"Stereo" and 6.1/7.1 Q's on the 950 and 1066 (1 Viewer)

[Kevin C Brown]

I, like a lot of other people, am looking for modes in my next pre/pro to "expand" 2.0 through 5.1 sources to a 6.1 or 7.1 speaker set up. (Not music, just movies! )
Interesting observation:
The Outlaw has the Cirrus Extra Surround mode for Dolby Digital, but not for DTS.
But, the manual says that for DTS NEO:6, that "this mode can produce the rear surround info from a 5.1 source."
So I thought, OK cool.
But now I just read the Rotel manual.
For the Rotel, DTS NEO:6 only works with 2 channel sources. "DTS NEO:6 is not used with DTS 5.1 digital sources and the button need not be pressed for those recordings."
But, Rotel's XS mode *does* work with 5.1 DD *and* DTS sources.
So... 2 versions of DTS NEO:6?
And, from the Outlaw manual: "[Stereo] mode provides conventional 2 channel signals to the left and right front speakers only."
I still think this is a mistake, that if the sub is configured as present along with the crossover frequency, that you get the sub too. (Not bypass mode, just stereo mode.) But they didn't change this in the new 1.2.5 manual even though I mentioned it in the "Manual" thread over in the 950 Saloon.
The Rotel manual says: "Standard 2-channel stereo (left/right speakers only)- press the 2CH button."
But then later on it says: "This is 'pure' stereo, using the front left and front right speakers (with or without subwoofer), with no surround channels and no center channel."
So it is clear for the Rotel but not for the Outlaw.
Anyone know for sure?
Cheers!

 

[Gregg Z]

Personally I havent been very impressed with DTS Neo:6. It sounds kind of shrill to me when compared to DPL II. Secrets of Home Theater and Hi Fi reviewed several of the formats (DPL II, dts Neo:6, Logic7, etc...) and they weren't to thrilled with Neo:6 either. Check out the 2nd half of this article...
Link Removed
My guess is that you'll play with Neo:6 initially and then never use it again, so don't lose much sleep over it.
Gregg

 

[Jim Prillaman]

Kevin

I'll see what I can do tonight with a DTS disc and my 950, try to find out what might be available (NEO:6 or otherwise) and let you know what I find.

 

[Kevin C Brown]

Jim- Cool, I would be eternally in your debt!
Gregg- You might be right but then does that mean there is no mode on the Outlaw to expand 5.1 DTS soundtracks to a 6.1 or 7.1 speaker set up?

 

[Gregg Z]

Hi Kevin,

I'm afraid I can't answer how to expand 5.1 DTS on the 950 to 6.1/7.1. I have no experience with the 950 at all. Hopefully Jim will be able give you a difinative answer. My main point was really just recalling how my excitement over the 1066's inclusion of Neo:6 quickly faded when I actually experienced Neo:6.

 

[Jim Prillaman]

OK, brief report (no chance to listen to it, just a few minutes of seeing what modes were available):

When playing a DTS 5.1 disc, the 950 can be switched to DTS-ES mode. I do not know how good a job it does at extracting a surround back signal, although I will certainly have to give it a try the next time I watch a DTS disc! Neo:6 is not available with DTS or Dolby Digital 5.1 inputs.

When playing a two-channel signal (like a CD, or a cable box analog input), pressing the "DTS" button on the 950's remote lets you choose between Neo:6 Cinema and Neo:6 Music. Gregg is very much correct when he puts Neo:6 in the same category as Pro Logic II. Somehow I'd forgotten about Neo:6 all week; I'll have to listen to it some soon.

 

[Kevin C Brown]

Applying DTS-ES processing to a DTS disc is only a partial solution in that if there's too much mono info in the 2 surround channels, it collapses into the rear center. The whole idea of the CES modes is to prevent that.
And you can't apply DTS NEO:6 to a DTS DVD. That means the manual is wrong.
That also means that there's no way to expand 5.1 DTS discs to 6.1/7.1 and avoid the potential "collapse" problem.
Hmmm. Not good.
But thanks for checking!