I have seen a quick post or two about playing music in neo 6 instead of 5 channel. What is the reason? There are way too many features on the receiver, and I can't get a fix on what actually sounds better. It seems to switch from cd to cd. Help!!!!! Thanks, Guy
Neo 6 builds six channels of sound out of two channel stereo, you wont get seperation of channels as you would with discreet multi-channel formats. If you are listening to to cd's that are in stereo format all it's doing is giving you an extra channel.
I like Neo6 a lot. It seems to work well, without stripping the highs out like DPLII does.
Neo6 is one of a bunch of "expand stereo content out to multiple channels" algorithms -- like Dolby Pro Logic (PL), PLII, the Logic7 algorithm offered by Harman Kardon and others. Different recordings sound best with different algorithms, but many of us find that Neo6 is a good choice for most stereo content.
It's not the same as a real 5+ channel recording (DVD, DVD-A, SACD) with 5 or more channels cabled from the player to the receiver, but it can sound really good anyways.
I played a jazz cd (probably from a record club...) and in neo 6 and plII virtually all sound was from the center channel. I had the settings at 8dB for the front speakers, 3dB for the center and surround.Is that due to the recording? What am I missing here? Thanks, Guy
Guy, at a performance the majority of sound(except for someone extremely close, such as the conductor)reaches the listeners as reflected ambience from various angles, rather than as direct sound from the front. When the microphones pick this up(in varying degrees), if the format is two channel it all has to be mixed into those two front channels because there's no place else to put it. Good ambience recovery processing, such as DPLII, Logic 7 and Neo:6 detect phase differences in the reflected ambient sound, remove it from the front channels, and steers it to the surrounds where it belongs. The result is a little more realism; you should experiment with these, especially using the center width and dimension adjustments allowed with DPLII.
Where in the hell do you learn this stuff??? Holy crap John, you are constantly amazing me with the things you know.
Libraries and the internet contain all human knowledge, Mike. The problem is finding it and then separating factual knowledge from subjective impressions which can be, and often are, wrong.
Possibly, you chose DTS:Neo6 Cinema and Dolby Pro Logic II Movie. Try checking each for the music setting; I've encountered this one before...
Is there a difference? I mean is there a DTS -Neo 6 Music,and Dolby PLII Music? (My beginner ignorance is showing)How do you check for the music settings? This sounds like it could be it, but obviously I'm still confused. I have the Denon 3802.I'll check in the morning, at work now.
John, I have the front speakers set at 11 ft (I have assumed the distance was from listening spot to speaker. Is that correct?) The center channel at 8 ft, surrounds at 4 ft. Thanks, Guy
Guy, yes the distance settings are from the listening spot to the speakers.
On the point about too much center channel, as Ken pointed out, you may be using the movie setting rather than the music setting, which is a different setting on the receiver. For movies, since center channel dialog is so important, the processing emphasizes the center, but this isn't necessary for music. As was mentioned, especially with DPLII, you can adjust the center width from all center out to nothing in the center and everything in the mains; experiment. Also, the dimension control in DPLII music adjusts the proportion of reflected sound which is steered to the surrounds, moving the sound field forward or back; this should also be experimented with.
What JohnK said. The movie processing puts more stuff through the center (as you described) while the music processing sends it across the front speakers.
That sounds like it, I'll check when I get home the manual, see what I can find, how to get the music setting separate from the movie setting. I'll let you know how it turns out. Also, it may have something to do with the dvd players menu. It's a new player and I have not messed with it that much. I'll check that also. Thanks all, Guy
Okay, it appears that after perusing the Denon manual, I have found the way to get to the PLII music/cinema change out. I'm certain from your descriptions that it is indeed the problem.(Imagine that, reading instructions helps...please don't tell my wife!) Thanks again, Guy
kcarlile and gkarf,
Dolby Pro Logic II (and IIx, the latest version) should NOT strip out highs if you have the mode properly set up. The old Dolby Pro Logic did that as well as forcing a lot of content into the center channel. Analog Pro Logic (and the digital version) was terrible with music.Gkarf, are you certain you are using the DPLII mode rather than just plain DPL?
DPLII (and IIx) are a huge improvement. Each alorithm has different characteristics and you may prefer one over the other--I like Logic7 for classical and live concert recordings because it shoves more ambient stuff in the surrounds. But DPLII and DTS Neo6 are often very similar.
I've never noted that DPLII limits frequency response in any way.
Gkarf: any of these modes work with any 2-channel stereo source, even LPs or old cassettes. If you feed in a mono source, these modes will put everything in the center.
Regards,
Funny, after reading through this thread last I tried my surround on both Neo6 and DLPII and didn't notice much difference and actually thought DPLII sounded a wee bit better ... I guess Alan answered the reason why.
I like the surround modes for live concerts but good ol' two channel stereo does it for me on most all other music recordings.
Alan, Johnk, kcarlile, et all, Thanks ever so much. It was again, my own inadequacies. I had the mode set on cinema, as correctly surmised. I did not even know there was a setting. Hmmm...3 years old and you guys gave me a new receiver!!!Maybe I didn't need new speakers after all! LOL (I don't even know if that's laugh out loud, or lot's of luck. I'm using the laugh out loud mode. I could also use help on putting smileys thru out the post and how to do links and avatars, but that's for another day.) Anyway, thanks again, it sounds even more amazing now that I've messed with some of those new settings. I was close to tears in my eyes it sounded so good. Thanks so much, you guys are amazing! Guy
>>I'm using the laugh out loud mode.
Sounds like you're ready to try ROTFLMAO next
Repeat after me...
bridgman, I won't be able to sleep nights if I try to figure that one out. Maybe in a year or two... Guy
I'll chime in and vote for DTS:Neo, if I try to go back to stero it sounds so... unimpressive. I will say not all music sounds better with the various surround modes availble, but I'd argue a lot of it does. Plus I get that physiological feeling that I'm better utilizing the money I spent on the center and surrounds (and sub) if I use the surround modes.
After this post, I have begun to study the manual, and am getting much more familiar with the settings. I too seem to like the neo vice the plII setting on mine, which I can switch pretty seemlessly. At times, it still seems like I get too much sound from the center channel, but it varies. (I know, I need a SPL Meter., working on it!) Guy