EARS
Stereo recordings (and surround-encoded stereo recordings), whether in PCM/digital or analog form, are reproduced with proprietary NAD surround processing with signals output to the left, center-, and right- front channels and both surround-channel speakers (plus surround-back, and subwoofer, if any). EARS extracts the natural ambience present in nearly all well-produced stereo recordings. It does not synthesize any ambience or other sonic elements and thus remains far truer to the sound of the original musical performance than most other music-surround options.
Select EARS for listening to stereo music recordings and broadcasts. EARS produces a subtle but highly natural and believable ambience from nearly all "natural-acoustic" stereo recordings; typically, these include classical, jazz, and folk genres as well as numerous examples from others. It's virtues include a realistic, stable "front-stage" sonic imaging and spacious but unexaggerated ambient "virtual acoustics" that remain faithful to the original recording.
NOTE
When listening to FM broadcasts, “multipath distortion” may be more clearly revealed by the EARS circuit. This can be used to advantage in optimally orienting an FM antenna for a given FM station.
EARS cannot be applied to multichannel digital recordings (Dolby Digital/DTS); these recordings incorporate their own surround and ambience by their very multichannel natures. However, EARS may be applied to these recordings when they are played back via the analog stereo outputs of a DVD or other player, or when the DVD or other recording's soundtrack selection is set to "stereo/PCM" rather than "5.1" or equivalent.
ANALOG BYPASS
Stereo or monaural recordings from any S170 source's analog input jacks are routed directly to the left- right-front outputs with no processing whatsoever.
Use Analog Bypass to reproduce minimal-signal-path "audiophile" conditions for critical listening of two- channel (or monaural) sources.
No bass management is performed in Analog Bypass mode, so signals are reproduced by the left- and right-front channels "full-range," regardless of the settings entered on the S170's Speaker setup page.
The table below indicates which listening modes are available with the three possible types of signal sources: digital-input 2-channel (whether the actual signal is monaural, stereo or surround-encoded); analog-input 2-channel (mono, stereo or surround-encoded), or digital-multichannel (Dolby Digital or DTS). Where a listening mode is not available to a given signal source, it will not appear in the <Mode> selection rotation.
2-ch. PCM | 2-ch. analog | Multi-ch. (DD/DTS) |
| | |
Mono | Mono | Mono |
Stereo | Stereo | Stereo |
Pro Logic | Dolby Pro Logic | Direct |
EARS | EARS | Surround 6.1* |
--- | Analog Bypass | --- |
| | *If setup with "Back" speaker(s) |
