OTHER TECH

Yamaha DVX-S100 The novel styling of the Yamaha DVX-S100 includes a thin, wedge-shaped, brushed-aluminum front panel that stretches across about three-quarters of the main unit's sloping top. Below that, a black plastic display extends across the entire width. The brushed-aluminum panel contains the disc-loading tray and nine highly polished control keys. There are eight more keys on the sloping top. Around back, the main unit has line-level outputs for each channel in case you want to use an amplifier other than the one contained in the subwoofer. The four silvery plastic left/right speakers, which taper slightly toward the back, are designed to stand on end and have brackets for stand or wall placement. The similarly styled, slender center speaker should fit easily on top of virtually any TV. The subwoofer, which is about the size of a carry-on suitcase, contains all of the amplifiers and attaches to the control unit with a round multipin DIN connector. Color-coded speaker cables connect to the satellites with spring clips and to the sub by large square plugs. The plugs have clips within, so you can substitute your own speaker cables. Setup was quick and easy.

Yamaha DVX-S100 DIMENSIONS (WxHxD) system unit 17 1/8 x 3 1/4 x 14 1/8 inches L/R front and surround speakers 4 3/4 x 9 7/8 x 3 5/8 inches center speaker 17 3/8 x 3 3/8 x 4 3/4 inches subwoofer 7 7/8 x 15 1/2 x 16 3/8 inches SYSTEM WEIGHT 50 pounds PRICE $800 MANUFACTURER Yamaha Electronics, 6660 Orangethorpe Ave., Buena Park, CA 90620; www.yamaha.com/yec; 800-492-6242 Click here for Key Features. Click here for In the Lab.

The remote control Yamaha supplies with the DVX-S100 was more frustrating to use than the others in this roundup. To keep it small, Yamaha crammed the keys close together, and about half of them perform dual roles-which means you have to use a shift key for many functions. It also has the smallest and hardest to use cursor pad of any of the remotes. On the other hand, it's the only one that stands on end.

Like the Panasonic system, the DVX-S100 can play DVD-Audio discs, and it's the only one here that can play recordable discs in the DVD+RW format. Using the Disc Direct function lets you bypass all processing circuitry when listening to DVD-Audio discs and standard CDs-considering this system's excess of functions, that's an advantage.

When it came time to tweak the system for playback, I became frustrated while trying to work my way through and use the setup menus. Trying to do something as simple as listen to straight Dolby Digital 5.1 turned out not to be so simple. The DVX-S100 offers so many options that you might have to select several to achieve a given goal. Some menus still eluded me even after hours of experimentation.

For instance, you can have your Dolby Digital or DTS in Movie Theater 1 or 2 mode with Spectacle, Sci-Fi, Adventure, General, Normal, or Enhanced settings. What if the sci-fi film you want to watch is an adventurous spectacle? What's a viewer to do? More standard choices include Film vs. Video and lighter or darker black level. The system includes Faroudja's acclaimed DCDi-Directional Correlational Deinterlacing-to eliminate the jagged edges that appear when you watch standard interlaced video that's been line doubled for a progressive-scan display.

The DVX-S100 provides DPL II and matrix 6.1-channel surround from either Dolby Digital or DTS sources. There's also Yamaha's usual wide range of ambience modes, including some designed for videogames and TV sports. A Virtual Cinema mode creates a surround effect using only the front left/right speakers, while Silent Cinema does the same for headphone listening. You can set the delays for any of the 34 audio modes from 5 to 45 milliseconds.

The DVX-S100 displayed some of the richest, most saturated colors I've seen in an HTiB system. In The Chamber of Secrets, Mrs. Weasley's dress and her knitting yarn were vibrant. The Yamaha system's punched-up green was most evident in the flue-powder fire and in the pastoral fields Harry and the Weasley brothers drive over in the enchanted car. Scenes were murky when I used the darker black-level setting, but never noisy. Otherwise the picture was highly satisfying-smooth and free of noticeable artifacts. There was a split-second pause as the player changed layers on the disc.

The audio was just as vibrant as the video. There was plenty of bass for the Hogwarts Express and the Whomping Willow-but if you're insatiable, the remote includes a bass-boost button. Dialogue was clear, with a subtle upper-midrange peak but no sibilance or other treble irritations. The ticking of the clocks in Professor Dumbledore's anteroom sounded distinct and natural, as did the crackling of flames in many scenes. And I was able to play the system fairly loud before any obvious distortion set in.

Once again, I invited Neil Young into my theater to test the Yamaha's DVD-Audio capabilities. While I can't resolutely say the sound put CD to shame, it was superb. The thwack of the drums on "Out on the Weekend" was solid and defined, and the overall tonal balance was smooth. But the disc's screwy mix had my head spinning just as much as when I heard it on the Panasonic system. While the drums were locked into position in the left front and rear, Neil's indeterminate position somewhere over to the right had me feeling like I was channeling him.

I first listened to the Dar Williams disc with the Yamaha set to Pro Logic II. The synthesized 5.1-channel surround playback filled the room with a grand wash of sound, but straight two-channel stereo CD playback sounded good as well. The imaging wasn't as solid and centered as it was with the Denon and Sharp systems, though. The upper-midrange rise was most noticeable on Dar's voice, but not obvious enough to detract from the pleasure of listening to her sing.