How are YOU doing Bass Management for high-res audio?

Oh, I know. Actually, I have three 3 input switches from Sony that I was using before I upgraded to my current receiver. They worked well and they didn't degrade the sound in any noticeable way (read: I didn't hear any difference), but it was a real pain having all those cables hanging all over the place and having to get up to switch them whenever I wanted to go from one format to the other. I think I'm pretty happy with the results I get already, so I'm in no hurry to do all of that for an ICBM.

 

Next generation DVD/SACD/DVD-A players will sport digital video output through a DVI or HDMI output and digital high-rez audio through either a company specific interconnect, FireWire/iLink or HDMI. Next generation multi-channel pre-amps and receivers will sport not only the needed digital inputs, but next generation chip sets that will provide full control over both bass management and individual timing alignment.

Current "solutions" are beta level in implementation. Where digital high-rez bass management and channel alignment is offered they are not consistent in bass management solutions for DSD/PCM and analog inputs. Give it about 12 months. I hear fixed pixel digital displays driven by digital video outputs from a DVD player look great; but I have yet to see one in the wild.

Richard.

 

I have been messing around with my dvd-a player. It is a Pioneer 656A NA model. My receiver is a Yamaha RX-V1300. When I have the main speakers set to large in my dvd player settings there is no output to my sub. If I set the speakers all to small I then get a signal to my sub. This is of course having my receiver set to 6 channel input so as to get the analog hi-rez signals when running the 2 channel tracks. In 5.1 it does not matter for if the .1 has a signal it is output. This to me is the simplest of BM or so it seems. I had been looking at picking up a ICBM but have since been thinking about picking up a Yamaha S2300 universal player because now DSOTM is out on SACD. The redbook layer plays just fine on my 656A.

 

I don't exactly have a full 5.1 speaker set-up yet but my vote was for five full-range speakers + sub.

After thinking about this for months (not continuously!) I realized it was easier--and I think better, sonically speaking--to use the full-range configuration. One big thing that changed my mind: most music doesn't go down to 20Hz (that would be a silly thing to do IMO). From what I've read most rock/pop stuff peters out at around 50-40Hz. My Bostons go down to 42Hz, then begin dropping off. My rear channels only hit 80Hz (RatShak "Minimus" cast-aluminum models w/5" woofer & 1" tweeter) so that's a slight problem. But they still sound fine & more importantly can handle up to 70watts continuously--the Bostons can handle 75. And trust me, the rears DO get some low bass regularly--the Two Against Nature & Linkin Park's dvd-audio exhibit some woofer shaking notes. Nothing severe though--I put the Bostons back there temporarily and their 8" woofer only moved about 1/8" (at @70% of full volume). But unfortunately (for my wallet) it definitely sounded fuller than the 'Shak speakers (duh). So later I'll have to replace these with larger models to get things to sound right.

You know what's a more worriesome fact? The center can really get slammed with bass. I hooked up my roommate's Infinity bookshelf with a 6.5" woofer to my receiver's center output & programmed it for a "LARGE" center. I played DTS' Seventh Sojourn disc--nope, no bass, in fact just a ghostly, faint echo of the front main's signal.

But then I put on Linkin Park's Reanimation dvd-audio. CLUNK went the woofer. I had to turn the volume down fast (it was at about 70%) Whew! Rumbly synth sounds and the bass guitar were clearly emerging from there.

Maybe not all discs will be mixed like this, but to avoid any worries about bass guitars & other musical elements getting improperly shoved into the subwoofer channel, I just resigned myself to getting a large center channel speaker. And now I am seriously considering asking these manufacturers about buying a single bookshelf speaker from them like this JBL or this Newton model for use as a center channel. The vertical tweeter/midrange arrays will enable proper high-frequency dispersion and the 8" woofer will do a good job for the bass frequencies, but still small enough to put on or above a 36" TV. I'm not married yet, so this is no problem.

And I have kind of a childish admission to make about all this: it just seems cool to have five largish speakers sitting in my living room and a subwoofer too. No little foo-foo satellite speakers that require pampering for me! Like my own little no-holds-barred auditorium. Crank that volume knob--it ain't gonna hurt THIS system!

[T]

 

I do have some feeling that in a perfect world 5 identical speakers would be better than using a center channel but in real life I can't make it work since my main system doubles for audio and video. I use 4 paradigm studio 40's with a paradigm sub and center. I could not find a way to place another studio 40 in the center of my listening area and I don't think they would sell me a single one anyway. I don't listen to multi-channel music very often, and when I do I am generally satisfied with the sound I get. It is just another compromise some of us have to make when we can't afford two separate systems.

 

My question: in a properly set up home theater with a dedicated subwoofer channel, will the low bass information from ALL of the sound channels (fronts, rears, center, etc.) get directed to the sub? I'm planning on an all-Boston-A-series system, since I'm refurbing a pair of A150's for the fronts, and have a few pair of A40's to use as surrounds. (Looking for an eBay auction for a shielded A40V for center channel use.) The speakers sound good and are all tonally similar, but I don't want to rip up any woofers if bass information should leak into them. Having subs in two corners of the room is doable...but I don't see having a sub for each speaker location.

 

Yes, if you set your receiver/processor for all 'small' speakers, the bass for all 5 channels will be redirected to the sub.

In theory bass below 80hz or so is non-directional if distortion is low and you aren't going to tell where it is coming from.

 

Yamaha DSP-A1. Definitive Technology BP-2002 speakers. The receiver does bass mgt. thru the analog decoder outputs & has stereo subwoofer outputs. Front speakers are set to BOTH, center & rears set to SMALL. SONY CE-775 SACD player set to full-range. Toshiba SD-5700 DVD-A.