SOUND FIELD PROGRAM INFORMATION
■Elements of a sound field
What really creates the rich, full tones of a live instrument are the multiple reflections from the walls of the room. In addition to making the sound live, these reflections enable us to tell where the player is situated as well as the size and shape of the room in which we are sitting.
There are two distinct types of sound reflections that combine to make up the sound field in addition to the direct sound coming straight to our ears from the player’s instrument.
Early reflections
Reflected sounds reach our ears extremely rapidly (50 ms to 100 ms after the direct sound), after reflecting from one surface only (for example, from a wall or the ceiling).
Early reflections actually add clarity to the direct sound.
Reverberations
These are caused by reflections from more than one surface (for example, from the walls, and the ceiling) so numerous that they merge together to form a continuous sonic afterglow. They are
Direct sound, early reflections and subsequent reverberations taken together help us to determine the subjective size and shape of the room, and it is this information that the digital sound field processor reproduces in order to create sound fields.
If you could create the appropriate early reflections and subsequent reverberations in your listening room, you would be able to create your own listening environment. The acoustics in your room could be changed to those of a concert hall, a dance floor, or a room with virtually any size at all. This ability to create sound fields at will is exactly what YAMAHA has done with the digital sound field processor.
■CINEMA DSP
Since the Dolby Surround and DTS systems were originally designed for use in movie theaters, their effect is best felt in a theater having many speakers designed for acoustic effects. Since home conditions, such as room size, wall material, number of speakers, and so on, can differ so widely, it is inevitable that there are differences in the sound heard. Based on a wealth of actually measured data, YAMAHA CINEMA DSP uses YAMAHA original sound field technology to combine Dolby Pro Logic, Dolby Digital and DTS systems to provide the audiovisual experience of a movie theater in the listening room of your own home.
■SILENT CINEMA
YAMAHA has developed a natural, realistic sound effect DSP algorithm for headphones. Parameters for headphones have been set for each sound field so that accurate representations of all the sound field programs can be enjoyed on headphones.
■Virtual CINEMA DSP
YAMAHA has developed a Virtual CINEMA DSP algorithm that allows you to enjoy DSP sound field surround effects even without any surround speakers by using virtual surround speakers. It is even possible to enjoy Virtual CINEMA DSP using a minimal
■Sound output from each speaker
Sound output from each speaker depends on the type of audio signals being input. Refer to the diagrams in the table below to understand the speaker layout for each sound field program. For details about the sound output from each speaker in sound field programs, refer to
“SOUND OUTPUT IN EACH SOUND FIELD PROGRAM” in “APPENDIX” at the end of this manual.
Note
Be advised that there may be no or not enough sound output from speakers depending on the type of input source being played back. Furthermore, there may be some channels that can only be used partially when they are adjusted to specific aspects of movies, such as special sound effects, etc.
y
Except for “2ch Stereo”, “7ch Stereo”, and “STRAIGHT”, you can select a decoder to output sound from the surround back speakers (see page 45).