A Primer for Home Theater Newcomers (1 Viewer)

[Ray Melnik]

HDTV Overview

High-definition television (HDTV) offers advantages today while providing incredible potential for the future. Although it won't reach its full potential for some time there are many reasons why you should consider being HDTV-ready when you make your next viewing entertainment purchase.

The standards for HDTV are still being worked out, but it is generally agreed that in order to be considered HDTV or HDTV-ready, the monitor or projector must display either 720p or 1080i vertical resolution and be wide-screen 16:9.
Let's see what that means and compare it to the dominant standard for TV today.

The original National Television Standards Committee (NTSC) settled on an aspect ratio of 4:3 with just over 480 lines for the picture, using interlaced resolution. The 4:3 means that the screen is 4 units wide for every 3 units tall. Interlaced means that half the lines are displayed for 1/60th of a second and the other half for 1/60th of a second. This means the full frame is displayed in 1/30th of a second.

Compare that to the Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) standards for HDTV with 1080i displaying 1080 lines interlaced or 720p (progressive scanning) with 720 lines displaying the full frame at once in 1/30th of a second. The 16:9 means that the screen is 16 units wide for every 9 units tall. This gives you a closer approximation to the wide-screen in your local movie theater.
The ATSC is responsible for digital television standards and development including 18 formats for digital television.

When looking at the picture quality it is also important to look at the pixel size. The old NTSC format uses pixels that are rectangular. They are a little taller than they are wide. The HDTV format uses square pixels, which helps create a sharper image. They are also four and one half times smaller than the old NTSC format. This gives you four and one half times better detail for a given area.
One of the best reasons to be HDTV-ready is the DVD. DVD looks great on a regular TV but it looks even better on your HDTV-ready display. DVDs are growing faster in popularity than VHS or even color TV ever did and is proving to be the largest motivating factor for buying HDTV-ready today.

HDTV programming
Choices for HDTV programming are growing but there are many things that have to be hammered out between the various entertainment providers. Although HDTV will be broadcast on UHF channels, many households rely on satellite or cable. There is no mandate for digital conversion for cable providers but many are transitioning to digital on a voluntary basis or because of franchise agreements.
HDTV can be broadcast over an analog signal and is currently broadcast this way in Japan. The US and Canada have decided to switch over to HDTV and digital broadcasting at the same time. Interactive TV and the ability to optimize bandwidth are just two advantages. Digital signals do not cause ghosting or reduction in picture quality because of distance such as with analog signals.

HDTV sound
HDTV also uses Dolby A3 as its sound standard, also known as (5.1) surround-sound. Dolby A3 gives you three front channels left, center and right as well as rear left and right. The .1 represents the low-frequency subwoofer channel, which accents the low-frequency effects that help you feel the sound. Home theater sound systems are continually lowering in price and compliment the HDTV picture to complete your system.

Connections
When considering your HDTV system you must check the video connections for compatibility. Composite or S-Video connections cannot adequately pass the resolution associated with HDTV so it is important to choose a display system with component, RGB or 15 pin D-shell connections.

 

[Chuck Mayer]

DUAL LAYER, SINGLE LAYER DVD's

I am by no means a guru, so I'll take an easy one

Single Layer - DVD-5
When DVD's were introduced in early 1997, they came in a format called a DVD-5 (which industry jargon for a disc that is has the movie on a single side, written on a single layer). This meant that a little over 2 hours could be fit onto the disc. The surface of the disc itself was silver.

Another version of this was the DVD-10: it had two sides, each side containing a single layer. The DVD-10 was basically two DVD-5's glued together, back to back.

Simply put, all of the information contained on the disc fits onto one "layer."

Dual Layer - DVD-9
Towards the end of 1997, gold-surfaced discs were manufactured. These were dual layer (DVD-9), meaning twice as much information can be held on the same side of a disc, split over two layers.

The disc is literally 2 seperate layers, glued on top of one another. The laser reads the first layers, and then refocuses and can read the second layer through the first layer!

Initially production was very low, although now most discs are DVD-9.


THE LAYER CHANGE
During viewing of a dual layered disc, a slight pause might occur at some point during a film. Sometimes it is more obvious than others.

The cause is simple: the laser reading the disc reaches the end of the first layer and is required to shift to the next layer to continue. The laser refocuses and can read the 2nd data layer thorugh the first one (and is even able to read through the thin layer of glue that holds the two layers together!)-- but it takes a split second to get on track.

Some films have good, almost unnoticeable layer shifts, some actually lose a bit of dialogue or music during the shift.


Other Types - DVD-14 and DVD-18
Terminator 2:UE (the single disc version) and Superman: The Movie were both DVD-18. This means they are two sided, each side containing dual layers: for a total of 4 layers glued together! Because of the thin layers, these were harder to manufacture, but allow immense storage capacity on a single disc.

Recently, The Terminator and Legally Blonde have been released as what's called DVD-14's (dual layer on one side, single layer on the other- total of 3 layers glued together).


Advantages of dual layer: Disc capacity allows greater bit budget (i.e. more data) to be used without having to switch or flip discs. This allows dts soundtracks, multiple commentaries, better average video rate (which gives a better picture) or longer movies to fit on a single disc (or side).

Disadvantages of dual layer: The layer shift. Also, some people have encountered dual layered discs that seem to have the glue layer breaking down (called "dvd rot"). No one is sure what causes DVD rot, or if it even really exists- but some early dual layer discs have become unplayable over time.

Disadvantages of two sided disc: Flipping the disc to utilize certain content. Also, some complain that with double sided discs, there is twice as much surface to risk scratching (and single sided discs usually have nice silkscreened artwork).


Overview of Jargon
Single layer, single side -> DVD-5

Dual layer, single side -> DVD-9

Single layer, two sides -> DVD-10

Dual layer on one side/
Single layer on the other -> DVD-14

Dual layer, two sides -> DVD-18

 

[Paul_D]

[SIZE=6.5]THE CRITERION COLLECTION[/SIZE]
Official site: The Criterion Collection
Un-official site: Criterion DVD Great for news and general info. Including comprehensive listings with details.

"A continuing series of classic and important contemporary films."

Thought of by many as the best collection of classic films available on the Laserdisc and DVD format, the story of the Criterion Collection can be summised as follows:

1) Fossilised Criterion and the hey-day of Laserdiscs.

