Q & A with Elliot Scheiner

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But in the car, that's all under tight control. The designer knows EXACTLY where the listeners will sit, they know exactly where the speakers will be, and they know what power the amp will need and have. It's a PERFECT ENVIRONMENT FOR SURROUND - FOR CRYING OUT LOUD.

For a single driver. When there's any passengers I can't imagine surround working well for them.
 
I think the only irony I can see is that you apparently feel that one thread on a tiny forum will somehow impact the legacy of Elliot Scheiner....I have a feeling that I'm not the only one who feels that it won't....having this new "discovery" hasn't dampened my enjoyment of his work...not a bit...

People may be getting 'depressed' without great cause. Both the degree of delay and the *level* of the LFE should be considered before adopting woe.

And the usual caveats apply to sighted reports of big audible difference from small changes. Quantitative data would be nice.
 
Interesting interview. I love how he kept talking about the 5.1 in the car. I have been championing that for years. I could never understand how Panasonic/ELS stopped with Acura and did not move to other manufacturers. I think 5.1 audio systems should have also been available in Hondas, or Nissans, Toyotas, Fords, whatever. The more 5.1 systems on the road the bigger the marketplace is for material.

It seemed like a no-brainer to me in 2000-2005 that many new cars should have had SACD and DVD-A players available as options. Imagine that?

It's also interesting to hear that Dolby sounds like it wants in on his Acura system, but he is being hesitant. Well, the new Acura's have speakers in the roof so adding Atmos would be a natural.

The thing that's always been a variable with quad and 5.1 surround is that there is no standard in the home as to what equipment is used, where the speakers are placed, and control stuff like that. Where do the listeners sit?

But in the car, that's all under tight control. The designer knows EXACTLY where the listeners will sit, they know exactly where the speakers will be, and they know what power the amp will need and have. It's a PERFECT ENVIRONMENT FOR SURROUND - FOR CRYING OUT LOUD.

And don't tell me it's distracting. I love a sax or choir blasting out of my rear seats! Never crashed the car because of it yet! :SG

I was in my 2007 Acura TL yesterday paying some bills and turned on my demo DVDA that came with the car that has the introduction by Elliot and starts with the Doobies “China Grove”. Gotta say DVDA still sounds great in the car environment. The track that really shows off the center channel is the Doors song “Touch Me”, that one is really three dimensional.

Do the new Acura’s still have DVDA capabability?
 
For a single driver. When there's any passengers I can't imagine surround working well for them.

My experience is that it sounds perfectly balanced from the both the driver and passenger seats. Once you get into the back seats, the effect doesn't really hold up with the rear channels becoming dominant.
 
I'm a long time Honda owner and have lusted after an Acura with a 5.1 system. But they charge way too much for a depreciating that is basically an appliance. I wonder where the stumbling block was. Was it disinterest from the auto manufactures, too high a license, or some kind of foolish exclusivity deal.

I really enjoyed the interview. The first I have read with ES, so the stories were new to me. I definitely got a stereo guy rant against surround in his comments about Atmos. A lot of the same arguments too. 5.1 is all you need, it creates the right soundstage, sound from above doesn't make sense and that the speaker manufactures are the ones pushing it.
 
For a single driver. When there's any passengers I can't imagine surround working well for them.

Actually, the early Acura's put the front channels in the REAR DOORS!!! This gave the rear seated passengers a better surround listen, although the center was still in the dashboard. This detail caused me great distress at first, because I thought the system was malfunctioning when I heard the fronts in the back doors.

I do not think the latest systems do this. I have not noticed it in my current Acura, but the older DVD-A systems did do this for sure.
 
Actually, the early Acura's put the front channels in the REAR DOORS!!! This gave the rear seated passengers a better surround listen, although the center was still in the dashboard. This detail caused me great distress at first, because I thought the system was malfunctioning when I heard the fronts in the back doors.

I do not think the latest systems do this. I have not noticed it in my current Acura, but the older DVD-A systems did do this for sure.

What does Acura do for the sub?
 
Sub is in the "trunk" on the RDX. I think in the TL it's in the rear deck
 
My experience is that it sounds perfectly balanced from the both the driver and passenger seats. Once you get into the back seats, the effect doesn't really hold up with the rear channels becoming dominant.


I'm curious at to how it is perfectly balanced for two people sitting more than a foot apart in the front. AIUI the surround balance is optimized for the driver's seat. How does the passenger seat avoid hearing a dominant right front speaker?
 
I'm curious at to how it is perfectly balanced for two people sitting more than a foot apart in the front. AIUI the surround balance is optimized for the driver's seat. How does the passenger seat avoid hearing a dominant right front speaker?

All I know is that I've sat in both the driver and passenger seats of a '19 TLX, and on 4.0 material the vocals seem to image perfectly in the center of the dash.
 
All I know is that I've sat in both the driver and passenger seats of a '19 TLX, and on 4.0 material the vocals seem to image perfectly in the center of the dash.

Yeah, that's the big thing a center channel is for. Center channel content will be 'anchored' in the middle, for both listeners. But I can't see how front left and front right content can possibly be perfectly balanced for both listeners.
 
Yeah, that's the big thing a center channel is for. Center channel content will be 'anchored' in the middle, for both listeners.

Yes, but I'm talking about purely 4.0 content. I've made DTS-CDs from some of the Audio Fidelity and Dutton-Vocalion quadraphonic SACDs to play in the car, and the 'phantom center' vocals still seem properly centered from the passenger seat.
 
Yeah, that's the big thing a center channel is for. Center channel content will be 'anchored' in the middle, for both listeners. But I can't see how front left and front right content can possibly be perfectly balanced for both listeners.

How is the LEFT and RIGHT of a car's 2 channel system perfectly balanced for both listeners, passenger, driver? Pretty much the same way. I keep my left/right balance perfectly center and the left channel does not dominate for me as I'm driving. In fact, if I'm by myself (no passenger), the right speakers have a clearer shot at my ears than the lefts, as they are blocked by my legs!
 
The speakers on the sides of my car are aimed at the opposite side, not at the seats.
 
How is the LEFT and RIGHT of a car's 2 channel system perfectly balanced for both listeners, passenger, driver? Pretty much the same way. I keep my left/right balance perfectly center and the left channel does not dominate for me as I'm driving. In fact, if I'm by myself (no passenger), the right speakers have a clearer shot at my ears than the lefts, as they are blocked by my legs!
Doesn’t the passenger’s side block some speakers with their legs also? And I only have a stereo rig in my car and it has side to side balance, seems like I adjust to center works fine for me. Curious in those cars with surround, do they provide a front to rear balance control also?
Seems someone needs to start a new thread for auto sound like Past, present and future of Auto Sound Systems. I’d do it, but I’m a total noob on the auto sound stuff.
* edit... See, there’s a whole Forum on Mobile Audio (duh!)
https://www.quadraphonicquad.com/forums/threads/car-audio-moving-forward-a-reflection.25092/
 
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My 2004 Acura TL front speakers are in the front doors; must've been model dependent like an RL sedan perhaps.

It's never going to be perfect but is quite enjoyable with a minor adjustment or two, honestly not a concern. The Pioneer DVD-A players (AVH-P7600 & AVH-P7800 in different vehicles) have far more elaborate listener position modes that use DSP to optimize Driver, Front, All & Rear modes.
 
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