PS3 Gets DTS-HD Master Audio

2

Comments

  • polkseller
    polkseller Posts: 184
    edited April 2008
    I'm currently updating mine to ver 2,30...

    The TruHD track Bitstream to PCM conversion sound bad to me, I prefer the standalone Blu-ray player. ON every Disc I've tried, the sound is not neutral and high frequency are annoying.

    For example this morning I was listening to Dave Matthews and the only way I can get a linear quality sound is with Dolby Digital in bitstream, Everything in PCM just sounded too excessive in every mid/high frequency. No way I can relax with this kind of distorted sound.

    Bitstreaming of DD is way better, there's some kind of warmth in the sound and timing is perfect. Not the case with the Bit-PCM conversion on TruHD tracks..

    PS3 could be the most compatible device out there, but I bet many of its feature are software related and I can garantee that it reduce the sound dynamic and quality on newer sound format.

    Picture output is amazing for sure.
  • landry_p2000
    landry_p2000 Posts: 1,313
    edited April 2008
    Lorthos wrote: »
    No you don't have to log into the store, on mine it ususally tells me theres an update. If it isn't on yours just go to the update menu and manually check for updates.....


    Thanks, I will check it out this evening.
    Main Set-up: 55" 120 hz Samsung LN55B650, Onkyo TX-SR806, Emotiva XPA-5, Emotiva XPA-2, PS3 Slim, Sony BDP-S560, Apple TV (160g), Panamax M5300-PM, Polk Audio CSi5, RTi10's, FXi3's, RTi4's, and SVS PB12 Plus

    Bedroom: Panasonic 50" S2 Plasma and Panasonic BD65 blu-ray player, Onkyo TX-SR707, Emotiva XPA-3, Emotiva UPA-2, KEF IQ7's, IQc, IQ8Ds, and SVS PB10-ISD
  • cheddar
    cheddar Posts: 2,390
    edited April 2008
    polkseller wrote: »
    I'm currently updating mine to ver 2,30...

    The TruHD track Bitstream to PCM conversion sound bad to me, I prefer the standalone Blu-ray player. ON every Disc I've tried, the sound is not neutral and high frequency are annoying.

    For example this morning I was listening to Dave Matthews and the only way I can get a linear quality sound is with Dolby Digital in bitstream, Everything in PCM just sounded too excessive in every mid/high frequency. No way I can relax with this kind of distorted sound.

    Bitstreaming of DD is way better, there's some kind of warmth in the sound and timing is perfect. Not the case with the Bit-PCM conversion on TruHD tracks..

    PS3 could be the most compatible device out there, but I bet many of its feature are software related and I can garantee that it reduce the sound dynamic and quality on newer sound format.

    Picture output is amazing for sure.

    You've said all this before. But it doesn't change the fact that you have your receiver/pre misconfigured for PCM LFE. Again, I'll refer you to this post earlier in the thread:

    http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showpost.php?p=839500&postcount=15

    And again, you have to boost the PCM LFE by 10 db. If you don't, and just turn up the general volume to where you can hear the bass, then you will be boosting your mids and highs way too much and you will think there is something wrong with them. If you redirect bass from non-LFE speakers to your sub, then boosting just the subwoofer will result in this redirected bass being too hot and your bass being too boomy. The best way to compensate for this is to have a specific PCM LFE setting on your receiver/pre that you can change to boost it 10 db. The next best way would be to boost the sub 10 db, but make sure that all speakers are set to large so that no redirected bass reaches the sub. This will ensure that your receiver/pre will have the same calibrated levels whether you bitstream or feed it PCM. This has nothing to do with reducing "the sound dynamic and quality" of tracks in the ps3 and everything to do with some receiver/pre's not adding the appropriate 10 db boost to PCM LFE tracks.
  • shawn474
    shawn474 Posts: 3,052
    edited April 2008
    Does this update apply to the 40 gig PS3 as well? I recall reading somewhere that the 40 gig would not support the DTS HD Master Audio.

