Dual Disc- heavy center channel?

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  • bokes
    Member
    • Sep 2005
    • 32

    Dual Disc- heavy center channel?

    I recently purchased my first Dual-Disc.
    I played it through my Denon 3910 and Rotel 1056 using the video 1 setting which I use when watching DVD's.
    The disc plays through on all channels and I can hear separation- but the center channel dominates.

    I switched the setting over to multi channel and I only got sound through the two front mains and it sounded IMO- much better.

    My ?- how should I set up my players for Dual Disc DVD Audio?

    Thanks
  • gianni
    Senior Member
    • Nov 2002
    • 524

    #2
    Originally posted by bokes
    I recently purchased my first Dual-Disc.
    I played it through my Denon 3910 and Rotel 1056 using the video 1 setting which I use when watching DVD's.
    The disc plays through on all channels and I can hear separation- but the center channel dominates.

    I switched the setting over to multi channel and I only got sound through the two front mains and it sounded IMO- much better.

    My ?- how should I set up my players for Dual Disc DVD Audio?

    Thanks
    After trying one I've decided not to use them for various reasons. To answer your question -- this is very likely going to vary disc to disc. It really depends
    on the recording and mix. Unfortunately, there is no set agreed upon standard.

    What you describe is not uncommon. Multi channel music discs that sound good in the front stage seem to be the exception rather than the norm. It is my experience that using 2 fronts does produce a more defined sound stage with better depth. In fact, I've read articles written by industry professionals that maintain that the center channel is a necessary evil for movies - mainly to anchor dialog to the screen for off center (out of sweet spot) listeners.

    Im my experience, I generally prefer 2 fronts for music listening.

    Comment

    • junior77blue
      Senior Member
      • Nov 2004
      • 635

      #3
      Originally posted by gianni
      Im my experience, I generally prefer 2 fronts for music listening.

      Especially if your using an inferior center channel!

      Comment

      • aud19
        Twin Moderator Emeritus
        • Aug 2003
        • 16706

        #4
        Have you calibrated the levels, bass and delay in you DVD player for the analog outputs yet?
        Jason

        Comment

        • csuzor
          Senior Member
          • Nov 2004
          • 413

          #5
          Originally posted by gianni
          Multi channel music discs that sound good in the front stage seem to be the exception rather than the norm. It is my experience that using 2 fronts does produce a more defined sound stage with better depth. In fact, I've read articles written by industry professionals that maintain that the center channel is a necessary evil for movies - mainly to anchor dialog to the screen for off center (out of sweet spot) listeners.

          Im my experience, I generally prefer 2 fronts for music listening.
          I will disagree here. Given 3 equal front speakers, I haven't found a single mch disc that sounds better in stereo.

          You can argue about the rear channels, and I occasionally unplug them, but 3 front channels will always sound better imho, unless you are not listening to a true mch source: using home-quality surround processing (DTS or DPLII) will not make mch sound better than stereo... I used to think so, and listened to CD with DTS Neo, but since I got a better CD player, I find that DTS ruins soundstage and breadth of music. I also sold an inferior center speaker and bought an identical speaker to L/R, and with correct distance alignment, the difference was awesome.

          So, I conclude, dont try to listen to mch with a stereo source, or with a different center channel, and make sure you align each speaker to equal listening distance (preferably physically, not electronically, for reasons I won't bother to explain here).

          Finally, I cannot comment on Dual-disc, I only listen to sacd. Maybe a badly mixed, low-res, mch disc will sound worse than the stereo track...

          Christophe

          Comment

          • gianni
            Senior Member
            • Nov 2002
            • 524

            #6
            Originally posted by csuzor
            I will disagree here. Given 3 equal front speakers, I haven't found a single mch disc that sounds better in stereo.

            You can argue about the rear channels, and I occasionally unplug them, but 3 front channels will always sound better imho, unless you are not listening to a true mch source: using home-quality surround processing (DTS or DPLII) will not make mch sound better than stereo... I used to think so, and listened to CD with DTS Neo, but since I got a better CD player, I find that DTS ruins soundstage and breadth of music. I also sold an inferior center speaker and bought an identical speaker to L/R, and with correct distance alignment, the difference was awesome.

            So, I conclude, dont try to listen to mch with a stereo source, or with a different center channel, and make sure you align each speaker to equal listening distance (preferably physically, not electronically, for reasons I won't bother to explain here).

            Finally, I cannot comment on Dual-disc, I only listen to sacd. Maybe a badly mixed, low-res, mch disc will sound worse than the stereo track...

            Christophe
            Yes, as far as multi channel discs are concerned, they may sound better in their native format using a center depending on the particular mix.

            However, I have never heard a multi channel mix that presents the type of soundstage (imaging etc,) that the best 2 ch mixes can achieve. And yes, I have 3 identical front speakers and they are not of inferior quality. One problem being that the typical 5.1 setup with 3 speakers across the front, is not well suited for music.

            Comment

            • csuzor
              Senior Member
              • Nov 2004
              • 413

              #7
              Fine, Gianni, let's agree to disagree.

              I can't think of a reason why augmenting the phantom image with a 3rd speaker in the center, would be worse than with 2 speakers. Whether it's 2 or 3 speakers up-front, it is still an approximation of any real soundstage. Hearing a vocalist or an instrument recorded by a microphone close to the source, through 2 speakers positioned 3m apart, can only ever be an approximation, which should be more realistic with 3 speakers, especially if more emphasis is place on sound from the speaker that best represents where the source was. Playback on 2 speakers may sound more like a "live event" which is amplified through left and right speakers, and it could create a wider image soundstage because of the phase separation, but 3 speakers should sound more natural. If it doesn't, there's something wrong with the setup or the recording.

              Comment

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