What have you got ? and can it play music to an ok standard ?

[Spectral Morn]

I got myself into trouble once for my stance on multi-channel sound on the main forum. Those opinions were based on hearing a lot of stuff over the years including very expensive Lexicon and Parasound AV gear. Even the very best are beaten by cheaper two channel gear. There is way to much extra crap going on in these to sound as good as a dedicated HiFi system.However some AV amplifiers have reasonable power amplifiers inside so hooking up a dedicated audio pre-amplifier can work. However the system become messy to work so I never went down that road.

Stan Beresfords speaker/amplifier switch could allow you to hook an AV amplifier and two channel audio system together using the same front speakers. Worth a try as it is very transparent to audio signals.

My main set-up is as follows...

Denon AVC-AV1SE. The first 6.1 amplifier with DTS and Dolby Digital versions of that sound processing option. Fantastic weight and scale with effortless dynamics. But on music two channel its crap, movies are brilliant. One of the best all in one AV amplifiers I have ever heard. I should point out that I have heard a lot of Yamaha, Marantz, Harmon Kardon, Onkyo amplifiers that have come out since the AV1SE and none of them despite having more up to date sound processing are as good to me ears.

Pioneer DVD 868 AVI for multi-region discs. My main DVD player is a recently acquired Meridian G96 DVD transport.....no analogue outputs with it though; nor DVD Audio. On movies its stunning in fact I don't even need to put my Sub on at times.

I also have a Toshiba DVD 900E. I am not using it at the minute.

Panasonic DVD recorder with hard drive (I have never recorded a DVD but I do use the hard drive a bit) JVC Svhs/Hard Drive recorder HM HDS1 brilliant bit of kit

Sky + box (hard drive stopped working last year so I use the JVC and Panasonic. That's the second one to die on me )

Speakers are Mission and the Sub is a Rel Q200E.

Cabling is Top of the range Qed and Ixos and the TV is a 36in Panasonic PD50 E

I also have an AV system in my bedroom comprising of a Toshiba 32 in flat CRT TV, Yamaha AV amplifier and an Energy speaker package. DVD player is a Sony with Sony VCR.

I never listen to music on any of this kit just watch movies and the odd concert. Turn the visuals off with a concert and the sound is usually wrong to my ears but put the visuals back and the mind seems to make adjustments...anyone else experience that ?

Oh yes everything is set up right using sound pressure wave metre...I have both a digital and analogue one. I calibrate the sound levels to 75 DB and C weighted. I bought those way back when I worked in the Brown goods trade....they have proven to be invaluable over the years. I prefer the analogue one.


Regards D S D L

[Reid Malenfant]

I never listen to music on any of this kit just watch movies and the odd concert. Turn the visuals off with a concert and the sound is usually wrong to my ears but put the visuals back and the mind seems to make adjustments...anyone else experience that ?


Regards D S D L

Interesting that you mention this Neil as you just reminded me of something

I happen to have quite a few DTS encoded 5.1 channel music discs (music only) & the effect is staggering with the thing set up properly. This is another reason i can't wait (even though i have to) to get back to having the AV setup as it should be. Except intead of a Harmon Kardon AVR5500 the whole thing will be improved

In answer to your question i can't honestly say that i have ever knowingly tried it... however i seem to remember a couple of times the projector going off (dodgy connection in a 4 way mains block ) & apart from wondering what the heck had happened things did sound odd with no picture

[Spectral Morn]

Yes Mark it is odd. I have never experienced anything like this with HiFi sound though but I usually listen in the dark anyway so visuals are not part of the equation.

I think it is the way the sound is mixed in to match the visuals etc. Take the visual away and the illusion is broken.


Regards D S D L