Not much volume from rears in DPLII - WHY??

[ejfiii]

This is such a noobie question I am almost embarassed to ask it. But I was watching tv last night in DPLII and I just had to wonder why the sides and center backs are so rarely heard. Sure, they make noise, but a lot of the time to make sure they are even on, I have to stick my ear up to them.

I have pretty normal hearing (for a guy anyway), so that can't be it. I have the system calibrated and on DVDs and HD signals, it sounds awesome with lots of rear sound. Its just that on analog signals like regular TV, I never really hear the sides or center backs.

Sure, I can understand that on some tv shows, you only want the center or fronts to make noise, but others with effects (like audience laughing in sit-com) I would expect to hear them more. I thought the whole purpose of DPLII was to make the 4 surround channels come alive with only analog signal inputs? Maybe my hopes are too high, or maybe its something else, I just don't know.

Anyway, thanks for putting up with a noobie question from a non noobie.

E. J.

PS - I have a 1065.




My HT

[Andrew Pratt]

Try a CD in PLII and see if that improves the sound you're hearing...it could be that most of the signals you're watching on the TV are in mono so the PLII has a difficult time trying to seperate them into 5.1. Even if they aren't in mono I've noticed that many TV stations don't seem to have much seperation in them for the decoding to work on.

[audunth]

I don't know if the 1065 has it, but my 1055 has a Pro Logic II sub-menu that lets me configure the following parameters:

Panorama on/off: Expands the front stereo image to include the surround speakers to create a "wraparound" effect
Dimension 0-6: Lets you gradually adjust the soundfield towards the front or rear - default is 3
Center Width 0-7: Lets you expand the sound intended for the center speaker to the front sides - default is 0

If you have these settings also on the 1065, try fiddling with them


-Audun

[Danbry39]

Personally, I don't think Logic II is designed to send a ton of information to the surround channels. If you watch a football game, you'll probably notice that the crowd sounds come into play more in the surrounds. For normal programs, it probably won't be as much.




Keith

[skipm]

E. J.-

I've found it depends on the source and how it is connected. Most of the time I just hear ambient or background sounds out of the rears. Also, sources connected digitally, via toslink or coax, seem to yield a better signal to decode than RCA analogue connections. As another poster said, depending on your receiver or pre-pro, DPL II is tweakable, so you can always season to taste.

-Skip

[Kevin D]

Like Audun said, go to the sub-menu. Hit menu, enter, got to input, choose PLII (cinema or music) and then hit ENTER. That leads you to the sub-menu.

Panorama defaults to OFF, so you should get very little rear info if at all. I also recommend center width to 2-3 in music mode.

Kevin D.

[cofn]

Damn dbl post :twisted:

[cofn]

It totally depends on the source. I have a Nintendo Gamecube, and alot of games as made with DPLII enhancements, there rears really sing with certian material, and are empty with others. We watch alot of sci-fi, so space battles usually fill up the back of the room, but mostly for average tv viewing, not much at all. I also agree with Skipm about the cable issue. I have my PC hooked up with digital coaxial, and all my movie trailer I send to the HT fill the back of the room.

[ejfiii]

Thanks for the help guys. Only time I am using analog sound input is on regular cable. HD and ReplayTV use digital. I have been in the menu, but never the PLII sub menu. I have selected Cinema, but don't remember seeing other options. I wonder if they are not available on the 1065? I'll check tonight.

I guess I am expecting too much as well.

Thanks again,

E. J.




My HT

[ejfiii]

Okay guys, I went through the menus last night and found that PLII Music is the only PLII mode that allows for any adjustment. All the adjustments are there that you mentioned above. PLII Cinema and Emulated do not have any additional adjustments available. Should I tweak the available adjustments in Music mode and listen to that for all video sources too? I changed it last night, and to be honest, it didn't sound any different.

Maybe since the 1065 is older, I dont have the same adjustment abaility as others with the 1055/1066?

Thanks again for the help.

E. J.




My HT

[skipm]

I know people that perfer DPL II Music mode over Cinema mode for everything so I would try both and choose the one that sounds best to you. For example, I perfer 5 channel stereo mode when listening to music over DPL II music mode.

-Skip

[audunth]

I just checked, the optional parameters are there only for music in my 1055 also. Hopefully, they'll fix that in a new firmware...




Regards,
Audun

[Azeke]

Ejfiii,

What rear speakers do you have?

What is the impedance rating?

Have you tried to increase the db adjustment of the rears via the setup menu?

Have you utilized an SPL meter for speaker calibration?

P.S. I suggest you turn in the 1065 to Myer-Emco and upgrade to the 1098 :LOL:

Regards,

Azeke

[Tha Freak]

I noticed that when I listen to cable TV (digital) in PLII – Cinema, the surround are indeed not quite active, but when I watch a VHS in stereo surround (such as Monster Inc) or a DVD in DD2.0 the surround mix are quite impressive. My latest one was Boyz-N-the Hood, and when the chopper passes over the hood, you really hear them pass overhead…

I also like the DTS Neo – Cinema for VHS only, because you cannot use DTS Neo with DD2.0 sources (If I can, I did not found how yet…)




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"Are you gonna bark all day little doggy?...or are you gonna bite?
-Mr. Blond in Reservoir Dogs

[ejfiii]

Everything is calibrated.

Afte watching tv tonight in the PLII Music setting with the paramaters tweaked, the rear is alive. What a difference. A few times even my wife looked over at me during friends with an inquisitive look of what did I do? I am going to leave it like this for a while and see if I continue to like it.

Thanks,

E. J.




My HT

[Azeke]

Ejfiii,

Happy to hear that things worked out .

Regards,

Azeke