DTS Neo 6 vs. Dolby Pro Logic II (CONSOLIDATED THREAD) (2 Viewers)

[Greg Haynes]

I've had my 3802 since xmas and have never even tried DTS Neo 6. I just always assumed that DPLII was the better choice. I remember everybody selling their 3801's and buying the 3802 just to get DPLII. I might have to play DTS Neo 6 tonight and see why everybody prefer's it.

I have always loved how DPLII improved satellite. Even my wife's first reaction was that she noticed that the sound was no longer just coming from the center speaker. I use DPLII music mode for all satellite.

 

[Jeremy Hegna]

WOW!!!

This thread blows my mind. I thought I was the only one that preferred DTS Neo6. For music, TV (especially sports), VHS, etc. I've always preferred Neo6. However, I'm comparing the two on completely different units, the Denon 5800 and 3802.


Jeremy

 

[RichardMA]

Will certain receivers process the signal better than others? Could DPL II sound better on one reciever that has better processing than another....What would one look for???

The Analog Devices SSM-2125 was considered the best of
the Pro-Logic decoding i.C.s. It was dedicated to that
task. There is no reason to think Pro-Logic II doesn't
have "good" and "better" decoding, depending on the chip
or the chipset. For now, the more expensive the receiver,
the better the analog section, therefore all modes will
sound better.

 

[Kevin Alexander]

Looking back in retrospect, DTS:NEO6 never really got any fair treatment. Remember all those golden ear "experts" telling us how NEO6 sounded dull, lifeless, and flat compared to DPLII? I don't know what they were hearing, but I'll never let someone tell me what sounds good, and what doesn't w/o checking for myself.

 

[Eric_M]

DPLII Music sounds good , well for music. I like it. However I tried DTS NEO 6 Music and it does seem to fill the room more and use the surrounds better.

On my Onkyo 600 I can't seem to make a lot of modifications to it though.

 

[Michael Lee]

I must admit that I never gave DTS:Neo 6 too much of a shot after I first got it in my then-new Denon AVR-5800. There were some problems, if I recall correctly, in engaging it where it had to be through an analog source. Whatever it was, it was not easy to maneuver to and I did not use it that often. When I started playing with the newer receivers, like the AVR-4802 and the 5803, I simply kept with the DPLII that I really enjoyed at the demos at CES and CEDIA. Now that DTS:Neo6 is much easier to access (and all the testimonies here), I have no choice but to give it a rather thorough audition now.

 

[Oliver]

This is simple.
For CD and Radio music: DPL II with corrected settings (center wide and panorama)

For TV, and film: DTS Neo:6

It is nice to have both. And one thing is surely true: DPL II Music is fine, but the whole hype that was made around DPL II was very much exaggerated.

 

[greg_t]

I just got a Denon 2802 and I can't really hear much difference between the two, although I haven't messed around with any of the settings yet. I would give a slight edge to DTSNEO as I feel PL2 is very center channel heavy and lacks a little in the bass department.

 

[Edward M]

I'd always given the edge to Neo 6 for music, for TV I thought I liked DPL2 at first but find myself using Neo 6 more.

 

[WesleyHester]

Answer to the original post: BOTH.

 

[Espen Braathen]

This might depend on which version of NEO:6 you uses.

DTS has increased both the average output volume of the NEO:6 algorithm as well as boosted the surrounds by 3 dB compared to the other channels in the latest "upgrade" of the NEO:6 processing specs.

This was obviously done to compete more favourably with PLII.

 

[Jim Thompson]

I wish I had either one:frowning: .I'm currently using my Yamaha 2095 as a pre/pro.I had seriously considered upgrading to a Den 4802 to get the newer surround technologies,until I auditioned a Krell amp and simply had to have it.I'm a firm believer in seperates now.Needless to say, my upgrade money is spent for awhile.:p) NExt,I'm dreaming of a nice preamp,I also just bought a CDR/CDRW deck.

