Consider a CD or DVD head unit that has a digital output and is connected to the next device in the signal path (such as a processor or DSP) via its digital input. In that case you avoided a D/A (digital-to-analog) converter and an A/D (analog-to-digital) converter that would be required to get you back to the same signal type but with a lot of extra circuitry. Keeping the signal in digital form as it moves from unit to unit will maintain the signal quality since the units are allowed to perform their functions digitally.
You may find that when you mix brands of product that you might have a system where adding a digital processor has degraded the sound. If the head unit has a better quality D/A converter than the next component, using an analog processor would actually sound better than a digital product. The key philosophy is to stay in one domain or the other-either analog after the CD or DVD, or stay digital right up to the amplifiers.
Fiber optic cable comes in two forms-for audio connections, there's only one form used and is more than adequate. The key difference is in the connectors employed. The "TOSLINK" connector is the most common fiber optic connection for audio unless the manufacturer has used some unusual arrangement. As long as the connectors match, you're in good shape. If they don't match, there's a good chance that the digital bit format used doesn't conform to industry norms and may not work at all. Check in advance if the connectors are not the same type found on the back of home theater receivers and DVD players.
Q Until recently, my car system has been working beautifully. Every time I pump up the volume to where it sounds loud (exactly where I want it to be) and beautiful, sound from the midrange speakers cuts off. What's left playing is the subwoofers. Then when I turn the radio off and back on, everything goes back to normal. I was guessing it might be the amp, which is a 1,200-watt Sony Xplod for the midrange and tweeters. The amp for the woofers is a 2,500-watt Memphis, which isn't a problem.
I changed the Sony amp for another and it's still doing the same thing. Could the problem be a bad midrange? They've been replaced with better performance speakers from Pioneer and Memphis. Any help would be appreciated.Sincerely,Mel
A If your midrange speakers are actually fullrange speakers, it gets a bit tricky. Since you are only mentioning two amplifiers, I need to set some assumptions so I'll use the example of a four-channel Sony amplifier. In this layout, you would essentially have a 2-way system, with the subs on the Memphis amplifier and two or four 3-way speakers on the Sony amplifier.
If you had defective midrange drivers in your main speakers, the woofer and tweeter would continue to play, but you indicate that you lose all sound except for the subs. This leads me to suspect the amplifier, even though you have replaced it. My suspicion is that the volume level combined with the impedance characteristics of the speaker must be causing your amplifier to activate its protection circuit. This would shut off all output from the amplifier, leaving only your subs playing. Replacing the amplifier with another of the same make and model will still exhibit the same problem.
This comes down to either the amplifier/speaker combination not liking each other much, or you're just pushing the system too hard. Find the maximum output level that your system will play for more than 5 minutes without shutting down. Either use that as your limit, or consider adding to your system to build its output headroom. For example, I can load a tiny car with a bunch of heavy people and reach 90 mph. It will be harder on the car than if I used a bigger car or split the load between two cars. In either case, you would have more capacity, or headroom, which is always a good thing.
Send Your Questions To: techpanel@sourceinterlink.com