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Al Griffin | Nov 11, 2013 |

Q How big a subwoofer would I need to produce good home theater-quality bass in a 3,100-cubic-foot room? Would the Hsu VTF-15H be up to the job, or is there a better choice in my target price range (around $1,000)? —Steven Winter / via e-mail

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DAC Connections: Asynchronous USB Input vs. Ethernet

Al Griffin | Nov 07, 2013 |

Q Can you explain what it is about an asynchronous USB DAC input on a receiver that would enable it to sound superior to an Ethernet connection streaming the same file over a home network? —Chris Hebner / Delano, MN

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Balanced vs. Unbalanced Cables

Al Griffin | Nov 06, 2013 |

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Q I have a legacy AV receiver (Integra DTR-7) and am considering replacing it with a separate preamp/processor and amplifier. I’ve noticed that some preamps only have RCA outputs, while other, more expensive preamps also have balanced XLR outputs. Is there a noticeable difference in the sound quality when using balanced XLR cables versus unbalanced cables? The length of the cables needed to connect the two units would only be 1 meter. —Ed Mendelson / via e-mail

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Using an HDTV as an HDMI Switcher

Al Griffin | Oct 31, 2013 |

Q My new TV has four HDMI inputs. Would I get better picture quality if I bypassed my receiver and hooked all the equipment up directly to the TV? I also plan to run a TosLink digital audio cable from the TV to the receiver for sound. Any issues there to consider? —Jose / Colorado Springs, CO

A Whether or not you’ll get better picture quality from your proposed setup depends on the video capabilities of the receiver you’ve been using to handle HDMI switching. A number of A/V receivers provide both high-quality video deinterlacing/scaling and an ability to pass-through 1080p signals with no degradation (this Marantz that Sound & Vision recently reviewed, for example). But some other models are known to reduce the chroma (color) resolution of signals passing through, or to clip above-white and below-black information at the extreme ends of the video brightness range.

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Nixing "Made in China" for North American-made Audio Gear

Al Griffin | Oct 24, 2013 |

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Q I am looking to buy an amplifier and speakers manufactured someplace other than China. Can you recommend some options? My budget is $2,000 total for both amp and speakers (tower or bookshelf). —Gopal Venkat / via email

I cut the political content from your question because I don’t feel that this column is the best forum to discuss those issues. That said, I’m happy to help you find gear in your price range that’s made someplace other than China.

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What the FLAC? Wi-Fi Streaming vs. USB

Al Griffin | Oct 17, 2013 |

Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com.

Q I have a question about streaming audio from my PC to an A/V system located in another room. I want to be able to stream my vast collection of FLAC audio files along with Internet radio to an Integra DTR 5.9 A/V receiver. Running an Ethernet cable wouldn’t be my first choice; I have a strong Wi-Fi signal throughout the entire house and would like to use that instead for streaming. I've looked at the Sonos and Nuvo systems and the WD TV Live box. Each of these options seems to have good and bad points. But I’ve also thought about buying an inexpensive laptop and connecting it to my A/V system with a portable USB DAC. Can you recommend a solution? —John Hanlon / Encinitas, CA

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Suggested TV Settings

Al Griffin | Oct 08, 2013 |

Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com.

Q. I recently purchased a Samsung 6420 LED TV. I contacted both Samsung and TweakTV looking for suggested calibration settings, but they were of no help. I am not satisfied with the set’s current picture and was wondering if you had some suggested settings for this model or could direct me to other Websites that might help. —Cannon / via e-mail

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Video Oppo-timization

Al Griffin | Sep 23, 2013 |

Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com.

Q. I recently bought an Oppo BDP-103 Blu-ray player. A key reason for buying it was to connect a cable TV box to the Oppo’s HDMI input and tap the player’s superior video processing to improve TV picture quality. Will it be necessary to set the equipment up in such a way as to avoid the TV’s video processing? —Doug Crowley / Santa Monica, CA

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Where Should I Set My Subwoofer Crossover?