    Shawn
    Shawn
    AVR: Marantz SR-5011
    Center Channel: Polk LsiM706c
    Front: Polk LsiM703
    Rear: LSI fx
    Subwoofer: SVS 20-39pci
    Television: Samsung UN58NU7100FXZA
    DVD Player: Sony PS4
  • cheddar
    cheddar Posts: 2,390
    edited April 2008
    According to the update page, there is no exception listed for the 40GB so it seems like this feature is available on all ps3s.

    http://www.us.playstation.com/PS3/About/SystemUpdate

    After the update, put in a DTS-HD master audio blu-ray, make sure the track is selected, use the 'select' button to bring up the pop-up stats during the movie, and you should see the audio track listed as DTS-HD MA with a variable bitrate. My ps3 used to list the DTS-HD MA track as DTS with a fixed 1.5mbps when it was only able to play the DTS 'core' pre-update.
  • polkseller
    polkseller Posts: 184
    edited April 2008
    cheddar, I dont use a sub right now, so I dont know why you're still explaining the same thing again and again about the LFE.

    I'm talking about highter quality sound (less compressed) beeing transcode in PCM. Sure it does not sound the same, but it should be better. At first, you may think it sound better but in reality it's more annoying and far from neutral. I tried many dvd with the pcm ON. Bitstream regular DD always sound best. Every audio upsampling is off on my PS3 and Pioneer receiver.

    Listen carefully and you'll understand what I mean. The sound is too dynamic so the PS3 get some kind of low level distortion in the sound that ruins the beauty of it.

    There's is better player for advanced audio format out there, even if the ps3 is now supposed to be the most compatible, it's not the best sounding. Still a great machine.

    Picture wise, the PS3 shine.
  • mantis
    mantis Posts: 17,422
    edited April 2008
    I just got finished upgrading my Ps3. 2.30 Installed and ready to go. I'm gonna go check out the new store layout. Damn I need a new preamp.

    Why doesn't B&K release there new one? I gotta call them.
    Dan
    My personal quest is to save to world of bad audio, one thread at a time.
  • VDubFan
    VDubFan Posts: 15
    edited April 2008
    I'm new and confused. I just installed the updates to my PS3 and then I read this thread. I have an H/K AVR146. So, I turned the db level of the sub up to 10 and turned the other speakers down. I have all my speaker set to small, but my system has way too much bass. Should I set my speakers to large? or is there somthing else I need to change. Another thing, I have my PS3 connected to my t.v. via HDMI cable and then I have an optic cable going from my t.v. to my AVR. Should I connect the optic cable directly from my
    PS3 to my AVR?
    Sony 46" Bravia XBR4
    Harmon Kardon AVR146
    Sony PS3
    RM6200 sat/sub system
    PSW250
  • cheddar
    cheddar Posts: 2,390
    edited April 2008
    polkseller wrote: »
    cheddar, I dont use a sub right now, so I dont know why you're still explaining the same thing again and again about the LFE.

    I'm talking about highter quality sound (less compressed) beeing transcode in PCM. Sure it does not sound the same, but it should be better. At first, you may think it sound better but in reality it's more annoying and far from neutral. I tried many dvd with the pcm ON. Bitstream regular DD always sound best. Every audio upsampling is off on my PS3 and Pioneer receiver.

    Listen carefully and you'll understand what I mean. The sound is too dynamic so the PS3 get some kind of low level distortion in the sound that ruins the beauty of it.

    There's is better player for advanced audio format out there, even if the ps3 is now supposed to be the most compatible, it's not the best sounding. Still a great machine.

    Picture wise, the PS3 shine.

    Actually, you sound a bit confused with your various posts since you actually mentioned a subwoofer in one:

    http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showpost.php?p=840320&postcount=15

    And since you send your speakers your sub input:
    polkseller wrote: »
    speaker is set to large + sub

    You've basically validated everything I've said, since it is the LFE sub information that needs to be boosted 10 db while keeping all redirected bass without the boost.

    I don't need to listen carefully as I've already been down the path you're describing. When I switched from bitstreaming vanilla DD and DTS to sending LPCM over HDMI, I noticed the exact symptoms you describe. However, I correctly identified the problem as reduced subwoofer output, not decreased dynamics as you describe. By adjusting my pre so that it provides a 10 db boost on only the PCM LFE signal, I now have lossless tracks that exceed the dynamics of any DD or DTS track that is bitstreamed. Compare bitstreamed vanilla DD and DTS tracks to the lossless options via PCM and if vanilla sounds better, then the only possible reason is that you still have not configured your PCM LFE output properly in your receiver/pre.

