[Music Fanatic]

Doug's issues raise a deeper question in my mind -- is 6.1 really good for anything? I have a 7.1 receiver at home (the Pioneer 49TXi) and I find I almost never more than 5 channels (and often, 2 channels sound better to me than 5 channels).

 

[gpalmer]

I don't know, I have a 5.0 setup and I didn't have any problem getting the 6.1 DTS playback to work on LOTR. My guess is the formats are backward compatible, though that is just a guess.

 

[ServinginEcuador]

Quote:

Originally posted by gpalmer I don't know, I have a 5.0 setup and I didn't have any problem getting the 6.1 DTS playback to work on LOTR. My guess is the formats are backward compatible, though that is just a guess.

That would be my guess too. The only possible answer is that my receiver is made for DTS ES, or 6.1 sound, and thus it is most likely looking for the six channels, but only finds the 5.1. Even when using standard DTS is seems to want to find all six channels, and if it doesn't, it won't work.

 

[Alexx]

Returning to the original topic. One of my friends purchased D-VHS player and some tapes. The new ones uses some high bitrate Dolby Digital (more than 500 Kbits/sec), and he says that (in his opinion, of course) it clearly outperforms DTS (at lest it half-rate version). So, it seems that POTENTIALLY DD has more effective codec, and the only strength of DTS is it's higher bitrate. I hope someone who also owns D-VHS could confirm/disprove this statement.

 

[immtbiker]

I can say that on Santana's Supernatural, the DTS soundtrack sounds better and puts you in a different place in the auditorium(soundstage), than DD. The bass is more dominant as previously stated.
I have my multichannel Pioneer receiver set-up, so that if there is a soundtrack with side surrounds, or a rear center channel, it automatically plays those sounds (DTS ES for example), in the rear surrounds. Other modern receivers must have the same option.
I can honestly say that music CD's that are DTS only (not movies), don't sound nearly as good as multi-channel SACD's and DVD-Audio's, probably due to the fact that DTS is still digital, coming thru the digital cable. But they do sound good, because they are usually remastered from decent recordings and they are in surround, although diehard Redbook lovers might tend to disagree. One example is Don Henley's "End of Innocence". IMHO!

 

[Music Fanatic]

Quote:

Originally posted by immtbiker I have my multichannel Pioneer receiver set-up, so that if there is a soundtrack with side surrounds, or a rear center channel, it automatically plays those sounds (DTS ES for example), in the rear surrounds. Other modern receivers must have the same option.

May I ask -- which Pioneer receiver do you have?

 

[raif]

For me the difference between dts and DD is like night and day. I have the old top of the line sony dream theater system.(I know, I know... give me break it was only 500, and plays sacd) I find that I can't hear the rear surround channels nearly as much in DD and the bass is alot less prominent.

 

[radrd]

Quote:

i only have 2.1 speaker setup, so do you think dolby digital or dts will make a lot of difference ?

Uh, you shouldn't even bother with either DD or DTS because you can't use them. You have to have a center channel or you won't get much, if any dialogue. You could have a 3.1 system and it might be worth it, as all you would be missing is the rear surround action, but even then, you should really at least plan on upgrading to a 5.1 system.

 

[immtbiker]

Quote:

May I ask -- which Pioneer receiver do you have?

I have the Pioneer Elite VSX53TX, which can be obtained for half the advertised MSRP.

http://www.pioneerelectronics.com/pn...046366,00.html

 

[Music Fanatic]

I have the 49TXi, and I'm just trying to understand how you've set yours up. So, you have a 7.1 speaker set up and for Dolby Digital, it plays from side surrounds, but for DTS, it plays from the rear surrounds -- is that right? (I don't know if the 49TXi supports this option or not -- I've not mastered every feature of the receiver.)

 

[immtbiker]

No...I have a 5.1 setup, but a 7.1 receiver, like yours. DTS and DD are both through 5.1. When movies are made in 6.1 or 7.1, the receiver doesn't miss the sounds, it just moves them to the rear surrounds (when set-up correctly).

YGPM, and we can take this offline.

 

[JeffL]

Not to bust bubbles, but personally I don't like 5.1 in the first place.

I'll stick with stereo (2 channel) or mono, thanks.

And please, I'm not trying to thread jack or flame, that is my honest opinion.

 

[SunByrne]

Quote:

Originally posted by JeffL Not to bust bubbles, but personally I don't like 5.1 in the first place. I'll stick with stereo (2 channel) or mono, thanks. And please, I'm not trying to thread jack or flame, that is my honest opinion.

I guess the question to ask here is: for what?

For just music, I agree--I don't especially care for 5.1 music. That's why when I bought a HT receiver I auditioned everything also in 2-channel mode for music, and some otherwise pretty decent for the price HT receivers have surprisingly bad 2-channel performance (Denon comes to mind here).

But for DVD movies, 5.1 is a wonderful thing--a really substantial upgrade from 2-channel.

 

[Music Fanatic]

Quote:

Originally posted by JeffL Not to bust bubbles, but personally I don't like 5.1 in the first place. I'll stick with stereo (2 channel) or mono, thanks. And please, I'm not trying to thread jack or flame, that is my honest opinion.

I can understand those who don't like surround channels for music.

But having 3 front channels is a big plus -- it creates a much fuller effect even to those not in the "sweet spot".

(And of course, for movies, it is essential!)