Hey all - I've just purchased some new audio gear to accompany a new DLP-TV. My DVD player is the Denon 2910 "universal" player, so I'm eager to get into some killer audio titles. My front 3 channels are 2 Polk RTi10's and 1 Polk CSi5. I'm looking to get two more Polk speakers for the surround channels, and want to know a few things:
1. For multichannel audio (SACD or DVD-A), is it crucial that all of your speakers be full range to take advantage of the format? I have a pair of small Infinity Reference bookshelf speakers that I could easily use for my surround channels in a home theater setup, but I'm not sure they'd serve well in multichannel audio applications, due to their frequency response limitations. 2. Is the LFE channel used on these two formats? I heard someone say once that it wasn't. 3. Any tips on bass management settings if I have to use smaller surround speakers. I guess you can offload some of the low frequencies to the sub for those channels, right?
1. The ideal situation is to have a complete set of full range speakers. For most people, this isn't practical because of space, aesthetics, costs, etc. Also, hardly any recordings use the full frequency range in the rear speakers. So I would say it's not crucial to have full range speakers in the rear.
2. Some high-res discs use the LFE channel, some don't. You can tell by the code 5.1 or 4.0 or 2.0 and so on. The first number refers to the number of channels. The second number tells you whether the LFE channel is used (1=LFE).
3. The Denon player allows you to set the crossover point between the surround speakers and the subwoofer. You'll need to know the lower frequency limit of the surround speakers to select the correct crossover point.
The player's processor will also do a good job of distributing the ".1" (and the centre channel if you wish) to the main speakers, if you set it up that way. This can actually sound better. A number of excellent DVD-Audio discs are in 4.0 in the first place. Others make little, sometimes no, use of the extra channels, and are in 4.0 even if it says "5.1" on the box.
The 2910's crossover settings and bass management is only available through the HDMI connection. Also the player has an 80Hz filter that is only over-ridden by the HDMI connection. Enabling "source direct" is the best route as the player does not adjust channel levels or perform and sound processing. Your Rti10s can definitely handle a full range signal. This is how I have it with my Rti8/Csi3/Fxi3/PSW404 set-up.
So far I've found the DVD audio discs I've picked up haven't made much use of deep bass, but sound amazing, and it's not really missed.
What receiver are you using? It's funny how we have similar speakers and the same DVD player. I'm running the HK 430.