|   What are these new formats? | Relman
Jul 30, 2002 11:40 AM | | I am in the market for a new pre-amp and amp. I am up grading from a Marantz SR7000 receiver and am now getting confused. I have found the amp/preamp that I wanted to buy (Marantz MM9000 and AV9000)but have continued to check local magazines. As I did more reading I noticed the newer models were advertising DTS ES and Prologic II and Circle surround. I don't know what they are or if I even need them but since I am ready to put $2500 down I thought I better check to see if this is something of importance or just a new fad like alot of the other DSP's. Unfortunately Marantz doesn't offer them in their separates and are not anticipating any changes in the next year. If I should be looking for these features I guess I will have to re-evaluate my choices. Any help on this matter would be appreciated.
Thanks |
| PL-II and Circle Surround are convenient, than necessary. | KiD SmokE
Jul 30, 2002 3:30 PM | | PL-II and CS try to create surround sound from two channel sources (TV, VCR, FM), and it will probably sound alright for what they do. It all depend on what your likings are. I personally would not use them due to the fact that what sound you will get from surround speakers-and sub-are not discrete and was matrixed. I don't want listen to anything that is fake and wasn't meant to be there.
DTS ES (discrete) might be worth having if you have space (you will need additional back-center speaker) and as more titles become available. Here is a link on this subject from resident expert Terrence (and others):
Terrible Terrence "Is 6.1 format really necessary for home use?" 6/6/02 4:37pm |
| Sorry I missed your post earlier but here you go...... | nick4433
Jul 30, 2002 3:31 PM | | DTS-ES (Audio Format): This is the DTS version of 6.1 surround sound with all 6 speakers, i.e. Main L/R, Center, Surround L/R, and surround Back/Center are all discretely encoded channels.
DPL-II (DSP): A new flavor of the old DPL(Dolby Pro Logic) which creates a 5.1 surround sound from any 2 channel source, i.e. VHS, Laser Disc, some DVDs, etc.
Circle Surround (DSP): Another DSP similar to DPL-II achieved with the help of different algorithms.
DD-EX or THX-EX (Format): This is a 5.1 format but gives the added benefit of the Surround Back/Center channel which is a "Matrix" channel or is derived from the Surround L/R channels. The matrix information is added while encoding so the DD-EX decoder picks it out of the surround channels.
Now DTS-ES and DD-EX are definitely not fads but valid formats which are here to stay. If you have a large enough room then you can definitely reap the benefits of 6.1 formats and achieve a good soundstage. If not then I'd save te money and go with some older quality seperates which will do a good job with DD and DTS decoding and be good with music too. Hope this helped. |
| I will tell you...... | Sir Terrence the Terrible 1
Jul 30, 2002 3:46 PM | | "As I did more reading I noticed the newer models were advertising DTS ES and Prologic II and Circle surround. I don't know what they are or if I even need them but since I am ready to put $2500 down I thought I better check to see if this is something of importance or just a new fad like alot of the other DSP's."
Relman,
Prologic II and Circle surround are designed to take two channels(VHS hifi, stereo t.v. two channel music) and turn it into 5.1 matrixed channels. Very handy if you have alot of two channels sources.
Dts ES is a 6.1 format with a discrete rear center as opposed to the matrix rear center found in DD-EX. Everyone here will tell you that I am a big support of Dts ES because it does offer a discrete rear channel that sounds better to these ears.
I say plunk it down, they're worth it.
Sir Terrence |
| So you are endorsing PL-II and CS? | KiD SmokE
Jul 30, 2002 4:25 PM | | It is just a simple question. I think Nick will be more interested in your answer than I am, especially PL-II :) |
| I have learned that my taste is totally different from others... | Sir Terrence the Terrible 1
Jul 31, 2002 8:12 AM | | Smoke,
I have always been a circle surround supporter but the analog version(sounds alot better)not this digital implementation.
I do not like PL II but have found that everyone else does. So based on that I have to believe that it has some value to some people even if it has none to me.
Since you have accused me of going overboard, I am trying to think more like the average joe(damn this is tough) when it comes to useless features such as these.
So the answer to your question is NO! I do not endorse PL II or digital circlesurround. I just realize other may like it.
Sir(diplomatic)Terrence |
| re: What are these new formats? | Woochifer
Jul 31, 2002 4:44 PM | | If you're making the jump to separates, do it because you want an upgrade in basic performance with 5.1 and two-channel sources. If you want the latest and greatest features, that's where the receiver market comes in. The separates components are updated far less frequently, but generally give you a noticeable improvement in sound quality. The drawback is that they're not as convenient, flexible, or up to date on the features as receivers. It pretty much comes down to what your priorities are. If you buy a new receiver, you'll likely get all the new bells and whistles, but the sound quality will probably be no more than a subtle improvement, even if you go with a higher line model than your current one.
IMO, DPLII and Circle are basically DSPs because they're enhancements on top of existing format decoding. There are no sources that do encoding specific to DPLII and Circle surround, and require the feature to decode properly. You may view them as nice, and even desirable, but they're hardly necessary.
DTS ES and Dolby Digital EX are also nice to have, but not necessary. If your room does not have a lot of space in back of your listening position for the rear center speaker, the feature won't matter to you one bit. My room's that way, so 6.1 features are irrelevant to me.
Also, check Dolby and DTS' websites and look at the available titles encoded for ES and EX playback. You'll note that fewer than 100 titles are currently available. Out of the 18,000 of so DVD titles on the market, this is a very small percentage and if anything, the pace of new releases with rear center channel encoding has slowed down. Aside from Lord Of The Rings and whatever cult films Anchor Bay is reissuing, I don't see a lot of 6.1 DVDs coming out in the next few months. If you see some "must have" titles on those lists and your room can accommodate the extra rear speaker, then you should give stronger consideration to the feature.
And keep in mind that just because Marantz's processor does not have the newest features that you've been hearing about, there are other processors out there that you can hook up to that Marantz amp that do have 6.1 decoding and DPLII. That's the beauty of separates, you don't have to go with matched pairs and can upgrade the components one at a time. |
| |
