Sony G90 manual Listening To Music Surround

over, detail resolution in the surround channels was excellent.

Moving next to Logic 7, Lexicon’s process for deriving 7

channels from 2-channel or 5.1-channel sources, I found the

effect worked remarkably well on film soundtracks. (Logic

7 enhancements can be combined with some THX process-

ing on discrete 5.1-channel sources such as Dolby Digital

and DTS.) The addition of rear speakers driven with Logic 7

produced a more vivid feeling of sound effects moving

behind me rather than simply stopping near the listening

position. I had a greater impression of the wall behind the

listening seat disappearing. This effect was enhanced by

Logic 7’s other salient attribute, the perception that the

soundstage was continuous from front to rear. That is, pans

were seamless along the room’s side walls, rather than pre-

sented as a discrete jump from the front channels to the

rear channels. In addition, Logic 7 processing widened the

soundstage and created a more expansive feeling. Try the

chase scene in Toy Story (chapters 28 and 29 on the DTS

laserdisc) in which the toy car speeds through traffic; the

“real” cars whiz by as pans from front to rear, an effect vast-

ly more effective with Logic 7 than either straight DTS or

DTS/THX decoding. In addition to these benefits, seven

loudspeakers are, I believe, fundamentally better than five

for film-sound reproduction.

An interesting way to judge Logic 7’s effectiveness is to

compare a full 5.1-channel discrete source with that source

downmixed to two channels, then played back with Logic 7.

Here’s how you do it: Record a section of a film soundtrack

on a VHS machine (or cassette deck) using the MC-1’s “AC-

3 2-Channel” mode. This mode downmixes the discrete 5.1-

channel soundtrack into two channels for recording on a

two-channel medium. Then play back the two channels with

Logic 7 decoding and compare it to the discrete 5.1-channel

source. I did this with the scene in Dragonheart in which

the dragon flies 360 degrees around Dennis Quaid. The

sound of its wings beating, accompanied by Sean Connery’s

voice, moves from speaker to speaker around the room sev-

eral times, making it an ideal test of Logic 7 decoding.

If someone hadn’t heard the discrete version, they’d

never think that they were hearing a matrixed format. Logic

7 is that effective in creating the impression of wide chan-

nel separation. Indeed, I found it hard to believe I was lis-

tening to two channels decoded into seven. The channel

separation in the DTS original was better, generating a

stronger illusion of movement, but it was a much closer call

than I would have thought possible.

Overall, Logic 7 provided an impressive enhancement to

film soundtracks. The processing did, however, seem to

make the soundtrack less intimate, as though I were sitting

farther away from the action. The upside of this impression

is that my 14.5 by 21 by 9-foot listening room seemed larger.

I evaluated the MC-1’s DAC quality by feeding it a digital

signal from a Mark Levinson No.31.5 CD transport, then

connected the MC-1’s main outputs to an Audio Research

Reference One preamp. The No.31.5 also drove a Mark

Levinson No.360S digital-to-analog converter, which also

fed the ARC preamp. (Power amplifiers were Audio

Research Reference 600s.) I could thus switch inputs on the

Reference One and compare the No.360S to the MC-1.

Granted, a $5,995 multi-channel processor should be no

match for a $7,995 two-channel DAC, but the comparison

put the MC-1’s performance into perspective.

The MC-1’s sound quality in this evalua-

tion was only fair. The MC-1 overlaid the

music with a grainy texture, with a darkening

of the upper midrange that resulted in a less

palpable rendering. The MC-1’s treble was a

bit hashy, and the soundstage was somewhat flat and

closed-in. These characteristics became apparent when lis-

tening critically to two-channel music sources through a

reference-quality playback system; when listening to film

soundtracks, the MC-1’s sonic shortcomings didn’t intrude

on the experience. I would rank the MC-1’s DAC stage as on

the level of a $500 CD player. (That’s not bad considering

the $5,995 MC-1 has eight DACs and analog line stages, plus

everything else that goes into a sophisticated multi-channel

controller.)

The $6,500 Classé SSP-50 controller provides an inter-

esting contrast with the MC-1. The Classé was significantly

better sounding when reproducing music. If the MC-1’s

DACs were comparable to those in a $500 CD player, the

SSP-50 sounded more like a $2,000 outboard converter. The

Classé benefits from an audiophile-quality signal path and a

superb multi-bit DAC stage. That superior two-channel per-

formance is, however, offset by the MC-1’s more sophisti-

cated surround processing, 7.1-channel capability, THX pro-

cessing, vastly better remote and user interface, and propri-

etary Lexicon film-soundtrack enhancements. But that’s the

beauty of diverse design goals: You can choose the product

that best matches your priorities.

If you are uncompromising on both film and music repro-

duction, you can still enjoy the MC-1’s terrific surround per-

formance without shortchanging High End music playback:

run the MC-1’s left and right outputs through a two-channel

analog preamp on the way to the left and right power ampli-

fiers. (The Krell KPS-25S has a “Theater Throughput” mode

just for this purpose. Theater Throughput sets the preamp’s

gain at a set level so you maintain your individual channel-

level calibration when switching back to multi-channel.) Ana-

log source signals that you will listen to in two-channel feed

the analog preamp and never go though the MC-1’s A/D and

D/A stages. Note that adding an analog preamp works only if

you have full-range left and right speakers that don’t require

the MC-1’s front-channel crossover.

Listening To Music Surround

My experience with surround-sound modes on A/V receivers

has left me contemptuous of the concept. The modes sound

gimmicky, often destroy the musicality of the front signals,

and their presence is purely marketing driven. That is, the

receiver must sport a huge list of surround modes for it to be

competitive on the sales floor, whether or not those surround

modes are well thought out or even musically appropriate.

But after living with the MC-1 and reading the superb book-

let explaining the theory behind the MC-1’s surround modes,

I’ve taken a somewhat different view. The MC-1’s modes,

designed by Dr. David Griesinger, are all based on solid

research that relates the physical properties of concert-hall

acoustics with our perception of sound. The MC-1’s effects are

far from marketing gimmicks.

The MC-1 is without question the most sophisticated music

processor available today. But do two-channel recordings ben-

efit from this processing, or is a pure, unadulterated signal path

more musically engaging? Before tackling that question, I