Novice question

How are you conecting your DVD player.

If your DVD player just has Front Left and Right then it should mix down the 5.1 channels to stereo. If you have the full set of 5.1 channels and you are using the DVDs Front Left and Right you will probably need to use the DVD players setup menu to tell it you do not have Center, Rears and subwoofer to get it to mix down to stereo.

Thanks Stuart. There is only a stereo output it seems, but on newer DVDs the mix down seems very poor. Could it just be that the DVD is a bit long in the tooth and can't cope with the mixing technology?

Also, the DVD is currently running through the TV speakers as there was a nasty hum when connected directly to the 282, even though it sounds better. The set up has changed and so even if I bought something to manage the earth hum, I would still need a 2 - 2.5m interconnect from DVD to 282.

Something you could try.

Many DVD's have a stereo option you can choose from the DVDs setup menu. Try the stereo mix vs the 5.1 mix to see if that helps - that could indicte the DVDs not mixing down well (although I suspect that they'd just use a simple resistor network so may not be that)

Check the DVD players setup menu - can you set the volume of each speaker if so check the settings as they may have got accidentally changed - (my cat managed to do that to mine by siting on the remote!)

How are you conecting to the tv - SCART, s-vhs + phono? Try each if you can to see if that improves things. Also it could be the TV or DVD anyway you could try a mates DVD player with your TV or your DVD with thier TV to try and pin down if there is a DVD or TV problem?

I assume the DVD's under the TV hence needing a 2.5m interconnect, if your getting hum that would mean an earth loop and these can be a pain to track down and you may need to get a device to break the earth connection between DVD and 282 which could be a right pain.

Stuart - at least you are giving me hope that this is not some conspiracy to get me to purchase a center speaker! The DVD is on its last legs and has problems playing some discs the whole way through.

No one here of my friends has a DVD player that is any better than mine which makes the loan option difficult. I may just take the plunge on a modest, new DVD player and see whether things improve. At the moment I am using SCART but I am keen to give HDMI a go. There are some reasonably priced players with this option, so that may be the way.

The earth loop is / was definitely caused by the DVD player as I tracked it down in my old apartment. Since we moved the Naim kit has been on a Fraim and the DVD under the TV. In another forum post I found a link to a device which is supposed to eliminate the hum. At the moment I would just be happy to hear a reasonable balance between dialogue and music and not have to keep my hand on the remote or activate the subtitle menu.

Thanks for your help

Huw

I listened to satellite TV, videos and DVDs in stereo for ages using my stereo music system. Then I got hold of a Yamaha processor to let me use rear speakers. I would attempt to sort out your stereo system option to use your hifi for film soundtracks. A decent stereo system leaves TV speakers for dead. I'm still using SCART cables.

If you want to make anything of film you need a powerful subwoofer too. Look into BK Electronic's offerings. They sell direct without dealers so the savings are enormous. They have been making and labelling big names subwoofers for years. Their Monolith model has an excellent reputation with the AV crowd.

http://www.bkelec.com/HiFi/Sub_Woofers/monolith.htm

Nime - a sub is out of the question at the moment. To use my 2-channel system, do you propose running a cable between DVD-player and 282 or between TV and 282. I had always assumed that it should be from the DVD to pre but now I am just

If the former option, do I then mute the TV - which is what I did before?

Thanks
Huw

Huw,

I know absolutely nothing about home theatre set ups, but I do have a relatively new and cheap (I paid about £180 for it ex-dem)Denon 1910 DVD player (now replaced by the 1920) which I connect straight to my Nait 5i and it sounds fine to me. More importantly, I get no earth loop from this set-up. Perhaps this may be a solution??

Kevin

My CRT TV picture is fed from the DVD player by a long SCART cable.

For stereo audio the DVDP is connected to the preamp using a Flashback 2 x Phono to DIN. The TV is simply muted by turning down the volume. If I switch off the TV speakers I get a huge speaker ikon on the screen which is daft and distracting.

