Al Griffin

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How Do I Use a Speaker’s Biamp Connections?
Al Griffin  |  Mar 17, 2015  |  1 comments
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Q I have a home theater system powered by an AV receiver for watching movies, but I also want to connect a turntable and separate stereo amp to the system’s front speakers for listening to music. If a speaker has biamp connections, can you connect two separate sources to it? I want to connect the stereo amp to the top jacks on my speakers and my AV receiver to the lower jacks. Will that work? Clint Yarborough / via e-mail

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How Do I Use a Standalone Sub Instead of the Ones Built into My Tower Speakers?
Al Griffin  |  Apr 16, 2015  |  4 comments
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Q I recently purchased a pair of Definitive Technology BP 8060 ST tower speakers with built-in subs. They are connected to my Sony STR-DH750 receiver. What would be the correct speaker setting if I used the 8060s as my front speakers (set to Large) and continued to use my Sony sub for LFE instead of the ones built into the Def Tech towers? The rest of my system consists of two Infinity rear surrounds and a center speaker, plus two Bose speakers mounted on the front wall that I use for height speakers. —Kevin Bolin / Houston, TX

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How Do New LCD TVs Compare with My Beloved Plasma
Al Griffin  |  Mar 29, 2018  |  13 comments
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Q I’m considering buying either an 82-inch Samsung LCD or a 65-inch LG OLED and am wrestling with the issue of TV picture quality versus size. Having happily owned a 50-inch plasma TV for the past 11 years, I’m wondering how the new LCDs stack up against plasma models when it comes to picture quality? — Gregorio Lopez / via e-mail

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How Do Older Receivers Handle Atmos Soundtracks?
Al Griffin  |  Oct 19, 2017  |  1 comments
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Q My current setup includes an “older” 7.1-channel receiver that isn’t equipped to decode new sound formats such as Dolby Atmos. I understand that when you play an Atmos disc, older receivers are presented with a standard 5.1- or 7.1-channel version of the soundtrack for decoding. What difference, if any, is there between this default version and something like a Dolby True HD mix? My assumption is that it would be better to select a dedicated lossless mix over a backward-compatible, and presumably compressed, fallback mix. — Jason Acosta

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How Important Is a Receiver’s Power Output in 7-Channel Mode?
Al Griffin  |  May 26, 2014  |  7 comments
How Important Is a Receiver’s Power Output in 7-Channel Mode? Got a tech question for Sound & Vision? Email us at AskSandV@gmail.com

Q I love Sound & Vision’s reviews for the objective bench tests, though the results often don’t seem to sync up with the reviewer’s opinions. I’m looking to replace my damaged but terrific sounding Pioneer A/V receiver with a Yamaha RX-V773. The RX-V773 and its siblings get stellar reviews, but they exhibit a huge power drop-off when driving five or seven channels compared with their two-channel measurements. Pioneer’s VSX-52 receiver delivers around three times the power as the Yamahas into seven channels, though this doesn’t seem to make a difference in the subjective part of the review. Here’s my question: Is a receiver’s power output in seven-channel mode not an important factor when it comes to sound quality? Just looking at test results, I would have expected the Yamahas to get a poor rating for sound, but their reviews are consistently excellent on that point. &mash;Jonty Rees / Austin, TX

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How Important Is a TV’s Video Processing?
Al Griffin  |  Dec 04, 2014  |  0 comments
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Q How important is a TV’s video processing? Sound & Vision’s recent review of the Vizio P65ui-B2 UHDTV gave it a poor rating for that category. My Oppo Blu-ray player has excellent video processing. Can a disc player’s video processing overcome a TV’s shortcomings in that area? —David Hall

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How Much Amplifier Power Is Too Much Power?
Al Griffin  |  Dec 17, 2013  |  3 comments
Q How much amplifier power is too much power? My speakers have a 75-to-100-watt RMS power rating and are connected to an entry-level Yamaha receiver, so it’s safe to say they aren’t being pushed anywhere near their potential. I plan to upgrade to separates in the near future, however, and need to know how powerful an amp I should buy. Should I go with too much amp (200 watts RMS per channel), or just enough (125 watts RMS per channel)? —Audiophile Noob via e-mail
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How Much Better Is Blu-ray Versus Upscaled DVD?
Al Griffin  |  Oct 26, 2015  |  5 comments
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Q I have a Samsung UN55HU7250F UHDTV that’s currently being fed by a DVD player. Here’s my question: Since the TV upscales signals to 4K, will there be a significant advantage in upgrading to a Blu-ray player if the discs I watch are all DVDs? —Patrick Tyler / Boulder, CO

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How Much Power Do I Need for Height Speakers?
Al Griffin  |  May 12, 2015  |  1 comments
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Q I’m planning a significant overhaul of my home theater and am leaning toward using the configuration suggested for Auro-3D: 10.1, with four corner speakers and one overhead voice-of-god speaker. In replacing my current AV receiver with separates, I am concerned about buying amplifiers that I can keep over the next several advances in surround sound tech/features. Here’s my question: When using height speakers, is it important that they be amplified at the same power as those near ear-level?—Quest Fanning / Brooklyn, NY

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How Should I Handle Long HDMI Runs to a TV?
Al Griffin  |  Dec 10, 2014  |  8 comments
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Q I just moved into a new house. Because of the way my home theater room is configured, the distance between the surround sound receiver and HDTV is about 30-40 feet. How would you suggest I make this connection? What about wireless solutions? —Joe Feller

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