The low-pass filter for the subwoofer has a –24dB/Octave slope, and the High-Pass filter for small speakers uses a –12dB/Octave slope.

The first question you will face when assembling a home audio or theater system is whether to go the route of separates or a receiver. Years ago, this question was easily answered based on budget. But thanks to Rotel's "balanced design" philosophy, breaking up is no longer hard to do. Of course, if you do not have the space for several pieces of equipment, then a receiver may be your only option. You will also need to take the power requirements of your speakers into consideration.

Theoretically, separates provide better sound. Consider that a receiver has three components all in one box: a tuner (radio), a power amplifier (several if it is a home theatre receiver), and a preamplifier (for volume, tone controls, etc). That's a lot of noise-generating circuitry going on in one box. By having separate components, each one is designed to handle one task, with their own dedicated power supplies, and without interference from the other.

This also makes it easier to upgrade or repair a component. Ordinarily, receivers cannot be upgraded, and if the tuner section breaks, you must bring the entire unit in for repair, creating system down time. Yet if you have a separate tuner which breaks, it can be sent for service but you can still enjoy the remainder of your system while you await its return. And if you find a better tuner that strikes your fancy, changing to the new model is easy, as opposed to living with whatever is built-in to your receiver. Your power will also be limited to your receiver's rated amplification, unless you add an outboard amplifier.

Having said all of that, receivers have come a long way. It could be argued that if you invest in a very high quality receiver, such as Rotel's RSX-1562, you could approach (but not match) the level of separates. A receiver will also require less interconnects and may prove easier to use and faster to set up. In general, if you have the money and the space, seriously consider separates. Otherwise, buy the best receiver within your budget.

In addition to the HD audio soundtracks, many Blu-Ray titles also offer additional audio content in the form of secondary audio, which may include directors' commentaries for example. The secondary audio tracks are usually not encoded in HD but rather in standard Dolby Digital or DTS. Most Blu-Ray players will have a menu option in their setup menu to either enable or disable secondary audio playback. The tradeoff is that when secondary audio is ENABLED, most blu-ray players will not output the HD audio bitstream from discs but instead will play the standard non-HD audio instead. So, to ensure you are getting the full HD audio content from the disc check the setup menu of the Blu-Ray player and ensure the secondary audio option is disabled.

Yes, the unit is decoding and playing a Dolby TrueHD signal when the display reads "Dolby HD +XS", etc. Many of the HD soundtracks available today are recorded in 5.1, not 7.1. However, if you have a 7.1 audio system you likely will want all 7 speakers (and subwoofer) playing when you listen to a Blu-Ray disc. When this is the case, the Rotel processor can apply additional processing to the 5.1 HD signal to matrix out additional channels for the 6th & 7th channels in the system. You have a choice of 3 or 4 distinct methods to do this:

• Dolby Digital EX (Available for Dolby 5.1 modes only)
• Dolby Pro Logic IIx Music
• Dolby Pro Logic IIx Cinema
• Rotel XS (Extended Surround)

Using these additional processing modes does not compromise the original HD content for the 5.1 channels; it simply allows you to add the extra back channels when playing these 5.1 soundtracks.

For more detailed information on these different modes, refer to the owner's manual for your product.