C2 Listening Modes?

[CP-Mike]

I can finally be an "official" member of Club Parasound, as I just received my new C2 the other day. I've been breaking it in and doing some listening here and there, but I'm having problems with the listening modes. All I can select are "mono" and "stereo", and with analog sources, "stereo96". When I press Mode+ or Mode- on the remote, those are the only things it cycles through when the input format is PCM Digital or stereo analog. DVD's play with the proper Dolby Digital format.

I only have two front speakers and a sub, no center or rear speakers, but according to the manual, I should be able to at least get DPLII and DTS NEO:6 with stereo PCM input signals.

What am I doing wrong? Is there some thing in a menu I need to set to enable listening modes beyong "stereo" and "mono"?

[Chris D]

Mike: :banana:

Well, since you only have two speakers, you really can't use any other sound formats than the ones you listed. Dolby Pro Logic (I and II, much less IIx) is a sound format to create and enhance surround sound. Neo:6 is the same thing, just DTS's version of DPL.

If you want to get into that stuff, you'll have to buy some more speakers. Enjoy the journey, my friend, it looks like you've got a great one ahead of you.

[CP-Mike]

Chris,

It depends on how the manufacturer implements DPL. On both of my previous receivers, I could activate DPL with a stereo source and only two speakers. The movie mode was great for creating the illusion of a center channel speaker, with dialog confined to the center, and sound effects spread out around the room more. Granted, it was probably not that good of quality, and perhaps gimmicky, but it made a difference and sounded pretty good for some movies.

I guess I was hoping that the C2 would have more features for two channel than a stereo preamp. Well, it does decode DD...

So how many speakers would I need to get any of those modes to work? Just a center channel, or the full 5 channels?

[slayer]

I'm not sure why you are fighting getting them in the first place. Why did you get the C2 if you did not have plans for a full surround system? The C2 is a surround processor. As far as the DPL. If your front speakers are set up properly and doing their job right, all the vocals should be coming from an imaginary center channel between the fronts when in stereo. If you are not getting this effect, try moving the speakers until you do. Toe them in some, try whatever you have to to get them right. try to create a triangle between you and the speakers. If you can't get your front speakers to image like this, get new speakers.

[Chris D]

Mike, now that you mention it, I do remember a "phantom center" effect from back in the day.

Still, right now I think nothing woud improve your system like adding more speakers. Order of preference (in my opinion) would be center, subwoofer, side surrounds, rear surrounds.

If it were me, I would save up, and then buy a full speaker set together that all match each other. I highly advocate speaker matching to people.

[CP-Mike]

Randy, I never said I didn't want a full 5.1 setup. I very much want one, but I just don't have the money to do so. I just blew my audio budget for the year on new electronics, speaker cable, and interconnects. Also, when I do buy new speakers, I'm also going to have to buy two more amps.

Chris, I very much agree. I will not buy new speakers until I can afford a whole set. The speakers I have now are OK, despite being the weak point in my system now, but I couldn't buy matching center and surrounds even if I wanted to. The product line is now discontinued, and none have been showing up on Audiogon in the past few months.

[slayer]

That's how I built my system. Piece by piece. It's never ending. I just picked up a new toy for my system, the Velodyne SMS-1. All I did was play around with it for now but it did show me how bad my room is and the problems it is creating on my frequency response. I guess it means I will have to spend more $ to try to fix the problems.
Good luck on your quest.

[Chris D]

Exactly, I think that's very exciting that you're at that point in the audio journey. And I'm very pleasantly impressed that at that point, you're starting with the C2. Good for you! Back in my day (holy crap, did I just say that?) when I started with a basic 2-channel system, I had a little Kenwood receiver that was party of a system purchase from something along the lines of Circuit City. Saved up for that for a long time. Then went to a cheap Sony surround receiver discontinued as a floor model and added some crappy surround speakers and center channel. And I do mean crappy. And so on, and so on.

So that is AWESOME that you're already making quantitative leaps and starting with a C2! You just made a jump that it took me about 17 years to make, myself. Enjoy the rest of the journey!

[CP-Mike]

Well, I did own two "crappy" receivers prior to the C2. An Onkyo HTIB was my first foray into "hi-fi" (as well as being my first and only experience with surround sound...sigh), followed by a refurb'd NAD receiver. Both times, I was in college, so I had to scrape together money for some time. I ate lots of ramen. (hmm, wonder if that has anything to do with my high blood pressure...) I had an old plastic OJ jug that I kept my pocket change in every evening. After two semesters of that, I had $165 in change. But when I had enough for that Onkyo, I smiled all the way to the bank.

So far, every time I upgrade, each successive "processor" (/receiver) has cost more than my entire previous system. Now with over $12k invested, I don't think I can afford to continue that kind of "step up". Meridian, here I come! ...One day.

But seriously, amps and speakers first. Gotta get back into 5.1

[jprafter]

Slayer,

Thanks for mentioning the Velodyne SMS-1. I didn't know they offered this. I was originally interested in the DD series but the price was out of my budget. I just read an article on the Velodyne SMS-1 and it seems to offer what I wanted.