Info and forum posts by 'Herman'

RE: Chasing Amy

The HMV exclusive, and the crit region 1 are identical (except for packaging, and PAL/NTSC of course)

HTH

Herman

RE: This multi disc Lord of the Rings Set - why didn`t they bring this out in the first place?

SFX don`t know their arses from their elbows.

The mag is poorly written and abysmally researched.

Would take anything they say with a large pinch of salt.

(IMHO - of course)

RE: COAXIAL VERSUS OPTICAL

Some people believe different digital interconnects can sound different (for DD/DTS). IMHO they`re wrong.

I don`t believe it makes a difference. I also don`t believe it can make a difference, based on my limited understanding of the technology.

Cheers

Herman

RE: Marantz SR5200

So Westy,

Marantz 5200 or Yamaha 630?

How do you reckon they compare?

Cheers

Herman

RE: Crisis - How can I link a Yamaha VS10 and Minato G1

The product code on http://www.ardelectronics.com/ is 110-00939 - you`ll get directly to it if you type this in the search box.

I have no idea how this compares to the maplins one though (but as you`re dealing with a digital signal if it works it works (pretty much)).

Cheers

Herman

This item was edited on Tuesday, 21st May 2002, 17:35

RE: Crisis - How can I link a Yamaha VS10 and Minato G1

Thats all a bit negative. And more importantly wrong.
You just want to buy an optical/co-axial converter.

Get one here http://www.ardelectronics.com/ - costs about 8 quid

Make sure you get the co-axial to optical version

(CF this thread http://www.dvd.reviewer.co.uk/forums/thread.asp?Forum=211&Thread=93670)

Cheers

Herman

This item was edited on Tuesday, 21st May 2002, 15:35

RE: Amp Set-up (Sony HTK215)

Surely its the distance from the speaker to your listening position?

If you sit nearer the rears, you don`t won`t their sound delayed behind the fronts just cos the fronts happen to be nearer tha amp.

Cheers

Herman

RE: Anyone seen HTK-215 less than £259 ?

HT-K170 doesn`t decode dolby digital (5.1) either - only prologic. So you really don`t want that unless your DVD player has an internal decoder.

The bloke in Dixons told me the only difference between the two was the shape of the amp. LOL.

RE: Toshiba 110e & Sony HTK215 PLEASE HELP

As long as they work at all (i.e. its not broken) the difference should be negligible.

Cheers

Herman

This item was edited on Thursday, 2nd May 2002, 10:27

RE: Toshiba 110e & Sony HTK215 PLEASE HELP

yup!

RE: Toshiba 110e & Sony HTK215 PLEASE HELP

You are absolutely correct what you need is a coaxial/optical converter.

You can get one here http://www.ardelectronics.com/ - costs about £8, but I think you will still need a toslink (optical) cable and a coaxial digital cable to connect up all your kit. Then you should get DD/DTS loud and clear.

And remember boys and girls, never, ever believe anything someone in Currys/Dixons etc tell you. Ever.

Cheers

Herman

RE: Dolby Digital/5.1/DTS - Sony 215

If you are using the 5.1 phono connections the this will give you Dolby Digital 5.1 through the DVD player`s internal decoder. On the htk215 amp the 5.1 button means the 5.1 phono input (so I understand this could also be DTS/SACD/DVD-A, or anyhting which has 5.1 channels).

If you select DVD on the amp, this will give you the signal coming through the optical connection (DD/DTS), however the difference is that now the amp is doing the decoding.

I would suggest you decide which you think sounds better out of the two, but chances are the optical connection will sound better. In which case you would only need the 5.1 phono connections if your player does SACD/DVD-A or anything like that.

Hope that helps

Herman

RE: Help Sony HTK215

I think one of four things is going on:

1) The HTK215 is broken

2) The toslink cable is broken

3) The dvd optical out is broken

4) The dvd optical out needs to be enabled in some way

I reckon 2 or 4 is most likely - what sort of player do you have?

RE: Sony Pascal Speaker systems. Any thoughts?

The VS10 may sound better - but the HTK475 is definitely more upgradeable. This may not be a factor for you now, it wasn`t for me when I was first getting into home cinema, but I think this is a big factor.

The HTK475 is a proper amp which you can plug almost any proper AV speakers into, whereas the back of the VS10 actually states that you should not plug in any other speakers than those supplied - i.e. no upgrade path at all.

Have you though about getting the amp from the HTK475 - it is available separately (I can`t rememebr the model no. but I think it has 475 in it) and a cheapish speaker package from somewhere like richer sounds?

Herman

RE: COSTLY ADVICE

Slightly off topic, but - about 3 years ago I bought some trainers in New York. I tried the left one on in the shop, it fit so the salesman boxed them up, and I took them home and packed them.

When I got them home, I opened the box to wear them, and found I had 2 left shoes.

So for future reference, when buying shoes abroad, check you have a left and a right

RE: Need HELP!! Problem with Sony HTK215 DTS.....

I would guess that you need to setup the DVD player (not just the disc) to output DTS. Of course how you do this depends on what DVD player you have...

RE: How Loud can you go ? Sony htk215

I have the HTK215 and am fairly happy with it.

I haven`t noticed any obvious distortion at loud volumes - but as I live in a flat with oldish neighbours the girlfriend doesn`t really let me push it that much.

For my money it has one obvious advantage over the Yamaha VS10 (someone please correct me if they think I`m wrong) - it is more upgradeable. With the 215 all speakers plug directly into the amp, so you can easily upgrade any/all of them. With the VS10 I believe the centre and surrounds plug into the sub rather than the amp leading to a less flexible upgrade path. To be fair though, I have not listened to to VS10 so it may well sound better.

The only drawback I have with it is that on discs without a particularly good DD mix the sound can be a bit flat and thin. However on discs with good DD mixes (or DTS) it sounds cracking. I believe this issue may be ameliorated by upgrading some or all of the speakers - has anyone got an opinion on this?

Just one other word of advice - you need to connect your dvd to it with a digital optical cable (toslink) - it has no coaxial digital input.