Sony G90 manual Manufacturer’s Corner, RPG Diffuser Systems Inc., Room Optimizer

Page 44

plished with gain biasing to the surround channels, either. I

set up the speakers fair and square. But clearly, the T770’s

steering in DD mode is precise and smooth.

Finally users are going to have to decide for themselves

which features they can and can’t live without. At its suggested

list price, the T770 faces some stiff competition from AVRs with

higher stated power ratings and prodigious features. Now I’m

not a big bells and whistles fan. If I want to drive fast, give me

direct input of a gated manual five speed from any era Ferrari,

not the “fly by wire” computer electronics of a clutchless Tip-

tronic. The same goes for audio and video. I want to see and hear

the unadulterated material reproduced as intended. A great

many poseurs impress with their sizzle. But as single-chassis

designs go, the NAD T770 is all steak.

M a n u f a c t u r e r I n f o r m a t i o n

NAD ELECTRONICS OF AMERICA

6 Merchant St.

Sharon, Massachusetts 02067

Tel: (781) 784-8586; fax: (781) 784-8386

Website: www.nadelectronics.com

Source: Manufacturer loan

Price: $1,699

Manufacturer’s Response

NAD would like to thank Neil Gader for his thoughtful review of the T770 receiver.

One point I would like to elaborate on is his

assertion that speaker sensitivity and impedance should be carefully evaluated for compatibility with the T770’s 70-watt x 5 power rating. While he is correct in the absolute sense, the T770 incorporates an exclusive NAD amplifier design, imped- ance-sensing circuitry, which endows the NAD with the ability to properly drive 4-ohm speakers by maintaining the correct relationship between voltage and current irrespective of the loudspeaker being driven. This is accomplished automatically, requiring no adjustments from the listener. The T770 is stable even at 2 ohms!

As Neil mentions in his opening paragraph, we rate our power for A-V products the same way we rate our stereo amplifiers, that is, all channels driven simultaneously, 10 Hz – 20 kHz, at

0.08percent THD. Most manufacturers would have rated the

T770 at 100 x 2, 20 Hz – 20 kHz at 0.08 percent THD and 100 x 5 at 1 kHz. We believe our conservative approach is more in keeping with our “music first” approach to A-V products.

GREG STIDSEN

DIRECTOR OF SALES AND MARKETING

NAD ELECTRONICS OFAMERICA

Manufacturer’s Corner

e are grateful to manufacturers Wfor correcting any errors of fact in our reviews. When we can, we also include the manufacturer’s com -

ments following a review. But sometimes space does not allow us to do that and this section gives us the opportunity to include a cogent comment while the sub - ject is ripe, rather than holding it over for inclusion in another issue.

RPG Diffuser Systems,

Inc., Room Optimizer

I’d like to commend Tom Miiller for tack- ling a very challenging task (“Revel Ulti- ma Speaker System Episode One: The Ancient Enemy,” this issue). Episode One is a wonderful attempt to raise the awareness of our community to the acoustical distortions a room can intro- duce. RPG has been conducting room acoustics research for 16 years, sharing our results with the acoustical and enter- tainment industries through peer review publications, seminars at CEDIA, NSCA, the Audio Engineering Society, and the Acoustical Society of America. Over time, it became apparent that despite the progress we have made in room- acoustic design, sound diffusion, and absorption technology, recording studios and residential hi-fi and home-theater communities were still at the mercy of the location of the loudspeakers and the listener. In researching existing pro- grams to assist in these two areas, we

