I am currently using a 950 in a 7.1 setup. When playing multi-channel music, I would like to have the ability to switch from surround speakers to my rear speakers, allowing me to use the surrounds for movies only and the rears for MC music. Does anybody know if the new 990 will have this feature?

Thanks.

I'll presume for a moment that the multichannel music be DVD-Audio and SACD. In that case, you can connect the left and right surround outputs from the player to the left and right surround back inputs on the 990's 7.1 analog input.

I was hoping for a setting that would allow me to do this...similar to what the Anthem processors can do. Since I use my system 50% for music (CD, SACD, DVD-A) and 50% for movies, having to manually switch the inputs/cables isn't going to work for me.

Thanks for the reply.

But you would only use the 7.1 analog input for music listening, wouldn't you? I'm assuming that you would be using the digital connection for DVD's (which could then be decoded for Dolby and DTS and receive DD-EX, DTS-ES, or Pro Logic IIx processing to achieve 7.1). If you listening to CD's via analog inputs, you are locked into pure stereo, and if you are listening to CD's via digital inputs to get surround sound, you are applying processing to achieve a surround mix and may as well simply go to 7.1 with PLIIx and get all seven speakers involved.

Am I missing something?

Gonk,

It's not you...it's me that was missing something. I hadn't thought about the fact that I could use the digital input exclusively for movies...allowing me to switch the analog 7.1 inputs for SACD and DVD-A playback.

Thanks...I'll give it a try.

David

Cool. I think it'll work well for you. I strongly recommend using the digital input for movies - any processor similar to the 990 (I'm including the Model 950 in that, although the 950's multichannel analog input is only 5.1) will generally offer much better processing (more modes, more flexibility, much more powerful bass management, ...) than a DVD player's built-in DD and DTS decoders.

I wish you would reconsider using only the rear speakers with multi-channel music. Our sense of acoustical space comes from lateral (sideways moving) sound. Sounds from other directions (above, behind, etc) add to envelopment, that too only for frequencies above 1 to 2 kHz. However, sounds from these directions don't excite the lateral cues needed to convey spacial information.

The best and easiest way to reproduce lateral cues is with speakers at your sides. These are also the locations that helps most with low frequency envelopment (if you're into stereo bass and all that). Adding rear speakers will give even better envelopment and excitement in the surround field.

BTW, you don't need fancy processing if you're going to use both sets of surrounds; simply copy the surround channels from the sides to the rears. Hopefully the 990 will allow you to set time-alignment individually for side and rear speakers; the quadruple crossover will allow you to have larger side speakers and smaller rear speakers.

Finally, you can do a simple experiment at home to hear the effects I've described and confirm the results for yourself. First, unplug your side speakers and listen to some multi-channel music (or 2-channel music via PLII). If you raise the volume of the rear speakers, you'll notice the front soundstage becomes louder]. Next, listen to the same music with the rears off and the sides on. As you raise the volume of the side speakers, you'll notice that the front soundstage becomes wider.

Best,
Sanjay

QUOTE: "simply copy the surround channels from the sides to the rears."

Sanjay,

How do it accomplish this? I listen to DVD-A and SACD via 6CH Direct. I do not want to use digital inputs to the 950 for multi channel music. I suppose I could use a splitter rca cable and feed the rear channel inputs.

It sounded to me like he was using splitters, but that may have been a rash assumption on my part.

I don't think the 950 has rear channel inputs and side channel inputs; it's just 5.1 analogue inputs, not 7.1.

On my processor, each surround channel is automatically sent to its respective side and rear speakers. On your 950, when you use the 5.1 analogue inputs, does the surround information output from the sides and rears, or do the rears simply go silent?