Will,
Merc makes some interesting points.
But allow me to toss my humble opinions into the hat.
For regular music CD's, I have been comparing DTS NEO:6-M to PLII-M to straight stereo in order to decide on a surround mode that sounds most like stereo, but adds a good and realistic ambiance.
Have you tried any of PL II-M's adjustments? You can dial it in so it is just barely perceptible over regular stereo playback (if that's what you're looking for).
I understood that if you turn on just the surround channels and turn off the mains and the center, that DPL-IIM won't frequency shift the music to sound like something else, whereas DTS NEO:6-M does.
None of these matrix decoders are designed to be heard with some of the speakers turned off. The psychoacoustic tricks they play with content steering relies on you hearing all the channels. For example: when I've listened to only the surround channels of Neo:6, PL II, Circle Surround and even Logic 7, I've noticed dialog sometimes appearing back there; a phenomenon that seems to vanish when all channels are playing.
But then I invited over a friend who is a professional in the music industry who uses his ears for his living and whose ears I trust more than mine...
I'll pretend you didn't just say that last part.
...to my surprise (!) he preferred straight stereo. DTS NEO:6-M came in second and PLII-M came in third.
Well then he must be right: according to
his ears, Neo:6 will sound better to
you than PL II.
Aw come on Will, you know better than to accept someone else's particular tastes over your personal preferences!
He said he could hear where PLII-M was cutting out the full frequency range. It's part of how Dolby Pro-Logic II works, he says.
Ah, so he knows how PL II works, which then tells him how it will sound, and thus he ends up hearing what he was expecting. Why is the needle on my surprize-meter not moving? Will, from the few exchanges we've had on the net, you seem to be more open minded than your golden eared friend, at least to the extent that you're listening with less baggage. If you prefer stereo over PL II and prefer PL II over Neo:6 then so be it. Quit trying to undermine your own preferences. Besides, you can change your preferences some time down the road. The Surround Police won't bust you for changing your mind.
Personally, I switch back-and-forth between PL II and Logic 7 processing, depending on the material I'm listening to.
Dolby PLII is very very good, much better than Dolby Pro Logic and to people like me, it sounds fabulous. But some people who listen to music professionally, apparently can tell what is being psycho-accoustically eliminated by Dolby (even though I could not), and for people who can tell these things, straight stereo sounds better.
So when they visit you, switch to straight stereo. Until then, listen to what YOU like.
The other advice I got from this person in the music industry, was to always play symphonies very loud, as loud as they sound in a concert hall. Now, I realize it's not always possible or practical to do that, but he says that's the best way to hear (as close as possible) what a symphony is supposed to sound like, at home.
So when this person comes around, you can blast the volume. Until then, listen at a level that YOU are comfortable with.
Now in straight stereo, when it's played loud, there is plenty of ambiance in my listening room, so maybe in a loud room, there's less reason to add ambiance via PLII and NEO-6.
Nice trick, but raising the volume is no substitute for a good matrix decoder. And, like any good matrix decoder, PL II will allow you to make the surround presentation as subtle or as exciting as you please. Keep doing what you're doing; experimentation will eventually help you hone in on the sound you like.
Also keep in mind that each CD can sound different from the next. (No standardized volume and stuff, like on movies.) Therefore, different CDs may require different decoding or parameter adjustments. But that's OK; the various matrix decoders in your 950 are simply tools for you to use with the
appropriate material. And that includes
not using them when you so desire.
BTW, listening to music in surround can take some getting used to for some people. Hang in there and you'll eventually settle on what how you like it. As for the matrix decoders themselves, I prefer PL II by a very wide margin over Neo:6. The latter sounds too lame and artifacty to me.
Finally, I'm probably more used to music in surround than many posters here because it's been like a decade and a half since I've listened to 2-channel music over just 2 speakers. It comes down to individual preferences, but I find a 2-speaker presentation so far removed from any sonic event that I've personally experienced that I actually find it slightly distracting. Again, that won't apply to most audiophiles; just this heretic's personal opinion.
Best,
Sanjay
P.S. When you say "straight stereo", do you mean as opposed to the stereo you find in West Hollywood? Doh! (Sorry, couldn't resist.
)
sd
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