DIGITAL SOUND FIELD PROCESSING (DSP)

Understanding sound fields

A sound field is defined as the “characteristic sound reflections of a particular space.” In concert halls and other music venues, we hear early reflections and reverberations as well as the direct sound produced by the artist(s). The variations in the early reflections and other reverberations among the different music venues is what gives each venue its special and recognizable sound quality.

YAMAHA sent teams of sound engineers all around the world to measure the sound reflections of famous concert halls and music venues, and collect detailed sound field information such as the direction, strength, range, and delay time of those reflections. Then we stored this enormous amount of data in the ROM chips of this unit.

■Recreating a sound field

Recreating the sound field of a concert hall or an opera house requires localizing the virtual sound sources in your listening room. The traditional stereo system that uses only two speakers is not capable of recreating a realistic sound field. YAMAHA’s DSP requires four effect speakers to recreate sound fields based on the measured sound field data. The processor controls the strength and delay time of the signals output from the four effect speakers to localize the virtual sound sources and fully encompass the listener.

Hi-Fi DSP programs

The following list gives you a brief description of the sound fields produced by each of the DSP programs. Keep in mind that most of these are precise digital recreations of actual acoustic environments.

No.

Program

Features

 

 

 

1

CONCERT HALL

A large round concert hall with a rich surround effect. Pronounced reflections from all directions

 

 

emphasize the extension of sounds. The sound field has a great deal of presence, and your virtual

 

 

seat is near the center, close to the stage.

 

 

 

2

JAZZ CLUB

This is the sound field at stage front in “The Bottom Line”, a famous New York jazz club, that

 

 

seats up to 300 people. Its wide left to right seating arrangement offers a real and vibrant sound.

 

 

 

3

ROCK CONCERT

The ideal program for lively, dynamic rock music. The data for this program was recorded at

 

 

LA’s “hottest” rock club. The listener’s virtual seat is at the center-left of the hall.

 

 

 

4

ENTERTAINMENT/

This program recreates the acoustic environment of a lively disco in the heart of a big city. The

 

Disco

sound is dense and highly concentrated. It is also characterized by a high-energy, “immediate”

 

 

sound.

 

 

 

 

ENTERTAINMENT/

Using this program increases the listening position range. This is a sound field suitable for

 

6ch Stereo

background music at parties, etc.

 

 

 

OPERATION

BASIC

 

 

English

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