formats

[ParadigmDawg]

Well what the hell are you doing...




Crank IT !!!!!!

Or you could do that...

Did you get your Panels Warp?

 

[Spirit_Moon]

PLII Music mode with the default settings is pretty much identical to PLII Movie, but with Music mode you get to set Dimension, Center Width, and Panorama.

I use PLII Music for everything.

Are you sure? Then what your suggestion about how to set Dimension, Center Width, and Panorama, so it doesn't have any similarity with PLII Movie?

How about the thought that if you have really nice speakers, your imaging will likely sound like its coming from the center anyways... in stereo, or Direct Mode. Maybe Im talking out my A$$ here, but I not really one for adding processing to the mix when a CD is made for stereo listening. But thats just me..

You got a point in here. I often thinking the same way.

 

[Nuglets]

Spirit_Moon, the PLII music 'default' settings are very similar to the PLII movie setting before any changes are made to the Dimension, Center Width, and Panorama. Not really sure exactly what you are asking but that should clarify any misunderstanding...I think.

 

[MDS]

The Center Width setting of PLII Music is probably the most useful. It allows you to set the amount of signal that goes to the center vs the front speakers. I bump it up one or two settings from the default which spreads the center info slightly more to the front speakers. This has the effect of 'widening' the soundstage and helps a lot with dialog intelligibility.

The Dimension setting moves the center info forward or backwards. So if your center is slightly behind the mains you can move it forward to make the front soundstage more coherent as if all the speakers across the front were perfectly aligned.

Panorama duplicates sound of the front signal to the surrounds and can make it sound more enveloping. I usually set it Off.

The differences between Music and Movie are somewhat subtle but with the Movie mode you get what you get and that's it. With Music mode you can make small changes that are somewhat helpful.

 

[j_garcia]

Just to add something else, if the music I play is not very loud, sometimes the "auto on" feature on my sub does not kick in.

Turn the level up in the receiver and down on the sub itself. The sub is not seeing enough constant voltage to keep it on.

 

[Nick250]

Yes, I know that and I was not complaining. I was just making a observation that might have filled in the blanks for another poster in the thread.

Nick

 

[mtrycrafts]

How about the thought that if you have really nice speakers, your imaging will likely sound like its coming from the center anyways... in stereo, or Direct Mode. Maybe Im talking out my A$$ here, but I not really one for adding processing to the mix when a CD is made for stereo listening. But thats just me..

Now SACD? Isn't some of that made for multichannel? I don't have any of those nor have I heard them yet...

Warp

In a stereo CD, only the signals that are identical in both channels appear or should appear on center stage and anything that is out of phase or volume difference, is someplace else on the sound-stage. Same applies when you apply the PLII processing. But, it adds space with the surround speakers, a fuller soundfield you get in a hall environment.

 

[Spirit_Moon]

The Center Width setting of PLII Music is probably the most useful. It allows you to set the amount of signal that goes to the center vs the front speakers. I bump it up one or two settings from the default which spreads the center info slightly more to the front speakers. This has the effect of 'widening' the soundstage and helps a lot with dialog intelligibility.

The Dimension setting moves the center info forward or backwards. So if your center is slightly behind the mains you can move it forward to make the front soundstage more coherent as if all the speakers across the front were perfectly aligned.

Panorama duplicates sound of the front signal to the surrounds and can make it sound more enveloping. I usually set it Off.

The differences between Music and Movie are somewhat subtle but with the Movie mode you get what you get and that's it. With Music mode you can make small changes that are somewhat helpful.

Wow, thanks for the explanation. I'll try it.

In a stereo CD, only the signals that are identical in both channels appear or should appear on center stage and anything that is out of phase or volume difference, is someplace else on the sound-stage. Same applies when you apply the PLII processing. But, it adds space with the surround speakers, a fuller soundfield you get in a hall environment.

Ok, after read your explanation, i think the difference between PLII and Stereo mode is just the surround sound, right?
So, if you want listen to Stereo music and feels like that music surround you, set to PLII. And if you just want to listen to your front, set to Stereo.

Any reply welcome.

 

[mtrycrafts]

Ok, after read your explanation, i think the difference between PLII and Stereo mode is just the surround sound, right?
So, if you want listen to Stereo music and feels like that music surround you, set to PLII. And if you just want to listen to your front, set to Stereo.

Any reply welcome.

Yes, mostly but it also has a better control of the center stage with that center speaker there whereas a stereo with only a left and right speaker is limited in capability. The need for 3 front speakers was well known way back in the 1930s from research. The problem was that records at the time could not do 2 ch, let alone 3. And later, records were limited to 2 ch and we got used to that, until now

 

[MDS]

If you set the Center Width of PLII to its highest setting that is effectively a 'phantom' center with all the center info spread to the fronts. Doing that is a cheap test to see if you really prefer a stereo image up front + surrounds instead of a dedicated center.

 

[mtrycrafts]

If you set the Center Width of PLII to its highest setting that is effectively a 'phantom' center with all the center info spread to the fronts. Doing that is a cheap test to see if you really prefer a stereo image up front + surrounds instead of a dedicated center.

That is an interesting feature. Can this be done on the fly?

 

[MDS]

On my current Onkyo receiver you have to go into the 'audio adjust' setup menu but you can do it while the audio is playing to hear the change immediately.

A prior model had a dedicated audio adjust button on the remote that would access the audio adjust menu of whatever mode you were in directly. I could program a macro to mimic the functionality of the direct audio adjust button but I rarely mess with the settings so haven't bothered to do so.