Ask questions to Audio insider Sir Terrence

[iceman]

This thread is dedicated to asking questions of industry insider "Sir Terrence" (Audio insider) who has graciously taken the time to participate here. Sir Terrence and all our insiders do this out of their free time and to try to keep us informed to their best abilities, and therefore are to be treated with respect and courtesy.

Before asking a question, please skim at least the last weeks worth of posts in order to make sure that the question hasn't already been asked or answered. Using the search function is also always a good idea. Please conduct your inquiries in a professional manner and avoid asking "chicken little" questions or asking when unannounced titles will come out.

Sir Terrence - Sound/Audio - Track posts

[malwa]

Hello welcome to our board.

I have recently got the pioneer blu-ray plus the onkyo 805 receiver and have been in heaven with the lossless audio options on blu-ray.

my question is this, do you have any insight on dts-ma tracks and how they seem to blow away any true-hd and pcm tracks. The one I have really enjoyed was the Live Free or Die hard mix blew me away.

Was it just a better original mix at the studio or did it take advantage of the the dts-ma codec.

Also I can't wait for the avpr disc comes out. The movie was okay but the sound really blew me away!

[richard lichtenfelt]

Sir Terrence thanks for your time here.

Which line of speakers would you recommend the most out of Axiom, Paradigm, Definitive Technology, and Orbs? Looking to purchase entry level or just above.
If you don't mind list them in order of preference.

[Sir Terrence]

Originally Posted by richard lichtenfelt

Sir Terrence thanks for your time here.

Which line of speakers would you recommend the most out of Axiom, Paradigm, Definitive Technology, and Orbs? Looking to purchase entry level or just above.
If you don't mind list them in order of preference.

Years ago THX did a listening test using M&K speakers that had either a controlled dispersion pattern, or a wide dispersion pattern(like most audiophile speakers). This test outlined image clarity, dialog clarity, and panning clarity test for each kind of speaker. To make the test fair, one design used a woofer/tweeter-midrange/woofer setup that had a controlled directivity, and the other speaker was the same woofer, but placed under the same tweeter-midrange as the other. In other words, it did not have the extra woofer over the tweeter/mid. In every test, the controlled speaker faired better than the wide dispersion speaker.

Movie theater speakers untilize a controlled dispersion pattern designed to avoid the floor and ceiling, but provide a wide horizontal converage pattern. The theaters are usually treated to deal with early reflections that kill clarity and precise imaging. That is what I would be aiming for. In saying that, I would eleminate any bipolar speakers, or speakers that use reflections as a major part of their performance within a room. The more a speaker interacts with the room, the more clarity and imaging issues you will have. Bipolar speaker will make everything sound big and oversized, even if it is the intent of the mixer to create a small, tight environment.

Axiom and Paradigm have a known reputation for producing speakers that are good with music and movies, and represent a good value/performance ratio. I would go for them before any bipolar speaker, or highly reflective speaker. As a music lover, I would not choose any speaker that could not do both well, and almost every Paradigm speaker I have ever heard over the years could do both very well.

My best advice is to go out and listen to as many of Paradigm and Axiom speakers as you can. I would also listen to any floor standing def tech tower speakers from the Mythos line as well since they are not a bipolar speaker.

Listen, audition and decide. My order would be a tie between Paradigm and Axiom as both of these have benefited from the research of Dr Floyd Toole. Then the Mythos line of floor standing towers next.

Hope that helps, and happy searching.

[Woody]

Originally Posted by Sir Terrence

Years ago THX did a listening test using M&K speakers that had either a controlled dispersion pattern, or a wide dispersion pattern(like most audiophile speakers). This test outlined image clarity, dialog clarity, and panning clarity test for each kind of speaker. To make the test fair, one design used a woofer/tweeter-midrange/woofer setup that had a controlled directivity, and the other speaker was the same woofer, but placed under the same tweeter-midrange as the other. In other words, it did not have the extra woofer over the tweeter/mid. In every test, the controlled speaker faired better than the wide dispersion speaker.