Many of Criterion's most ardent supporters were initiated during Laserdisc's golden era, when the CC released a HUGE number of classic titles. The collection was first launched in 1984 with the Laserdisc premieres of Orson Welles' Citizen Kane and King Kong in the CAV format. Due to LD's high costs, and thus studios reluctance to fully support their integration into the mass-consumer market, Criterion had almost free reign over which titles they chose to release. Titles like David Fincher's The Game and Se7en had deluxe editions, along with Orson Welles' The Magnificent Ambersons, Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey, Ridley Scott's Blade Runner and more. The dawn of DVD, and subsequent explosion of studio interest in Home Theater formats has seen Criterion's platform of releases shrink considerably. Whereas once they had achieved quality AND quantity, now there is only quality. Here's a complete list of the Laserdiscs.

2) The essential Criterion DVDs.

While personal taste should account for peripheral puchases, the following are a list of the disc that YOU MUST OWN, and why:

Grand Illusion Widely regarded as one of the best movies ever made, a superlative restoration, and some superb supplemental material.
Seven Samurai One of the greatest movies ever made.
The Third Man The whole package. Another of the greatest movies. Stellar restoration and comprehensive, fascinating, unique extras.
Rebecca Arguably Hitchcock's finest 40's flick. His first Best Piicture winner, and a fantastic 2-disc special edition to show you why.
Spartacus A revelatory restoration (the soundtrack is especially impressive), and comprehensive extras on this essential 2-disc set of Stanley Kubrick's Gladiator predecessor.
8 1/2 Fellini's Oscar-winning film is superbly treated by Criterion, including an absolutely essential documentary. Black Narcissus Powell and Pressburger's most beautiful film, thanks to the legendary Jack Cardiff, is presented with a commentary by Martin Scorsese and the man Michael Powell himself.
Nights of Cabiria One of Fellini's most personal films, presented it the recently created Director's Cut, superbly transfered, and with plenty of great extras.
The Silence of the Lambs The lack of anamorphic enhancement (see below) turns some people off. For many, this transfer more accurately represents the tone and colors of the theatrical presentation. The deleted scenes are intriguing, and the commentary is superlative.
The Seventh Seal Bergman + Death + Chess + Criterion = must own disc.
Rushmore Wes Anderson's films looks marvelous on this, the only available anamorphic version of the movie. The MTV shorts, commentary and audition tapes are priceless.
L'Avventura One of the best documentaries I have ever seen on a Criterion disc.
Sullivan's Travels A superb documentary, another impressive restoration and rare audio recoirdings of Sturges.

I'm sure I've missed some important ones. To remedy that I'll say the following: they're all worth having! Here's the complete list of the DVDs.

3) Which films do Criterion release and why.

Numbered in order of release date, the CC is made of films from around the world, spanning almost every decade of cinema. While there seems only one perogative for entering the collection, namely that you are a classic film, the filmographies of some directors are more comprehensively catalogued than others. You will find Akira Kurosawa, Federico Fellini, Alfred Hitchcock, Powell and Pressburger and Sergei Eisenstein among the best represented. But no one filmmaker, genre, or filmmaking style monopolises the CC. Itt's a record of cinema's finest achievements, complete only to the extent that time, resources, and copyrights allow.

Ultimately, the output of Criterion is limited to those films in the pulic domain, and those which are exclusively licensed to Criterion by the controlling studio. E.g. A contract with Buena Vista paved the way for Michael Bay's Armageddon and The Rock and Wes Anderson's Rushmore Criterion DVDs. And will likely accomodate the release of Wes Anderson's other two films Bottle Rocket and The Royal Tenenbaums under the Criterion banner. New deals are signed regularly, and its always a thrill to learn that a favourite movie is 'getting the Criterion treatment', the most recent example of which is Steven Soderbergh's Traffic.

4) The history of the 'special edition', and why Criterion discs are so special.

With the release of their very first Laserdiscs, Criterion introuduced special features to the world. Never before had a home video release contained supplemental materials, like theatrical trailers or production notes. Thus Criterion have been credited with literally 'inventing' the Special Edition. More astounding, is that Criterion are the pioneers of 'Original-Aspect-Ratio' presentations of movies on home video formats. "The only home video that had ever been presented in its original aspect ratio prior to Criterion was Woody Allen's "Manhattan," and that was at Allen's insistance." (Brian W., HTF Member)

Responsible for two of the most fundamental aspects of home video presentations today, Criterion distinguish themselves from the current producers of special edition content, by seeking out especially rare or unique extras to include on their discs. Ranging from exclusive documentaries, audio recordings of directors long since passed, complete radio plays (The Third Man), restoration demonstrations, critic and film historian commentaries (included on early pressings of Seven Samurai), improved subtitle translations and restored director's cuts, Criterion discs are the cream of any collection, and present the opportunity for collectors to own their favourite films in definitive versions.

5) "The Criterion bandwagon". On or off. Or: Common complaints.

3 main avenues of criticism are often taken.

1) NON-ANAMORPHIC!!! Until quite recently, Criterion were releasing discs with non-anamorphic transfers, citing the rarity of compatible TVs as the reason. The mistake has been corrected, and all appropriate releases are now anamorphically enhanced.

2) In order to compensate for the high costs of producing only a limited number of discs which WILL NOT interest the average DVD buyer, Criterion need to charge relatively high priced for their discs. Ranging from the standard RRP of $29.99 for bare bones, to $39.99 for most special editions, all the way up to $59.95 for super-duper special editions. As any self-respecting DVD buyer/internet user should know, that the RRP is not where the buck stops (). Most prices can be knocked down by 30% if you find the right deal.

3) The inclusion of Michael Bay's movies Armageddon and The Rock are criticised by purists as 'inappropriate' for the collection. However, it has been widely discussed, and the general conclusion has been that
their place in the collection is an effort to appeal to a wider demographic of DVD buyer, exposing the collection to a broader base of movie-lovers, and financing the creation of discs that won't be anywhere near as popular. i.e. they're in there for a good reason.

 

[Nate Anderson]

Why do we need DVD? Isn't VHS good enough?


I think this argument can best be addressed by the fact that DVD has much better audio and video quality, but also that the rate of defects is much lower, provided the disc doesn't become scratched.

There are other bonuses, such as you never have to rewind a DVD. It may not seem like such a dig deal to some, but I'm a terrible rewinder.

An obvious bonus is the inclusion of bonus features. Many upon many DVDs are getting the special edition treatment, with deleted scenes, multiple commentaries, behind the scenes stuff and who knows what else.

