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Model: DSP-100 Category: Preamplifier (HT) Suggested Retail Price: $50 Description: Dolby Surround Processor Manufacturer URL: Yamaha Manufacturer URL: Yamaha
Review by Tuneman on August 22, 2003 at 15:46:10
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for the DSP-100It all started when I took a trip to my local dealer to check out preamps. I really had no idea of what I was looking for outside of the fact that my budget was set at 150 dollars, so I knew that it might be hard to find a preamp that sounded pretty good and fit my budget. I found the DSP-100 for a measly 50 bucks so I thought I would give it a try. I first hooked it up to a MC122 and older Yamaha CD player, with a set of Paradigm 5seMk3’s with cheapo IC’s and Monster XP. I could have never thought to put these components together, but in the used gear section of my local dealer there was a shortage of amps and speakers. Having heard the MC122 before a few times, I was very familiar with how it sounds. I grabbed the only CD player I could find and hooked it all up. I did not see any other speaker than the 5seMks3’s that I have heard before, so I used them.
I threw on a Sting & The Police CD I made and gave it a listen. Half of the CD is ok in the sound department and the other half is Sting songs, which are pretty well recorded. I gave the set up a run for about 30 minutes and listened to how it all sounded.
The first thing I noticed was that I had to turn the volume knob to around 3 O’ Clock to get the set up to really crank it out. I thought this was unusual, as most of the Yamaha gear I have used is at full blast around 11 O’clock. The sound was very serviceable and I decided to take the unit home. I used my Yamaha CA-1010 to drive the main channels( 7T’s), a Yamaha CR-620( Mini Monitors) to drive the rear channels, and a Pioneer SX-3400( Titans) to drive the front effects channels. A Sony CE-275 CD player and a JVC VCR were used as the sources.
After some careful reading of the owner’s manual, I decided to try the “Rock Concert” setting. I cannot stress enough the fact that you need not only the remote, but also the owner’s manual to really figure out how to use it properly. The front effects speakers are supposed to handle the first reflections and make the listening room sound much more alive. I had to fiddle around with the settings, as the factory settings made the vocals on “Let Him Fly” from the Dixie Chicks sound as if they were floating from overhead and drowning out the main speakers. I discovered that there is a –10Db setting on the main channels, which should have been set at 0, and the gain for the front effects channel was set at +6Db instead of 0. I set the volume knob on the SX-3400 at 12 o’ clock and played the song again. Now the soundstage got very open, even more so when I used the room size setting to increase the apparent size of the room. I hit the mute button on the remote, which bypasses all but the main channels to hear the difference between having just the main speakers playing and then the front effects along with the main channels. The backing vocals on “Let Him Fly” sounded like there were ten singers instead of just 3 singers. It then was time to hook the rear channels up for further investigation. Once I got the volume on the CR-620 balanced with the rest of the system, and the settings just right, “Let Him Fly” took on a whole new sound. The rear channels added a new dimension, as if I closed my eyes, I could fool myself into thinking that I was on stage with the Dixie Chicks, well sort of. It did sound more like a live show with a mix of monitors and the PA in a small club, then a CD.
Now how does it compare to the preamp section of the CA-1010? I was surprised at the fact that a HT preamp sounded very similar to the preamp section in 2-channel stereo. I switched back and forth for a few songs. I cheated and used “Y” cables from the CD player and just hit the decoupler switch on the back of the CA-1010 instead of re-hooking everything up. I then tried my DIY volume Attenuator and I found that the DSP-100 had the edge in mircodymanics, but I still liked the overall sound of the volume Attenuator better, as I have gotten used to it.
Since this is a HT preamp, I thought I would try a few movies. The only 2 movies that I had with Dolby Surround encoding were “The Rock” and Titanic” First up was “The Rock”. I have seen this movie a few times and it is still one of my favorites in terms of the impact of the sound effects. I used the “Movie Theater 1” setting, as it seems that the Dolby Surround setting does not utilize the front effects speakers. With my trusty 13” Zenith colour TV in front of me, I sat down for a screening (I really have to get a bigger TV for my Basement). The car chase scene was great, but I noticed some crackling and a slight smearing of the rear soundstage coming out of the rear speakers. I stopped the movie and fumbled around with the settings. It turns out that with my rear speakers only 4 feet away I needed to increase the time delay, as I was hearing it too soon. I also had to make some other adjustments. I think the factory setting does not work well in my listening room, but thankfully I was able to change it all around to make it work. The process was a bit more involved than I am used to. I had to reread the manual, rebalance the volume, measure the distances from each set of speaker, and then read up on surround sound on the Internet. Thankfully I am a very patient man. Once I got it all right, I started the tape again. All the subtle nuances popped out and I hearkened there for a minute and lost myself in the sound and forgot to pay attention to the story. While I cannot say that the sound rivaled DTS or Dolby Digital Surround from a DVD, it did sound pretty good for videotape.
I managed to sit thew “Titanic” without falling asleep as I have done many times before when not watching it in surround sound. “Titanic” is a THX mastered videotape and it seems to be the closest thing to a DVD or the movies that I had when it comes to sound. As I remember, at the movies it had just a bit more impact. I have never seen “Titanic” on DVD, but I did see it in the theater. I knew this particular movie theater well, as I have seen around 15 movies there in my lifetime. The theater has been closed for a few years. As I suspect that the conversion to more costly surround sound equipment has put a few theaters out of business in the past few years. I might get a subwoofer in the future for this set up, as the DSP-100 has a subwoofer pre out set at a fixed 200Hz. It also has a fullrange mono pre out if the listening room was large enough to need a center speaker.
All in all, the DSP-100 is a good HT preamp with great flexibility. It does take some reading and sometimes a bit of trail and error to get the sound just right, but once properly set up it works great. If you can find a DSP-100 for 50 dollars or less, have a bunch of amps and speakers lying around, buy it. It is a fun toy!
Product Weakness: You almost need a degree in enginering to operate it Product Strengths: Very Flexible!
Associated Equipment for this Review: Amplifier: Yamaha CA1-1010, Pioneer SX-3400, Yamaha CR-620 Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): same, Preamp section of CA-1010 & DIY volume Anttenuator Sources (CDP/Turntable): Sony CE-275 Speakers: Phase Tech 7T, Mini Monitors, Titans Cables/Interconnects: Monster XP, double run of phone wire, 18 guage zip cord. DIY IC's and Radio Shack Gold Music Used (Genre/Selections): see review Room Size (LxWxH): 30 x 16 x 7 Room Comments/Treatments: none Time Period/Length of Audition: 2 months Other (Power Conditioner etc.): JVC VCR Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner Your System (if other than home audition): see tuneman's systems...
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Topic - REVIEW: Yamaha DSP-100 Preamplifier (HT) - Tuneman 15:46:10 08/22/03 (3)
- Thanks for the memories - jeromelang 07:10:49 09/15/03 (0)
- Can I have those 30 seconds of my life back? - Dalancroft 12:47:18 08/26/03 (1)
- Re: Can I have those 30 seconds of my life back? - tuneman 19:02:01 08/28/03 (0)
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