My new NAD T533 DVD player sounded much better than my Marantz CD63SE on music so I now use the NAD as my CD player as well.

It should not be underestimated how good a film can sound through a quality amp system. I tried a cheap surround receiver and it was the dogs poos on sound quality. So it went back the same morning.

Then I bought a used Yamaha DSP-E800 processor to allow me a degree of surround sound via my old Kans as rears. This makes a very worthwile difference on films and music DVDs while retaining the Naim sound quality up front. No front center speaker is necessary with Naim amplification and decent floorstanders.

I use my NAD DVD player as surround processor because the Yamaha sound quality is clearly inferior when it takes over processor duties. So the Yamaha was connected via 6.1 cables to the DVDP. This allows me to keep the superb Naim sound for high levels of intelligibility, great dynamics and amazing bass. (The latter via a huge SVS subwoofer using high level [speaker cable] connections)

I have yet to hear a surround receiver that sounds as natural on films as my "now rather old fashioned" Naim/Yamaha 4.1 system. Those I've heard are scratchy with micro-detail and tinny on dialogue and music. While the LFE always sounds as if it reproduced by the same cardboard box.

Huw

If your going to take the plunge and buy a DVD player (and not going for the DVD5) I'd second the Denon 1920 or above DVD players. This is connected to my 102 with no hum problems.

quote:

Originally posted by Stuart M:
Huw

This is connected to my 102 with no hum problems.

What you might call damned by faint praise.

"Well It didn't hum!"

Not so much a ringing endorsement. More a lack of something. I think I'd go the AV Forums route in search of an agreed best buy at your desired pricepoint amongst the many members of the forum. Search for <av forums> in your browser for a large UK AV forum with an international membership. Though there may well be German AV forums of course if you prefer.

I used http://www.avforums.com but knowing that the Denons do not, as far as I know, hum with Naim is usefull, you may not be able to find the answer on the AV forums.

And here's the non faint praise for the Dennon DVD3910. It produces a stunning picture (8' wide so it shows the flaws) via DVI (HDMI, Component et al is there if you want it), the quality of the DACs inside is excelent and much better than my Yamaha DSP-E800 so I use it for the decoding. In addition the ability to play SCAD and DVD-Audio is a usefull addition and have just (yesterday) got some disks to play with.

Thanks for the tips guys
Huw (in search of a no hum solution )

Huwge
Sorry I am a bit late to the party!
I have a Pansonic LCD tv and a cheap Pioneer DVD player, attached via SCART. I take the audio out to input 6 on my 282 and it seems to work a treat. It's how I watch/listen to regular tv now too and i get a very solid sound. Much better than the built in speakers of course.

Chris - so you have SCART between DVD and TV and then an RCA to DIN between the TV and 282? One of the things that irritated at the last apartment when I attempted to connect the DVD was constantly having to mute the TV. I think I have decided on the new DVD player, I just need to figure out the cabling.
Huw

Actually i am going RCA to RCA using an inexpensive 10m cable that my dealer let me have. I just reconfigured input6 following the manual. Seemed to work fine. I have the volume on the tv permanently set to minimum. I am still experimenting with the DVD to tv connection. I have connected the separate RGB plugs with three separate cables and have a scart to scart, which I assume is carrying the sound. The picture from DVD is pretty good.

The tv is midway between the speakers, which are Audiovector M1 Signature standmounts and the sound is held nicely central by the 282, Hicap and 200.

Thanks

Huwge

Bear in mind our continental vs UK earthing arrangements and plug tops. A lot of DVD players have no earth lead which leaves them "floating". Connecting one of these to a 282 thru' the A/V input (unity gain on) can cause quite some hum. Earthing the metal case of the DVD with a flying lead can eliminate this sometimes.
The other thing is the delights of being able to plug in our round pin european plugs two ways. The "polarity" of the wiring will have an effect so try plugging in in the other orientation.
I have a twin phono to DIN lead between my surround receiver and the 552 which is approxm 4 meters long. Works fine.
Like Nime I reckon it is worth persevering to run the two front channels thru' the Naim kit. I just watched the latest Star wars with volume nicely up. Stunning sound steering and lots of stuff in sub-woofer territory which shows how worthwhile it is getting a decent sub if you can.

regards
geoff

Thanks Geoff - will probably resolve the DVD / cable issue over the festive season. re the Sub, I have been very enamoured of the n-Sub the few times that I have seen / heard it, but SWMBO is not having any of it.