DVD also has a wide market of product, from movies to documentries to full season series sets, like The X-Files, The Simpsons, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, to name a few.

Now, recently I've been going through my movies, pulling out some oldies but goodies, both VHS and DVD. When I would watch one movie on VHS and then another on DVD, I could tell the difference immediately. It was amazing the picture quality difference that can be seen when you really make a comparison. It's not as brilliant if you just watch one or the other, but one after the other, it's amazing. And I don't even have a high def. T.V!

Now, I realize that I'm sounding awfully pro-DVD, but I honestly don't know what I'd do without my VCR. Until we come up with a viable recordable DVD-R (or better yet, a DVD-RW) VCR's will be around for awhile yet.

 

[Adam_S]

Budgeting for a Home Theater: If you're going for 5.1 surround sound expect to spend around $1000 if you buy all your components separately. A popular, less expensive alternative is to buy what's called a home theater in a box (HTIB), these generally include a set of five speakers, a subwoofer and a reciever, and can have a dvd player with them or as part of the reciever. HTIB are sneered upon for mostly good reason. The quality of HTIB are for the most part, dreadful. It may sound much better than your mono tv, but with a little more time money and effort you can recreate a sound many orders better.

A good rule of thumb I've found when budgeting for my theater was to break things up like this for the auditory equipment (budget does NOT include dvd player or TV):
Speakers: 60%
a: center, mains, and surrounds - 30% (I bought the JBL NSP1 so I didn't break up those three, some more knowedgeable than me may offer a different or better budget that is more detailed)
b: subwoofer - 30%
Reciever: 30%
Wiring and Accessories: 10%

It is very important to remember to budget for wiring, it is somewhat the hidden cost that surprises many people. For instance, I had to buy some eighty feet of speaker wire and five sets of banana plugs to wire up my initial five speakers, and the costs were about $60 or so. expect to spend money on the following:
12 gauge speaker wire - it's important to select a good gauge of speaker wire, the smaller the number the larger the actual wire is, thus the better the wire. A larger wire allows for a signal to be transmitted with better clarity resulting in better sound. Some people used ten gauge wire, but this is difficult to find and more expensive. 12 gauge speaker wire can be had at your local Home Depot for under 50 cents a foot, mine has it for 34 cents. This may seem expensive, but consider best buy sells a spindle of twelve gauge wire fifty feet long for twenty dollars and you'd need more than one because it's only a single wire, not a pair of wires like most speaker wire comes from.
Banana Plugs More likely than not your speakers will not have the old snap posts on them, but BINDING posts (big and round) in the back, you need BANANA PLUGS to connect your speaker wire to the speaker, there is a good chance that your reciever will have these as well. IMPORTANT: when purchasing banana plugs be sure that they will fit a large gauge wire such as 10 or 12, radio shack sells many banana plugs, and the cheapest ones are designed for the very cheap 18 gauge wire, so they are practically useless. Radio shack sells some gold plated banana plugs for larger gauge wire that run about $6 a pair, so you'll need to budget about 25 dollars for banana plugs and if your reciever has binding posts expect to spend about $50 on banana plugs.

Digital Audio Cable These cables are necessary to transmit discrete multichannel sound (ie DTS and Dolby Digital) There are two kinds of digital audio cables, Optical or Toslink, and Digital Coax. You can find a 6 foot optical cable at WalMart for about $20 and that will be the minimum you'll probably spend on such a cable. be sure to check that your reciever and DVD player have matching outputs and inputs. It wouldn't do much good for you to buy an optical cable to connect to your dvd players optical out only to discover that your recieve only has a digital coax input. Most DVD players above the $200 range will have both a digital coax output and a Optical output.

other accessories you probably want to purchase include
A stapler for attaching your speaker wire to wherever your SO allows it to be seen, or not seen. Sears has a good craftsman brand stapler for 20$.

A calibration disc such as AVIA, Sound and Vision etc (detailed above). probably 20$

An SPL meter, necessarily to measure and calibrate your speakers. 30 - 50 dollars

Speaker Stands and Mounts you may need, want to put your speakers on stands or on the wall, this may elicit an additional purchase of speaker stands or wall mounts for your speakers. Speaker stands will probably run at least $50 per pair, and I'm sure someone more knowledgeable than I can elaborate. I've found ebay to be a good resource looking for speaker stands.



other stuff

Bargain hunting for DVDs on the net A good way to find the lowest total price online for a dvd is to use a search engine such as www.dvdpricesearch.com. it'll give you the lowest seven or so prices that title is available at fromt eh various online retailers. It also calculates the total expected shipping cost, so you can see the real price you will be paying. They also can calculate the total cost of multiple titles in one order across all the online stores, making it very useful to find the best place online to buy from. Also a useful place for searching for bargains on hardware is www.bizrate.com

Criterion Collecion Bargain hunting it'll take some searching but using the above search engine and other snooping can find the best prices for these excellent, but expensive dvds. I have recently found that DVD Planet is marking thirtyfive percent off of all Criterion titles, so you can get the very awesome 40-60 dollar dvds such as Seven Samurai, Grand Illusion, The Rock, Spartacus, and Brazil for only 25 to 39 dollars respectfully, which is a pretty great bargain on some awesome dvds and movies. Criterion is also very hard to find even in specialty shops like Suncoast, much less BestBuy WalMart or Circuit City. I've found, locally that Hastings has the allaround best selection of Criterion dvds but still expect to pay around 35 dollars for titles such as seven Samurai. So your best option on buying Criterion is shoping somewhere online.

COLUMBIA HOUSE There is so much information on how to get the best bargain out of columbia house that I'm not even going to begin to explain it, instead i'll point you to dvdtalk, which has, basically, a whole forum devoted to columbia house.
DVD Talk's 'DVD clubs' forum
Columbia House for dummies thread
Columbia House FAQ

Share the Love If you've ordered from Amazon recently you probably noticed an option to send a 10% discount to any of your friends, if they buy the discounted item, you get a credit with amazon equal to the amount they saved. There's a database system at dvdtalk where you can request that love be sent you for certain titles or even all movies. www.dvdtalk.com/stl it's fairly simple and self explanatory, and a great way to save some extra money ordering from the relatively high priced (but reliable) amazon.com

 

[Robert_Gaither]

I would also recommend that when shopping for any HT gear that you purchase and carry the following:

1) spl meter to match listening levels for fair comparisons.

