THX/Neo/Neural ... what does it all mean?!

[bombarde32]

Does anyone have a good primer on the difference between Nueral, THX, Neo, etc etc and when to use each? I have settings I prefer but it I have no good reason why other than "it sounds good to me." However, I find lots of people are confused as to what they are all for and I never have a good answer other than "Um, I like this one."

Some things like XXX Games, XXX Music, XXX Cinema ... that's straight forward to explain. But on my receiver alone there is 2 channel stereo, All Ch Stereo, Direct, THX, Neo and Neural.

Most people understand mono and stereo settings pretty easily but beyond that the water muddies quickly.

 

[j_garcia]

Yes, the one you should use is called AUTO. It detects the type of signal the receiver is getting and will use an appropriate decoding format.

The "Um, I like this one" would often be for stereo or Dolby ProLogic type material that Dolby PLII, IIx and IIz can turn into surround. You can also use Neo:6 and PLII variants on standard stereo material to create simulated surround.

THX is applied on top of Dolby Digital or DTS and is not a format on its own; it is additional processing (that I find useless most of the time).

2ch stereo is exactly what it says, as is "All channel" stereo - it copies the sound to the rest of the speakers.

Direct sends the signal on with no additional processing by the receiver.

Never heard of Neural.

 

[jostenmeat]

. . . THX, Neo and Neural.

Most people understand mono and stereo settings pretty easily but beyond that the water muddies quickly.

The quoted portion represents "matrixing algorithms". If you are using mostly/only discrete 5.1 tracks on a 5.1 system, you don't need them. Neo, Neural, and THX are different brands. THX still applies processing to 5.1 tracks on a 5.1 system with some things like Re-EQ, Timbre Matching, Adaptive Decorrelation, Boundary Gain Compensation . . .

Ultra 2 on a 7.1 system decorrelates the mono rear channel, and recommends the rear channels being close together when using it.

PLiiX is probably the most popular choice for matrixing rears. I've read that the same brand of matrixing algorithm could be more effective due to implementation on different receiver models, but I don't know how or why, or if it is even true. Logic 7 is also pretty popular, but that is Harman Kardon proprietary stuff.