found that the solution lay in a new approach that simultaneously addressed modal coupling and speaker-boundary interference response (SBIR), the two causes of low-frequency acoustic distor- tion. A technical description of this new algorithm was presented at the AES and a copy can be down-loaded from our website (www. rpginc.com). One can address this problem using wave acoustics, called the frequency-overlap method, or by geometrical acoustics, using the image model. Both approaches are difficult to apply. The rectangular room offers a unique case in which both resolve into simple and identical solu- tions. The image model, however, is the default solution, since it is time-based and can be windowed to provide the SBIR and modal responses. The issues are how to deal with the SBIR and modal coupling simultaneously and how to search the millions of possible solutions for the best one. Simultaneous treat- ment of SBIR and modal coupling was easily addressed by using the weighted smoothness (standard deviation) of both responses, and an intelligent search engine (downhill simplex, in this version) was used to search through error space for the best answer. One thing to keep in mind is that this type of problem requires optimization of many variables at one time. This type of problem con- tains the possibility of false solutions. The goal is to find the global minimum.

The starting point always affects the solutions, so the program allows for the evaluation of many random starting points. Each solution is valid and users should choose the solution that has the smallest error and the best ergonomic placement. Once loudspeaker and listen- er positions are established, the pro- gram indicates optimum positions on walls and ceiling for absorptive and diffu- sive materials to control the mid-high frequency portion of spectrum. It is important, though, to remember that the objective is envelopment in the A-V experience, and this cannot be accom- plished by sound absorption alone. The acoustical palette consists of absorption, reflection, and diffusion. The best room can be achieved by an appropriate com- bination of these. Deader is not better!

While users are generally astonished at the difference proper placement can provide, some tweak the positions the program generates. The program will find the locations that generate the best room response within its stated assumptions. While a flat room response may be math- ematically preferable, listeners have dif- ferent hearing acuity, musical tastes, and musical training. So let the Room Opti- mizer get you close, then tweak to taste. We are committed to expanding and improving the Room Optimizer, and users’ comments are welcome.

PETER DANTONIO, PRESIDENT

RPG DIFFUSOR SYSTEMS, INC.

