Which AV Amp????

Centre first, then the sub.

Depends on the rest of the speakers. I've got floorstanders at the front so running a 5.0 setup is fine as it redirects the bass to the L&R.

Have borrowed a couple of subs and with a KEF 2002 one I couldn't really tell enough of a difference vs the bass from the front floorstanders. A BK XLS200 however did make a difference, but then again the neighbours would hate me... :D
 
I've just noticed that im getting hissing noise from the front 2 speakers. It disappears when i select "2CH/A.Direct" and select 2CH STEREO. I was just playing Fifa09 and it was very noticeable until i selected 2CH STEREO.

- Now am i right in thinking this is the setting i should be using anyway as i only have 2 speakers?

I think by default the amp uses A.F.D. AUTO mode and this is what is causing the hissing. I don't think its a problem with my setup, speakers or amp as the hissing disappears when i select 2CH STEREO

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Comparing the notes from the manual:

- "2CH STEREO outputs the sound from front left/right speakers only. There is no sound from the subwoofer. Standard 2 channel stereo sources completely bypass the sound field processing and multi-channel surround formats are down mixed to 2 channel except LFE signals

NOTE: No sound is output from the subwoofer in the 2CH STEREO mode. To listen to 2 channel stereo sources using the front left/right speakers and subwoofer, select A.F.D. AUTO"

- "The Auto Format Direct (A.F.D) mode allows you to listen to higher fidelity sound and select the decoding mode for listening to a 2 channel stereo sound as multi channel sound."

"A.F.D. AUTO Presents the sound as it was recorded/encoded without adding any surround effects. However, this receiver will generate a low frequency signal for output to the subwoofer when there is no LFE signals."

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  1. Am i right in saying that the A.F.D setting is causing the hissing as i do not have a subwoofer and the sound instead is going to the front speakers?
  2. Am i also right to use the 2CH STEREO mode as i do not have surround or a subwoofer?
  3. And because i have selected the 2CH STEREO mode does that mean im not getting HD Audio. LPCM stays lit on the amp screen....
 
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AFD - Auto Format detect. On my older Sony it will play 2 channel input in a particular format , eg Stereo (ie 2 channel), ProLogic II Music etc. When it finds a proper 5.1 encoded format on a digital input then it's switches to Dolby Digital/DTS as appropriate.

A.Direct (Analogue Direct) mode basically turns off all unnecessary audio and video processing and behaves like an old fashioned HiFi Amp. For 2 channel sound from an analog input I find it sounds much better.

Mine is set to A.Direct for CD and my iPod. Everything else eg TV, Sky, iPod is set to AFD/ProLogic II Movie which will override with DD/DTS when appropriate.

Not sure about the hiss - my STR-DB790 is the last of the analogue amp'd Sony's. I suspect the digital amps and processing are causing the hiss. I seem to remember the early digital amp'd Sony's got criticism for the amount of hiss. If you don't have more than two speakers I'd leave it in A.Direct for the time being as you are not using the extra functionality.
 
MagicBoy said:
Mine is set to A.Direct for CD and my iPod. Everything else eg TV, Sky, iPod is set to AFD/ProLogic II Movie which will override with DD/DTS when appropriate.
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I'm not using A. Direct (i use 2CH Stereo). A. Direct is for analogue sources. When i select it i get no sound and "analogue" appears on the amp screen.

With 2CH Stereo mode the amp still displays "HDMI" and "LPCM"
 
A.Direct will only with with analogue sources as the convertors etc are all powered off.

Not sure on the HDMI and LPCM indicators - mine pre-dates HDMI so doesn't have them. Indicates an HDMI connection using LPCM sound perhaps?
 
Well i got a lot done tonight. I'm finally getting 5.1 sound from AC3 on my HTPC. Now the movie soundtracks are more fuller. I still don't know if this is the correct setting?

I ticked the box for "Enable SPDIF" in AC3 filter and it was only then that the amp stopped showing LPCM and started showing Dolby and the 5.1 speakers lit up.

I tried a few blurays also. 3:10 to Yuma, Babel and Superbad and hit the display button. All of them were showing LPCM on the amp display. I changed the setting on the PS3 to "Bitstream" and then the amp lit up with Dolby 7.1 EX and stuff.

All this HD Audio is starting to do my head in now because i still dont know if im using all my inputs at they correct settings.
 
