Mondial

What iPod do you have? What firmware version is it running? When you power the iFi off, does the iPod stop playing? Adam Gershon

I suspect there will always be ways for you to build your own piece that is better than what Microsoft cares to put out. Have you seen the latest Digital Entertainment Center from HP? http://www.jr.com/JRProductPage.process?Product=4032221

Media Center PC's are about the interface for accessing multimedia content. While there are plenty of freeware programs and external devices that can reproduce the same type of experience, most people aren't technically savvy enough to care to attempt implementing them. A MCPC contains this in one fairly straight forward package, and sales continue to gain momentum as prices drop. Granted it is still a computer, but it is a lot better experience today than it has been. Adam

Yes, the remote controls the output level regardless of the input that is in use.

Not all programs on DirecTV are Dolby Digital. In fact, the majority of them are not. They all do provide digital output, however, but most are simply PCM. Some channels provide a Dolby Digital 2.0 soundtrack, and others provide a Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtrack. 5.1 is becoming more prevalent than it was in the past. Picture quality will only improve on 16:9 with the limited programming that is output in the 16:9 format. Take a look at the DirectTV HD package (+ HBO, and Showtime) to see what channels will be HD and widescreen output. Outside of these channels, and certain programs such as ER that are letterbox, you'll need to either stretch the picture, zoom in on the picture, or watch it 4:3 with bars on the side. What is shown in HD is well worth it for the experience, but there is not a huge amount of content today. How non HD/Widescreen content is dealt with will vary depending on the equipment that you have. Adam

AirPort uses standard 802.11g wireless transmission.

I have the Go Video D2730 which I believe is the same thing. http://www.govideo.com/Download/D2730_spec.pdf Got it at Buy.com for $129 (it's $140 now there). The Gateway package looks like a pretty good deal, since it comes with a wireless Ethernet card as well as the router. The GoVideo only comes with a standard ethernet card. It's an OK DVD player, but the networking is all that makes it worthwhile. I bought the GoVideo because they had an upgrade available for it that allows you to access your Rhapsody account through your audio system. I'm not sure if the Gateway allows you to do that. (I don't know if the Gateway can do this) That is a pretty cool feature, although you can only access new content from the computer. Once you put it into your folder through the Rhapsody software, then you can stream any of that content to your audio system. One down side is there is no way to shuffle Rhapsody playlists that you made. Still very cool though. I have mine wired, so I can't tell you anything about setup, or how it works wirelessly. Adam

Swap the Left and Right speaker cables at the back of the amplifier. If the noise stays in the same speaker, the problem is with the speaker. If it switches speakers, then if you have a preamp/amp, swap the Left/Right interconnects and check the result. If the noise stays in the same speaker this time, the problem is the amplifier. If not, it's the preamp, since it appears that you have tried different sources and gotten the same noise result. The problem also could be a loose or defective interconnect. The likelihood that your system is too good, and all the source material is crap is fairly slim, regardless of how good your system really is. Adam

That same 240 hours on the Imerge at 320 kb MP3 is over 1000 hours! Currently the S2000 can't stream from an external storage device, so you're limited to the interal storage capacity. Don't get me wrong...if everything could be CD quality that would be great, but MP3 has it's advanatges.

What type of systems are you referring to? Adam

The advantages of MP3 (or whatever the compressed format of choice may be where the ability to obtain "almost" or "CD quality" exists) are far greater reaching than portability. Access to content. At 320kb MP3, I can store almost 4.5 times as much music,and have it instantly accessible throughout the home (and even on the road (IPOD), or remotely over the internet to multiple locations(Audio Request)) searching by track, artist, album, genre, cover art, etc... With the ease of access and flexibility that MP3 provides, it's gotten a bum rap from the audiophile community. Adam

I would venture to guess you would get very different results by making the comparison with a 192kb or 320kb bit rate MP3. Adam

For clarification, I was unable to reproduce the problem that was reported, regardless of the volume level that the Stage One was played at. Adam

I'm not sure I understand the problem that you a describing. If you are hearing high level noise when modes are switching, this is not normal, but could be attributed to a number of things, such as an improper setting on the Stage One (automute) or a problem with the DVD player. Perhaps the best way to approach this issue is via email at: support@aragonelectronics.com so we can interact more directly with you, and determine what the specific problem is. Again, I'm not sure I understand exaclty what the problem is, so it is difficult to determine whether or not it is in fact normal. Did you have the unit at the distributors location, and demonstrate the problem there? Adam Gershon

Most if not all of these devices allow for uncompressed "ripping" or lossless compression (such as FLAC) to double your storage capacity. Adam

What about this: http://www.yamaha.com/yec/musiccast/index.htm or this: http://www.imerge.co.uk/products/improductshtml/ipmain.html These technologies are not limited to an IPOD. While an Ipod makes your music portable, these "music servers" may change the way that you listen to music forever.

Because Dolby Digital and DTS were designed as 5.1 systems to easily retrofit movie theaters to support them, they are best reproduced with a subwoofer. There are a number of Bass Management issues that force compromises (dynamic range, and signal to noise ratio) when there is no subwoofer in the system, regardless of the performance of the main loudspeakers. One of the reasons we offer separate bass management settings for Stereo versus Home Theater in our processors is because of the differences in decoding and performance of a compressed digital format like Dolby Digital, and a standard CD recording. Adam Gershon Mondial Designs