"Presence" Speakers??

[Tall Dog]

My new receiver has the capability to hook up front "Presence" speakers. I currently have a 7.1 speaker setup. Before I spend the money on a couple more speakers, wanted to see if you guys thought they are worth it?

Thanks

[Beta Man]

Originally Posted by Tall Dog

My new receiver has the capability to hook up front "Presence" speakers. I currently have a 7.1 speaker setup. Before I spend the money on a couple more speakers, wanted to see if you guys thought they are worth it?

Thanks

I can't even imagine their functionality... i'm guessing it'll be taking away from the fronts you have, so unless you're adding more speakers at or above the current quality of Fronts you have....... I'd say 'don't do it'

[Brian Cash]

I never even heard of Presence Speakers

[gearyt]

my Yamaha has 5.1 +2 config... I hooked up the "presence" speakers, not a lot of difference. I prefer the 7.1 config better. I have relocated the speakers

[JamesN]

Originally Posted by Tall Dog

My new receiver has the capability to hook up front "Presence" speakers. I currently have a 7.1 speaker setup. Before I spend the money on a couple more speakers, wanted to see if you guys thought they are worth it?

Thanks

Presence speakers are a part of Yamaha's "DSP" technology. Basically they provide additional ambience to re-create the sonic footprint of actual venues. Yamaha provides different selectable "sound fields" (concert halls, jazz clubs, cathedrals, movie theaters, etc.) The DSP processors add appropriate reflections, reverberations, echoes, etc. to the original sound source to re-create the various sonic environments. The presence speakers help distribute this ambience, although some of the ambience is mixed in with the other speakers as well.

The effect is very subtle and realistic and not at all as hokey as it might appear. I find the effect adds more to music than movies, but that is just my opinion.

[Tall Dog]

Originally Posted by Beta Man

I can't even imagine their functionality... i'm guessing it'll be taking away from the fronts you have, so unless you're adding more speakers at or above the current quality of Fronts you have....... I'd say 'don't do it'

I have a Yamaha RX-V3800 receiver. The manual says that for a movie with a 5.1 track, the "presence" speakers will give a fuller sound, but for a 7.1 track, the receiver will shut off the "presence" speakers and send the sound to the rears. Seeing how most movies are 5.1, I thought it might be worth a try. This "Home Theatre" stuff is confusing.

[JamesN]

Originally Posted by Tall Dog

I have a Yamaha RX-V3800 receiver. The manual says that for a movie with a 5.1 track, the "presence" speakers will give a fuller sound, but for a 7.1 track, the receiver will shut off the "presence" speakers and send the sound to the rears. Seeing how most movies are 5.1, I thought it might be worth a try. This "Home Theatre" stuff is confusing.

Correct. In all but Yamaha's flagship receiver, the presence and rear surrounds share the same amplification channels and are therefore mutually exclusive (they can't both play simultaneously). So for sound sources <= 5.1, the presence speakers are enabled, and for sources >= 6.1 the rear surrounds are enabled (but not both).

In addition to ambiance, the front presence speakers also provide what Yamaha calls "dialog lift". This mixes some of the center channel information with the presence speakers to create the sonic illusion that a movie's dialog is originating from a source higher than the actual location of the center channel. This is useful mostly for front projection systems with very large screens and a center channel located below the screen.

[Tall Dog]

Originally Posted by JamesN

Correct. In all but Yamaha's flagship receiver, the presence and rear surrounds share the same amplification channels and are therefore mutually exclusive (they can't both play simultaneously). So for sound sources <= 5.1, the presence speakers are enabled, and for sources >= 6.1 the rear surrounds are enabled (but not both).

In addition to ambiance, the front presence speakers also provide what Yamaha calls "dialog lift". This mixes some of the center channel information with the presence speakers to create the sonic illusion that a movie's dialog is originating from a source higher than the actual location of the center channel. This is useful mostly for front projection systems with very large screens and a center channel located below the screen.

JamesN, do you know if the front left and right speakers and the left and right presence speakers need to be the same size/output. I ask because I have a couple extra surround speakers that I was thinking of using for the presence speakers, but they are smaller than the fronts.

Thanks

[bassbone57]

Originally Posted by Tall Dog

JamesN, do you know if the front left and right speakers and the left and right presence speakers need to be the same size/output. I ask because I have a couple extra surround speakers that I was thinking of using for the presence speakers, but they are smaller than the fronts.

Thanks

They don't need to be very big at all. Smaller actually helps you place them better. Something like with a 4 1/2" woofer and maybe a tweeter would be more than enough, so your old surrounds are probably perfect (provided they aren't a dipole). You want to mount them above (near the ceiling) and slightly outside of the front left and right.

-K

[red_5ive]

Originally Posted by JamesN

The effect is very subtle and realistic and not at all as hokey as it might appear. I find the effect adds more to music than movies, but that is just my opinion.

I agree, I've been using Yammy receivers for years, and even with 2 prior flagship models that I own I've always felt that the DSP is useless for films because it tends to drown out the core 5.1 audio (RX-Z11 excepted) . I do, however, use it for classical music when I'm not sitting in front of my speakers - it's great for background/ambient sound.