Image 44
Contents Sony G90 Size Does Matter Ingly just beyond reach Than ever we needed in strange, dark cavesExperience before he finds a little of It Sound and vision at the same time every timeKubrick’s Eyes Wide Shut HP Bergman’s The Seventh Seal DVDFollies & Frolics Barco Vision WatchEditors will respond next issue Can All That Counts Be Counted? a Forum BeginsII Janet’s Index EditorIf The Perfect Vision is to push Problem with DVD Digital ArtifactsTargeting 14-Year-Old Boys? Azine Widescreen Review perhaps? Down Primrose Path Toward Perfect Vision Forever?At all. So it doesn’t take Hdtv or What Not To See on DVD Digital Cinema The Good Bad of ItJohn Eargle Lossy Data Compression & DVD Sound TV Is TVI L L E R Series such as Star Trek The Next Generation . EachE G Movie TriviaDVDs Gaining Momentum S I C & M U L T I M E D I a E G S a N D O WM M a R T I N Panasonic DVD-L50D PalmTheaterViaTV VC 105 Videophone R R Y R a W L I N S O N EncounteredInfocomm Report Significant New Products and TrendsWorld of displays To recreate the theater experience in the home Ogy near its limit and its days are numbered. The displayLight projected on the screen. These considerations have Tunately, there are trade-offs for the small size of ultraAn Ideal Cinema? Real movie where there was none before, or at least Ometimes I think that every position on aMoviemaking crew comes with its special privi Leges, its perks, as it were. If you’re the script superOne way or another when it comes to working with Ity between when they are and whenAssistant directors, service people, FootageCertainly a serviceable way to edit MoviesLikely to get you Directors seem to trust me to use my Into any troubleAllowing for camera setups, lighting, and rig Takes and setups meaning the masterIt’s a funny thing about matching in editing. Most lay Enjoy prelaps to pull the narrativeSion? In Understanding Media, McCluhan R L E Y Lexicon MC-1 ControllerSonic Flavors To Slake Every Thirst Listening to Movies Logic 7 Digital Signal Processing for Movies and MusicLexicon’s Music Surround Modes Listening To Music Surround Conclusion Ing the Denon Anechoic Orchestral Music Recording CDControllers DSP and the Future-Proof Controller Two-Channel Bypass ModeSurround Decoding and Digital Signal Processing DSP THX-Certified Controllers Bass ManagementHigh-Resolution Digital Audio …the controller representsRadical new path to Future…After DSP Digital to Analog Conversion InterFacing the UserRevel Ultima Speakers From 2 to 7.1 Channels Episode One The Ancient EnemyMeet My Enemy M M I I L L E RDeploying the Troops RPG Room Optimizer Software 59 byRevel Ultima Salon Noble Warrior Start and go get a beer, or twoYou wanted to cross over your subwoofer at 40 Hz Tion coefficient for the surfaces that is comparable toOur noble warrior against the ancient enemy Likewise for the 15-inch woofer in the Sub-15Essary to achieve the Revel design team’s led by Kevin Research effort to quantify in-room speaker behaviorDirect radiator to bloated. The Salon’s soundstage com By Keith Johnson for Reference RecordingsNal processing in controllers hadn’t made subwoofer Speaker? Removing the bottom octave from the Salon’sFormance. Orchestral music, for example, is performed Woofer, when it is well integrated with your main speakersCians often use emphasis in the intensity Cy, phase, and time. It then develops adaptive filters that Battle Summary Stand-offEpisode Two a War On Two Fronts Get that the fight for the lowlands was far from overLINN-AV5103 Aktiv Multi-Channel System Search of the Mythical BeastCompany of the Beast Quest BeginsWorking the Environment Remote InterfaceNAD T770 Audio-Video Receiver Just the Basics, Done WellSumming Up I L G a D E RDas Boot, The Director’s Cut Wolfgang Peterson, director Gaines’ Stormy Monday I’ve Got the T-Bone WalkerSteering in DD mode is precise and smooth Manufacturer’s CornerRPG Diffuser Systems Inc., Room Optimizer Designs go, the NAD T770 is all steakI D I W a L E S O N Want My DVDMajor Labels’ Plans for Classical Music on DVD Tan Opera Guide to Opera on Video and executive direc Audience, he says. We fed that information to the rear Tion from the main mikes as well as the spot mikesFrom the two main mikes and brought it to the rear ones Have been considered typical indeed, good for aSee review, this issue Quering technology issues, Moorhead says. Most of ourFall was so high. This was an elaborate joint Computer and TV combinedStars. God, was I skeptical Made for DVDOriginal, so they’re not going to fake it for DVD Dramatic confrontation, in the second scene of Act Two Must answer three riddles. If his answers are correct, sheTo Turandot’s collection the Chinese nation, ruled by an Ple either turning cynical, or lusting for more bloodTurandot. And why would there be? Yes, Puccini conscien Preoccupation like that made more sense, butTucks into a tiny corner of the staging. Hordes of Chinese Moon onstage we see a corps of Chinese