Letters - November 2006
DVDO question
November 24, 2006
To Wes Marshall,
In your review of
the DVDO iScan VP30 on www.soundstageav.com,
you mention the following regarding the audio inputs: "When you use these inputs, all
you have to do is push a button and the VP30 syncs the sound and video. Nice trick."
Could you please shed a little more light on this? I have
the VP30 and have little success with the digital coaxial outputs. I have gotten the
analog audio outputs to work, but no luck with the digital coaxial outs. No sound comes
out when I connect the digital audio coaxial outs.
Keshav Deshpande
There is no A/D converter in the VP30; in order to get a
digital out, you have to have a digital signal going in. Once you push the button aligning
a digital input with a video stream, or use HDMI with sound, the VP30 automatically aligns
the video delay and the audio delay.
Here’s what it says on the DVDO website: "The
iScan VP30 has 4 discrete digital audio inputs (2 optical and 2 coaxial) and 1 analog
audio input (L/R) each of which can be assigned to any of the video inputs. The HDMI
inputs can accept audio if the video signal is on the same input. If the incoming HDMI
signal has HDCP, then the iScan VP30 can not output this audio using the optical or
coaxial digital outputs, only the HDMI output. When you switch to a particular video
input, then the audio input which has been user-assigned to that video input will also be
selected. For example, when you switch to Video 1, then the audio input which has been
user-assigned to Video 1 will also be selected. The digital audio outputs provide a delay
which matches the video processing delay of the iScan VP30. Note that this delay will vary
depending on the current configuration and processing mode of the iScan VP30. 50Hz sources
will require a different amount of delay than 60Hz sources, and frame-rate conversion
requires more delay than no frame-rate conversion. The correct audio delay for all inputs
is set automatically, so you need to do nothing extra to match audio and video delays. In
addition, there is a user-adjustable delay which can be added or subtracted on top of the
automatically set delay for problem sources. ABT's digital audio technology is called
"Precision AV Lipsync".
If you are not getting sound after following what I said
above, you need to contact DVDO about getting a repair….Wes Marshall
Separates or a receiver?
November 17, 2006
Editor,
In years past separates have held the advantage over
receivers in terms of power and sound quality, though receivers had all the latest
features. Would you say that this is still the case today?
Casey
Generally speaking, yes, this is still the case. There
are receivers -- the Denon AVR-5805 comes to mind -- that come close to matching the more
powerful multichannel amplifiers and reportedly sound quite good; receivers are almost
always first with the latest processing features. Yet, in absolute terms, separates will
always be the best way to achieve cutting-edge performance. Receivers, by their nature,
are designed as a compromise in terms of saving space and money. Separates, on the other
hand, are designed with a more focused feature set and wider performance envelope and
therefore don’t have the inherent compromises. At the end of the day you can come
close to the "best" with receivers, but the last few steps to state-of-the-art
performance are still accomplished only through separates….Jeff Fritz
"What can you recommend that isn't very
expensive?"
November 13, 2006
To Doug Schneider,
I live in a small apartment and I am shopping for a
home-theater speaker system. It doesn't have to be big, and I don't need it to play very
loud (neighbors). What can you recommend that isn't very expensive?
Paul Samuelson
"Isn't very expensive" means different things
to different people. For some people, it means speakers that cost about $100, while for
others it means speakers that cost $10,000. For me, it means "about $2000, or
less." I don’t know where you stand on the issue.
But let's not talk about how much you're going to
spend; rather, it's more important to discuss what you actually need: a system that's
compact and good-sounding. And depending on what your apartment is like, you might want
something that looks good, too.
Right off the bat, then, the system that jumps to mind
is the
Mirage Omnisat v2-based system that I reviewed about a year ago. It looks and sounds
great; I still use it at my place. It is, however, more than $2000. Another system that
comes to mind is the SVS SBS-01 that
Randall Smith reviewed in April. For about $1000, it looks like quite a deal. Finally,
a system based on Energy's new RC-Mini loudspeaker was just delivered here; however, I
haven't played around enough with it yet to know what it's like. Watch for a review in the
future. I hope this at least gives you some ideas....Doug Schneider
Is JL Audio the best?
November 3, 2006
To Randall Smith,
You seemed to really like the JL Audio f113 subwoofer. It's
already getting great reviews. I am in the process of purchasing a subwoofer and have
decided on either the Velodyne DD15, the new MartinLogan Descent I, or the JL Audio f113.
All these are great subs, I'm sure.
Since you are such a credible resource in this department,
I wanted to bounce some questions off you to help me decide. Which one would you pick and
why? I will be using a sub for 70% movies, 30% music. I'm sure the f113 is powerful, but
does it have accuracy and low distortion comparable to the old MartinLogan Descent? Have
you made any direct comparisons with other subwoofers? I cannot find any rating on
distortion for the f113 or frequency response. I'm sure you are a busy man and any input
would be greatly appreciated. I love this hobby!
Mark
I am glad you enjoyed the review. The f113 is an
awesome sub. As I wrote in the review, I bought the review sample and don't regret it one
bit. It is the best audio purchase I have made in quite a while. As far as direct
comparisons go, I have not compared the JL Audio sub to either of the subs you mentioned.
The R&D department at JL Audio did mention the MartinLogan sub, saying that it was one
of the subs in the over-$3000 price range that they directly compared the f113
to….Randall Smith |
