Sunfire vs. Bel Canto

December 21, 2004

To Wes Marshall,

I have held off upgrading my Sunfire Theater Grand II for the past couple of years as preamp/processors have rapidly evolved. I probably wouldn't upgrade the Theater Grand II except it doesn't allow for analog pass through except through the DB25, and I want to run both my multichannel SACD/DVD and tubed CD players as analog only. I would also like second-zone capabilities for outdoor parties.

I heard the Bel Canto PrePro in NYC a few months back with BAT amps and the Bel Canto universal player, and while interesting, the combo did not quite do it for me. It could be anything in the chain that wasn't quite right. Can you help me understand the differences between the Bel Canto sound and that of the Sunfire?

Kurt

The differences in sound between the Bel Canto and the Sunfire processors in the systems you heard would be swamped by the differences in room, speakers, and front-ends. You really should borrow a PRePro and try it in your system for the best answer to your question. In my system, in terms of compressed media, the two processors had similarly effortless handling of transients, equal resolving power, and the Sunfire had a slightly more distant perspective. In terms of uncompressed media (CDs and LPs), the Bel Canto had a more appealing sound to me. You may feel differently, and in any case the difference was not night and day. I would be happy with either and would probably make my ultimate decision on ease of use and ability to handle all my components....Wes Marshall

Editing out commercials with Panasonic DMR-E55

December 16, 2004

To Wes Marshall,

I have a question that you might be able to answer for me about the Panasonic DMR-E55 DVD recorder that you tested.

If I hook up my VHS VCR to the Panasonic's composite video input and the Panasonic is connected to my TV's S-video input, will I be able to see the picture from my VCR on the TV when the Panasonic is recording so I can edit out the commercials that are in some of my videotapes?

I guess maybe you call it "upconversion" if the Panasonic can take an input composite video signal and output it to an S-video signal.

My TV only has one set of inputs and I can use composite video or S-video but not both at the same time (it's one or the other). I would like to use the higher-quality S-video from the Panasonic recorder, but only if it will also pass the composite video to the S-video.

Bill

The short answer is yes, though it's really not upconversion. The signal from the VHS tape will not be improved in any way by sending it to the DVD player and running it through the S-video output. Also, if you try to run a copy-protected tape through the E55, it will completely block the signal and not even pass it through to the TV. In terms of editing out commercials on shows you've recorded, you can use the S-video connection to your TV from the E55 and use the composite connection from the VHS player to the E55 and watch while you are editing....Wes Marshall

Death knell for SACD and DVD-A?

December 14, 2004

Editor,

Aren't you being a bit premature in your editorial ("SACD and DVD-Audio are Dead")? DVD-A, I'll grant, seems lost in the shuffle (DualDisc, anyone?), but SACD is doing reasonably well in terms of classical and jazz sales (which is where most of my purchases are these days). I'll concede that neither will invade the mainstream, but vinyl sales still chug along (heck, you can buy a new reel-to-reel tape player at Sears Canada). Besides, while Denon may be dropping high-resolution audio from its lower-priced players, I doubt it will disappear from their lineup. Moreover, it won't take too much effort for future high-definition/high-resolution players (whichever format wins) to incorporate SACD/DVD-A playback capability.

Just my 2 cents.

Paul D'Amboise

You make some good points, but with neither HD-DVD nor Blu-ray incorporating SACD playback as part of their official standards, its not going to be a possibility. Lossless audio, via DTS and/or Dolby Labs, is part of each spec, and therefore will be the go-to format of choice for studios. Might SACD or DVD-A survive in some limited way? Sure, but with the freight train of a high-definition DVD format looming, I see all eyes looking to it for the future of the optical high-resolution disc....Jeff Fritz

Greater "processing power" coming?

December 8, 2004

Editor,

Do you think there will be a dramatic increase in processing power in upcoming receivers? I am about to buy a new model, either the top Denon or Sony, and don't want to second-guess myself. Just so you know, I plan to run a Klipsch 5.1-channel system in a 15' x 20' room.

Kent

Even today's entry-level receivers have enough processing power for fairly complex 6.1-channel systems. Most can handle multi-room installations and have enough inputs for some serious hardware. If you're looking at flagship models you'll likely be amazed at their capabilities -- at least I am. As for a "dramatic" increase, I can't for the life of me see why that's a necessity. Perhaps there will be some demand for new features such as satellite tuners, but that doesn't really require more processing power, just a reallocation of what's there now. So the short answer is, "No, I don't think there will be a dramatic increase in processing power for receivers."...Jeff Fritz

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