Onkyo PR-SC886 Using the Listening Modes—Continued, •THX Cinema, •THX Music, •THX Games

Using the Listening Modes—Continued

Neural THX 5.1/7.1

Neural-THX Surround employs psychoacoustic fre- quency domain processing, which allows delivery of a more detailed sound stage, with superior channel separa- tion and localization of audio elements. The Neural THX

5.1and Neural THX 7.1 modes can expand any 2-chan- nel stereo source for 5.1- or 7.1-channel playback, respectively. Use them with CD, radio, cassette, TV, VHS, DVD, and other 2-channel stereo sources, includ- ing video games. Neural-THX Surround can also be used by broadcasters to encode and transmit surround- sound content over a stereo signal, which listeners can enjoy as either surround sound or normal stereo. XM Satellite Radio, for example, is using Neural-THX Sur- round on select channels, which the AV controller can expand from 5.1 channels to 7.1 channels.

DSD

DSD stands for Direct Stream Digital and is the format used to store digital audio on Super Audio CDs (SACD). This mode can be used with SACDs that feature multi- channel audio.

THX

Founded by George Lucas, THX develops stringent stan- dards that ensure movies are reproduced in movie the- aters and home theaters just as the director intended. THX Modes carefully optimize the tonal and spatial characteristics of the soundtrack for reproduction in the home-theater environment. They can be used with 2- channel matrixed and multichannel sources.

Surround back speaker output depends on the source material and the selected listening mode.

•THX Cinema

THX Cinema mode corrects theatrical soundtracks for playback in a home theater environment. In this mode, THX Loudness Plus is configured for cinema levels and Re-EQ, Timbre Matching, and Adaptive Decorrelation are active.

•THX Music

THX Music mode is tailored for listening to music, which is typically mastered at significantly higher levels than movies. In this mode, THX Loudness Plus is configured for music playback and only Tim- bre Matching is active.

•THX Games

THX Games mode is meant for spatially accurate playback of game audio, which is often mixed simi- larly to movies but in a smaller environment. THX Loudness Plus is configured for game audio levels, with Timbre Matching active.

•THX Ultra2 Cinema

This mode expands 5.1-channel sources for 7.1- channel playback. It does this by analyzing the com- position of the surround source, optimizing the ambient and directional sounds to produce the sur- round back channel output.

•THX Ultra2 Music

This mode is designed for use with music. It expands 5.1-channel sources for 7.1-channel playback.

•THX Ultra2 Games

This mode is designed for use with video games. It can expand 5.1-channel sources for 6.1/7.1-channel playback.

•THX Surround EX

This mode expands 5.1-channel sources for 6.1/7.1- channel playback. It’s especially suited to Dolby Digital EX sources. THX Surround EX, also known as Dolby Digital Surround EX, is a joint develop- ment between Dolby Laboratories and THX Ltd.

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