KELSCI's ELECTRONICS AND HOME THEATER NOTATIONS

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Location: Florida

see interests, AGE 63-2010 CONTACT: kelscientific@hotmail.com

Thursday, June 22, 2006

Dolby Pro-Logic 2

BELOW IS A COPY OF THE E-MAIL THAT I SENT TO MY FRIENDS REGARDING OF MY FINDINGS ON LISTENING TO AUDIO PROCESSED IN THE REALM OF DOLBY PRO-LOGIC 2

All that I have written too in this E-mail have heard in the past that five channel dynaquad system that I use to have hooked up in my living room. Some years back, a very expensive Dolby Surround Processor called the Lexicon CP3 became the first device that was able to give stereo surround in the rear channels thus having a true 5 channel stereo surround system. They called the process LOGIC 7. This is still found on some current Harman Kardon Surround receivers. I had always wondered whether Lexicon achieved what I did using a computer chip. Dolby and a few other companys came out with their own versions of two to five channel sound processing. Recently, I won an auction on E-bay on a Sherwood receiver that features DOLBY PRO-LOGIC 2, a two to five channel processing computerized scheme. I finagled with the receiver and the speaker systems I have and eventually got this Dolby thing to work. The #2 features a cinema and music version choice. I delt with the MUSIC version which has adjustments. I also temporaily hooked up a five channel Dynaquad set-up to determine if #2 did what Dynaquad did. Folks, I know that as far as a 5 channeled MATRIX surround field goes, that both are nearly the same. But DPLOGIC 2 does it better. I would think that our ears are capable of hearing whatever could be heard if we went to a concert, recital etc. I do not think so. When you hear things in DPLOGIC 2, it brings out things that we never would hear in a million years so that now we can hear it and it does it great. Yes, you hear multi-channel sound out of two channel recordings but with spacial effects and depth that you just never hear in life. Instruments and sounds are separated that you hear each one distinctly somewhere out in space, against the walls, up front, left or right rear channels, over my head, in my head, etc... If there is a difference in the intensity of sound in the notes played on an instrument, you hear that so distinctly in is uncanny. Yet it does not sound "processed" which is great. It is like you have just been given a form of superhearing. I cannot understand why the movie industry went to a discrete format such as Dolby Digital 5.1 channel sound. I think this is better. I am really impressed with what I heard. For instance, if one hears a symphony, you truly hear the conert hall effect if the music was recorded properly. If there is percussion, you distincly hear the sound of each instrument; lets say two bongos; you can distincly hear the difference of those two bongos which is normaly lost in standard stereo or even listening in dynaquad. Just about all current surround sound receivers include Dolby Pro-Logic 2 in their units. Today, most people use 5 small satellite speakers with a subwoofer. DPLOGIC 2 will work on this type of system, but I would prefer two larger bookshelf or floorstanding speakers and three specifically designed smaller satellite speakers without the subwoofer with a receiver that if possible had a loudness countour controll( which very few have). You would then be able to experience DPLOGIC 2 in all its glory. You just cannot imagine how good those two channel Dolby Surround movies on tape, your two channel CDs and even those stereo and quadraphonic vinyl LPs can sound with this most marvelous DIGITAL SOUND PROCESSING feature.

I will need to do more testing of DPLOGIC-2 on my satellite and sub system where the bass management of the receiver is set to small so I can hear DPLOGIC's 2 performance on that type of system. It appears to me that DPLOGIC-2 works best when you are using larger bookshelf speakers as your MAIN left and right channels with your generall center and surround satellite type set-up. However the bass management on the receiver should be set to LARGE on the MAIN left-right speakers and your left-right satellite SURROUNDS. The center channel should be set to SMALL.