2) video calibration disc (Video Essentials, Avia, or Ultimate Platinum) to force the processor to process a signal at a given level (some internal test tones are too short and are inaccurate to match levels accurately).

3) very familiar sources (DVDs and CDs) so you can notice if the timbre is being played to your satisfaction.

4) owner's/operater's manual (mostly for pre-amps/AVRs) since many sales staff are usually quite ignorant of the equipments capabilities or even how to calibrate sound levels and adjust speaker sizes. Most of these can be downloaded from the manufacturer's website.

Also when testing equipment do some of the following:

1) Never use a speaker switch box, most switch boxes used by most mass market stores usually has a 4 ohm resistor so the amp never sees a load that can damage a speaker (these switch boxes are usually for home installations and are designed so an amp can drive many speakers without overloading an amp into clipping). These switch boxes can affect the true sound of a speaker and all speakers should be directly wired to the AVR.

2) Compare speakers at matched levels. Pychoaccoustics phenomenon will make speakers that are played at louder levels (or those with peakish responses, not accurate) sound better to the untrained.

3) If you want to compare two speakers directly, connect one speaker to the left front speaker connector, connect the second speaker to the right front speaker connector, turn bass/treble to flat, set the AVR to the following: fronts (large), center (none), rears (small), and sub none; and calibrate levels. Play a disc now in either stereo (not direct since this will disable level matching), DPL, DD, or DTS and this will allow you to judge the vocal, bass, and timbre characteristic of the speakers you want to compare. Invert the front two speakers and repeat above to possibly see if one was reinforced/harmed by room mode.

4) Don't buy from any dealer (brick/mortar, mass market, or online) unless there is a good return policy (get it in writing if at all possibly!). A good dealer is one who is interested in making you happy with your purchase, and a bad dealer is someone not to do business with. Give most items about a week listening time and if doesn't meet your expectation or seem to improve return it.

5) Never buy on the day that you audition (yes, I know it's hard plus some places will bargain with you) let the vibe of testing wear off that day to make certain that it's not an impulse buy. If it still lingers the next day you can buy it then knowing that you're not just settling for something because of initial impression. If a particular gear interests you write down the manufacturer, model number, and price and read online reviews and also check to see what it's competitors are (you might find other gear that you don't even know about that might make you happier).

6) If you have never bought any HT gear, see if you can borrow a quality second room gear from a friend. This will help you maybe get an impression of what type of sound to expect from your own home domain.

7) Quality in this hobby is usually determined by weight and feel. Good amps are usually heavier (bigger/better power supplies) and consume more watts than cheaper gear (look at the back and check the power consumption NOT the power rating spec the manufacturers love to falsely spout). Speakers should feel heavy for their size and knocking on them should produce thud not high pitched or hollow rap (thus holds especially true for any speaker/sub expected to produce bass). Speakers should also have binding posts (for connections to higher quality/lower gauge number thick wires), removeable grills (so you can visually inspect the quality of the drivers), cabinets should look flush/fit/solid (if they cheese on this, could you imagine the parts you can't see?), and towers should have spike mount accessories (check the bottom, this should be engineered into it's basic design and simply lacking this shows that this particular manufacturer might not take accoustic coupling seriously and thus not a well engineered product). Speaker cables should have nice thick wire/jackets and look strong enough to walk your pitbull and not floss your teeth. TV should be brought into the home environment to be tested due to the uncontrolled light settings at most stores.

8) Magazine reviews for the most part should be used to get an idea of a product and visit as many forum sites as you can to get a more honest review of any concerned products. Some reviewers give favorable reviews to help sell ads and stay in good standing with companies with poor products. People at these hobby forum sites are usually far better sources from dealing with setup, reliability, and potential problems of said gear. Final assessment should always be done in the home environment with your own ears after calibrations are made.

9) Often not talked about test the night time, midnight, or DRC (dynamic range compression) processing of your AVR/pre-amp. If you have a spouse, girl friend, children, neighbors (esp apartments), or anyone else that doesn't like the sudden shift from quiet to jump loud then you most likely must test this mode.


If you want to minimize the shopping experience then I would recommend the following:

a) AVR- Outlawaudio 1050 high quality at bargain basement price.

b) speakers- buy close out models from respectable manufacturers (currently if you can find it NHTs are pretty cheap on their Super series).

c) subwoofers- if you already have a decent power amp then buy the SVS otherwise buy either the Adire Shiva RAVA or HSU VTF model if shopping under $500. Also make posts at almost any DIY forums and you might can buy someones completed product at cost (recommend them to send you a photo) since most DIYs almost always want to build another better sub that what they have (we are the ultimate in the "grass is greener on the other side" type of people).

d) TVs (assuming under $500)- most Toshiba's pass most of the video calibration tests with regards to pluge, ability to hold black (power supply), geometry, and color. You will need an ISF technician to adjust grey scale for the best picture possible. HD is nice but unless it's in your area or you're willing to subscribe to satellite service I wouldn't recommend the extra cost and to wait for this feature.

e) DVD players- I'd advise to buy one that has progressive scan (since it's not that much more, and if you end with a HD capable TV you at least have something to use with it) and an user interface that you are comfortable with.

f) interconnects- I'd advise using RG-6 with RF to RCA adapters instead of the more pricier Monsters for coax digital, component video, composite video, and analog audio connections. It maintains 75 ohm resistance which is the standard that is used for these interfaces, cheap, shielded, and definitely capable of bandwidths needed in these formats. If you like check the DIY sites and build your own with canare and belden supplies.

g) speaker wires- buy at least one guage category thicker than what's in your speaker (just simply unscrew and detach either your input wire cup or a driver). This usually will be either 16 or 14 guage since most speakers are usually wired with 16 guage or thinner wire (same with most budget amps and AVRs). Bananas should only be used if it will be hard to install the wire (some speakers require mounting first and wiring second) to either the speaker, amp, or AVR.

 

[Keith_R]

Easter Eggs On DVD

Easter Eggs are hidden features on a DVD ( for you video gamers out there, they are kind of like video game cheats.)The people that are making the disc sometimes hide stuff on the disc like interviews, outtakes, maybe a game etc. Easter Eggs on a DVD usually require the user to press different buttons on their remote or search around throughout the menus on the DVD. A good place to find a list of known DVD easter eggs and how to find them is DVD Easter Eggs.

 

[Andy W]

What is a dipole speaker, and how and why are they used in a home theater?