All this HD Audio is starting to do my head in now because i still dont know if im using all my inputs at they correct settings.
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and so you have to ask the question "is HD audio really worth it when i cant tell the difference?"


as far as the ps3 goes, it cant bitstream HD audio but it can bitstream 'sd' audio. it makes things somewhat complicated but, basically, the following applies for the ps3:

bitstream output set to off:
SD audio - (DD and DTS) decoded and output as LPCM (not ideal)
HD audio - decoded and output as pcm (good)

bitstream output set to on:
SD audio - DD/DTS output as DD/DTS (left untouched) (good)
HD audio - downsampled to 640k DD or 1.5mb DTS depending on the source (not ideal)

You can see from thatk, that there's a problem. You have to keep changing that bitstream setting depending on whether your watching a dvd or bluray,. Not ideal but as of right now there is still no way around it.
 
So my next question is should i use Bitstream or LPCM on the PS3?
I don't want to chop and change depending on what movie im playing. From what your saying i should set it to LPCM.....? :confused:
Ho the joys of going from a Stereo amp to an AV amp!

Anyway, im finally getting DTS and Dolby Digital audio from my HTPC so that's one good thing. It only took me till 4.00 in the morning to set-up AC3filter properly for that to happen. Now the HTPC passes all the audio to the amp in the original state and thee amp does all the decoding.

Also, finally managed to setup an activity on the harmony 1000 that gives me complete control of my HTPC properly as i was doing it wrong in the past.

I have to say though, my system really does sound a hell of a lot better with an AV amp. Bass is fuller, individual sounds are more distinguishable, background bass is more fuller and speech is more clear.
I have to say my Kef IQ5SE's have come to life!!!

I tried my new configuration/settings with The Dark Knight 1080p mkv and it sounds AWESOME!!!!!
The bit at the start where the drug dealers are in the car park and the bat mobile comes crashing in and then starts firing is brilliant. The bass and roar is supreme. Action scenes are just incredible now.

This Sony DSG820 amp sure does deliver (and i haven't got round to installing a sub and center speaker YET). Well worth £227.50 :D

PS. The 2CH Stereo mode is still HD Audio
 
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I did quite a bit of testing with the ps3 sound outputs. In the end I had it set to bitstream for every but bluray fiims and when I put them on I change to PCM. I just found that my yamaha amp at the time did a far better job at decoding Dolby digital and dts then the ps3 did. In back to back test the difference was like night and day. The ps3 was dull and lifless in comparrison.
 
Reality Bites said:
the amp doesn't downward fire, the sub does! I must second the quad l-ite sub. I have it as part of the quad l-ite 5.1 package and the sub is awesome! It was a £550 sub, but as mentioned can be had for £250 now.
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I wouldn't even consider spending £250 on a Quad lite sub when the BK XLS200 can be had for 50 notes more. It's a no brainer really.
 
wolvers69 said:
I wouldn't even consider spending £250 on a Quad lite sub when the BK XLS200 can be had for 50 notes more. It's a no brainer really.
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how have you come to that conclusion? The quad was a £550 sub and the BK is a £280 sub which you have to rely on peoples views cos they're not sold in shops.

and have you even heard either of them?
 
Yep, they're excellent, my friend has one. It's a match for more expensive subs. I think that it's the same as a more expensive MJ ones as I believe that BK make them. There also hand made in England which is a plus point for me.

The Quad is a good sub but it's only available at that price for a refurbished one. I demo'd the lite set when I was looking for my speakers. It's a good match for the lites but I would have thought that with the OPs Kefs the lower frequencies that the BK can reach would be a little more beneficial.
 
photoshop said:
So my next question is should i use Bitstream or LPCM on the PS3?
I don't want to chop and change depending on what movie im playing. From what your saying i should set it to LPCM.....? :confused:
Ho the joys of going from a Stereo amp to an AV amp!
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yep LOL. you want Bitstream for dvd's and LPCM for Blurays. its something so easily fixable by sony in the firmware be weve been waiting for a while now well, since launch lol)

As for the rest of it, im glad your enjoying it! thats what it's all about
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i've ran in to a problem with this amp. When im using the htps and the htpc is and i change to another input on the amp the HTPC shuts down.

Why is this? Is the amp sending a shutdown signal to the htpc?
 
erm..... pass/. i dont know if its a global setting or if you can turn it on/off for each input. just try turning it of for the pc input and see if it then shuts the pc down
 
brilliant, its settling in nicely thanks :) SD picture hasnt changed though, its still very ropey:p i can forgive its lack of sharpness, that isnt a real issue but i know what the problem i had with it is now - its the color, its very posterized with sd feed. There's just a lack of depth to the colour which i couldnt pinpoint before. the old sony was still much better in that regard.


but still, i dont really care as my pz80 almost never sees anything other than 1080p :cool:
 
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