29
muting methods
operating manual
Muting a loudspeaker can be done differently. Most products employ
semiconductor based switches which are fast, silent and cheap but unfortunately
affect the sound quality in the ‘mute off' state as they can never be completely
removed from the signal path. The ‘sonically transparent’ alternative is to use
electronically controlled mechanical relays, a method chosen for the AV32R. There
are six relays in an AV32R ‘5.1’ and eight in an AV32R ‘7.1’. They all switch
together, leading to a distinct switching noise which cannot be prevented without
affecting the quality of the contact.
Mechanical relays have been acknowledged to be the best sounding solution, but
their switching noise has with the introduction of DVD become a disadvantage.
Every time a DVD changes its sound format, which can happen several time during
a DVD, the AV32R might potentially receive - for a short time - invalid data. If this
invalid data reaches the loudspeakers you hear a short ‘digital hiss’. The AV32R
tries to predict these transitions, but sometimes it might take just a fraction of a
second before this invalid data is detected, a period long enough for the wrong
data to reach the Digital to Analog converters and from there (via the power
amplifiers) the loudspeakers. Only switches, down-stream of the DACs’ outputs, can
prevent this invalid data from reaching your speakers. The AV32R uses mechanical
relays to swiftly disconnect the outputs in these cases.
As of software version v3.11 you can set the AV32R to
Mute using relays
or
alternatively use them only in ‘serious’ cases, but with the result that you might
infrequently hear some ‘digital hiss’ coming from your speakers. When the AV32R
leaves the factory it is set to
Mute using relays: No
, meaning it will use its relays as
little as possible. However, to prevent any ‘digital hiss’ switch the AV32R into the
Mute using relays: Yes
mode, which is done through
Change Set-Up
,
Loudspeakers
,
Mute Configuration
.
the
A
V32R
offers two
ways of
muting its
loudspeaker
outputs
GRR00892.01-AV32R OPER 3.7x 6/14/02 9:34 AM Page 29
