Letters to the Editor - April 2005
Subwoofer configuring
April 11, 2005
To Roger Kanno,
I was reading your how to guide for setting up a
home-theater system ("Bass Management Subwoofing . . . One More Time"). I recently
bought a Sony receiver that has RCA output for the subwoofer. My subwoofer, however, has
traditional speaker-cable inputs. Do I need a new subwoofer or is there an adapter I can
use to convert RCA cable to traditional speaker cable?
Mark Applegate
This type of speaker system can easily be hooked
up to any receiver provided that you follow a few simple steps. You will have to connect
speaker wires to both the left and right main speakers and the inputs of the subwoofer.
Then adjust the bass management on your receiver so that the main speakers are set to
"Large" (even though they may be "Small") and "No Subwoofer"
(even though you have one). This should send the bass from the LFE channel to the left and
right main speakers that are now connected to the subwoofer.
Sending a full-range signal with all of the bass intact
to a small speaker is not ideal, but if the speaker is designed correctly, it should not
be a problem (especially if it is not played too loudly). Something else to keep in mind
is that if the subwoofer is passive, it will draw power from the receiver's amplifiers,
which will result in less power being available to the other speakers....Roger Kanno
Integra DPC-8.5 noisy?
April 8, 2005
To Wes Marshall,
I just finished reading your
review of the Integra DPC-8.5, which was posted in February. I have not had an
opportunity to check one of these units out in person. I was wondering how the tray
operation was during the time of your review period. Was it noisy or clunky? Did it
operate smoothly? The performance of the unit comes first and foremost, but this is an
area that I like to check out as well.
Pat
I used the Integra for quite a while and never found it
noisy, clunky or lacking smoothness. It is a changer, and a six-disc changer at that, so
there is some movement as the tray opens and revolves, but not much. If you are used to an
ultra-quiet drive -- a Linn or Meridian for instance -- then the Integra will seem a
little less sophisticated. But compared to any other DVD changer I've tried, it operated
very smoothly....Wes Marshall
Recording HD on the JVC HM-DH4000U?
April 7, 2005
To Wes Marshall,
Regarding the JVC HM-DH40000U, your
review is thoughtfully written. Will the HM-DH4000U record a hi-def TV show from a
terrestrial antenna? I am in a very strong signal area in San Diego and get good HD
reception. I'm looking for a VCR that will record HD from off air. Can you help me?
Greg Lefevre
No, the JVC will not make an HD recording from a
terrestrial antenna. The JVC does not have a built-in HD tuner. If you have an HD tuner,
you can run your antenna to the HD tuner, then make recordings of HD programs by running
the HD signal from the tuner to the JVC.
Are you currently watching HD? If so, you must be using an
HD tuner somewhere in your system. The question is whether you can break the signal out of
it. If it is a standalone tuner (most are) then it is no problem....Wes Marshall |