Allow me to confine my answer to the more ubiquitous conventional box type speaker basic designs and 5.1 channel movie (not music) surround sound.

As most of you already know, a conventional speaker has drivers (woofers, tweeters, etc.) installed on a single face of the speaker’s cabinet, and the drivers are usually pointed toward the listening area. This type of speaker is called a monopole as it emits sound in only one direction, forward or toward the listening area. Monopoles are commonly used to deliver front left, center and right channel sounds of a multi-channel soundtrack, although other types of speaker designs can also be used effectively in the front channels.

A dipole speaker is one that has drivers facing in opposite directions from each other. One set of drivers is mounted on one side of the speaker cabinet (let’s call this side Face A). Another set of drivers (usually identical to those mounted on Face A) is mounted on the opposite side of the speaker cabinet relative to Face A (let’s call this side Face B). Therefore, a dipole speaker emits sound in two opposite directions - one sound field coming from Face A, and the other sound field pointed in a 180 degree opposite direction from Face A (coming from Face B).

In addition, dipole speakers have one other defining characteristic not visible by simply looking at its construction. The opposing drivers are internally wired to operate “out-of-phase” relative to each other. This means that as the Face A drivers are moving out or away from the cabinet at a specific moment to produce part of a sound wave, the Face B drivers are moving in or into the cabinet at the exact same time. This produces a diffused, or hard to localize sound effect and can be very beneficial for use as surround sound channels of multi-channel movie soundtracks.

When dipoles are used for surround sound channel duties, it is recommended to locate them directly to the sides of the listening area. Face A would point toward the front of the room, and Face B would point to the rear of the room. Therefore, one side of the speaker cabinet with no drivers would point toward the chair or couch where you sit to watch and listen to surround sound movies. This location of the dipole speakers relative to your seating location would put you in the “null” area of sound distribution coming from the surround sound channels. The “null” area is where it is difficult to locate where the sound is coming from.

When dipole speakers are used for surround sound and located in your room as described above, they can be most effective in recreating surround sound effects that are meant to sound as if the sound is all around you, as in a rain storm, wind, thunder, in the middle of a crowd, etc.

It appears then that dipoles should be used for the surround channels in lieu of conventional monopoles for home theater, yes?

In the days of Dolby Pro-Logic matrix surround (before Dolby Digital and DTS discrete multi-channel surround sound existed for home theater), the answer was a resounding yes. Old Dolby Pro-Logic soundtracks were monophonic (sound coming from the left and right surround channels were identical), were limited in channel separation relative to the front speakers, had limited lower and upper frequency response and limited dynamic range (could not get loud relative to the front channels). Back then, because of these limitations, surround sound was used primarily to put you into a diffused sounding environment, such as a cavernous room, a stadium, a rain storm, etc. Dipoles were highly recommended for use as surround channels by Dolby Labs because they reinforced the diffused surround effects that Dolby Pro-Logic was capable of reproducing.

Since the technology for Dolby Digital and DTS discrete multi-channel surround sound became a reality for home theater, the answer of whether dipoles are better than monopoles for surround sound is not so clear anymore. Dolby Digital and DTS are now capable of reproducing discrete stereo sound effects in the surround channels with the same full frequency bandwidth and dynamic range of the front channels. This opened new opportunities for movie soundtrack designers to put discrete sound effects (meant to be localized) into the surround channels, such as bullets whizzing by from different locations, a door knocking behind and to the right or left of you, distinct conversations coming from all around you, much more powerful explosion sounds, jets flying around your room, etc.

Yes, dipoles are still better at reproducing intended diffused surround effects, and Dolby Labs and other respected organizations still recommend dipoles be used for surround sound channel duties of Dolby Digital movie soundtracks. But what about those discrete sounds being put into Dolby Digital and DTS movie soundtracks – the ones that are meant to sound like they are coming from a specific direction? Since monopoles are generally accepted as being better able to help you pinpoint where a sound is coming from (provided the monopole speakers are designed to produce pinpoint imaging and are properly installed and located in your room, which is another discussion entirely), why not use monopoles for these newer soundtracks? The answer now, because of the newer surround sound technology is no longer so easy as it was just a few years ago.

Today, the debate continues whether dipoles should be preferred over monopoles for surround sound duties. Dipoles are better at reproducing diffused surround effects. Monopoles are better for pinpoint surround effects. However, both diffused and pinpoint surround effects are now utilized in today’s movie soundtracks. So which type of speaker should you go with for your surround channels? The answer has to be whatever your personal preference is. Listen to both types of speakers and decide for yourself which type of surround sound you like best before you make a purchase.

Some speakers are designed to be changed with the flip of a switch to behave as a dipole or as a monopole. Also, a few receivers (the more expensive ones) allow you to connect two sets of surround speakers, one set dipole and one set monopole, for you to decide which type of speaker you want to use at any given time.

One other thing – monopole speakers used for surround channels should be located to the sides, and unlike dipoles, somewhat behind the listening position. You should also experiment with what direction you should face the monopole speaker - toward the listener, toward the front of the room, toward the rear of the room or ceiling (for a reflective bounce effect), toward the opposite diagonal front speaker, etc. You’ll be surprised at the vast differences you will hear in the performance of the speakers. And its fun to experiment.

P.S. – Regarding discrete multi-channel surround sound music formats, such as DVD Audio and SACD, the conventional wisdom is to use monopoles, preferably identical model speakers all around (except subwoofer). But this is another discussion.

Happy listening.

 

[Adam Lenhardt]

Are my Citizen Kane and Wizard of Oz DVDs pan and scanned? There's no black bars!


No, they're not. All films prior to 1953 (the introduction of Cinemascope - think Star Wars wide) were filmed at roughly the same aspect ratio as your T.V. This means that you get the best of both worlds... No black bars, but no loss of picture! When widescreen TVs become the norm, these "Academy Ratio" films will feature grey bars on the sides of your widescreen set to maintain the proper shape.


All this widescreen stuff is bull! I compared the widescreen and pan and scan version of so and so movie, and the pan and scan version has MORE picture!


You may be experiencing one of two techniques... Super 35 or Open Matte. Super 35 is primarily used for films which feature a lot of special effects or movies where the director wants to acheive deep focus. They have the side effect of having an exposed frame area closer to your TV screen. Air Force One is an example:


This frame, taken by The Digital Bits shows the difference between the two versions. The inner rectangle is the widescreen version.

