Regards Mike
. Answer: Michael, it sounds to me like your pushing your amp beyond it's limit. 3/4 of
the volume control seems a little excessive. If the sound is quite loud then
i'll bet that your amp is maxed out. Your amp is also probably clipping too
which will damage your speakers. You may need to invest in a much larger amp if
you want more volume.M/J
. Comment: Thanks Mark,
What a disappointment to spend $2000 on an amp that can't really handle the
speakers. It takes 3/4 volume to get to party volume. I think you are
right about the amp. I guess I just could not imagine an amp of that value
and quality acting like this.
. Question: Having trouble hooking up a system. cable ready tv (no a/v jacks), cable box,
tuner, hi-fi vcr? - can I hook all up so I can tape something from the cable box but
watch something else through the tv at the same time? I have a splitter and an A/B switch.
it is ok with me if I only get sound through the tv and not the tuner when I am taping
through the box but watching another cable channel through the tv.
. Answer: Nancy, split the cable line with the 2way splitter. From the splitter,
run one line to the cable box input and the other line to the A input on your A/B
switch. Then from the output on the cable box to the antenna input on your VCR.
Then from the VCR antenna output to the B input on the A/B switch. Then from
the A/B output to the TV's antenna input. Then run audio cables from the audio output
of your VCR to a set of left & right audio inputs on your receiver.
Select A or B from your A/B switch for what you want to watch. Leave your VCR on
channel 3 or 4, that is determined by your cable box for what you want to
record. Turn your stereo on and select the proper input to hear the program from
the box or a VHS tape you may be playing. Have fun. M/J
. Question: Gentleperson: I'm in the process of upgrading my HT to DVD format and am
at the point of considering the chioce of cables to use...speaker and interconnects.
I've read bothe sides of the story--basically no difference between any quality
cables to yes, there are major differences between different brands. Can you please
share your personal opinion on this matter and perhaps make a suggestion or two? I DO
desire quality cables, but I don't want to and can't pay "an arm and a leg" for them.
Any advice is appreciated. Thanks in advance .Michael Slone
. Answer: Michael, there are hundreds of good cables out there as you have found and
huge differences in prices as well. The most expensive doesn't always mean the best
either. I will say this, if you look at listen to and examine the cables made by
Acoustic Research you will find a pretty good quality cable at a very pleasing
price. M/J
. Question: I am looking to buy a DVD player. Could you recommend the best ones in the different
price ranges? Thanks in advance.
. Answer: Kenya, in two words, Sony & Denon. There are a lot of good players, but
look at Sony & Denon . Their players range at around $500.00 to Denon's best
at $2500.00. Consider DTS feed thru when you shop. M/J
. Question: Hello,
I was wondering if you could give me some brands and types of
receivers that have these specifications or more for under $250.00
Power: 100 Watts by5 in Surround mode, 100 Watts by2 in Stereo
Pro Logic Surround Mode: Dolby Prologic, also Dolby
Digital-Ready Digital Signal Processor: 11 Digital Acoustic Environments, also 3
Digital Cinema Modes Tuner Presets: 30 Number of Inputs: 3 Audio/ 2 Video
Subwoofer Output: 2 Sub Outputs Signal to Noise Ratio: 76 db Mono/ 70 db Stereo
Thank you for your time,
Hello,
I was wondering if you could give me some brands and types of
floor speakers with these specifications or more for under $200.00
Tweeter Type: 3" Liquid Cooles Tweeter, 7/8" Liquid Cooled Dome Supertweeter
Cone Materials: 15" Polymer Woofer, 5-1/4" Dynamic Midrange
Power Rating: 10-300 Watts Sensitivity: 92 dB Frequency Response: 20Hz-20kHz
Impendence: 8 Ohms Dimensions: H 37-1/2" W 20-1/2" D 11-3/8"
Thank you for your time,
Hello,
I was wondering if you could give me some brands and types of
Subwoofers that have these specifications or more for under $189.92
Enclosure Types: Magnetically Shielded Crossover: 50Hz-150Hz Variable High-Cut Filter
