Dolby Digital sound and audio CD

[RCAM641]

<font color='#000000'>I'm wondering whether DDS can simulate surround sound from a regular audio CD. &nbsp;I ask because I am only getting low volume hiss out of my rear speakers when listening to an audio CD in Dolby Digital or Pro Logic, yet the &quot;5 channel stereo&quot; setting pumps sound out of the mains and the rear speakers. I was under the impression that DD or ProLogic would break the sound up for a stereo recording to simulate surround sound. Am I way off base here? &nbsp;Thanks.</font>

 

[Audioholics]

<font color='#000000'>Dolby Digital will only be processed from a dolby digital source, so nothing shoudl ever come out of the rear channels. There is no simulator that I am aware of.

Dolby Pro Logic can create all manner of havoc with a stereo signal depending upon who made the CD, and the receiver being used. There are certainly sound field modes in some receivers that take stereo CDs and process the sound into all of the channels, but rather than call this Dolby Pro Logic (which it isn't), it would be more accurate to refer to these as sound fields.

In either case, you should not get hiss out of the rear channels unless you are attempting, perhaps, to decode a stereo CD into plain Dolby Pro Logic. Perhpas the fact that there is no encoded rear channel information yields the hiss on your equipment, or at least with that particular CD. Usually, though you will get some kind of audio out the surrounds, interpolated from the stereo information.

Experiment with some other sound fields available on your receiver and see what the results are.</font>

 

[RCAM641]

<font color='#000000'>Thanks Hawke (for both this and my ohm question in the other forum. BTW: I realised too late that the ohm question had been addressed earlier by a thread in this forum)
As for the surround sound, I think I'll just have to spend more time experimenting I guess.</font>