Listening to Now (Fake Surround-Specify Method)

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Yello ‎– Claro Que Si
Using DSU on Yamaha 3080
PXL_20220315_212556457.MP.jpg

 
[thread title change request - add something to the effect of "please mention surround synthesizer type"]

(there are now so many surround sound synthesizer systems, from passive (no logic) type to Atmos type, some based on Dolby Labs tech, some on DTS tech and some on QS or SQ matrix tech or upmixing unrelated to matrix tech)


Kirk Bayne
 
playlist (CD): the very best of santana (just purchased for $5 from Walmart)

Stereo to surround sound via DPL2 music - one unusual thing related to "brickwalling" (this CD provides fairly good surround sound):

I have my Blu-ray player connected to the digital in on my receiver, I start with the volume display at -30dB (works well for most DD and DTS DVDs/Blu-rays), but this CD seems brickwalled, I had to turn down the volume to -35dB and after a few songs, down to -40dB, first album I've had that gets more brickwalled as it plays.


Kirk Bayne
 
Crap! I didn’t know this Thread existed. While listening to two-channel movies and music on my home theater system, I‘ve always used the Auro-3D Auromatic up-mixer on my AVR. About a week ago, I switched to Dolby Surround. I tried DTS Neural but did not care for it. The Auromatic upmixer is great in that it pretty much retains the original frontal stereo image except that it raises the soundstage, instead of sounding flat. Dolby Surround gives me a more enveloping feel with a bit of that soundstage height. Though, I do find Dolby Surround can artificially brighten music and add a bit more bass. I find that I like both for different reasons.
 
I love Mahler's symphonies and his song cycles, so I can't explain why I don't love Das Lied von der Erde. But listening to this EMI compilation of Das Lied together with the Kindertotenlieder, Rückert-Lieder, Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, and excerpts from Des knaben Wunderhorn, I like it all equally. These recordings mostly come from Abbey Road in the late 50s and 60s, although Wunderhorn is from 1987. Janet Baker with Barbirolli, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau with Paul Kletzki, Lucia Popp with Tennstedt. DSU with center spread on a 5.2.4 system. Vocal stays in the fronts, with elements of the orchestra spread pleasingly around the room. (Ambience in the overheads.) Sounds at least as good as what the majors are mixing in Atmos for Apple Music.
https://www.discogs.com/release/559...Popp-Weikl-Tennstedt-Das-Lied-Von-Der-Erde-Li
 
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https://www.discogs.com/release/1464488-Lionel-Richie-The-Definitive-Collection
Just purchased from Walmart for $7 - DPL2 music - no evidence of brickwalling, surround effect varies a lot between songs, fairly good on "Truly".

When I hear the the song "Say you say me" I think back to my 1985-10 Florida vacation - FM station BJ105 had an exclusive on this song and on their version, a DJ would whisper "BJ105" a few times during the quieter parts.


Kirk Bayne
 
Yes, maybe they should be merged, possibly with a note in the thread name to please mention what sort of device was used to create the fake quad.

edit: maybe rename and merge this thread - "...in fake Surround Sound"
Would cover everything from 3 speaker (Hafler - passive decoder) to 7.1.4 Atmos et al.


Kirk Bayne
 
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Yes, maybe they should be merged, possibly with a note in the thread name to please mention what sort of device was used to create the fake quad.

edit: maybe rename and merge this thread - "...in fake Surround Sound"
Would cover everything from 3 speaker (Hafler - passive decoder) to 7.1.4 Atmos et al.


Kirk Bayne


Yeah. It looks like we have multiple similar threads, distinguished only by different flavors of surround upmixing. I like your idea.
 
I like Kirk's (edited) idea, too.

Here's the only thing I like about Facebook groups, and I wonder if XenForo has something similar, namely: the ability to make a "sticky" post--like a fixed column header in Excel--that posters always see, regardless of how many pages into a thread they might be. That way, we'd always be reminded to specify DSP, listening setup, etc. (That feature would be useful for poll threads, too.)
 
Been a while since I've spent some time listening to what the Dolby Surround Upmixer can do with reg'lar old two-channel music, so that's how I spent my afternoon. Highlights:
  • Daring Mind by the Jihye Lee Orchestra. Contemporary big band music by a hot young composer. (The DSU consistently does well with big band music, in my experience.)
    https://jihyeleeorchestra.bandcamp.com/album/daring-mind
  • "Eberhard," the final, posthumously released recording by Lyle Mays. Beautiful tribute to the great German bassist. Reminiscent of the Offramp/As Falls Wichita-era Mays. (Those two records sound fine through the DSU, too, by the way, especially Wichita.)
    https://www.lylemays.com/eberhard
Inspired by that, and by an online feature about Kate Bush's influences--she names Bowie, Steely Dan, and Weber's 1979 album Fluid Rustle, among others--I'm headed over to Apple Music to dial up that latter album. . . .
 
Played the 1st LP I bought 50 years ago (1972-06) [Three Dog Night - Harmony] with my new AT (Conical) replacement stylus for my AT-LP60 turntable system (tried the LP Gear Elliptical stylus upgrade - didn't work for me - skipped often) thru DPL2 music.

My LP is in fair condition considering it was played on a high tracking force Western Auto TrueTone console stereo many times before I got my 1st audio system in 1972-12.

(I built a simple mic mixer, I used several Radio Shack type cheap mics to record "Never Been to Spain" from the speakers of a Magnavox console stereo on my mono cassette recorder, the resulting tape had a great deal of bass but not much treble when I played it back on a HK CAD 4 cassette deck at the Team Electronics on Noland rd)


Not much (fake) surround sound created by DPL2 music except for the last poem/song on side 2, I made a stereo DVD-R while listening, I'll try the DVD on my DynaQuad system upstairs later.


Edit: Harmony has more content in the L-R/DynaQuad passive surround channel than in DPL2 music (same result as the BBC matrix H YouTube audio mentioned in the Matrix H thread)


Kirk Bayne
 
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Responding to the "report" for the thread (before reading SteelyDave's posts) - I submit this for potential thread name:
Listening to Now (Fake Surround-Specify Method)
I would take issue with the term "fake". I listen to virtually all stereo via either the S&IC stereo enhance mode or via QS surround mode, The effect is anything but fake. Rather the stereo image is simply stretched out 270°, nothing is fake! It is like listening to stereo through a magnifying glass.

I suppose that other methods would likely qualify as "fake" however.
 
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