    On the same blu-ray, TrueHD and other lossless tracks via PCM should smoke a bitstreamed vanilla DD option in dynamics. There simply is no compression when you move to the PCM lossless options if you've configured your receiver/pre properly.

    Please learn to configure your receiver/pre before you do your listening tests. Otherwise, you're just spreading misinformation and confusing people. It's technical, but all explained here in the link below. Make sure you understand what it's referencing before moving on:

    http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=748147
  • cheddar
    cheddar Posts: 2,390
    edited April 2008
    VDubFan wrote: »
    I'm new and confused. I just installed the updates to my PS3 and then I read this thread. I have an H/K AVR146. So, I turned the db level of the sub up to 10 and turned the other speakers down. I have all my speaker set to small, but my system has way too much bass. Should I set my speakers to large? or is there somthing else I need to change. Another thing, I have my PS3 connected to my t.v. via HDMI cable and then I have an optic cable going from my t.v. to my AVR. Should I connect the optic cable directly from my
    PS3 to my AVR?

    Yes, what's happening is that the redirected bass from your 'small' speakers is now 10 db too hot. If you set all your speakers to large, then there is no redirected bass. This can be a problem if you have really small surround speakers that can't reproduce much bass. But medium to large bookshelf speakers can usually handle most of the bass sent to them on sound tracks. The really deep stuff goes to the .1 LFE channel that's supposed to go to the subwoofer. This is the channel that is recorded 10 db lower so it doesn't overload the interconnects between the player and the receiver/pre. And therefore needs a 10 db boost at the receiver/pre to sound like the original master. It's usually done automatically. What we're talking about is the case where the receiver/pre doesn't default to boosting PCM LFE and must be configured to do so.

    Also, in order to hear the lossless tracks with the PS3, it must decode the signals internally and send the decoded PCM via HDMI to the receiver. (You have to choose this PCM audio option for HDMI in the ps3 menu.) It will not pass over optical. You won't be able to listen to the lossless tracks. So unless you can use HDMI with your receiver, then you'll have to set everything back to bitstreaming DD or DTS over optical.
  • Erik Tracy
    Erik Tracy Posts: 4,673
    edited April 2008
    cheddar wrote: »
    Yes, what's happening is that the redirected bass from your 'small' speakers is now 10 db too hot. If you set all your speakers to large, then there is no redirected bass. This can be a problem if you have really small surround speakers that can't reproduce much bass. But medium to large bookshelf speakers can usually handle most of the bass sent to them on sound tracks. The really deep stuff goes to the .1 LFE channel that's supposed to go to the subwoofer. This is the channel that is recorded 10 db lower so it doesn't overload the interconnects between the player and the receiver/pre. And therefore needs a 10 db boost at the receiver/pre to sound like the original master. It's usually done automatically. What we're talking about is the case where the receiver/pre doesn't default to boosting PCM LFE and must be configured to do so.

    Also, in order to hear the lossless tracks with the PS3, it must decode the signals internally and send the decoded PCM via HDMI to the receiver. (You have to choose this PCM audio option for HDMI in the ps3 menu.) It will not pass over optical. You won't be able to listen to the lossless tracks. So unless you can use HDMI with your receiver, then you'll have to set everything back to bitstreaming DD or DTS over optical.

    I agree with your assessment, but where I get confused is so called 'expert' recommendations when setting up HT with subs and LFE - where the experts say to ALWAYS set your fronts to Small - regardless of speaker size (big bookshelfs or even towers).

    That part always leaves me scratching my head - and I just shampooed :D

    Erik

    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.
  • cheddar
    cheddar Posts: 2,390
    edited April 2008
    Well, ideally, there should be a setting on every receiver/pre for adjusting just the PCM LFE output. Then people could use the bass management however they wanted. But if the only workaround is to boost the main subwoofer output, then the compromise is to lose some bass managment control.