Movie theater speakers untilize a controlled dispersion pattern designed to avoid the floor and ceiling, but provide a wide horizontal converage pattern. The theaters are usually treated to deal with early reflections that kill clarity and precise imaging. That is what I would be aiming for. In saying that, I would eleminate any bipolar speakers, or speakers that use reflections as a major part of their performance within a room. The more a speaker interacts with the room, the more clarity and imaging issues you will have. Bipolar speaker will make everything sound big and oversized, even if it is the intent of the mixer to create a small, tight environment.

Axiom and Paradigm have a known reputation for producing speakers that are good with music and movies, and represent a good value/performance ratio. I would go for them before any bipolar speaker, or highly reflective speaker. As a music lover, I would not choose any speaker that could not do both well, and almost every Paradigm speaker I have ever heard over the years could do both very well.

My best advice is to go out and listen to as many of Paradigm and Axiom speakers as you can. I would also listen to any floor standing def tech tower speakers from the Mythos line as well since they are not a bipolar speaker.

Listen, audition and decide. My order would be a tie between Paradigm and Axiom as both of these have benefited from the research of Dr Floyd Toole. Then the Mythos line of floor standing towers next.

Hope that helps, and happy searching.

Wow, what an excellent post.

I would have also gone Para first Axiom second out of those choices.

Music is much harder to make sound "good" than movies.

If it does music well (imaging, soundstage, bass response, dynamic range) 99% of the time it will do movies well.

[turboLAZER]

hi terrence,

in your personal opinion, if you were forced to chose between Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio to be used as the only codec to be used on future BD releases(hypothetical) which would you pick? and why?

[Neo65]

Originally Posted by Sir Terrence

Axiom and Paradigm have a known reputation for producing speakers that are good with music and movies, and represent a good value/performance ratio. I would go for them before any bipolar speaker, or highly reflective speaker. As a music lover, I would not choose any speaker that could not do both well, and almost every Paradigm speaker I have ever heard over the years could do both very well.

My best advice is to go out and listen to as many of Paradigm and Axiom speakers as you can. I would also listen to any floor standing def tech tower speakers from the Mythos line as well since they are not a bipolar speaker.

Listen, audition and decide. My order would be a tie between Paradigm and Axiom as both of these have benefited from the research of Dr Floyd Toole. Then the Mythos line of floor standing towers next.

Hope that helps, and happy searching.

Sir Terrence,

I'm glad you speak well of the paradigms. Back when I was a starving grad student with a bad habit of wasting hard earned T.A. money, I was big on CDs and LDs. I spent what was then a god awful amount of money on a pair of Paradigm monitor 7 series speakers. Years layer, gainfully employed I bought two more pairs of identical speaker and setup a 5 speaker config because I was hooked on dolby pro logic and wanted identical sound from all sources. Used to rotate the center channel with the spare every 3 months. Stopped that years ago.

My questions :

(1) Are the Paradigm monitor 7 speakers considered wide dispersion or controlled dispersion speakers?

(2) I am considering new speakers to upgrade to, what would be comparable to these and still be priced reasonably. (At various price levels)

(3) I am also trying to clean up a main floor 2nd HT in a 20'x20' room used as an occasional game room and sometime theatre. Current 5.1 speakers are entry level Jamo, but I'm considering in wall (behind drywall) hidden speakers. Is this a bad idea or is this worth considering? Note this room has hardwood floor and is open to the rest of the house, meaning the acoustic properties are not that great, are there any in wall speakers that will sound reasonable or is that just not possible?

[Sir Terrence]

Originally Posted by Neo65

Sir Terrence,

I'm glad you speak well of the paradigms. Back when I was a starving grad student with a bad habit of wasting hard earned T.A. money, I was big on CDs and LDs. I spent what was then a god awful amount of money on a pair of Paradigm monitor 7 series speakers. Years layer, gainfully employed I bought two more pairs of identical speaker and setup a 5 speaker config because I was hooked on dolby pro logic and wanted identical sound from all sources. Used to rotate the center channel with the spare every 3 months. Stopped that years ago.