Rob Sabin | Aug 28, 2012 |

i just upgraded to a bigger subwoofer, a JBL ES250P rated at 400 watts RMS and 700 watts peak power. The sub specs say it can play down to 25 Hz, which is very low, and the sub has a crossover adjustment that goes from 150 Hz to 50hz. My HSU Research speakers are rated down to 60 Hz. Should I set the subwoofer crossover at or near 60 Hz? Or all the way up to 150 Hz? I currently have my system crossed over at 100 Hz.

Bob

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PCM vs. Bitstream

Scott Wilkinson | Aug 03, 2012 |

Which is best, sending PCM or bitstream from the player to the A/V receiver? I have reviewed many posts in the A/V forums and other areas that don't seem to give a definitive answer. I have an Onkyo TX-SR608 AVR and an LG Blu-ray player capable of decoding DTS and Dolby lossless audio. I view Blu-ray and DVD discs about 50/50; certainly Blu-ray when available. Should I set the Blu-ray player to output PCM or bitstream? And why the final choice? Do I need to tell the AVR which stream to expect?

James

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HDMI CEC or Universal Remote

Scott Wilkinson | Aug 01, 2012 |

I am searching for an appropriate AVR and speakers to build a modest system around a Samsung ES8000 flat panel. Simplicity of use for the basic functions is an important criteria to get final approval! I have a PS3 and Sky satellite box to connect. Do I really need to limit myself to products displaying an Anynet+ label in order to minimize the number of button presses required? Just how standard are the implementations of HDMI CEC today? Or would a universal remote control make such concerns irrelevant?

Simon Leach

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Sony HX929 or Panasonic VT30

Scott Wilkinson | Jul 27, 2012 |

I have an old Samsung LED-illuminated RPTV and I want to upgrade. I am stuck between the Panasonic TC-P65VT30 plasma TV and the Sony XBR-65HX929 LED-LCD TV. I move a lot, so the room it is in will vary at least once in the next two years. I watch tons of sports and lots of moves, and I also do some gaming. I have no interest in 3D, just picture quality. I'm torn between the two after playing with them both at Best Buy, and I hope you have something encouraging to say that may steer me to one or the other.

Bear Brown

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Best AVR for Klipsch Speakers

Scott Wilkinson | Jul 25, 2012 |

I'm getting an awesome deal on a 7.2 speaker setup from Klipsch and I need to find a receiver that can drive them properly.
Here are the speakers I'm getting:

2 KF-28 floorstanding speakers

1 KC-25 center-channel speaker

2 KS-14 surround speakers

2 KB-15 bookshelf speakers

2 SW-450 subwoofers

I've spent some time trying to figure out exactly what I need in an AVR, but I'm not confident that I know what I'm doing. I've been thinking about the Yamaha RX-A2010, which allows for 9.2 channels, so I had planned to use the extra two channels to bi-amp the KF-28 speakers, as they are equipped with dual-binding posts. Is this receiver powerful enough to drive these speakers properly?

Kyle Sigo

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Projector Lamp Longevity

Scott Wilkinson | Jul 20, 2012 |

Do you have any idea why the colors of an InFocus projector have turned green-blue (or rather lost red) after only 250 hours? Is this an indication of lamp aging?

Sotiris Filippakopoulos

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Video Dynamic Range and Color Space

Scott Wilkinson | Jul 11, 2012 |

I recently read HT's review of the Panasonic TC-P55ST50 3D plasma TV. (Good review, by the way.) I noticed that the display was calibrated using a brightness range of 0-255. My understanding is that digital video (Blu-ray, DVD, digital TV) is encoded in YCbCr with a video brightness range of 16-235, and one should set the source component to output YCbCr and set the display to accept the brightness range of 16-235 to preserve the signal and avoid processing and interpolation. Just wanted to get your thoughts and reasons if one way is better than the other.

Stephen Lin

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