Arcam AVR250 manual Speaker positioning, DSP Effects Modes

DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete: This is a true discrete 6.1 channel sound format (unlike DTS-ES 6.1 Matrix

where the sixth (surround centre) channel information is extracted from the two surround channels). DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete mode operates only on sources with DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete audio encoding, such as certain DVD discs.

A list of available software titles with DTS-ES 6.1 Matrix and DTS-ES 6.1 Discrete titles can be found at www.dtsonline.com.

DSP Effects Modes

The AVR250 has a number of effects modes that can be used to enhance a stereo signal and to make use of the surround loudspeakers. DSP effects modes are only available with stereo source signals.

Music: Music surround makes full use of the additional speakers placed at the centre, sides and rear of the room. This effect uses ambiance extraction for the side and rear speakers and offers the most subtle surround processing with no reverberation or reflections.

Party: The Party effect allows unprocessed stereo signals to be played over all speakers for background music or for maximum acoustical output of the system.

Club: The Club effect generates reflections and short reverberation information to the front, side and rear speakers. It simulates a small club venue, such as a Jazz Club.

Concert Hall: The Concert Hall effect generates the ambient information for the simulation of a medium size hall. Reflections and medium length reverberation information are sent to all channels.

Sports: Sports stadium effect is ideal for use when watching live sports events which would normally be in stereo. The open ambience of a sports stadium is actively recreated around you, except from the centre channel which is kept clear for commentary.

Church: The Church effect uses a reverberation algorithm which emphasises rich, smooth reverberant decay in large spaces. As its name suggests, it works well for simulating a space with long reverberation time relative to its size, such as a large church or cathedral.

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Speaker positioning

The AVR250 allows you to connect up to seven speakers and an active subwoofer in the main system. The output channels correspond to speakers installed in the front left, centre, front right, surround left, surround right, left surround back, right surround back and an active subwoofer (see diagram).

All speakers, with the exception of the subwoofer, should be arranged around your normal viewing/listening position (see diagram). The subwoofer should be placed in accordance with the instructions of the manufacturer; experiment with it in various positions to obtain the best result.

Front	Centre	Front
left		right

Subwoofer

Surround left

Surround right

Front left and right	Surround	Surround
Position your front left and right speakers to achieve a good	back left	back right
stereo image for normal musical reproduction. If they are
placed too close together there will be a lack of spaciousness;
if they are placed too far apart a stereo image will appear to

have a large ‘hole’ in the middle and will be presented in two halves. If there is no practical alternative to placing the speakers widely apart, this effect can be overcome in music reproduction by using centre sound extraction from the left and right speakers (see the description of “Dolby Pro Logic IIx Music Mode” later in this handbook).

Centre

The centre speaker allows for a more realistic reproduction of dialogue and centre sounds. The centre speaker should have a similar tonal balance to the front left and right speakers and be positioned at a similar height.

Surround left and right

The surround left and right speakers reproduce the ambient sound and effects present in a multi-channel home cinema system and (for home theatre use) should be installed approximately one metre higher than the listener’s ears.

Surround back left and right

The surround back left and right speakers are used to add extra depth and better sound localisation and should be installed approximately one metre higher than the listener’s ears. Place the two surround back speakers such that there is an arc of approximately 150 degrees between each surround back speaker and the centre speaker. The surround back speakers should face the front of the room as shown in the diagram to provide the largest ‘sweet spot’.

Note: if you have a 6.1 speaker system, with a single surround back speaker, we recommend that you connect this speaker to the surround back left channel of the AVR250.

Subwoofer

A subwoofer will greatly improve the bass performance of your system. This is useful for reproducing special cinema effects, especially where a dedicated LFE (Low-Frequency Effects) channel is available, as with many Dolby Digital or DTS encoded discs.

AVR250

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