However, the Super 35 version is not always protected to be "opened up" or to reveal the extra picture information. In addition, the special effects guys only bother working on the section of the frame that will be visible in theaters, so any special effects shots will be pan and scanned. The movie is also framed for the widescreen version, so some of the impact can be lost in the opened up version.

For 1.85:1 movie, you'll be noticing a similiar event called Open Matte. The shape of film and lenses didn't change when the switch to 1.85:1 films... Only the framing and theatrical presentation did. So once again, you get some extra picture information on the top and bottom. However, since this information isn't meant to be seen, it's not protected for. A huge variety of hollywood goodies (boom mikes, lighting rigs, etc.) can pop up in this extra space. Like Super 35, all f/x shots are hard matted to 1.85:1 when the effects are done, so these scenes must be pan and scanned. With the widescreen version, you are garenteed a presentation that was meant to be seen.

 

[Elbert Lee]

I've got tons of advise, but I'll keep mine to one point:

Mating the speaker to the correct amp/receiver is important. I'll toss out the "rolled-off sounding electronics should be mated to bright speakers and vice versa". In the end, it's very difficult to tell WHAT one really enjoys until they've owned the system in their own home and familiarize themselves with the system.

My point is POWER. I find that, more often than not, speakers are hardly every used to their full potential because there simply isn't enough power in the sub $800 receiver range to power many of the towers. The reason I'm using $800 as a reference point is because many of these receivers don't have pre-outs for adding an outboard amp later on.

Tossing out the more "critical listening" terms like "smoothness, air, etc.", basic characteristics like "controlled and focused bass, full bodied mids, dynamics, and less distortion" are the main things for a first time buyer to concentrate on. These three characteristics are the basic attributes of a good speaker and the proper amount of power should be applied. Later on, when their ears become more critical, considering upgrading the receiver to a pre/pro and then even a better amp is always a logical step up.

Of course, when considering sub/sat systems, many of the above points become moot. For those considering a long term HT set up with larger speakers, I would try demoing the speakers with at LEAST TWO sets of amps/receivers in different power categories so as to hear how much the sound can vary on the speakers that he/she is considering.

Much of this applies to the large electronic store customers who are restricted to the often improperly set up systems in the demo rooms.

Elbert

 

[Charles J P]

What’s an Ohm?

The ohm is the unit of measure for impedance, or electrical resistance.

What does this have to do with your home theater? It affects how much power your amplifier produces.

Power = voltage^2/resistance. Anything that is fed an electrical signal provides resistance. The higher the number in ohms the higher the resistance. Many loudspeakers are rated at 8 ohms. (This rating is usually listed as “nominal” because resistance is variable-- it changes over the frequency range.)

It is usually not too high resistance that we have to worry about, but too low resistance.

Say you have an amp that will produce 25 watts (power) into 8 ohms. If you show the amplifier a 4 ohm load, you decrease resistance and increase power because any given number will be larger when divided by a smaller number (80/8 is less than 80/4).

As the resistance decreases and power will increase (a theoretically perfect amplifier would double in output) the current will also increase because Ohm’s law states that current = voltage/resistance (power = voltage^2/resistance).

If the amplifier has the capability to produce this much current and dissipate the heat, you will be fine, but if not, you will over heat the amp and may ruin it or at the least trip the protection circuitry. You should always know the limits of your speakers and amplifier to avoid damage.

 

[Steve Berger]

HOOKING UP YOUR DIFFERENT PIECES OF EQUIPMENT

Always read the markings and labels on the jacks. Get a flashlight and mirror (and magnifying glass ?) if necessary to see them. Never try and remember that "the blue one went here and the yellow one went there".An input connected to an input does nothing and an output connected to an output may break it.


START WITH BASIC OPERATION

Start with simple setups and once you've mastered running your systen that way you can add complexity and advanced features. That way if something stops working you have a better chance of troubleshooting the problem.


NEATNESS COUNTS

Route your wires carefully to avoid tangles. Trim wire ends carefully on speaker leads. This will make upgrading or troubleshooting a lot quicker and easier.


POSITIONING

Amps get hot. Don't put the DVD or CD on top of it. The amp may overheat and the optics will have a short lifespan.

 

[Jeffrey Forner]

Which Speakers Should I Get?
That question comes up all the time from newbies, and it's an extremely difficult question to answer because there are so many good choices from which to pick. In order to find the speakers that best suit your needs and living conditions, several factors must be taken into consideration:

• What is your overall budget?
  Your budget, above all else, will determine what you can and cannot buy. The higher the budget, the more options you will have. Of course if you spend more money, chances are you'll end up with better sounding speakers.
• How big is your room and what aesthetic considerations must be made?
  Many home theater gurus love big, huge speakers, but not everyone can have them or even want them. If you live in a small apartment or the system is going in a tiny bedroom or if you simply do not wish to have huge speakers invading your living space, you certainly don't want anything too big. If these things do not matter to you (or your spouse), than bigger speakers will likely make a bigger impact.
• What are your listening habits?
  Do you watch movies all the time? Do you mostly listen to music? What kind of music do you like? Certain speakers are better for certain purposes, and knowing what you will use them for can help us narrow down your choices.
• Do you want 5 speakers or just 2?
  If you're interested in a complete film experience, a good surround sound system with 5 speakers (and a subwoofer) is a must. If you only wish to listen to CDs or the radio, two speakers will likely do.

What are some good speaker brands to listen to?
There are many good speaker companies out there. The following is a small sample of some of the brands that have received favorable reviews from audio enthusiasts on the Internet and are worthy of consideration:

• Acoustic Research
• Adire Audio
• B&W
• Boston Acoustics
• Definitive Technologies
• Diva by Swans
• Energy
• Home Theater Direct
• JBL
• Klipsch
• Magnepan
• NHT
• nOrh
• Paradigm
• Polk
• PSB

(I'd like to add more brands to this list that I may have forgotten about. If you know of any others, please let me know and I will add them to the list.)

Keep in mind that you may not like the way all of these speakers sound. Each brand has its own unique characteristics and not everyone agrees on which sounds best. Listen for yourself and decide what you like. It's the best way to pick your speakers. You wouldn't buy a car without test driving it first, would you?


A few words about timbre matching
Another thing to consider--especially if you're buying speakers for a 5.1 surround sound system--is that you'll want to only buy one brand for the whole set. You see, when watching DVDs, often times sounds will pan from one part of the room to another. For instance the sound of a jet flying overhead might begin in front of you in the front left, right, and center channels, but after it passes overhead, it will move to the surround speakers behind you.

