Unfortunately John it sounds only slightly better to me than the cheesy DSPs they load into virtually every receiver that has been built in the past decade or two (Sports, Theatre, Orchestra mode or my all time favorite, the Karoake function). I know this is not the first time i've relayed this opinion.
The 'echo' effect of DLPII does not sound realistic in presenting 'surround information' and is certainly nothing like a presentation in an auditorium, at least none i've been in. Some say that DPLII approaches Dolby Digital quality but it sounds nothing like a true 5.1 recorded or mixed Dolby Digital disc (or dvd-audio version).
I have compared one or two discs that i own in both formats some time ago and a dead person could hear how different a DPLII disc is from its DD5.1 counterpart.
A good, simple stereo playback in direct mode produces natural reflections off my room walls and creates a better surround effect than DLPII. Jordan and i experienced this most strongly with a song he had played during his auditioning time here. Both of us turned our heads to see if the QS8s were on; they were not.
Now THAT is effective surround sound reality.
To this day, no one who has come to audition the Axioms or heard our audio systems has preferred DPLII over direct mode, stereo sound (that would equate to about 15-20 people in the past 4 years or so). In addition, every person
has preferred DD5.1 or dvd-a over both. I can also add that most did not have a preference when comparing dvd-a and DD and typically comment how both sound very clear, detailed and 'clean'.
DPLII is really not that exciting and it gets the thumbs down by the listeners in this household.
