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Thread: A/V amp Jiggery pokery

  1. #1
    Join Date: Nov 2010

    Location: Chorley, Lancs

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    I'm Mike.

    Default A/V amp Jiggery pokery

    Ok so it's fair to say there are a few of us on the forum with as far as the purist are concerned is the devil himself yes ladies and gents an A/V amp. Now don't get me wrong i understand the valid reasons behind keeping the signal path as short and clean as possible so as to recreate the music in a way which is as close to the original recording as possible, however many of us want our stereo set up to do more than just handle music and in wanting that we are given a whole gammet of sound field possibilities for use while watching movies or listening to music. So what gives the best effect for movie or music?

    Well in my 5.1 setup i like DTS for movies, in my opinion it gives more of a cinema experience than Dolby Digital in the way it moves sound around the speakers to give you a feeling of being in the action, now with a stereo signal while listening to music i've tried all the options on my amp, from standard stereo to neo6, and i find i like the SRS circle surround II most of all, it doesn't over emphisise the centre channel leaving the lions share of the work to the main front speakers so instruments and voices can be pin pointed to different places and not all lumped in the middle (a feeling you get from Dolby) also the rear speakers are used in a way which for me makes my room sound bigger, if that makes sence.


    As the late Colonel Sanders once said
    "I'm too drunk to taste this chicken!!"

  2. #2
    Join Date: Jul 2010

    Location: North Cambs UK, Earth, Sol, Orion - Cygnus arm of galaxy

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    I'm MadeOfDeadGiantStarsThatExplodedEonsAgo.

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    Stereo stays stereo in my setup, i honestly wouldn't dream of corrupting it I do happen to have some multichannel DTS encoded CDs & DVDs & these get the surround treatment as was intended by the artist, decoding in the relevant player..

    As for movies it's whatever the best audio is on the DVD or blu ray in question as it's decoded in the player/s
    Bests, Mark



    "We must believe in free will. We have no choice" Isaac Bashevis Singer

  3. #3
    Join Date: Nov 2010

    Location: Chorley, Lancs

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    I'm Mike.

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    I would agree to a point, in that keeping the signal path as short as possible will give you a better representation of the material on the disc, however in my opinion it's not about recreating the recording, cos to be honnest it will have been recorded on a multichannel set up each bit at a time and so what you hear is what the producer has done on the mixing deck pulling it all together, what i want from my stereo is to recreate what the band would sound like live and in my opinion an A/V amp allows you to go down that path, and ok the sound isn't as 'pure' as stereo but all the jiggery pokery does add something.


    As the late Colonel Sanders once said
    "I'm too drunk to taste this chicken!!"

  4. #4
    Join Date: Jul 2010

    Location: North Cambs UK, Earth, Sol, Orion - Cygnus arm of galaxy

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    I'm MadeOfDeadGiantStarsThatExplodedEonsAgo.

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    Mike, at the end of the day it's all down to personal choice & if you like what you are hearing don't let anyone else put you off

    I do get where you are coming from in a certain respect as i used to have (back in the day ) a Realistic 10 band graphic equaliser which had some weird stereo Expander built in but switchable on & off. I often ran it with the thing on but with a reduced effect & it did add a certain something to the proceedings

    I haven't even got a tone control in my present system, it's about as minimalist as i could go... I'm also happy with what i hear, admittedly though when those 5.1 DTS encoded discs are spinning it really does take you to another dimension over stereo
    Bests, Mark



    "We must believe in free will. We have no choice" Isaac Bashevis Singer

  5. #5
    Join Date: Nov 2010

    Location: Chorley, Lancs

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    I'm Mike.

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    I'm not trying to make an argument for using A/V effects over a simple stereo set up, like you say Mark it's all down to personal taste, i was just interested to find out what members with A/V amps or processors use them for, if it's only for movies or do they use it for music too, and if they do which setting do they like best.

    My feelings as to why people stick with stereo rather than going mutichannel, is more to do with setup complexity and what can go where, rather than it simply sounds better out of 2 speakers rather than 6.


    As the late Colonel Sanders once said
    "I'm too drunk to taste this chicken!!"

  6. #6
    Join Date: Aug 2009

    Location: Staffordshire, England

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    I'm Martin.

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    I prefer to listen to music with just the two channels, even if its a DVD or broadcast. Something just not right about sound coming from behind. Now that could just be what I am acustomed to over years but I am too old to change on that one.

    I play a lot of live albums because I think I prefer the genuine live interplay of the musicians as opposed to the more sterile studio version. I've not heard yet an accomplished 5 or 7 channel rig that could make a studio recording sound like a live performance via digital processing or as it's called in the trade, jiggery pokery
    Current Lash Up:

    TEAC VRDS 701T > Sony TAE1000ESD > Krell KSA50S > JM Labs Focal Electra 926.

  7. #7
    Join Date: Nov 2008

    Location: Banbury, Oxfordshire/Panteg is where my late father was born

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    I'm Chris.

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    Hi Mike

    Well i run 2 system's and i have experimented with the many sound sttings on the yammy , sometimes with hilarious results , the church and stadium setting sounding mad ! i found a couple of the more subtle one's like the Jazz club for example , pretty good but generally for music the straight setting with pure direct sounds best .

    Its great fun trying all the settings , oh and i prefer DTS for movies too
    Chris

    We've gone on holiday by mistake !

  8. #8
    Join Date: Jan 2010

    Location: Oxford

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    I'm NotSoPissedOffNowCosMyHiFisUnpacked.

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    With Line level outputs for the front L & R there is no reason to compromise on your stereo performance.

    My main system is exactly that, no compromise stereo.

    My A/V processor has line out for all channels. The front L&R feed into one of the amp inputs. When I'm watching the TV or a film, I select the input on the amp that takes the feed from my processor, set the volume to the required position (previously calculated) and away I go.

    I really dont understand why more AV amps dont have the ablility to do this???
    Ian
    http://www.hifisounds.co.uk

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  9. #9
    Join Date: Nov 2010

    Location: Chorley, Lancs

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    I'm Mike.

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    Quote Originally Posted by chris@panteg View Post
    Hi Mike

    Well i run 2 system's and i have experimented with the many sound sttings on the yammy , sometimes with hilarious results , the church and stadium setting sounding mad ! i found a couple of the more subtle one's like the Jazz club for example , pretty good but generally for music the straight setting with pure direct sounds best .

    Its great fun trying all the settings , oh and i prefer DTS for movies too
    well my current A/V amp doesn't have the sound effects such as jazz, hall theater etc. but it is well equipped with a whole array of digital multichannel processing, both for movies and music, now admitedly they can't make a studio recording sound like a live recording, but it does give the music a more live sound, you just need to spend a few hours setting all the channels up propperly, i swear you will be amazed at how good it can sound, the music is still focused and the rear channels are there only to add a slight echo and expand the stereo image in front of you. As i said though it does take some time to set up, a damn sight more than a stereo setup but in my opinion it gives a very pleasing effect. BTW Chris I would be interested to find out if your Yammy processor has an SRS Circle Surround II setting and if it does have you given it a go?


    As the late Colonel Sanders once said
    "I'm too drunk to taste this chicken!!"

  10. #10
    Join Date: Nov 2008

    Location: Banbury, Oxfordshire/Panteg is where my late father was born

    Posts: 4,382
    I'm Chris.

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    Hi Mike

    I will have to have another trawl through my Yammy amp , there are so many different settings ! its my 2nd AV amp and certainly far superior sonically to a Sony 925 i used before , even the phono stage is half decent .
    Chris

    We've gone on holiday by mistake !

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