    I actually prefer even the surrounds at full (large). Since I made the switch with my LSi/FXs, bass heavy effects seem more detailed and better placed in the sound field.
  • Erik Tracy
    Erik Tracy Posts: 4,673
    edited April 2008
    When I ran the YPAO feature on my Yammy AVR, it also set all of my speakers (front and surrounds) to large and all I have are RTI4s - and it sounds just fine.

    But...I do have my sub set up the "polk way" :eek:

    Don't hate me(I think it sounds better this way and wasn't hard to set up at all .... ;)

    Erik

    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.
  • mwaarna
    mwaarna Posts: 280
    edited April 2008
    cheddar wrote: »
    According to the update page, there is no exception listed for the 40GB so it seems like this feature is available on all ps3s.

    http://www.us.playstation.com/PS3/About/SystemUpdate

    After the update, put in a DTS-HD master audio blu-ray, make sure the track is selected, use the 'select' button to bring up the pop-up stats during the movie, and you should see the audio track listed as DTS-HD MA with a variable bitrate. My ps3 used to list the DTS-HD MA track as DTS with a fixed 1.5mbps when it was only able to play the DTS 'core' pre-update.

    What rate should it show after the update.

    I also have a 40gb ps3 and what movie's are you guys testing with?

    Where is the selection to select Master Audio?
    Click here To see My system
    Polk LSI15,LSiC, LsiFX, SVS PB-12 Plus/2, Blue Jean Cables,Onkyo Pro PR-SC885P, Earthquake Cin
  • cheddar
    cheddar Posts: 2,390
    edited April 2008
    mwaarna wrote: »
    What rate should it show after the update.

    I also have a 40gb ps3 and what movie's are you guys testing with?

    Where is the selection to select Master Audio?

    DTS-HD MA is variable bitrate and will in most cases exceed the 1.5 mbps of the DTS core. I'm testing it with various Fox titles as they almost universally have a Master Audio track. You can select which track you listen to in the set-up menu from the main blu-ray menu. There is also a way to do this from the 'green triangle' button pop-up menu on the ps3. You can also bring up a mini disk based pop-up menu by pressing the 'pink square' button when viewing a movie. Whichever menu you do it from, you can press 'select' to bring up a data overlay screen where you can see what audio track is playing at what bitrate.
  • polkseller
    polkseller Posts: 184
    edited April 2008
    I dont use a sub, the sub I was using in the other thread was borrowed from my job for a night only. I only want you to know that this sub was good.

    I trust my ears when it comes to sound and I had never go wrong, even before seeing the freq response graph of some nice speakers I've heard, I know they were flat and good sounding..Same thing with receivers.

    I'm an audio expert, in fact this is my job. I usually do not trust internet forum for information, I test everything myself. I've listened to many receivers in the last years (+50) and more speakers than you could imagine. I change my gear every 2 years or so.

    The compressed dynamics I was earing seems to be in part gone with the last 2,30 update, at least on the dave matthews DVD in TRUHD with PCM..It's bizarre because the update does not mention this, but I'm pretty sure they reformat their software to give better lossless audio of any kind.

    Casino Royale blu-ray sounded best when the ps3 is set to bitstream (not PCM) to send the uncompressed 5.1 PCM track on the disc. This way I get huge soundstage, big dynamics and nice bass. ( try it)

    The pioneer decoding of bitstream to pcm is better than sending it in PCM with the PS3. Doing so gives high frequency oriented, unbalanced sound with my setup.

    That makes me think PCM over HDMI is not perfected with the PS3. Anyway, you should always use bitstream over HDMI.

    Yes, I say PCM and bitstream track do not sound the same, many years in the audio industry proved me this.

    oh, and when I had the sub,I was trying different options (small+ sub, no sub, 80hz crossed or 50hz).

    I finished setting the speaker to large and sub. You dont understand why ??

    I said in my other post that the pioneer crossover is not good, so disabling it ( large setting) gave better sound so I was able to match the bass response rolloff of my speakers to the sub frequency. Using the sub 18db/octave crossover gave better results in the 50hz range.

