Newbie w/ several problems/questions

Posted by Philip Brandes [IP: 152.163.213.82] on November 29, 1998 at 02:17:32:

In Reply to: Newbie w/ several problems/questions posted by Noah Katz on November 27, 1998 at 18:12:44:

Hi, Noah,

I'll try to answer some of your questions, but your descriptions are a bit confusing and more details on your setup would help.

: 3) The L/R speakers for music are on a wall adjacent to the video
speakers, and there's no center speaker. Speaker Configuration, near as
I can tell (I haven't done all the necessary experiments yet), is
global, so that if I set center ON for video, I'll have a big hole in
the middle for music listening. Or does turning down the center speaker
level in Effects Adjust add the signal back into L/R?

Are you saying you're using different speakers for music vs. video? The DC-1 can only drive one pair of fronts, unless you're doing some signal splitting somewhere. This means additional switching and adds a lot of complexity.

In any case, are you using a center or aren't you? if you don't have a center, set the Center to "None" in the Speaker config menu and leave it there. If the DC-1 thinks you have a center, turning down the center level won't route anything to the L&R--you're simply losing the signal.

: 2) Unless I set the Video input to V-disc, the on-screen display is an
unreadable gray on blue. For example, the Dish receiver is assigned to
VCR1's S-VHS video inout; I get the Dish picture but can't read the OSD.

Which OSD are you talking about--the DC-1's or the one from your satellite receiver? The DC-1's is configurable from the Setup--Display Adjust menu. Make sure it's configured properly. However, there's no way it should only be showing up on one input--if you've got OSD on, it will appear anytime you hit the DC-1 remote, regardless of input. Are you routing all your video inputs through the DC-1 to your monitor, or using the multiple inputs on your display for video (which I'd recommend as it gives you the best possible video signal)?

: 4) When I set the sub level by sound level meter (yes, with "C"
weighting), it's way too loud; - 5 dB from the setup level seems about
right. Why would that be? Also, is there a quicker-access way to set sub
level than going into Output Levels or Effects Adjust?

You're measuring from the listening position with the meter pointed up, correct? If you listen to some sources at significantly less than 0 dB volume, the loudness contour may be boosting the bass too much for your taste. Try turning it off in the Equalization menu and see if that helps. Also, the LF measurements with a Rat Shack meter are somewhat imprecise--if you still like the way it sounds at -5 setting, go for it--it's your system. As for a "quick" adjust, no--you have to go through the menu sequence. However, you can automate the sequence with a programmable remote with macro capability like the Marantz RC-2000 or some of the new touch screen remotes from Madrigal/Harmon and Microsoft.

: 1) For the first couple of days, Effects Bypass worked, but now when I
activate it the only thing that plays is the Subs. What's going on?

Impossible to tell from your description. I'd suggest you jot down your speaker distances and other config. Settings and do a complete system reintialization.

: 1) On TV (Dish and broadcast), including movies which I'd expect to be
Dolby encoded, there's not much surround effect in Logic 7 or TV Matrix.
Which effect are other people using?

These are the effects with the most aggressive surround steering--others will only give you less. Are your speakers properly calibrated from the listening position? Make sure your balance controls are in the center position for those effects (they can be set differently for each effect).Also setting soundstage to rear will give you more surround. If you reinitialize, this might solve your problem. However, if your source signal has problems, no surround decoder will help. Are you feeding the stereo audio directly to the DC-1 or routing it through some other device like a VCR (if so, don't). Also, does this problem only happen with broadcast signals (if it were a problem with the surround effects it would happen on all sources).

Follow Ups:

• Newbie w/ several problems/questions Dylan 07:45:27 11/29/98 (0)

Return to the new SMR Forums Menu

Design & HTML © SMR Home Theatre, Images © SMR Home Theatre cannot be reproduced without permission.  The images on this page are digitally watermarked.  New forum messages should be posted into SMR Forums v2 - http://www.smr-forums.com/

	The Web   SMR Archive