Is multi-stereo producing 5.1? (1 Viewer)

[skatalite]

I just recently bought a home theater system (Sony HT-SS2300) and found that, when watching Blu-rays, switching the audio setting to "multi-stereo" brings a more full and pronounced sound to the room. I watched "Batman Begins" which has Dolby Digital 5.1, and I tried it on the system's Dolby Digital setting, but it was quiet, especially the dialogue. So, I switched to multi-stereo and it turned into a wall of glorious sound, and the bass was more prominent.

So, I'm curious if watching to a Blu-ray with Dolby Digital/TrueHD/PCM 5.1 with the multi-stereo setting will still give me 5.1 sound quality, as with the nuances and minute sound details.

Thanks for any help!

 

[Ed Moxley]

Multi stereo is not 5.1 surround. It's what it says it is..........multi stereo (scattered stereo amongst the speakers).
It sounds like your speakers need to be calibrated. To do it right, you need an SPL meter, like the one Radio Shack sells, and an HT Tune Up disc (calibration disc).

Ideally, at the sweet spot (sitting position), the volume of each speaker should be the same. So, if the front speakers are farther from you, than the rears, the front speaker's volumes will need to be louder than the rear speaker's, in order to be the same volume at the sweet spot. Understand? Once they're set, some people turn the center channel a little louder, to hear voices better, since that's where voices mostly come from.

You may can set the speaker levels (volume) by ear, good enough to suit you, but as I said, to do it right, you need the SPL meter and disc. See here:
7-Range Analog Display Sound Level Meter - RadioShack.com
Amazon.com: Digital Video Essentials: Optimize Your Home Entertainment System (NTSC Component): Digital Video Essentials: Movies & TV
Don't forget to set speaker distances (delay) too.
Good luck!

 

[skatalite]

I appreciate the reply. I understood everything you told me. Unfortunately, I don't have the $70 to buy calibration materials, like the ones you linked me to. The home theater system has a calibration tool that I just used for the second time, to see if it made an improvement. It made a slight improvement. Then I took your advice on increasing the center speaker's volume, which helped with the voices. I had thought of doing that, but I didn't know if there was something else I could do before taking that step.

I tried "Batman Begins" again, and compared the Dolby Pro Logic II movie setting (which the manual suggests for films in Dolby) to the Multi-Stereo setting. This leads me to a new observation/question:

Being in Multi-Stereo makes the overall audio louder, and seemingly more crisp and defined. Also, the bass response is much more prominent than while in the Dolby setting. For instance: If you've seen "Batman Begins," the climax of the film is a train derailment, crash and explosion. While in the Multi-Stereo setting, I felt it. In the Dolby setting I didn't, even after upping the subwoofer's level. Is this normal, and should I let the extended bass response/loudness sway me any in my decision of what setting to use? Thing is, I want to use my equipment to its potential, according to the disk I'm playing. If the movie is in Dolby 5.1, then I want to be happy with using the Dolby setting, rather than possibly lose atmospheric and enhancing sounds by using Multi-Stereo.

Again, thanks for the time to help me out. I wholeheartedly appreciate it.

 

[Ed Moxley]

Either a settingis wrong somewhere, or something else is wrong. Do you have the dvd player set to output LPCM or PCM, as it's audio output (in setup menus)? When you ran the auto calibration, was the mic at ear level?
It's talking about tracks labelled as "Dolby Surround" or "Dolby Stereo", not Dolby 5.1. Dolby Pro Logic is simulated surround, not real surround. It takes a stereo signal, and will matrix it out to all the speakers.

I finally found your manual online, and found something on page 21. See the last two statements on page 21.
Also, on page 23, see the first statement under "Notes".
I guess you've been through the trouble shooting stuff on page 67?

I don't know what else to tell you. I could probably figure it out if I was in front of it, but kinda hard to trouble shoot this way. If these suggestions don't work, I'd say to start from scratch. Using the manual, go step by step, very slowly. It may take a little while, but worth it, if you get it straightened out. Good luck!

 

[skatalite]

Ed,

Thanks for helping me out.

I figured out AFD and why it was only outputting audio the way it was. I had to apply the surround effects by hitting the "Movie" button on the remote. Once I did that, it went to all the speakers and filled the room pretty dang well.

But this leads me to my next question: When watching "Batman Begins" just now with the new settings applied, I had the volume on 25. When I turned off the Blu-ray player and went to the digital cable, I had to turn down the volume to 15 because the cable's sound was much louder than the film. Is this normal? Is there a way I can normalize the levels from different sources? I'm reading up in the manuals as we speak, but thought I'd pose the question here, too.

Thanks again.

 

[Ed Moxley]

That's pretty normal. Cable tv is bad for that. The commercials are even louder than the programs.

Dolby has something new, I think is going into some of the newest stuff. It may not be yet, not sure, but it's supposed to be an added feature soon. It's software they add, that is supposed to correct this problem. If you'll go to dolby.com and look around, you'll probably see something about it.

Glad you got your stuff working better...........