Question regarding rear speaker levels on a 6.1 setup

[supervij]

Like most, I've all my speakers level-matched using an SPL meter. In my case, I used test tones from the AIX Blu-ray disc. But my question has to do with rear speaker levels when toggling the EX/ES on my receiver.

When accepting a 5.1 signal without any EX or ES, a particular sound will come out of both left surround and right surround -- two speakers. But when enabling EX/ES, that same sound will not come out of either of those, but will come out of the rear surround -- one speaker. (In my case, I have a 6.1 setup, not a 7.1.)

So enabling EX/ES takes a sound that is duplicated in two speakers and sending it to only one speaker. Before it was double the sound, now it is a single sound. So should I be bumping up the level on my rear surround to compensate for that when I enable EX/ES on a 5.1 soundtrack?

Similarly, when I play a 7.1 soundtrack and both rear surround signals come out of my lone rear surround speaker, should I lower the level on that rear surround?

Am I making any sense?

cheers,
supervij

 

[supervij]

Bump.

Was it just a too-dumb-for-answers question?

cheers,
supervij

 

[TLS Guy]

Bump.

Was it just a too-dumb-for-answers question?

cheers,
supervij

No, but you can't level your rear surrounds with a disc like that.

You need to use the tones in your receiver set up menu, or a discrete 7.1 Blue ray disc. You could also use an audio white pink noise generator if you have one.

 

[westcott]

The signal level should not change once the system is calibrated, no matter what signal is coming from the source.

It should not be a great concern since there just is not a lot of material available with more than 5.1 support.

 

[TLS Guy]

The signal level should not change once the system is calibrated, no matter what signal is coming from the source.

It should not be a great concern since there just is not a lot of material available with more than 5.1 support.

They have to be properly calibrated for Dolby 5.1 Ex, 7.1 and Dolby plx 2.

His receiver should have tones for the calibration.

 

[jostenmeat]

It should not be a great concern since there just is not a lot of material available with more than 5.1 support.

What is not a lot? For the bluray format alone, there are already at least 192 titles with greater than 5.1. If you add the LOTR trilogy, then make it at least 195.

 

[westcott]

What is not a lot? For the bluray format alone, there are already at least 192 titles with greater than 5.1. If you add the LOTR trilogy, then make it at least 195.

Maybe I should have said such a small "percentage" of material is recorded in a format greater than 5.1.

 

[supervij]

No, but you can't level your rear surrounds with a disc like that.

You need to use the tones in your receiver set up menu, or a discrete 7.1 Blue ray disc. You could also use an audio white pink noise generator if you have one.

What? With this disk: http://www.aixrecords.com/catalog/oppo_bd.html ?
As you can see, it is a discrete 7.1 Blu-ray disc, and it offers "Speaker Balance Tests, 7.1, 5.1, 2.0" in LPCM and Dolby Digital.

So most of you guys with 6.1, 7.1 or greater DON'T enable EX/ES for 5.1 movie/TV soundtracks?

I know that the signal level doesn't change after calibration, but what about regarding my question about sounds coming out of two side surrounds versus one? When enabling EX or ES on a 5.1 soundtrack, sounds that were going to TWO surrounds are now going to ONE surround (as I have a 6.1 setup, not 7.1). Instead of double the sound, there's now a single sound. Should that affect any change in levels when enabling EX or ES?

cheers,
supervij

 

[TLS Guy]

What? With this disk: http://www.aixrecords.com/catalog/oppo_bd.html ?
As you can see, it is a discrete 7.1 Blu-ray disc, and it offers "Speaker Balance Tests, 7.1, 5.1, 2.0" in LPCM and Dolby Digital.

So most of you guys with 6.1, 7.1 or greater DON'T enable EX/ES for 5.1 movie/TV soundtracks?

I know that the signal level doesn't change after calibration, but what about regarding my question about sounds coming out of two side surrounds versus one? When enabling EX or ES on a 5.1 soundtrack, sounds that were going to TWO surrounds are now going to ONE surround (as I have a 6.1 setup, not 7.1). Instead of double the sound, there's now a single sound. Should that affect any change in levels when enabling EX or ES?

cheers,
supervij

I have that disc, but it is not nearly as accurate, at least on my rig, as the pink noise in the pre/pro, or a white/pink noise generator.

If the levels to each channel are correctly set one at a time, and done very carefully, then when you enable EX or ES your levels will be correct.

 

[supervij]

I'll have to compare my results with the AIX disc versus the test tones in my receiver sometime. I haven't read about the AIX disc being inaccurate, but a comparison sounds like fun. (Wow. What a home theatre geek considers fun . . .)

Thanks for your help, TLS!

cheers,
supervij