    Anyway, you can still think that was we both experienced is only LFE related, but just shut off your subwoofer and try it. come back to me after. The subwoofer sound distract you from the dynamics of the sound.
  • rainman31
    rainman31 Posts: 76
    edited April 2008
    Will DTS-hd-ma come up on the screen of my Onkyo 805 after the update, or do I have to change some settings on the ps3?

    7.2 Set Up
    Onkyo 805
    X-Box
    3DO
    PS3
    Velodyne DPS10 sub
    Polk Audio 2- RTI 12's
    Polk Audio CSI 5
    Polk Audio 4- FXI 5's
    Pronto 7500 LCD remote
    Gefen HD video 1080p scaler
    Mitsubishi TV 73927 1080p

    Future purchase Rotel RMB 1095 200x5 THX
  • cheddar
    cheddar Posts: 2,390
    edited April 2008
    polkseller wrote: »
    I'm an audio expert, in fact this is my job. I usually do not trust internet forum for information, I test everything myself. I've listened to many receivers in the last years (+50) and more speakers than you could imagine. I change my gear every 2 years or so.

    Look I'm really trying to help you. But pulling the 'expert' card, you're only showing how even people in the industry can get their information wrong. If you actually read what I've referenced and been writing to you, you may actually improve your listening experience and learn something instead of spreading misinformation. I am open to learning something myself, if you could respond to my technical points instead of dismissing them as being from the internet and thus you have to be right because you're an expert. I'm not arguing with your ears. As my ears also told me something was very wrong with bitstream vs. PCM at first. We are only arguing as to the cause. You are pointing the finger at faulty PS3 decoding and I'm saying that it has to do with a standard industry problem with receiver/pre side PCM LFE boosting or lack thereof. And you will be affected by this whether you have a sub or not if you are feeding the sub channel to your speakers.
    Casino Royale blu-ray sounded best when the ps3 is set to bitstream (not PCM) to send the uncompressed 5.1 PCM track on the disc. This way I get huge soundstage, big dynamics and nice bass.

    Misinformation: uncompressed PCM is bitstreamed, just like TrueHD and DTS-HD MA.

    Fact: TrueHD and DTS-HD MA are compressed formats that must be decoded to PCM either at the player or receiver/pre. The uncompressed PCM you mentioned does not need to be transmitted as a non-PCM bitstream as it is already PCM that was never encoded (compressed) in the first place. It should be the best example of what great PCM over the PS3 should sound like and have nothing to do with being bitstreamed.
    The pioneer decoding of bitstream to pcm is better than sending it in PCM with the PS3. Doing so gives high frequency oriented, unbalanced sound with my setup.

    Misinformation: You're assuming that there is no need to readjust the bass in the receiver/pre to get this 'balanced, proper high frequency sound'.

    Fact: http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=748147

    Just read the article and at least respond to the points made before you just shrug everything off as being from the internet and that you know better than everyone else because of your years of experience.
    That makes me think PCM over HDMI is not perfected with the PS3. Anyway, you should always use bitstream over HDMI.

    Misinformation: You should always use bitstream over HDMI.

    Fact: You can't bitstream lossless audio with the PS3. If you have your PCM properly set-up in your receiver/pre with a 10 db boost than your lossless audio via PCM via HDMI will sound much better than the only formats that you can bitstream with the PS3 - vanilla DD and DTS.
  • cheddar
    cheddar Posts: 2,390
    edited April 2008
    rainman31 wrote: »
    Will DTS-hd-ma come up on the screen of my Onkyo 805 after the update, or do I have to change some settings on the ps3?

    You can only get it to light up if it gets a dts-hd ma bitstream from the player and handles the decoding within the onkyo. The ps3 can't pass a dts-hd ma bitstream and must internally decode it and send it out as pcm to the onkyo. It will detect it as something like multichannel etc. on your display.
  • landry_p2000
    landry_p2000 Posts: 1,313
    edited April 2008
    Quick question. Why does the dolby digital indicator go off when you select uncompressed? I need to upgrade my receiver to an hdmi compatible unit soon. Right I have it connected for sound only via optical, and the PS3 is connected to the TV through the hdmi port.
    Main Set-up: 55" 120 hz Samsung LN55B650, Onkyo TX-SR806, Emotiva XPA-5, Emotiva XPA-2, PS3 Slim, Sony BDP-S560, Apple TV (160g), Panamax M5300-PM, Polk Audio CSi5, RTi10's, FXi3's, RTi4's, and SVS PB12 Plus