Power Rating: Built-In 50 Watt Amplifier with Active Servo Technology
for Deeper Bass Frequency Response: As Low As 25 hz
Dimensions: W 10" H 13-7/8" D 12-3/4"
Thank you for your time,
Hello,
I was wondering if you could give me some brands and types of CD
Disc Changers that have these specifications or more for under $179.99
Multi-disc: 50 Disc Storage, Plus a Single-Disc Slot
D/A Converter: Pulse DAC Play Functions: 4 Play Modes Remote: Yes
Custom Memory: 5 Block Files Direct Access: Jog Dial for Rapid Disc Selection
Number of Programmable Tracks: 32 Digital Outputs: Optical Digital Output
Oversampling: 8x Frequency Response: 2-20 kHz Thank you for your time,
Hello,
I was wondring if you could give me some brands and types of
MiniDisc Decks that have these specifications or more for under $299.99 Records up to
74 minutes, stereo Convenient Jog dial for track selection, text entry
Wide Bit Stream technology 20-Bit Analog-to-Digital Converter Two optical digital inputs
Optical digital inputs Advanced Timeshift Recording Off-center isulator feet
Digital Record Level Control Headphone jack Timer standby recording Remote Comander
remote control Hybrid Pulse D/A Converter Powerful editing features CD Synchro Record
Thank you for your time,
Hello,
I was wondering if you could give me some brands and types of
Center channel & Rear Surround Speakers with these specifications or
more for under $59.92 Center Channel Speaker: Center channel + rear surround speakers
Cone Materials: Paper Magnetically Shielded: Yes Power Rating: 1-50 Watts
Sensitivity: 88dB Frequency Response: 90-20,000Hz Impedance: 8 ohms
Dimensions: 11 3/4" W x 4 3/4" H x 6 3/4" D
Thank you for your time,
. Answer: Mark, sorry but I'm not a shopping service. But there is at least one
web site that might help, it's at http://compare.net/homeframes.p3
However, if you run into problems hooking up your new gear let me know.
I might be able to help.
I would recommend that you drop by a specialty audio/video dealer in
your town and talk to one of the knowledgeable sales staff. You will
find out that not all 100 watt receivers sound the same. There are good
ways to make 100 watts and not so good ways to make 100 watts. Have fun. M/J
. Question: This is Mike, the guy that had problems last week with the
failing audio research amp. I hope that maybe you can help me again.
You may remember that the left channel of my amp would heat up much
more than the right channel and eventually cut the amp off. Finally I began to cross
wires and eliminate different wires in an attempt to eliminate different elements of
the system from the problem. In the end it turns out the one of the Morton
Logan LS3's was no longer producing sound from the woofer. I know it
is hard to believe that I did not notice this immediately but I did
not. I checked and made sure that it was receiving the signal and it
was. After I changed each speaker to a different channel the amp
would heat up again on the side that was driving the bad speaker.
What can I possibly do to get the speaker working again? I have never had
anything like this occur in the past. As you know it is impossible for me to
get the speaker in for service since I still live in Ecuador. If you offer some
guidance maybe I could get an electrical engineer to help me with this
problem. What in the speaker system could fail? Please help! I am in
silence.
Thanks, Mike
. Question2: Mark,
Thanks for the response. How can I tell if the woofer is froozen?
. Answer: Michael, I would unplug the woofer from the wall and turn off the amp.
Open up the back of the woofer housing and check to see if your woofer is frozen.
If it is you will need to replace it. There is also a crossover network inside the
housing as well. But if you can't see anything obvious like a couple of wires touching
each other or something like
that, you will need to contact Martin Logon about how to check their crossover.
Let me know and good luck. M/J
. Comment: Just a note to thank you for your response to my question regarding
hooking up my Toshiba TV to my home stereo system.
You have been extremely helpful and now everything is working the way I
want it to.
Thanks Again!
Go Home
Back to Q&A Page 1
Back to Q&A Page 2
To Q&A Page 4
To Submit a Question or Comment
Email: markj@cfl.rr.com
