Listening to Now (Fake Surround-Specify Method)

[kfbkfb]

https://www.discogs.com/master/4799...ars-Turn-The-Beat-Around-1974-1978-Volume-Onehttps://www.discogs.com/master/384135-Various-The-Disco-Years-Vol-2-On-The-Beat-1978-1982
Just made new speaker wires for my bedroom system (actually got out my soldering iron and tinned the bare wires), I thought my 30+ year old Pioneer stereo receiver was about to fail, some crackling noise at times, but I think it was actually just a strand or 2 of the my tiny untinned speaker wire touching another speaker terminal.

Listening in Hafler/DynaQuad fake surround sound, these 2 Disco albums have a lot of content in the surround speaker (nearly every song), which was surprising.

edit:
Hafler>DPL2 music
I may rig up a speaker switch so that I can use Hafler/DynaQuad on my basement system for fake surround sound and stop using DPL2 music and just use original DPL for older DS encoded TV shows and movies.


Kirk Bayne

 

[~dave~~wave~]

Fucking hell, I haven't got completely through my David Lindlley stack, and now starting on Jim Gordon RIP.
Mothers of Invention Waka / Wazoo Winterland Petite Wazoo concert.

Sounds better than it did live in the concrete basketball arena I saw them at a few weeks earlier.
Excellent sound field with Gordon's drum kit centered.

America Drinks and Goes Home, Gordon at the peak of his game
Farther Oblivion, killer drum solo

In between, my all-time favorite version of Montana.
Six horns, two smoking guitars, Dave Parlato bass.
Nobody had heard this before at these concerts, hadn't yet been released on vinyl.

LFE +10 dB

 

[humprof]

Apple Music+, Dolby Surround Upmixer with center spread over a 7.1.4 system (the .4 are top heights). Listening to two pre-release tracks from this album, out tomorrow, that's been getting a lot of advance press. A Bitches Brew-inspired project from young luminaries (Nubya Garcia, Shabaka Hutchings, and others) on London's jazz scene. "Miles Chases New Voodoo in the Church" sounds especially good. The preview tracks are stereo-only, but the album is being released on Concord, and they've surprised us with a couple of decent Atmos mixes so far, so you never know. This album would lend itself really well to a crazy-adventurous treatment.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2...don-nubya-garcia-shabaka-hutchings-dave-okumuhttps://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/28/arts/music/bitches-brew-london-brew.htmlhttps://www.allaboutjazz.com/nubya-garcia-and-shabaka-hutchings-meditate-on-bitches-brew

 

[humprof]

Steve Reich and Musicians, Music for 18 Musicians (original ECM recording, 1978), on at Atmos 5.1.4 rig using the Dolby Surround Upmixer with center spread.

Man! I like the new recording by the Colin Currie Ensemble that's nominally streaming in Atmos (without much, if anything, happening up top) on Apple Music--enough so that I've ordered the 5.1 SACD. And I have the big-ambient-rears GVSU New Music Ensemble version, too. But this is still my go-to, partly, no doubt, out of familiarity/sentimentality bias. I first heard the piece, or an excerpt of it, anyway, on ECM's loss leader Music With 58 Musicians, Vol. 1 back in 1980. That's also what introduced me to Jarrett's European quartet and Old and New Dreams and John Abercrombie and Burton & Corea and ... well, I guess the album did what it was meant to do, because, mind blown, I promptly rushed out and bought the 18 Musicians LP. A few years back I finally got it on CD as part of the ECM Recordings box set. This performance just sounds sharper and gutsier to me than the others, not to mention brisker. (It's a full 8 minutes shorter than Currie's and 5 minutes shorter than GVSU's). And I find that the DSU actually spreads things around more interestingly than either of the recorded-and-mixed-for surround versions. It does a pretty decent job with Music for a Large Ensemble and Tehillim, too.

 

[somethingcleveridunno]

FreeSurround upmix to 7.1, all settings at default except Localization is cranked all the way up, and the LFE config is set up for my speakers.

Phased, heavily distorted guitars spend a lot of time in the side channels, there's a nice illusion of discreteness that comes through, especially on "Feelin' Satisfied" and "Party". Some of the vocals even feel broken out between the fronts, center and sides. Good front soundstage, the center has presence but plays the featured role whether it's Brad Delp's lead vocal or a Tom Scholz solo. The title track and "A Man I'll Never Be" don't come off as well with the upmix. Though the latter track was never going to live up to one of my top 5 songs in the entire world I'd want to mix into surround myself, I've got a really clear mental impression of exactly how I'd want that song to sound.

Also

Nice moment breaking out the chorus of "Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa" vocals after the first chorus but before the next verse into all the channels. Side channels almost exclusively get guitars, to the point that a couple guitar overdubs sound completely discrete. Very nice effect if you enjoy hearing isolated tracks very clearly in your surrounds.

 

[kfbkfb]

Testing my new (open box) Sony UBP-X700 UHD Blu-ray player:

https://www.discogs.com/release/24334568-Kool-The-Gang-Stone-Love
Hafler/DynaQuad only (I no longer use DPL2 music for creating fake surround sound, IMHO, it just doesn't do as good a job as Hafler/DynaQuad)

My DVD-R of my CD Video of the Stone Love video - there's quite a lot of content in the surround channel, it sounds a little like it was mixed in surround sound.

