# DD Ex 5.1 sounds better than TrueHD



## KASR (Jun 9, 2009)

I dunno what I'm doing wrong here...but on my last few disks (HD-DVD) the TrueHD audio isn't as loud as the other format available (DTS, ES, DD EX, etc.)

For example, I'm watching Perfect Storm HD-DVD right now - in Dolby TrueHD the dialogue is quieter and the entire soundstage sounds muffled. When I switch it to DD ES (the available format) the dialog pops back up in the way that you would expect. What could be the possible culprits? See sig for components.


----------



## selden (Nov 15, 2009)

My guess would be that you're sending bitstream audio from the player to the receiver and doing the DD decoding in the receiver. That doesn't work well for the DD and DTS lossless formats.

The decoding needs to be done in the player when using TrueHD and sent to the 1501 as LPCM over HDMI if you want speaker level adjustments to be applied. (The bitrate is too high to be sent over S/PDIF connections.)

The 1501 doesn't have enough DSP processing power to do both lossless audio decoding and surround sound processing at the same time, so the speaker volume and timing levels that were configured by the receiver's setup don't get applied to the lossless audio formats.


----------



## KASR (Jun 9, 2009)

I set the player to do PCM instead of AUTO - I also ran the Marantz EQ Setup (on a whim) and oddly, one of them fixed the problem. The TrueHD audio is still alittle more quiet than the compressed audio, but nowhere as bad as it was previously.


----------



## Andysu (May 8, 2008)

Well I have brought my second Bluray and rather enjoying the benefits of six-track Dolby stereo True digital on my old Kenwood KRF-X9050D THX select.

The high bit stream is softer sounding over DVD. So now I play DVD at softer level or –db level setting. 

If I play DVD it would be around -10db or just under depending on the type of loudness on the mix. When A & B the same film the Bluray is many –db under the Bluray. So I just take the level up, there it is.

Being running Star Trek bluray B region this afternoon at 0db no issues with fronts it sounded like I was back at the Empire Leicester Square early around May 7th, thou they run a very powerful JBL THX sound system at 56KW probably the most powerful one in the world.

The split-surrounds where set with centre back ON and that was clear as bell.

I more or less put the same question toward Roger Dressler in a pm because I was curious as to why DVD sounded louder. He assured me it’s the higher bit rate and lossless audio which is why it all seems naturally balanced.

As long as you have plenty of power on tap just turn the level up for comfortable level. Its been running at around +90dbc while occasional dilaouge passages have some vocal sound pressure around +70dbc to 85dbc that’s what I was seeing on the SPL db meter.

My JBL sound system is only a small 1.5KW hardly 56KW groundbreaking but I feel all the action and that’s plentiful enough in small room.

I was thinking about picking up The Perfect Storm last week, but decided upon Terminator 3 Rise of The Machines Bluray B region, and it sounded miraculous over the DVD.

Roger, mentioned if I brought a new AVR that supports the new Dolby digital True the benefits will be bit higher, but I’m not grumbling here I’m more than pleased with its performance.

Also what is the total power per LCRS and your sub bass?


----------



## KASR (Jun 9, 2009)

Andysu said:


> Also what is the total power per LCRS and your sub bass?


Recommended amplification for my speakers:

Front: 20-125watts
Left and Right: 20-150watts
Sub: 50/100watts 
Rear and Side surrounds: 20-100watts

Thanks for all the additional input/info.


----------



## Andysu (May 8, 2008)

Use this SPL db power calculator its simple to use to see how much power you have on tap given the distance to your listening position. One thing you don’t want to do is clip the amplifiers. 

http://www.crownaudio.com/apps_htm/designtools/elect-pwr-req.htm

What other Bluray titles do you have in the collection? You don’t have Terminator 3 and I don’t think Star Trek is out in the US yet till tomorrow? Whoops sorry, HD-DVD, I got confused as I saw Bluray B region copy of it at HMV.


Also do you keep the fronts at the same height level and the most paramount issue are the fronts matching as that will make huge difference and its not politics its simple logic.

If you played some sine wave tones measured close to the speaker on an RTA looked at each speaker, you might have far too much one of or the other and that’s going be noticeable as well as overpowering the other speaker say left and right one may be too high in frequency output.

I tested mine over last week and found that I had to cut back on the LF over the LCR and playback the pink noise on the AVR that cycles over the LCRS/subLFE.1.

If you where to play pink noise cycling over the LCRS and combine or mix the channels into an audio mixer and play them from one speaker it would sound miles different from what you would normally hear.

It would sound like continuous pink noise without changing tonal character, unless you turned the level of one channel down by a few (–db or up few +db) or put bass boast or cut or same with HF one tone will stand out against the rest. 

Which is for an example 
L hiss
C HISS
R hisS
L/Sur HiSs
R/Sur HiSs

Something like that lol true that is what you’d hear an unbalanced tone, and that unbalanced tone leads to head banging on the wall (what is wrong with my sound)?

As you know if you move a single bookshelf speaker around or get partner wife of children to move it from centre of the room to the left and right (while you remain seated) it will change tone.


----------