    Bedroom: Panasonic 50" S2 Plasma and Panasonic BD65 blu-ray player, Onkyo TX-SR707, Emotiva XPA-3, Emotiva UPA-2, KEF IQ7's, IQc, IQ8Ds, and SVS PB10-ISD
  • Imperitor
    Imperitor Posts: 235
    edited April 2008
    Quick question. Why does the dolby digital indicator go off when you select uncompressed? I need to upgrade my receiver to an hdmi compatible unit soon. Right I have it connected for sound only via optical, and the PS3 is connected to the TV through the hdmi port.

    If you select uncompressed the DD indicator on your receiver will turn off. The receiver will receive the audio in decoded form and wouldn't know what audio format it was before being decoded. You may know this already but optical is only capable of carrying 2.0 uncompressed sound.

    This is the only down side to the PS3. It does the decoding internally so you have to send it in uncompressed form. So to enjoy the new higher quality audio formats you need a receiver with an HDMI input.
    7.1 HOME THEATER:
    Center: CSi3
    Front: RTi10
    Surround: RTi A3
    Rear Surround: RTi4
    Subwoofer: Mirage Omni S10
    TV: Sharp Aquos 42" 1080p LCD
    Receiver: Onkyo TX-SR805
    Blu-Ray Player / CD Player / DVD Player / Media Server / Game Console / Best money I've ever spent: 60GB PS3
  • Erik Tracy
    Erik Tracy Posts: 4,673
    edited April 2008
    Bottom line question here....

    Has anyone actually compared a BR disk with PCM selected as the native audio stream vs decoded TrueHD or DTS-HD MA (either at the player or bitstreamed to the AVR) to see if there is a noticable difference in audio quality?

    Dolby Digital and uncompressed PCM is *mandatory* on Blue Ray discs:
    http://www.blu-ray.com/faq/#bluray_audio_codecs

    I've yet to read any conclusive comparison that the "optional" lossless formats are appreciably *better* than the uncompressed PCM.

    Any testimonials out there?

    Erik

    oh - another tidbit from the AVS forum (sorry if this is not correct forum etiquette), but I read that most current AVRs *automatically* compensate for the -10db LFE reduction and that if you manually start boosting it then you are "over" compensating.

    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.
  • cheddar
    cheddar Posts: 2,390
    edited April 2008
    Erik Tracy wrote: »
    Bottom line question here....

    Has anyone actually compared a BR disk with PCM selected as the native audio stream vs decoded TrueHD or DTS-HD MA (either at the player or bitstreamed to the AVR) to see if there is a noticable difference in audio quality?

    Dolby Digital and uncompressed PCM is *mandatory* on Blue Ray discs:
    http://www.blu-ray.com/faq/#bluray_audio_codecs

    I've yet to read any conclusive comparison that the "optional" lossless formats are appreciably *better* than the uncompressed PCM.

    Any testimonials out there?

    Erik

    You should try it yourself. The best way to do this is with a disk that has both a compressed lossless track and uncompressed PCM track like 300 or Fifth Element. You can use the ps3 control menus to easily switch between the two tracks on the fly. And I can hear no difference between the two tracks on 300. If there's a difference, it certainly doesn't jump out at you. This makes sense, since the ps3 should uncompress the track losslessly back to its PCM counterpart. The only 'noticeable' difference should be if the original TrueHD or DTS-HD MA master was different before compression vs. the PCM track contained on the disk. This is the case in Fifth Element with a 16-bit PCM track vs. a 20-bit TrueHD track. It might be interesting if you compared these two to see if there is a difference. I have found there is quite a nice jump in dynamics and quality between the lossless tracks and the other formats with the ps3, though. Bass is especially dynamic and powerful as the shotgun scenes in Ratatouille now bottom out my poor psw450, moving it to the top of my upgrade list. Can't comment on AVR decoded lossless as my pre will decode but the ps3 won't stream the lossless formats.
  • cheddar
    cheddar Posts: 2,390
    edited April 2008
    Erik Tracy wrote: »
    oh - another tidbit from the AVS forum (sorry if this is not correct forum etiquette), but I read that most current AVRs *automatically* compensate for the -10db LFE reduction and that if you manually start boosting it then you are "over" compensating.

