M-Audio Revolution 7.1 instruction

R E V I E W E R ’ S G U I D E

S R S C I R C L E - S U R R O U N D I I E N A B L E S

S U R R O U N D S O U N D F R O M A N Y D V D O R M E D I A

P L A Y E R , I N -

C L U D I N G T H E

A P P L E D V D

P L A Y E R

IItechnology (These tests work with Windows Me/2000/XP, and both Mac OS

9 and X. )

1.Connect the Revolution 7.1 to a surround-sound receiver or powered speak- ers using the analog audio outputs. Choose the speaker set in the Revolution Control Panel that most closely matches your speaker setup. Depending on your operating system, you may also need to go to the “Sound” or “Sound and Multimedia” Control Panel and choose the “Revolution Analog 7.1 Out” driver if you have previously changed output to digital.

2.In the Surround Sound section of the Revolution Control Panel, turn on Cir- cle Surround II and enable “Cinema” Mode.

3.Launch any two-channel DVD player application and audition a DVD with good surround sound mixing, such as one of the scenes suggested in the ap- pendix.

5.Switch to a competing sound card. You should notice a marked contrast between the Revolution 7.1 and the other audio hardware’s ability to expand a stereo signal into surround sound.

6.Switch back to the Revolution 7.1. After listening to Circle Surround II processed audio for a while, open the Revolution 7.1 control panel and turn off “SRS Circle Surround II.” Note the added depth that this mode provides. Some volume overhead is necessary for Circle Surround processing; you may need to increase the volume slightly with Circle Surround enabled.

7.Turn “SRS TruBass” and “SRS Dialog Clarity” on. Experiment with vari- ous levels, as well a toggling TruBass or Dialog Clarity on and off. You should notice a marked difference in bass response and dialog sharpness.

Test 8: Playing Music In Surround Sound

These tests demonstrate the Revolution 7.1’s ability to play music in true sur- round sound (using Circle Surround II), and the ability to play multichannel Windows Media Audio 9 Professional (WMA Pro 9) audio files. (The Circle Surround test works with Windows Me/2000/XP, and both Mac OS 9 and X. Windows Media 9 does not yet have Macintosh support).

1.Open the Revolution Control Panel and make sure Circle Surround II is off in the “Surround Sound” pane.

2.Audition a stereo WMA or MP3 music file, such as one of the following:

www.microsoft.com/windows/windowsmedia/democenter/9series/

avquality/wmapromp3/default.htm

3. From the same site, audition a multichannel WMA 9 Pro file.

Note the far more “immersive,” or enveloping feeling of the 5.1 or 7.1 WMA 9 Pro mix. You can hear instruments surrounding you and a multichannel experience that matches what the artist wanted you to hear.