dancers, wearingClassical DVD Sampler DVD-nessMent of that, and when I listened, I found I’d choose With the sound either way, or with the sound of the ScalaFull of pomp and circumstance, but much less lifelike PerformancesRole mostly as a force of nature, powerful but blank Start of each one, there’s Karajan on screen, his faceLike institutional persona, Herr Music Director of All That’s simply ravishing This performance is broadRoger Reynolds Watershed Mode 70, DVD SurroundedJargon Experiment in a New MediumAre so new that we all need orientation Though, is that Reynolds is way too impressed withYes, theorists can find all sorts of relationships among Areas of music rhythm, loudness, and tone color, forMusical score Maybe, succeeded by metallic effectsBut in rhythms he himself creates. In practice, these, to That, while Otto is allegedly creating syntax by movingPop With a Twist B G E N D R O NMents of a Clockwork Orange What Ever Happened to Baby Performance we see on DVD begins with a filmPerfect timing and careful choreography Below-average vocal performanceSon’s Dead to the World. Nope Horizon, probably to his death. It is a scene that demandsDVD, with its digitally clear resolution Tabloid, because of its sensational purInsignificance of the media and with a Ly slurs the tune’s climactic line,WhatDent films Gods and Monsters, Cookie’s Fortune that Godzilla, Armageddon, Instrument is better thanWith 1991’s In on the Kill D R E W Q U I N T Close EncounterVoices of Light/The Passion of Joan of Arc Special presentation of Voices of Light/The Passion of Joan Obvious. The movie is about as complete as it can be. Other instances, were not merely happy coincidences, norEach other. Seen together, they seemed inseparable yet By much of the sound reinforcement heard in BroadwayAn Introduction to Digital Video Part 2 Video Color ConceptsPhysics of Color Human Color PerceptionColorblindness Color Concepts for Video Additive ColorLuminance Hue and SaturationCIE Chromaticity Diagram Display Color Accuracy RGB Primaries The Color TriangleColor Measurement Color Bars White Reference Color TemperatureGrayscale Color Temperature Other color signals will also Color errors.Are used in some circumstances Instrument known as a color analyzer or a spectroAvia Guide to Home Theater pro AdjustmentsColor and Hue E G R O G E R S Sony VPH-G90U Multiscan ProjectorPhysical Installation and Set-up ConnectionsScan Rates Operating FunctionsPerformance SummaryDescription SpecificationsRunco DTV-930 Multiscan Projector Inputs/Outputs Convergence Labs Test Report Greg Rogers Formats can be selected directly from the remoteHorizontal and vertical scan frequencies and other source Be noticedRange Combination is about the reasonable limit to achieve anLine Doubling = Deinterlacing Remote ControlIEV Turboscan 1500 Line Doubler Video outputs. As a progressive video reference, I used a Creates progressive video without deinterlacing artifactsIcs-grade front projector 3Dfusion do each in different ways. The TurboscanL L C R U C E Pioneer Elite DVL-91 Combination CD/LD/DVD PlayerLook and Feel Up menus allow you to configure such things as onscreen lan Meaning clearDVD Performance LD PerformanceLy, the remote of the DVL-91, like that Wrong one in the darkDvdo iScan Plus Line Doubler Celebrate Film Classic Comedy’s Second Coming Roberto Benigni L M & M O V I E SThough a number of films in which Benigni Quently escape was Benigni’s first American and EnglishRoberto on the Internet Cute cameo which perhaps hints at a sequel Aspect ratio and running time incorrectlySound Original Pink Panther film go figure. Sad to saySpecial Editions Kubrick and The Space Monsters First wave of anger and incredulity. The DVD set wasNo thanks to Warner’s folks Small wonder Set consists of Lolita, Dr. Strangelove, 2001 aBoth Clockwork and Full Metal Jacket exhibited pinkish Special Editions Few Weird Thoughts What Dreams May ComeWorth a Look Relatively Recent Arrivals Navigator a Medieval Odyssey, the other is Map Human HeartHow beautiful she was when she was married to Roger Movie would have had the solid foundation it neededTo say that the film is developing a cult following some Smooth as could be and given the importanceBiopics Three British Royals Love.1 AsOtranto Man in the Iron Mask 1939. But it is his Old Dark House 1932, The Invisible ManHP Comments Ic in this context in cloud cuckooland, with their You have an idea of what’s really going on in the filmMon with The Shining than with any other Kubrick opus Food-storage roomFrom Art to Cult N a T H a N V a L I NOnly later goes on to give them human dimensions. Even Such blatant symbolism can sustain an entire movieNot content to present us with an allegory of the eternal Face the questions that vexed and hauntedIssues 111 Back Issues Website Change of Address Questions About Your SubscriptionLetters to the Editor Editorial SubmissionsA S S I F I E D a D O R D E R F O R M Name Company Address CITY, State , ZIPVision Watch