If you mixed and matched speakers from various brands (like if you bought JBLs for the front speakers but had nOrhs in the back), the characteristics of the sound may change as the sound pans around the room, since no two brands sound exactly alike.

Fortunately, manufacturers often make various models of speakers with similar components so that they are timbre matched. In other words, the characteristics of the sounds in the different speaker models are the same, even though they may not be the exact same models. For instance, the Home Theater Direct Level III towers are timbre matched with the Level III bookshelves as well as the Level III center channel. So if you wanted, you could mix and match these three speakers together in one home theater system, without worrying about the sound changing as it moves around the room.


What about BOSE? I don't see them on that list. Aren’t they a high-end speaker company?
The Bose brand is an often discussed topic among home theater enthusiasts. In a nutshell, Bose is not a highly respected brand in the world of high-end audio because they do not offer a product that is worthy of the price you pay to get it. For the same amount of money or less, you could buy speakers that sound as good, and in most cases, sound better. To learn more about why we do not recommend Bose, check out this article as well as this FAQ

Again, the best thing you can do when looking for a new set of speakers is to go out and listen to as many different models and brands as possible. The more research you do, the better idea you'll have of what's out there, and the more likely you are to find the speakers that are just right for you.

 

[Ash Williams]

What are some awesome sounding DVDs to test out my system?

There are several, but mine and I'm sure quite a few more HTFer's favorite discs include:

• Saving Private Ryan 5.1 DTS: Simply an outstanding surround mix! Bullets wizzing past from every direction, massive explosions rocking your house, and John Williams' haunting score make this one of THE best.
• Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace 5.1 Dolby Digtal EX: A truly referance soundtrack. It has it all, deep bass, magnificent surround action and a killer score. The pod race brought tears to my eyes.
• The Haunting 5.1 DTS: Personally I have never heard this mix, but I thought I would include it because so many HTFers swear by it.
• Fight Club 5.1 Dolby Digital EX: This mix has it all. Lots of killer deep bass, a lot of surround action and an awesome Dust Brothers score.
• Dances with Wolves 5.1 DTS: I hear this disc is OOP (Out of Print), but I think it can still be had on eBay. Here again, some decent bass, especially in the buffalo hunt scene, and some decent surround action.
• The Matrix 5.1 Dolby Digital: A lot of deep bass and very good surround speaker use. The only bad thing is that it is from Warner Bros., which means you will get a cut bit-rate mix.
• Seven: Platinum Series 6.1 Dolby Digital EX or DTS ES: The opening titles will make you turn your subwoofer down, guranteed! Both mixes have tons of bass and a very good music score.
• Apollo 13 5.1 DTS or Dolby Digital: Be sure to check out the rocket lanch scene, it is incredible. There is quite a bit of surrond action, but the bass is the real eye opener.
• Jurassic Park 5.1 DTS (Re-mix): Ever heard a T-Rex stomp? Well now you've felt it! This disc was re-issued by the studio as the original was lacking bass. Do a search to find out what I mean.

While there are numerous more DVDs with awesome soundtracks, those are some of the best. Essentially, as rule of thumb, if the movie has a lot of action and is a Hollywood blockbuster, then chances are it has a good sound mix.

 

[William_K_F]

Don't make this mistake configuring your 16x9 TV for DVD input.I had my new HD 16x9 Toshiba 34HF81 TV for over a month before I realized that I had the DVD player configured for a non-optimal picture.

Since some DVDs have an anamorphic signal for the widescreen recorded on them, you can get a full 480 lines of data displayed on your 16x9 TV if the DVD and TV are configured properly.

The DVD player should be set for a 16x9 TV, this is sometimes called "wide" mode and means the letterbox picture is stretched to what would fill a 4x3 TV screen, so that you get a full 480 lines of information for display on the TV.

The TV should be set for what my system calls "full" for viewing the DVD. This tells the TV to stretch the picture wider to fill the 16x9 screen, undoing the effect added by the DVD player explained above.

The net effect is a much better looking picture since you now have all 480 lines of data going to the TV rather than having some of those 480 lines wasted on the black bars needed for a 4x3 TV. :b

(Note 16x9 and 4x3 refer to the aspect ratio of the screen described earlier.)

 

[Jeff Kleist]

WHY ARE DVDs RELEASED ON TUESDAY?

For several reasons:

1-Most shipping recieving departments (at least where I've worked) work Monday-Friday, because that's when UPN/FedEx runs. This way they have all day Monday to recieve and price the product, and ready it for Tuesday.

2-Sales are slow in the middle of the week, and it gets people into the stores.

 

[Neil Joseph]

Subwoofers

A subwoofer is a dedicated speaker used to produce the lower frequencies (deep bass) that we can hear and in some cases, feel. They are essential in a home theatre because the other speakers in the setup seldom produce these low frequencies, which ultimately make the listening experience much closer to the real theatre's audio experience.

There are various ways to connect a subwoofer....

1- The most common way is to connect the receiver's "LFE out" to the subwoofer's "L and R" RCA terminals using a cable that is a single RCA on one end and splits to a dual RCA at the other end. A single RCA cable can also be used with a "Y splitter" that will provide the dual RCA ends for the sub hookup. One note on this: It is better to connect the receiver's LFE out to both of the subwoofers "L and R" inputs. Essentially, this will provide a volume level in the subwoofer twice as much as just connecting to the "L" alone, or the "R" alone. As an LFE sub, the subwoofer will only play "low frequency effects" as was intended by the audio material.

2- Another way to connect the sub is to use traditional speaker wire and to connect from the receiver's "Front Left" and "Front Right" to the subwoofer's "L" and "R" speaker inputs, then connect the front left and front right speakers directly to the subwoofer. Essentially, the subwoofer will always play the low bass information from the front channels as apposed to an LFE sub that plays only "low frequency effects" as intended by the audio material.

3- A third way to connect the sub is to use it as a dedicated surround sub. This is usually done only if used as a second subwoofer. When connected in the following manner, the sub will only play low frequency information from the surround left and surround right channels. The hookup is essentially the same as number 2 above, except the "surround left" and "surround right" are connected from the receiver to the sub's "L" and "R" inputs with traditional speaker wire and then the surround left and surround right speakers are connected to the subwoofer's "L" and "R" outputs.

