I am interested in buying a DVD Audio/Video player. I have a Denon 3801 receiver. Do I have to buy a special decoder or can I just hookup a DVD Audio player to the Denon and then I would have DVD Audio?

Your receiver must have 5.1 inputs so you would utilize the 5.1 outputs on your DVD player. You can't use the digital out as your receiver cant process the DVD-A signal.

In order to hear DVD-Audio, you must connect your dvd-a player to your receiver using the 6-channel analog input (which I'm pretty sure you have).

The problem with doing this is that you will be bypassing the bass management function of your receiver, which means that all of the channels will be receiving a full-bandwidth signal. If any of your speakers is incapable of handling this signal (i.e., if it's too small), you won't be able to do anything about it. Unless you buy a dvd-a player with built-in bass management -- these don't yet exist. Or, you could buy an external bass-management device. Or, you could buy 5 full-range speakers.

Where could I find a an external bass-management device and what prices would i be looking at

I forget which company I was reading about, but somebody is supposedly building one and about to bring it to market. Sorry for the lack of details; I believe I read about it in the latest (or possibly the one prior to that) Sound and Vision magazine.

My vague recollection also indicates that the company making this device was fairly "up-market," so I would not expect this device to be too cheap. I'm guessing anywhere from $200 to $400, but -- and I think I've made this clear -- this is a SWAG based on a poorly formed memory.

I have the same unit and wondering the same thing. I think I may just wait untill all the bugs are worked out.

stevevt,

I think it mat be the Outlaw ICBM(Integrated Controlled Bass Manager) you are thinking of. Here is a link to some pics of it and the new Outlaw pre/pro and 7 channel amp!

http://members.home.com/psklenar/outlaw2.htm

I hope they don't mind that I am sharing this info since they really haven't been released yet!

That's the one!

Looking back, my SWAG based on a poorly formed memory wasn't too bad at all.

Any idea how much one of these will cost?

Edit: Found it -- $249.00 according to the newsletter.