Secrets Benchmark Results

Each Item has a Maximum Score of 10 Points
 

Function	Score	Notes
Time Alignment
Global A/V Delay	10 Points	Delay up to 150ms. 60ms is minimum to get 10 points, with 100ms being preferred.
Speaker Delay	10 Points	Each channel is independent, with settings to 30 feet in 0.5 foot increments. (0.5 foot minimum to get 10 points).
Volume
Muting	10 Points	Options are -3 dB up to - 50 dB, and Full. Mute button on remote and on front panel.
Power-On Volume / Max Volume	2 Points	Power-on volume is not adjustable.  The volume is off when the unit is first powered on.  Each time the unit comes out of standby, it reverts to the previous volume setting.  Maximum volume can be set.
Input Level Trim	10 Points	-14 dB to +14 dB adjustment available on a per input basis.
Volume Scale	10 Points	Selectable between relative and absolute.
Speaker Calibration	10 Points	Adjusted in 0.1 dB increments (0.5 dB increments is minimum for 10 points).
Headphone	0 Points	Not available.
Dolby Digital
Basic Functions	10 Points	Meets basic requirements for Dolby Digital.
DRC (Dynamic Range Control)	5 Points	Compression feature lets you compress dynamic range for night time listening. Can be enabled/disabled through a sound profile.  Three levels of compression are provided.  When DRC is on, it should be indicated on the front panel, and it is not with the No40.
Dialogue Normalization	10 Points	Yes.
Lock-on Time	10 Points	Fast.
640kbps AC-3	Not tested	The processor should be able to decode DD bitstreams encoded at their maximum bitrate.
Dolby Digital EX
Basic Functions	10 Points	Meets basic requirements for Dolby Digital EX.
Flag Respect	10 Points	Responds correctly to flags.
Pro Logic
Basic Functions	10 Points	Meets basic requirements for Dolby Pro Logic.
SurrEnc Flag respect	Not Tested	This Benchmark specification indicates whether the processor will automatically read flags for two-channel stereo tracks that indicate it has been encoded for Dolby Pro Logic, and not automatically switch to Dolby Pro Logic when playing two-channel stereo tracks that are not flagged as having been encoded as Dolby Pro Logic. The No40 does not specify this in their instruction manual.
Pro Logic II
Basic Functions	10 Points	Meets basic requirements for Dolby Pro Logic II.
Non-mandatory Music mode features	10 Points	Includes Panorama/Width/Dimension.
DTS
Basic Functions	10 Points	Meets basic requirements for DTS.
Bass Management
Crossover frequency selection	10 Points	Yes, for all channels, including subwoofer. Settings from 30 Hz to 100 Hz in 10 Hz increments. Slope is 24 dB per octave for high-pass and low-pass, except for THX-80 Hz which is 24 dB per octave low-pass/12 dB per octave high-pass.
Crossover Slope selection	5 Points	High-pass slope is selectable between 2nd order and 3rd order.  Low-pass slope is selectable between 3rd order and 4th order.
LFE Trim	10 Points	Yes. Level can be set in a sound profile. Settable from -12.0 dB to +12.0 dB in 1 dB increments.
DVD-Audio
Bass Management for 5.1 Analog Input	10 Points	Yes.
HDMI DVD-A Input	10 Points	Can accept 8 channel LPCM data over HDMI.
iLink DVD-A/SACD Input	0 Points	None Offered.
THX
Certification	10 Points	THX Select, Ultra, and Ultra2 Certified.
Re-Eq defeat option	10 Points	Yes. Is defeatable through a sound profile. Must be defeatable in THX modes to get 10 points.
Audio Customization
Parametric Subwoofer Eq	0 Points	None.
Surround Mode Pre-Set	10 Points	Yes.
Multiple Surround Management	10 Points	Can reroute or copy surrounds/rears.
Academy Mono Filter	0 Points	Not available. Restores the proper mono balance of older mono film sound tracks.
Downmix	10 Points	Yes. Converts 5.1 sources to two-channel stereo.
Miscellaneous
Front Panel Dim	5 Points	There are four options for the alpha-numeric display on the audio processor: Full-on, full-off and two intermediate brightness levels.  The LCD panel can be set to preview only mode where it comes on for a short duration and then turns off.  There is no way to turn off the power and standby LEDs which are bright.  You can put some tape to cover the LEDs.  You should be able to turn off all the lights to get 10 points.
Settings Storage	10 Points	Settings are retained.
Video
Up-Conversion of Composite Video, S-Video, and Component Video to DVI/HDMI	0 Points	Analog video cannot be output through the HDMI output.
DVI and/or HDMI Switching	10 Points	Does provide HDMI Switching. 5 points if it has DVI switching. 10 points if it has HDMI switching.
Component Video Switching Bandwidth	10 Points	No40 has >70 MHz bandwidth (-0.1 dB point). Must be at least 100 MHz (-3 dB point) to get 10 points, so their specification would pass our test
Total Score	287 Points out of 335	Ratio = 0.857

[NOTES: Crossover slope selection: still giving it full-points since it does provide a 3^rd order option]

Go to Part VII.