 

[Kerry Hackney]

SPEAKERS: Direct Radiator – The conventional black cone speaker that most everyone recognizes. The two most common varieties are two-way, a woofer and a tweeter, and three way, a woofer a midrange and a tweeter. The other design variation is in the type of enclosure the speaker is placed in and what the effect of that design may be.

SEALED: All speakers are designed with a specific cabinet volume in mind. The volume of air inside a cabinet has a definite effect on the sound of a speaker in the bass to midrange frequencies. Sealed enclosures are just that, an airtight box with speakers mounted in the face. This, in effect, makes an air spring behind the driver that helps control the maximum movement of the bass drivers. This can be visualized by squeezing a balloon. The air inside helps support the motion of your fingers. Sealed boxes were once characterized as the better choice for music reproduction. This was in large part due to the control of the driver that the designs exhibited. This control usually meant that the speaker would have lower distortion. Today there are a couple of other options.

PORTED SPEAKERS: Ported speakers are identified by having an opening or port in the cabinet. This port is a tube normally, that is made to a specific length. The length of the port is used to “tune” the cabinet. Think of blowing over a Coke bottle. The tone you hear is a resonance controlled by the volume of air in the bottle and the length of the neck or port. By calculating the correct length of the port based on the volume of air in the cabinet, the frequency can be changed and designed for maximum benefit. The purpose of the port is to help augment the bass performance of a speaker. By using a port, the design can normally extend lower than the same design and drivers would in a sealed enclosure. Modern ported speakers offer performance that can be just as “musical” as a sealed enclosure. As speaker designers have learned more and more about how the driver and cabinet interact a lot of very good drivers and designs have emerged that take advantage of ported cabinets’ increased frequency range without sacrificing accuracy. The location of the port on the cabinet can come into play if the speaker is to be wall mounted or placed in a bookshelf. The port should not be obstructed or blocked in order to work as designed. This can be a major consideration in rear ported designs.

PASSIVE RADIATORS: PR speakers operate using a device that is in effect a non powered speaker cone. This cone can be vibrated by the air inside the cabinet to again, augment bass response as a port does. However, drivers in ported enclosures can operate in a detrimental way if they are driven below the tuning frequency of the port. PRs maintain the control of the drivers even below tuning. Normally, PR speaker are seen most often in subwoofer applications.

When picking out a speaker, it is most important to listen. Don’t worry about which design the maker has used. What is most important is how it sounds… Listen to music you are familiar with. Don’t try to compare several speakers at the same time. If possible, arrange for a trial period in your home. Make sure that if you listen in the dealer’s location that there are not any other speakers on, particularly subs. I have found on more than one occasion that the audition room had a sub operating at low levels. VERY UNCOOL and even deceptive marketing tactic.

 

[george king]

WHEN BUYING EQUIPMENT GO TO A HT OR A/V STORE

Many people think that they will only get a "good" deal if they go to a large mass market retailer. However, cheap prices come at a cost: Limited selection, poorly setup equipment, marginal customer service, and a sales staff that may not be knowledgeable.

However, at a good specialty store, the prices will not be that much higher. One will probably get a wider selection of equipment, good customer service, and generally well setup demo rooms.

Furthermore, many specialty shops have trade-in policies as well as the ability to demo equipment at your home. In addition, with regular patronage, you build a relation with the store which has added benefits over time.

 

[Vince Maskeeper]

Bi-wiring & Bi-Amping Speakers


1) True Active Biamping: This is when you have an active crossover unit between your preamp and amplifier which splits the full range signal coming out of the preamp into a Hi and Low freq signal.

These split signals are then fed from the active crossover to 2 seperate amps (or 2 different channels on an amp) and amplified completely seperately. This way your Hi and Low stay completely seperate from the very beginning... they get amplified seperately, and passed down a dedicated speaker cable for each signal...

When these 2 signals are fed into a speaker, they must go into a speaker specially wired to accept 2 discrete signals and route them to the proper drivers in the speaker. These speakers will have no internal crossover circuitry- all signal sent to them must be "pre-filtered"- and the speakers offer direct electical connections to the components inside...

This is true biamping- and it is very rare in Home Theater applications. It is ideal as it keeps the freq discrete starting before amplification - and gives you complete control. You find this type of setup in some movie theaters, some studio monitoring situations and professional PA systems (and many PA systems are actively split 3 way or 4 ways!)


2) Passive Biamping: This is where you don't have an active crossover unit to split the signal and instead you feed identical fullrange signal into two amplifiers (or 2 amp channels).

These full range signals are amplified seperately and then fed each on their own wire into a speaker designed to accept these 2 discrete full range signals.

A passive crossover filter inside the speaker filters out the High signal from the material destined for woofer and filters out the Low signal from the material destined for tweeter.

This crossover circuit inside the speaker is not connected between the HI and LOW- so each band pass is essentially "discrete" after the amplifier: it is just filtered after it is amplified (where as in #1 above it was split before being amplified).

Is also is uncommon in HT- although more common than true biamplification. This requires that you have 2 amps (or amp channels) to drive each speaker- and that the speaker is equipped to be wired this way.

This gives a full amplifier channel dedicated to Hi and one Dedicated to low: giving more power to each driver and usually results in a sonic improvement due to added amplification (and a few other possible factors).


3) Biwiring: This is where it gets sticky.

You run 2 speaker cables from a single amp channel and hook that to 2 inputs on the speaker. If you have special speakers designed to accept this (just like the ones explained in #2 above), The passive crossover filter inside the speaker filters out the High signal from the material destined for woofer and filters out the Low signal from the material destined for woofer.

As above, this circuit is not connected inside the speaker- so each band pass is essentially "discrete" after the amplifier- however since they share a single amp channel-- they are connected at the amplifier.

I am not persoanlly a fan of Biwiring- as I believe it is of no real advantage (however some will certainly argue otherwise- you should seek these opinions out if you're interested in considering this technique).

With Biwiring the advantage of discrete signal chain is theoretcially killed when the speaker wires are connected at the amp channel... You no longer get more power to the drivers, and no longer have discrete signal. Electrically speaking, there is very little difference from this versus just feeding a single fullrange signal to the speaker and letting it split it.

Usually any improvement in sound from BIWIRING seems to be the result of the fact that you're using 2 speaker wires (thus doubling the volume of signal wire).



SO:

True biamping requires a seperates system with an active crossover.

If you wish to experiment with Passive Biamping, or Biwiring- you have to make sure you have "biwire" type speakers which allow you to remove the jumper inside the crossover and run 2 speaker lines to the speaker.

-Vince