The SSP-800 incorporates both Dolby Pro Logic II and DTS Neo:6 technologies for converting a two-channel signal into an enjoyable multi- channel listening experience. The Dolby/DTS Setup menu allows you to modify the Dolby PLIIx Music or DTS Neo:6 Music processing settings to best suit your personal preferences.
While they differ in the details of their implementation and in the subjective result, on a conceptual level they do the same thing: they analyze the information embedded in two-channel recordings, looking for clues that can indicate how the sound in those recordings might best be redistributed to the various speakers in a multi-channel system, simulating a discrete multi-channel recording.
Dolby Pro Logic IIx Music mode has three user-adjustable parameters:
•Panorama presents a wider, deeper front soundstage. The effect is somewhat signal-dependant, meaning that it is more pronounced with some recordings and less so with others. With a good recording, however, the effect can be quite dramatic. Panorama is active when the button is highlighted.
•Centre Width determines how much of the centre-channel information is allowed to remain in the left and right speakers. A low setting places all of the information that creates a phantom centre image in a normal stereo system into the centre channel speaker instead (sometimes referred to as a “hard” centre channel). A high setting leaves this information in the left and right speakers, fading out the centre channel speaker. Intermediate settings provide a great compromise between the seamless spaciousness of a great stereo system and the wide listening area of a multi-channel system, where you don’t need to be in the “sweet spot” to hear a centre image.
•Dimension shifts the overall balance of the processing towards the back of the room. In very “dry” recordings lacking recorded ambience, a higher dimension setting helps to restore a sense of space to the reproduced sound. In extremely “wet” recordings with lots of ambience, you may want to reduce the dimension setting to avoid excessive or distracting spaciousness.
By contrast, the DTS Neo:6 setting couldn’t be simpler. The only user- adjustable parameter for DTS Neo:6 Music mode and ES Music mode is the centre width control. It functions in a similar manner to the centre width control for Dolby Pro Logic IIx.