Also funds can be diverted to less visible and therefore less confrontational enhancements, e.g. tonearm and cartridge

Huw

quote:

Originally posted by Chris Kelly:
Actually i am going RCA to RCA using an inexpensive 10m cable that my dealer let me have. I just reconfigured input6 following the manual. Seemed to work fine. I have the volume on the tv permanently set to minimum. I am still experimenting with the DVD to tv connection. I have connected the separate RGB plugs with three separate cables and have a scart to scart, which I assume is carrying the sound. The picture from DVD is pretty good.

The tv is midway between the speakers, which are Audiovector M1 Signature standmounts and the sound is held nicely central by the 282, Hicap and 200.

Chris. You say that you have connected RGB to RGB with three seperate cables,(this, I imagine, is the 'component' input to the tv) and ALSO a scart lead.
I would be extremely surprised if you have any benefit from doing this, at least if it is just from a dvd player. Your TV can only accept a signal from one or the other? If your picture comes from the RGB three cables you would get no sound from the tv at all, as they carry no audio, only picture info. It sounds like the tv is running from the scart > scart as this does carry audio. On my tv I can switch between av1 - 2 3 & 4 which gives all the different inputs available.

The sound you are getting from the 282 is going directly to the pre via the rca cable, and should have nothing to do with the scart connection whatsoever... at least that is what I think! Have you tried switching between scart & RGB inputs to see the difference in picture quality? RGB via 3 cables should be superior.
I guess it is possible that I have mis read part of the post somewhere & got my wires crossed also.

Steve
I'm still experimenting! You are dead right. But disconnecting the scart means running the audio out from the DVD player. Big difference with DVDs (obviously) but then no way to output TV sound to 282 without getting up and replugging, which is ok but inconvenient. Composite video is much better than SCART of course.

quote:

Composite video is much better than SCART of course.

Chris I assume you mean component video.
If you have a pair of "stereo in" RCA's on the back of the TV, you could use a Scart plug with a cable wired to give out composite video and stereo audio on three RCA's (these are available in the high street shops) and just connect the RCA audio pair between the DVD player and the TV (and not use the video out RCA). Then you would get picture via the component out and sound only via the Scart audio out from the DVD.

regards
Geoff

Thanks Geoff. That's exactly what I need to do. Watched dvd via component video outputs and sound to 282. I thought the picture was better but not a night and day difference. Curiously though I thought the sound was a tad better than from the tv sound out, but that might be self-delusion!
I'm going to wire as you suggest so thanks again for your guidance.

Very sad to read of Kans as rear speakers ...

Even a good budget DVD machine (using correct menu selections) should produce good sounds through good amp/front speaker installation without need for centre (or bass) extras. I have tried cheap/expensive speakers on rear channels, and find that there is little significant difference, so just use nice old blacked wood pair Tannoy Gold Mk 2. I will never try old Kans as rear units as they can sound great as main stereo pair.

Then you haven't a clue what you are missing from not having floorstanders and the weight and authority they bring to everything. (films and music) The addition of a 15Hz 110dB subwoofer does not diminish the contribution from the main (floorstanding) speakers on film or music.

But you are right about the Kans. They really aren't good enough for rears. They don't go low enough.

My floorstanders as main stereo pair give me the full information in stereo, and if I wish to watch films/'music' DVD etc, I occasionally play rear channel information AS WELL through rear speakers just for a bit of 'spatial' atmosphere (e.g. if I really need bullets/helicopters flying behind me).

Possibly people who cannot appreciate properly installed etc Kans are the same as those with 7000 ears orientated to their rear who think that 7+ channels are essential.