My questions :

(1) Are the Paradigm monitor 7 speakers considered wide dispersion or controlled dispersion speakers?

I believe the Monitor 7's have a waveguide surrounding the tweeter. That would make it a controlled dispersion speaker.

(2) I am considering new speakers to upgrade to, what would be comparable to these and still be priced reasonably. (At various price levels)

I would look into the Klipsch Reference Line. Excellent speakers, and a far cry from the tinny blatty sound of horns of old.

M&K speakers sound excellent for both music and movies. You will found this brand in quite a few post production facilities all over Hollywood, and at Lucasfilm as well.

At the upper end, I love Thiel new CS-3.7 and his entire line of speakers.

The bargain versus perfomance champ is easily Vandersteen line of speakers. They have two feature that are a must for me, and what is found on my own personal reference speakers. They are phase and frequency correct. IMO that is a pretty important thing for speakers.

(3) I am also trying to clean up a main floor 2nd HT in a 20'x20' room used as an occasional game room and sometime theatre. Current 5.1 speakers are entry level Jamo, but I'm considering in wall (behind drywall) hidden speakers. Is this a bad idea or is this worth considering? Note this room has hardwood floor and is open to the rest of the house, meaning the acoustic properties are not that great, are there any in wall speakers that will sound reasonable or is that just not possible?

I have never been a lover of in wall speakers until I came across the Niles stagefront series. The subwoofer in that series will churn you guts to liquid.

If properly done, in wall speakers can sound good, and the fact they are in walls does not hurt asthetics. The hardwood floors are going to be a problem for any speaker installed in that room, but if that is not your critical listening space, it probably doesn't matter much.

[Sir Terrence]

Originally Posted by malwa

Hello welcome to our board.

I have recently got the pioneer blu-ray plus the onkyo 805 receiver and have been in heaven with the lossless audio options on blu-ray.

my question is this, do you have any insight on dts-ma tracks and how they seem to blow away any true-hd and pcm tracks. The one I have really enjoyed was the Live Free or Die hard mix blew me away.

Was it just a better original mix at the studio or did it take advantage of the the dts-ma codec.

Also I can't wait for the avpr disc comes out. The movie was okay but the sound really blew me away!

Thanks for the welcome malwa. Everything that makes up a good mix starts at the mixing level in the studio. Choosing the right codec only ensures that a good mix remains that way from the studio to your receiver or pre-pro with very little loss in between. Though I have yet to see Live Free or Die hard on my system(I have it, but I am too busy reviewing for Bluray.com to watch it), I know that a audio codec cannot make a garbage mix sound like heavenly angels singing. Codecs are carriers only. Their job is to faithfully and efficiently transport the mix through a pipeline to the receiver. So Dts MA does not make a mix sound good, the mix has to be good in the first place.

I hope this answers your question.

[a859057]

I am planning to upgrade my receiver as soon as I get my tax return. My current receiver is a Denon AVR 4802. It has been a great sounding receiver, but lacks the HDMI switching, HD codecs, and some other features that would be nice to have.I have been kicking around a couple of ideas. The first is to purchase the Yamaha RX-V3800. My other thought is to buy an Integra DTC-9.8 pre/pro, which costs about the same as the Yammy, and use my Denon 4802 as the amp. Any advice on which would be the best way to go? Or is there something else near this price range that I have missed? I would even be willing to go to a slightly higher price range for a corresponding increase in quality.

Thank you for your assistance. By the way, me speakers are M & K s150 series, 7.2.

