4. OPERATION continued …

•Adaptive Decorrelation – In a movie theatre, a large number of surround speakers help create an enveloping surround sound experience, but in a home theatre there are usually only two speakers. Unless you are using properly positioned dipoles, surround speakers can sound like headphones that lack spaciousness and envelopment – they will also collapse into the closest speaker as you move away from the middle seating position. Adaptive Decorrelation senses the presence of identical surround channels (mono) and slightly changes one surround channel's time and phase relationship with respect to the other. This expands the listening position and creates – with only two speakers – the same spacious surround experience found in a movie theatre. Adaptive Decorrelation does not operate when the surround channels are different, as is often the case in discrete multichannel source material.

•ASA (Advanced Speaker Array) – ASA is a proprietary THX technology that processes the sound fed to the two surround and two rear speakers to provide an optimal surround sound experience. When you set up your home theater system using all 7.1 speaker outputs (L-Front, Center, R-Front, R-Surround, R-Rear, L-Rear, L-Surround, Subwoofer), placing the two Rear speakers close together will provide the largest sweet spot. If for practical reasons you have to place the Rear speakers further apart, you will have to go to the Listener Position menu (section 3.3) and choose the setting that most closely corresponds to the speaker spacing to re-optimize the surround soundfield.

Depending on source material and speaker configuration, THX processing is available as follows:

THX Cinema:

5.1 to 7.1 output with 2.0- and 5.1-channel movies (see overview that follows)

 

Processing: Re-Equalization, Timbre Matching, Adaptive Decorrelation (if applicable)

 

When THX Cinema is selected, Dolby Pro Logic IIx Movie is automatically

 

engaged. Alternatively, Dolby Pro Logic or DTS Neo:6 Cinema may be selected.

 

Other Surround Modes are not available and do not appear when pressing MODE.

THX Ultra2 Cinema:

7.1 output with 5.1-channel movies

 

Processing: Re-Equalization, Timbre Matching, Adaptive Decorrelation, ASA (Cinema)

 

THX Ultra2 Cinema mode plays 5.1 movies using all 7.1 speakers giving you the

 

best possible THX movie watching experience with 5.1 program material. In this

 

mode, ASA processing blends the L/R-Surround speakers and L/R-Rear speakers

 

providing the optimal mix of ambient and directional surround sounds.

THX MusicMode:

7.1 output with 5.1-channel music (including DVD-Audio, multichannel SACD)

 

Processing: Timbre Matching, Adaptive Decorrelation, ASA (Music)

 

THX MusicMode can be selected when playing multi-channel music. In this mode

 

THX ASA processing is applied to the surround channels of all 5.1 channel

 

encoded music sources to provide a wide stable rear soundstage.

THX Games Mode:

7.1 output with 2.0- and 5.1-channel games

 

Processing: Timbre Matching, ASA (Games)

 

Game audio is mixed and monitored in a different environment than that of music

 

and movies. The interactive nature of the audio requires a playback system which

 

can provide 360 degree panning while preserving the ambient nature of

 

background sound elements. When playing back 5.1 games, THX Games Mode

 

may be engaged. Suitable sources are Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1 game sources.

 

If THX Games Mode is engaged with 2.0 input, the source is first converted to 5.1

 

via Pro Logic IIx Game mode.

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