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Auto Surround, ALC and Stream Direct with different input signal formats

The following charts show what you will hear with different input signal formats, depending on the Stream Direct mode (see Using Stream Direct on page 60) you have selected.

Stereo (2 channel) signal formats

Input signal format

Auto Surround / ALC /

PURE DIRECT

DIRECT

 

 

Surround Back speaker(s): Connected

 

 

Dolby Digital Surround

2Pro Logic IIx MOVIE

2Pro Logic IIx MOVIE

DTS Surround

Neo:X CINEMA

Neo:X CINEMA

Other stereo sources

Stereo playback

Stereo playback

Analog sources

As above

ANALOG DIRECT (stereo)

PCM sources

As above

Stereo playback

DVD-A sources

As above

As above

SACD sources

As above

As above

 

 

 

Surround Back speaker(s): Not connected

 

 

 

 

 

Dolby Digital Surround

2Pro Logic II MOVIE

2Pro Logic II MOVIE

DTS Surround

Neo:X CINEMA

Neo:X CINEMA

 

 

 

Other stereo sources

Stereo playback

Stereo playback

 

 

 

Analog sources

As above

ANALOG DIRECT (stereo)

 

 

 

PCM sources

As above

Stereo playback

 

 

 

DVD-A sources

As above

As above

 

 

 

SACD sources

As above

As above

Multichannel signal formats

Input signal format

Auto Surround / ALC

PURE DIRECT / DIRECT

Surround Back speaker(s): Connected

 

 

 

 

Dolby Digital EX (6.1 channel flagged)

Dolby Digital EX

Dolby Digital EX

2Pro Logic IIx MOVIE

2Pro Logic IIx MOVIE

Dolby TrueHD EX (6.1 channel flagged)

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DTS-HD Master Audio ES (6.1 channel flagged)

DTS-ES(Matrix)

DTS-ES(Matrix)

DTS-ES (6.1 channel sources/6.1 channel flagged)

DTS-ES(Matrix/Discrete)

DTS-ES(Matrix/Discrete)

DTS sources (5.1 channel encoding)

Straight decoding

Straight decoding

 

 

 

DTS-HD sources

As above

As above

 

 

 

Other 5.1/6.1/7.1 channel sources

As above

As above

 

 

 

Surround Back speaker(s): Not connected

 

 

 

 

 

DVD-A sources/Multi-ch PCM

Straight decoding

Straight decoding

 

 

 

SACD sources (5.1 channel encoding)

As above

As above

 

 

 

Other 5.1/6.1/7.1 channel sources

As above

As above

 

 

 

a Unavailable with only one surround back speaker connected.

Additional information

Speaker Setting Guide

In order to achieve an even better surround effect, it is important to accurately position the speakers and make their volume and tone characteristics uniform so as to finely focus the multi-channel sound.

The three major elements in positioning the speakers are distance, angle and orientation (the direction in which the speakers are pointing).

Distance: The distance of all the speakers should be equal.

Angle: The speakers should be horizontally symmetrical.

Orientation: The orientation should be horizontally symmetrical.

In most homes, however, it is not possible to achieve this environment. For the distance, on this receiver it is possible to automatically correct the speaker distance electrically to a precision of 1 cm (0.5 inch) using the Full Auto MCACC Setup function (page 45).

Step 1: Speaker layout and distance adjustment

Use speaker stands or the like to make sure the speakers are steady, and leave at least 10 cm (4 inches) from the surrounding walls. Position the speakers attentively so that the speakers on the left and right are at equal angles from the listening position (center of the adjustments). (We recommend using cords, etc., when adjusting the layout.) Ideally all the speakers should be equidistant from the listening position.

Note

!If the speakers cannot be set at equal distances (on a circle), use the Auto MCACC Setup speaker distance correction and Fine Speaker Distance functions to make them equalize the distance artificially.

Step 2: Adjusting the speaker height

Adjust the heights (angles) of the different speakers.

Adjust so that the front speaker units reproducing mid- and high frequencies is roughly at the height of the ears. If the center speaker cannot be set at the same height as the front speakers, adjust its angle of elevation to point it to the listening position.

Set surround speaker 1 so that it is not under the height of the ears.

Step 3: Adjusting the speaker orientation

If the left and right speakers are not pointing in the same direction, the tone will not be the same on the right and left, and as a result the sound field will not be reproduced properly. However, if all the speakers are pointed towards the listening position, the sound field will seem cramped. Testing by the Pioneer Multi-channel Research Group has shown that a good sense of sound positioning can be achieved by pointing all the speakers towards an area 30 cm (12 inches) to 80 cm (31 inches) behind the listening position (between the surround speakers and the listening position).

However, the sense of sound positioning can differ according to the conditions in the room and the speakers being used. In smaller environments in particular (when the front speakers are close to the listening position), with this method the speakers will be pointed too inward. We suggest you use this example of installation as reference when trying out different installation methods.

Step 4: Positioning and adjusting the subwoofer

Placing the subwoofer between the center and front speakers makes even music sources sound more natural (if there is only one subwoofer, it doesn’t matter if it is placed on the left or right side). The low bass sound output from the subwoofer is not directional and there is no need to adjust the height. Normally the subwoofer is placed on the floor. Put it in a position at which it will not cancel out the bass sound output from the other speakers.

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