[a859057]

Sir T:

I posted this question earlier in the thread, but I think it got lost in the mix. Just wondering if you might be able to help me:

Originally Posted by a859057

I am planning to upgrade my receiver as soon as I get my tax return. My current receiver is a Denon AVR 4802. It has been a great sounding receiver, but lacks the HDMI switching, HD codecs, and some other features that would be nice to have.I have been kicking around a couple of ideas. The first is to purchase the Yamaha RX-V3800. My other thought is to buy an Integra DTC-9.8 pre/pro, which costs about the same as the Yammy, and use my Denon 4802 as the amp. Any advice on which would be the best way to go? Or is there something else near this price range that I have missed? I would even be willing to go to a slightly higher price range for a corresponding increase in quality.

Thank you for your assistance. By the way, me speakers are M & K s150 series, 7.2.

[Sir Terrence]

Originally Posted by a859057

Sir T:

I posted this question earlier in the thread, but I think it got lost in the mix. Just wondering if you might be able to help me:

Please forgive me for my missing this.

My comment is this. Never buy a pre-pro and use a receiver for amplication. You can use a receiver as a pre-pro, and use external amps, but the reverse will likely work against you in terms of quality and performance.

Usually the 5 or 7 amps in a receiver share a same power supply. The more signal that is sent to all channels at once(and that does occur in hometheater quite frequently) the power levels go down. So you get the power rating with two channels, that goes down considerably when 5 or 7 channels become active. Another thing to consider is the quality of the receivers amps versus a standalone amp with no processing done at all. The more you stuff you have in a box, the more compromises have to be made. My experience has been that standalone amps have always sounded better than reciever based amps.

I would get me a new HDMI receiver and call it a day. I would try and sell my old receiver on ebay, or confine it to a lesser system in my house. If I wanted some additional quality down the road, then I would add external amps(some great deals on ebay) connected to my receiver until I got enough of them to do a 5.1 or 7.1 system, then upgrade to a pre-pro down the road. That is the smartest most economical way to an upgrade. It is alot harder to increase the performance and sound quality of your system when you are trying to reach back to go forward.

[X400]

hmm i hope this is an OK question to ask or the right place for it anyhow...

any idea when dts will come out with software to decode dts-hdma?

and if its been answered before, sorry.

[Sir Terrence]

Originally Posted by X400

hmm i hope this is an OK question to ask or the right place for it anyhow...

any idea when dts will come out with software to decode dts-hdma?

and if its been answered before, sorry.

I believe the software is already here. Its in receivers and some players I believe.

[rrios28]

Sir T, I need your help hooking these two units, I have lost my mind and have solution. plz help me. Thx

[Ferris]

SirTerrence, LOVE the avatar! Were you in the Cavaliers? If so, when?

[Sir Terrence]

Originally Posted by FriedEggs

SirTerrence, LOVE the avatar! Were you in the Cavaliers? If so, when?

Hey thanks, another drum corps fan

I marched in the Cavaliers colorguard from 1979 to 1987

[Robert Siegel]

Sir T, please let me give you this scenario:

Warner has just released the blu-ray of Twister. On it is a Dolby True track running at between 1.7 and 2.9 mbps. Universal owns this movie overseas and is releasing their blu-ray with DTS MA sound, which many times has a bit rate over 4 mbps. Would the addition of 2-3 mbps and using DTS MA rather than Dolby True make any difference?

[savage1984]

Originally Posted by mntwister

Sir T, please let me give you this scenario:

Warner has just released the blu-ray of Twister. On it is a Dolby True track running at between 1.7 and 2.9 mbps. Universal owns this movie overseas and is releasing their blu-ray with DTS MA sound, which many times has a bit rate over 4 mbps. Would the addition of 2-3 mbps and using DTS MA rather than Dolby True make any difference?

I am interested in knowing the answer to this as well....

[Penton-Man]

Originally Posted by Sir Terrence

Hey thanks, another drum corps fan

I marched in the Cavaliers colorguard from 1979 to 1987

I played soccer for the Cavaliers in Charlottesville (back in the day) does that count for anything ?