(I'm surprised that popular music seems to have so much content in the surround channel, I plan to connect an FM antenna to my receiver that's part of my Hafler/DynaQuad system and see if CHR [KMXV 93.3 FM] songs have much surround content)


Kirk Bayne

 

[EdwardMatthew]

That sounds like an interesting setup you have for testing your new Sony UBP-X700 UHD Blu-ray player. The Hafler/DynaQuad system is known for its ability to create surround sound effects, so it's great that you're using it to enhance your audio experience. Enjoy your testing and discovering new aspects of your favorite music!

 

[somethingcleveridunno]

This sounds pretty damn close to a deliberate surround mix.

 

[ssully]

Damn, thanks for alerting me to FreeSurround. I can't believe I never even checked to see if there was a DPLII emulation DSP for Foobar. And it goes all the way back to 2007!

link to HA thread about it:
https://hydrogenaud.io/index.php/topic,52235.0.html
AFAICT the last version of it was v. 090
https://hydrogenaud.io/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=52235.0;attach=25486

probably requires 32-bit foobar

 

[somethingcleveridunno]

Damn, thanks for alerting me to FreeSurround. I can't believe I never even checked to see if there was a DPLII emulation DSP for Foobar. And it goes all the way back to 2007!

link to HA thread about it:
https://hydrogenaud.io/index.php/topic,52235.0.html
AFAICT the last version of it was v. 090
https://hydrogenaud.io/index.php?action=dlattach;topic=52235.0;attach=25486

probably requires 32-bit foobar

Dunno if that requires it, but I'm running 32-bit V2.0 for other plug-ins, so it might.

 

[humprof]

Working my way through my alphabetical master list of critics' picks for 2023, and right now I'm on Ekiti Sound, Drum Money. Listening on an Atmos 5.1.4 rig using DSU (Dolby Surround Upmixer) with center spread. Sounds for all the world as if it were mixed by a smart human rather than an algorithm. Check out "Free the Boy," for starters.

 

[kfbkfb]

https://www.discogs.com/release/587008-Ratt-The-Video
Method - Hafler/DynaQuad from my VHS Hi-Fi videotape

First 3 songs/videos have ok surround effects, Round and Round is pretty good, but Lay it Down sounds kinda like it was mixed in surround.

(tried the official YT videos of these 2 songs w/DPL2 music - not as impressive as Hafler)


Kirk Bayne

 

[kfbkfb]

https://www.discogs.com/release/3285402-Don-Johnson-Heartbeat
This CD arrived today from a Goodwill store in Seattle (via Amazon).

The Heartbeat music video (released a year later) is surround sound encoded [no matrix system specified], just finished listening to my CD [no mention in the CD booklet that it is surround sound encoded] w/Hafler/DynaQuad, several good surround sound effects, song 10 is the best (seems kinda like it was mixed in surround).




Kirk Bayne

 

[kfbkfb]

Listened using Hafler/DynaQuad fake surround sound:

https://www.discogs.com/release/2556995-Elton-John-The-Night-Time-Concert(VHS Hi-Fi tape - recorded at SP speed)

https://www.discogs.com/release/19635049-Elton-John-Breaking-Hearts-Tour(VHS Hi-Fi tape - recorded at SLP/EP speed)

I have a few concert videos, the surround sound was good, some music but mainly crowd noise in the surround channel.


(it's really a shame that A/V receiver makers don't include Hafler/DynaQuad "decoders", it's a simple circuit or some DSP code and provides [IMHO] good fake surround sound from all of the stereo sources I've tried so far)


Kirk Bayne

 

[somethingcleveridunno]

FreeSurround upmix to 5.1 sounds amazing.

 

[Freedesignfan]

Using the wonderful....Specscript 1.8 Upmixer, This is a great treat

 

[kfbkfb]

KZIA FM 102.9 HD-2 (80's Rock):
https://player.amperwave.net/5335

I had been wondering how 1980s popular music would sound in fake surround (I listened to much of the 1980s music in mono on WLS AM 890 out of Chicago on my car radio) - this HD-2 radio station claims 800 minute music blocks.

In this case, DPL2 music is providing very good fake surround sound from the stereo HD-2 stream (I plan to try this HD-2 stream w/Hafler on my bedroom system soon).


Kirk Bayne

 

[kfbkfb]

https://www.45worlds.com/dvd/disc/075051708939

I'm making DVD-R backup copies of some of my VHS music videos, just listening using DPL2 music - fair fake surround sound, I'll try the DVD-R w/Hafler later today.

edit:
As usual, Hafler/DynaQuad provided a better surround sound effect, several times, it sounded like I was listening to discrete 3 channel surround sound.


Kirk Bayne

 

[AshBuchanan]

The Who at the Isle of Wight 1970.
Recorded off the telly.
Really fills the room in Neural X

 

[kfbkfb]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greatest_Hits_(The_Association_album)

(my LP version is CSG processed)

Listening with DPL2 music:
Good stereo effect from LF and RF, not much surround content.

Listening with (original) DPL:
Wider stereo effect, more surround content than DPL2 music.

I'll haul my "portable" turntable (AT-LP60) upstairs and try out Hafler for creating fake surround sound later today.

edit:
(actually got to use the phono input on my Pioneer SX-2300 in my bedroom Hafler/DynaQuad based surround sound system)
This CSG processed LP has kinda poor stereo imaging, sounds are localized in L and R, but the center vocals seem vaguely located, the song "Along Comes Mary" has the best surround sound effect/content w/Hafler, which once again, was the best of my 3 fake surround sound creation systems.


Kirk Bayne