Does DPL II affect mains?

[joel2762]

On my Sony STR-DE585 reciever, when on 2 CH mode, the sound is loud and clear. But when I turn it on DPL II mode, the volume drops a shade and it doesn't seem as clear..Is this the amp? Or is it the DPL II? And if it is the DPL, why is it affecting my mains?? Also, I keep my center channel in the OFF mode when listening to music, because then all the speakers go lower and alot of the sound comes from the center channel...What gives?

[markw]

Yes. DPL (all versions) attempts to somehow manufacture four (DPL) or five (DPL2) channels from only two channels, the original "Dolby Surround".

When it does this, it take from the two "mains" and puts some back there, some in the center and some in each surround.

Wether you like what it does for music or not, it does work well with movies recorded in two channels. That's what DPL was made for. Movies, not music.

If it sounds good on music, more power to ya, but remember, that was not DPL's original intent.

DPL2 attempts to make music sound" better" than DPL did, but wether it succeds or not is a personal decision. Me, I ain't too impressed.

[John Beresford]

Yes. DPL (all versions) attempts to somehow manufacture four (DPL) or five (DPL2) channels from only two channels, the original "Dolby Surround".

When it does this, it take from the two "mains" and puts some back there, some in the center and some in each surround.

Wether you like what it does for music or not, it does work well with movies recorded in two channels. That's what DPL was made for. Movies, not music.

If it sounds good on music, more power to ya, but remember, that was not DPL's original intent.

DPL2 attempts to make music sound" better" than DPL did, but wether it succeds or not is a personal decision. Me, I ain't too impressed.

Depends -- while I agree that for 99 percent of the time you should be listening to normal, standard stereo CDs through a receiver's STEREO two channel mode, as that was what it was meant to play through so the band sounds like they are right in front of you, as it should, there are instances that PRO LOGIC II MUSIC mode makes certain recordings sound more alive----for instance, LIVE recordings....I gotta say, last weekend, I played back my Metallica "S&M" CD, a live recording, through my Onkyo TX SR600 receiver's Pro Logic II Music mode, and it made the recording come alive----the crowd was all around me in the surrounds, and Hettfield's voice and the band were just smashing away in the front three speakers----really, really amazing. Like you were right at the concert. Honest.

But otherwise, yeah, I use STEREO mode for listening to all other music sources; stereo is still the audiophile choice for critical music listening, and all the other DSP modes---all channel stereo, unplugged, etc--are all crap, believe me. STEREO is what you should be listening to STEREO MUSIC in, and its still what audiophiles demand; unless, like I said, you have a recording that can benefit from simulated surround in DPL II, like a live concert or something.

Leave surround sound to movies and DVDs....thats what I do. I thought I was gonna buy into the DVD-Audio or SACD formats because I really DO believe standard CD can be improved upon so much, I really do---but I havent had the urge to buy into these new formats, indicating my "audio enthusiast" level of hobbyist, not audiophile, and thats okay with me...I am going to stick with standard audio CD for now, and buy into MOVIES and DVDs with awesome surround tracks, like DTS....

[_Luke1_]

For music, I tend to use 5-channel stereo instead of DPLII. DPLII does some funky things to music and if I want music all around, 5-channel is far better. The only time I use DPL is for movies in 2-channel or when I'm watching the Eagles on TV and listening to the homer announcers on the radio. That brings the announcer out of the center channel and the crowd noise and other stuff going on from all directions. It's actually my favorite time to use DPLII

[poneal]

Ya it is normal for the sound to decrease with DPL. Mine does the same thing. I tend to agree with one of the other posters that cds sound best in stereo or 5 channel stereo. On my receiver, 5 channel stereo means the regular stereo sound is output to the fronts and rears and summed mono of the l/r is sent to the center channel.

[joel2762]

Yea. My Sony doesn't have 5 ch stereo :S:S. I like the rears on so I guess i'll have to live with a DPLII Music. Thanks for the help!