Listening modes

over50
over50 Posts: 201
edited June 2010 in Electronics
When i first bought my AVR the hardest thing for me was setting the listening modes. For movies i use Dolby Digital EX. The hardest is setting the listening modes for TV. I have been using All Channel Stereo. Does anyone have a better choice for listening to TV shows.Thanks
Marantz SR 7007
polkaudio RTi10
polkaudio CSi A6
polkaudio RTiA3
B&K ST.3140 Power Amplifier
HSU Research VTF2 MK3
Vizio P65-C1
Panasonic 605 blu ray
Onkyo DS-A4 i-pod Dock
Universal Remote
BDI Icon 9429 TV Stand
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  • bopicasso
    bopicasso Posts: 878
    edited June 2010
    Most prime time tv shows are in dolby digital. Stereo mode is not surround sound. I would use dolby for tv also.
    Living Room setup: Pioneer Elite VSX-21TXH, Krell KAV 300i, PS Audio DL III DAC, Tyler Acoustics Taylo 7u, Dynaudio Audience 120C+, SVS 25/31PCI, B-P-T Clean Power Center, Ps3, Panny 50" S1 Plasma, Tekline speaker cables, Audio Art interconnects, and Pangea power cables.
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  • dfledezma
    dfledezma Posts: 148
    edited June 2010
    For DVD´s and blurays, normally I let the AVR to detect the format, i.e. auto. For TV I normally use DTS neo6 or dolby PLIIx to simulate 5.1 or 7.1 from stereo source. Some HD channels have Dolby digital,but the AVR detects the format.

    Sometimes I use all channel stereo specially when I have guests and want a high output.
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  • acmf74
    acmf74 Posts: 937
    edited June 2010
    Kinda hijacking...but the DTS vs Dolby great debate.

    When listening to a movie in DTS and Dolby, the DTS version sounds alot louder and more dynamic. Am I crazy or is DTS more versatile?
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  • dfledezma
    dfledezma Posts: 148
    edited June 2010
    acmf74 wrote: »
    Kinda hijacking...but the DTS vs Dolby great debate.

    When listening to a movie in DTS and Dolby, the DTS version sounds alot louder and more dynamic. Am I crazy or is DTS more versatile?

    i agree. I´m not really sure why, but I prefer DTS
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  • bopicasso
    bopicasso Posts: 878
    edited June 2010
    I prefer DTS for movies also
    Living Room setup: Pioneer Elite VSX-21TXH, Krell KAV 300i, PS Audio DL III DAC, Tyler Acoustics Taylo 7u, Dynaudio Audience 120C+, SVS 25/31PCI, B-P-T Clean Power Center, Ps3, Panny 50" S1 Plasma, Tekline speaker cables, Audio Art interconnects, and Pangea power cables.
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  • Erik Tracy
    Erik Tracy Posts: 4,673
    edited June 2010
    For network shows - it really depends on the show and the mix being offered.

    News in 'surround sound' is typically hard for me to listen to so I prefer all channels on (my AVR calls this 7-channel 'stereo').

    Other shows sound ok in 5.1.

    Sitcoms are better in 7-channel stereo - I don't need to hear the canned guffaw coming from the left surround.

    For movies, I typically pick the lossless audio format on the disc (TrueHD or DTS MA HD) and let my Oppo decode to PCM.

    For multichannel music (SACDs) I listen to the native mix and don't muck with ambient effects.

    Sometimes though for music videos on Blu-ray or DVD, I'll play with the settings.

    CDs and Phono are thru my integrated as 'old school' 2-channel analog only - and don't go thru my AVR.

    H9: If you don't trust what you are hearing, then maybe you need to be less invested in a hobby which all the pleasure comes from listening to music.
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  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 27,207
    edited June 2010
    dfledezma wrote: »
    For DVD´s and blurays, normally I let the AVR to detect the format, i.e. auto. For TV I normally use DTS neo6 or dolby PLIIx to simulate 5.1 or 7.1 from stereo source. Some HD channels have Dolby digital,but the AVR detects the format.

    Sometimes I use all channel stereo specially when I have guests and want a high output.

    +1 for the above and I'll go one step further for over the air TV the AVR will detect in auto mode but for my Dish box I'll go DTS neo6 cinema for standard shows or PLIIx cinema which ever sounds better for that show. For any music from my Dish box I'll switch to either DTS neo6 music or PLIIx music also which ever sounds better. There is always one that will sound better for the program i am watching at the time for the most part it's DTS neo6 cimema.
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  • pitdogg2
    pitdogg2 Posts: 27,207
    edited June 2010
    acmf74 wrote: »
    Kinda hijacking...but the DTS vs Dolby great debate.

    When listening to a movie in DTS and Dolby, the DTS version sounds alot louder and more dynamic. Am I crazy or is DTS more versatile?


    that was more true 10 or 12 yrs ago when all DTS DVD's had two disc's for the movie(remember that) but now that they have compressed DTS more than in the past it now depends more on the way the final soundtrack is compressed weather or not any other special features and the like are included in the DVD mix.
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  • kuntasensei
    kuntasensei Posts: 3,263
    edited June 2010
    I'm running 9.1, so I pretty much leave my AVR on DPL-IIz Height for everything except music. And though I know purists will shudder, I do my 2-channel listening with DPL-IIx Music with DSX so it plays back in 9.1. Hey... it sounds good to me, and that's what matters!
    Equipment list:
    Onkyo TX-NR3010 9.2 AVR
    Emotiva XPA-3 amp
    Polk RTi70 mains, CSi40 center, RTi38 surrounds, RTi28 rears and heights
    SVS 20-39CS+ subwoofer powered by Crown XLS1500
    Oppo BDP-93 Blu-ray player
    DarbeeVision DVP5000 video processor
    Epson 8500UB 1080p projector
    Elite Screens Sable 120" CineWhite screen
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  • xandra
    xandra Posts: 291
    edited June 2010
    I'm with Kuntas approach: choose whatever sounds best to you - especially with regard to 2 channel TV (just cant see any reason to be purist about TV broadcasts, and I really enjoy sound coming from behind (much like car audio).
    But I think different receivers scream for different output: My Onks modes are quite wonderful for 2 channel TV: I've opted for everything from DPL II or Neo 6 Music to All Channel Stereo, for some reason my Denons modes sound kinda cheesy (and are a pain to access anyway) so I often leave 2 channel as is. YMMV
    LR Setup:
    Polk RTi10's, RTi6's, CSiA6 (5 ch setup)
    Onkyo 705 & Denon 3808ci Receiver, Onk 875
    Parasound 2250 Amp
    Sony 26" KDL series Bravia LCD
    Panny DMR-EH75 Recorder
    Panny DVD-F87 (5 disk DVD player)
    NAD T585 (DVD/SACD)
    Yamaha DVD-C961 (5 disk SACD/DVD)
    SciAnt Explorer 8500HD Cable Box
    Orig & 5Gen iPods, , Wii
    Plans/Fantasies:
    • 400 disk player that handles ALL formats, sounds as good as NAD with Panasonic interface & compatability.
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