Don Lindich is the author of the "Digital Made Easy" book series and his passion is helping people get the most out of audio, video and digital photography. Send your questions to donlindichyahoo.com.
What is the "phantom" connection? How can I "fool" the Onkyo into thinking there is surround sound with just the four speakers? The system is set up in my garage (16x20 feet) and is only audio, no TV, DVD, etc.
TOM DUCK
Moorpark, Calif.
A. You are not "fooling" the receiver. What you need to do is tell it exactly what you have and the effect you want, and it will do the rest.
Take the back speakers off of the left and right "B" connections and connect them to the corresponding surround connections -- left surround and right surround. Next, go into the setup menu of the receiver -- the manual will tell you how to access it -- and go to the speaker setup option Select "no center channel," front speakers "large," surround speakers "large," and subwoofer "none."
Though your speakers actually may be small, you do not have a subwoofer to reproduce the lowest bass sounds. By setting the speakers to large and no subwoofer, the receiver will send all of the sound to the speakers, rather than divide it and try to send some to your speakers and the rest to a subwoofer that you don't have in your system.
Set the receiver to Dolby Pro-Logic II and you will get surround from two channel sources, be they CDs, FM radio, LPs or VCR tapes.
One last thing: For the best sound, use a digital connection between your receiver and CD/DVD player.
Q. I have an outdoor sound system, consisting of a receiver and a multidisc CD changer. It is housed in a waterproof shower surround enclosure I made. It also is located next to the house, under a 6-foot roof overhang.
Do I need to move the equipment indoors during the winter months in order to protect it from freezing temperatures? I'm thinking maybe not because, like automobiles, they're inanimate objects. What's your take on this?
RUSS PETERSON
Minneapolis, Minn.
A. I'd move them inside, no doubt about it. The heating-freezing cycles as the weather changes and the expansion that accompanies them will not be good for them, and the lubricants in the CD changer will freeze, too. Most electronics have a specified operation or storage temperatures, and the low end of these temperatures are going to be a lot higher than the coldest points of a Minnesota winter!
Q. I saw your recent recommendation of the Canon A700 in your column. I see numbers, mostly around $350, for this camera. Do you know of any stores or online locations that sell at the lower price you quoted?
FRANK WATSON
Bloomington, Ind.
A. I did a search when I recommended the camera and that was the best street price I had found. I did not take note of where I found it ... it even may have been a typo. I apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused my readers.
First Published: October 7, 2006, 4:00 a.m.
