Sound Advice By Don Lindich Distributed By McClatchy-Tribune Information Services Q: Last year I bought a 42-inch Sharp Aquos LCD and have loved it. I recently noticed there is a dark half-inch vertical band that corresponds with the right edge of standard 4:3 TV images. Since we purchased the extended warranty we contacted Best Buy, […]
Sound Advice By Don Lindich Week 28, 2007 Q: I started talking about plasma and LCD TVs with a man at a local electronics shop and he said that he has heard that by 2010 plasmas will be phased out due to their high cost of repairs. He went on to say that LCDs and […]
Sound Advice By Don Lindich Week 6, 2007 Q: I hav a Pioneer SX 700 receiver that I purchased new in 1968. Recently the left channel has become weak on all functions (phono,AM-FM, tape, etc.) To have both channels equal I have to adjust the balance to the left and I lose much fidelity. Do […]
Sound Advice By Don Lindich Week 3, 2007 Q: I have a 2GB portable flash drive. Is there any way to backup my digital camera pictures directly to the drive when I’m on vacation? -Ken Byrom, Cranberry, PA A: Wow, this is a great idea! I do not know of a way and as far […]
Week of August 20, 2006 Q: I purchased a Sony DSC-F717 digital camera in April 2003 and it is broken. The repair outlets say pitch it- the problem is with the lens and repairs are too costly. I find it hard to trash such a beautiful camera. What do you suggest? I own 2 other […]
Week of August 6, 2006 Q: I recently went to a Circuit City store to purchase a Toshiba laptop computer that was advertised for only $499. When I stopped in to buy it, I asked the salesperson if they had it in stock. They checked inventory and told me they had five. I said […]
Week of April 9, 2006 Q: I have an opportunity to buy a Floor-Model Panasonic TH50PX50U Plasma HDTV. This is the same one recently rated highest by Consumer Reports. It has been a floor model for only about 4 months. The list was $3999, and it is marked down to $2999–BUT the manager of that […]
Week of April 2, 2006 Q: I am writing to comment on your recent column about repairing equipment, and bad experiences. The reception on my 20 year-old Sony receiver got very poor. (The amplifier was OK.) I knew it wouldn’t be cost effective to repair it, so I went to Circuit City and bought a […]
Week of March 12, 2006 Q: Where might I be able repair my 1968 vintage Panasonic receiver? It has magnificent sound that few microchip-based systems can equal. Any referrals or help you can give to get my old war horse back in service? -R.E. Clark, Edgeworth, PA A: Audio equipment repairs are […]
Q: We have tried unsuccessfully to have our Technics turntable repaired at the local authorized repair shop. Could you advise us where-oh-where we could buy a new turntable, and which brand you would recommend? We still have many LP records which we would love to be able to listen to, although when CDs […]
Week of July 9, 2005 Q: If I were to invest in a MP3 player, I’d like to make it more versatile and connect it to external speakers so that I could use it for home entertainment, i.e. gameroom, deck, etc. I used to have a Cambridge Soundworks system with a self-amplified subwoofer and 2 […]
Q: I purchased the Panasonic SA-XR25 receiver you recommended and it sounded great but broke out of warranty. I then called a repair shop that Panasonic recommended and they want $65 just to take a look at the receiver. Should I just replace it or do you have any other recommendations? -Jason Gerstenkorn, Wichita, KS […]
Week of April 10, 2005 Q: In preparing our living room for the new additions I was moving some 1978 vintage Advent Bookshelf speakers. To show my 5 year-old son what a speaker looked like, I removed the front grill and found that much of the “foam” that surrounded the woofer had disintegrated. Because of […]
Week of October 10, 2004 Q: What do you think of the Bose table radio? I am thinking of buying one for a room where we frequently entertain guests. I will connect the Bose radio to my TV and a DVD player to play music. -Mike Hullett, Hampstead, MD A: I receive a variation of […]
Week of August 22, 2004 Q: Many of us who own rear projection TV sets have a serious problem! Because most channels insist on displaying their logos 24/7 in the lower right section of the screen, the logos are now burned into the picture guns or tubes permanently. Since I watch a lot of […]
Week of October 19, 2003 Q: I have been looking at HDTV sets at my local big box electronics store. I was just about sold on a particular model when the salesman recommended a four year service plan for $300.00. He claimed that the HDTV sets are very high maintenance and require a technician to […]
Week of August 31, 2003 Q: I have read the archived columns on your website and it has already answered some of my questions! For example, I have been using Kodak paper on my Canon printer and wondered why the prints don’t look so good. I now know to try the […]
Week 33, 2003 Q: In your most recent column, you said, “Visit your retailer and have them connect the projection HDTV you are considering to a satellite service delivering analog channels.” How do I do that? Aren’t all satellite channels digital? That’s what the ads say. Which ones are not? -Gordon Walter, Iowa […]
Week 28, 2003 Q: My roommate bought an Advent TV from Best Buy in Deerfield, IL in September 2002. He bought the Advent because it was the cheapest and they said it had a one-year warranty. He did not buy the extended warranty. It ceased to function in February of this […]
Week 25, 2007 I am a teacher and have taken a lot of digital camera photographs this year. I would like to transfer those digital pictures to a VHS tape to play on a VCR at school. How would I go about doing this? -Jenny Angelo, Beaumont, Texas A) If you check […]