 

[Lewis Besze]

DPL II is superrior to Neo in the Music mode,once it's configured optimaly[in my case center width:7 dimension: -2 Panorama :On].
For film/tv I find it to be toss up.
I haven't heard any of the "roll off" of the high frequencies in the DPL II vs Neo,what I've heard was a more prominent midrange,and better separated channels up front,and more spacious sound overall.
I have the Outlaw 950 pre/pro.

 

[David Coleman]

I have found that Pro-Logic II is better for Dolby Surround encoded titles but DTS Neo is better for unencoded 2 channel sources.

 

[John Corkery]

There are times when I hear ping-ponging out of DTS:Neo where the algorithm can't decide where within the front soundstage a sound should appear, and I get ping-ponging between (example) left-center-left-center.

Hmmm. I see what you mean, John. I was watching TV last night using Neo:6 Cinema and experienced something similar to what you described. It was very distracting! Looks like I'll be going back to PLII...

 

[John Corkery]

DPL II is superrior to Neo in the Music mode,once it's configured optimaly[in my case center width:7 dimension: -2 Panorama :On].

After seeing the settings that Lewis uses, I decided to try the center width at its widest setting, since I didn't think I had tried that before. In my case, I set it to 6 because 7 completely disables the center speaker and I wanted *some* sound to come out of it. I left my dimension setting at 3 (my pre/pro's dimension adjustments are 0-6). Now, when I switch back and forth between Neo:6 and PLII, PLII sounds much better to me.

Thanks, Lewis!

 

[PatrickTy]

I have to say that with MP Matrix encoded films, I prefer DTS Neo 6:Cinema to PL-II... While PL-II is a big improvement over PL, I think Neo 6 really does make the film much more "discrete" sounding and is fantastic at generating 3 rear channels... one big advantage Neo 6 has over PL-II is that it can steer several dominant sounds to different speakers AT THE SAME TIME. PL-II can't do this. Neo6 Movie steers in over 10 bands so it can present a very discrete soundfield. And, unlike the awful Circle Surround, Neo is a real "logic" decoder that uses advanced Vector Cancellation - CS is a simple "gain rider" that just raises and lowers channel levels as a function of logic demands. While PL-II uses variable time-constants, Neo 6 uses the dual-time-constant approach that the original PL used, basically a "fast" mode and a "slow" mode. I have some torture-test tracks that contain dominant CF vocals with a dominant RF placed signal, simultaneously, and Neo 6 can decode it with no image wander or logic artifacts... PL-II decodes it pretty well too, but not quite as "discretely" as Neo. Unfortunately, DTS isn't putting out much info on how Neo really works, just typical "fluff" pieces. Too bad because I think more people would try Neo if they knew how it worked and how superior it can be.

Ty C.

 

[Geoff S]

How does DPL2 sound with THX Posst Processing?

 

[NickSP]

I have personally begun to like DPL-II for both movies and music over DTS-Neo which I initially thought was better. But upon tweaking DPl-II, I thought it did a better job.
A question related to both DPL-II and DTS-Neo, do both offer stereo surround, I know DPL-II does.

 

[Furia]

I know this is mainly a home theater forum, but was kind of surprised to hear how many listeners are using matrix encoding schemes to listen to music. On every pre/pro I've owned, I've tried all the music modes and I always come back to the same thing: simple 2 channel stereo. On a system that is properly setup and with decent electronics, I still have yet to hear anything that imaged and soundstaged as well. Mind you, I haven't ventured into the discrete multichannel hi-res formats much. I do believe they show great promise though. To me it all comes back to what is it that we're trying to reproduce at home? In the case of music, it's generally a stage in front of us and either the audience or the acoustics around us that are being reproduced. Most multichannel audio just seems fake to me.
As for HT, I've been playing around with PLII and DTS:Neo and prefer PLII. DTS:Neo just doesn't sound right to me. I listen to a lot of things via a satellite connection and whether it's the 11 o'clock news or Law and Order, PLII just seems to do things better. Maybe it's just the years of conditioning to regular PL?