[red_5ive]

Originally Posted by Tall Dog

I have a Yamaha RX-V3800 receiver. The manual says that for a movie with a 5.1 track, the "presence" speakers will give a fuller sound, but for a 7.1 track, the receiver will shut off the "presence" speakers and send the sound to the rears. Seeing how most movies are 5.1, I thought it might be worth a try. This "Home Theatre" stuff is confusing.

IMO it'd be better used in the 7.1 config vs. presence speaker config. You still have the benefit of using the DSPs in the 7.1 config which IMO sounds better than the presence config. I still don't use the DSP for movies much, but unless you have an RX-Z11 I think the presence speakers do more harm than good for movies.

[JamesN]

Just to clarify: for the full-blown configuration you need 9 speakers (not counting the sub). In addition to front L/R, center, and side surrounds, you need a pair of rear surrounds and a pair of front presence speakers. (The flagship Yamahas call for an extra pair of rear surrounds!)

As previously stated, the front presence and rear surrounds share the same amp channels and can't play simultaneously. The receiver automatically selects which pair to use based on the source material: 5.1 = presence, 6.1 or 7.1 = rear surrounds.

For other sources, such as stereo, which pair is enabled depends on the particular sound field selected and whether you elect to assign precedence to the rears or the presence (user configurable).

I know it all sounds very complicated. Grab your favorite beverage and spend an evening reading the user's manual. It can explain it much better than I can, but if you do have any other questions I'd be happy to take a shot.

James

[Tall Dog]

Originally Posted by JamesN

Just to clarify: for the full-blown configuration you need 9 speakers (not counting the sub). In addition to front L/R, center, and side surrounds, you need a pair of rear surrounds and a pair of front presence speakers. (The flagship Yamahas call for an extra pair of rear surrounds!)

As previously stated, the front presence and rear surrounds share the same amp channels and can't play simultaneously. The receiver automatically selects which pair to use based on the source material: 5.1 = presence, 6.1 or 7.1 = rear surrounds.

For other sources, such as stereo, which pair is enabled depends on the particular sound field selected and whether you elect to assign precedence to the rears or the presence (user configurable).

I know it all sounds very complicated. Grab your favorite beverage and spend an evening reading the user's manual. It can explain it much better than I can, but if you do have any other questions I'd be happy to take a shot.

James

Thanks James and everyone, I think I'm going to give it a try. I'll post a review when I get it set up.

[Grubert]

I have been using Presence speakers for two years now. I like the results so much, I am pretty much locked in with Yamaha receivers.

In my opinion, they are great help if you have a projector, because then you use the Dialogue Lift feature and divert some of the signal from the center speaker to the presence speakers, and the end result is as if the dialogues came out from behind the screen (like in a real movie theater).

[Alaskankaijudude]

Originally Posted by JamesN

Just to clarify: for the full-blown configuration you need 9 speakers (not counting the sub). In addition to front L/R, center, and side surrounds, you need a pair of rear surrounds and a pair of front presence speakers. (The flagship Yamahas call for an extra pair of rear surrounds!)

As previously stated, the front presence and rear surrounds share the same amp channels and can't play simultaneously. The receiver automatically selects which pair to use based on the source material: 5.1 = presence, 6.1 or 7.1 = rear surrounds.

For other sources, such as stereo, which pair is enabled depends on the particular sound field selected and whether you elect to assign precedence to the rears or the presence (user configurable).

I know it all sounds very complicated. Grab your favorite beverage and spend an evening reading the user's manual. It can explain it much better than I can, but if you do have any other questions I'd be happy to take a shot.

James

I plan on upgrading to the RX-V863 soon. I currently have a Yamaha receiver that has "Speakers A" and "Speakers B" My 5.1 setup is set to Speakers A and I have two large fronts for listening to just stereo (Usually cable and CDs are played through these) that are set to Speakers B. Will I be able to use this same setup on the new receiver. I dont want front presence speakers just the same two I have now to listen to direct stereo through. I'm sure there must be a way since it's a pretty simple configuration but any info is appreciated.

[JamesN]

Originally Posted by Alaskankaijudude

I plan on upgrading to the RX-V863 soon. I currently have a Yamaha receiver that has "Speakers A" and "Speakers B" My 5.1 setup is set to Speakers A and I have two large fronts for listening to just stereo (Usually cable and CDs are played through these) that are set to Speakers B. Will I be able to use this same setup on the new receiver. I dont want front presence speakers just the same two I have now to listen to direct stereo through. I'm sure there must be a way since it's a pretty simple configuration but any info is appreciated.

According to the specs, the 863 offers A, B, and A+B speaker selection, so it seems you should be able to have the same configuration you have now.

[olds403]

I have a yamaha 2095 receiver and have the presence speakers hooked up. I love it, and when I upgrade the receiver I will go with another yamaha that has the presence speaker outputs. It really does make the surround much more realistic.

[nycmat]

i have the rxv2700. ive been wondering about this. i have it currently connected to the bose accoustmass 16 series. im wondering if i can add more speakers to this set up.

[Big Daddy]

Hey guys,

If you do a little search before posting, you will find the answers to most of your questions.

https://forum.blu-ray.com/speakers/4...explained.html

[nycmat]

any reccomedations for small speakers to add to this set up?