    Yes, this is very true and I've said it is mostly automatic in earlier comments in this thread. This is especially true with bitstreamed audio as AVRs are very good at boosting the LFE output when they do the decoding. It's a good point worth mentioning again, that when we talk about the need to apply the LFE boost manually, it's usually related to multichannel PCM.

    AVRs are somewhat inconsistent in their implementation of LFE boosting when they receive a multichannel PCM signal which happens when a player, like the ps3, decodes the audio internally and sends it to the AVR as PCM. And remember that this happens with any player when listening to the uncompressed PCM track on blu-rays as this track is not 'encoded' and can't be 'bitstreamed' like TrueHD and DTS-HD MA. Then you have to know your equipment and how to manually compensate if it does not apply the boost automatically. The easiest way to tell if an AVR doesn't handle PCM LFE boosting by default is to switch between a vanilla DD track from bitstreaming it (decoding at the AVR) to PCM (decoding at the player). It should be very appearant that the subwoofer seems very weak using PCM and you will run into all the symptoms I've outlined in this thread. Then you will have to find out how your AVR can be adjusted to apply the PCM LFE boost properly. This is especially important to ps3 owners as the only lossless option we have is to have the player internally decode the formats and send it all out to the AVR as multichannel PCM.
  • Fongolio
    Fongolio Posts: 3,516
    edited April 2008
    You are entirely correct cheddar. My Pioneer Elite needs the bass boost when listening to uncompressed material such as DVD-Audio. Once it's done sweet sounds are emitted from this fine unit. The manual even discusses it.
    SDA-1C (full mods)
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  • dbaldus
    dbaldus Posts: 730
    edited April 2008
    VDubFan wrote: »
    I'm new and confused. I just installed the updates to my PS3 and then I read this thread. I have an H/K AVR146. So, I turned the db level of the sub up to 10 and turned the other speakers down. I have all my speaker set to small, but my system has way too much bass. Should I set my speakers to large? or is there somthing else I need to change. Another thing, I have my PS3 connected to my t.v. via HDMI cable and then I have an optic cable going from my t.v. to my AVR. Should I connect the optic cable directly from my
    PS3 to my AVR?

    Yes, you are confused ;)

    The first thing you need to do is realize that there is a difference between sub volume and LFE volume. The "LFE" volume refers to the LFE track (.1) recorded on DD/DTS, etc. tracks, while the "sub" volume refers to ALL bass frequencies, even if there is no LFE channel recorded. To see if you are listening to something with the extra LFE channel, look at the front of your receiver and see if the LFE button is lit up.

    I'm currently trying to figure out if there is a way to boost or cut the LFE signal (NOT THE SUB LEVEL) on my H/K 247, because I know there are a lot of receivers that allow you to cut the LFE channel.

    Hope this helps.

    2-channel
    Squeezebox Touch| MSB Analog DAC | Audio Research Ref 40 Anniversary Edition| Pass Labs X350.8 | Wilson Audio Sasha 2

    Home Theater
    Arcam AVR 550 | GoldenEar Triton One | GoldenEar SuperCenter XXL | GoldenEar Aon 3 | JL Audio Fathom F113v2
  • landry_p2000
    landry_p2000 Posts: 1,313
    edited April 2008
    Imperitor wrote: »
    If you select uncompressed the DD indicator on your receiver will turn off. The receiver will receive the audio in decoded form and wouldn't know what audio format it was before being decoded. You may know this already but optical is only capable of carrying 2.0 uncompressed sound.

    This is the only down side to the PS3. It does the decoding internally so you have to send it in uncompressed form. So to enjoy the new higher quality audio formats you need a receiver with an HDMI input.

    Thanks for the info Imperitor. I didn't know that optical carried uncompressed audio in 2.0. I need to upgrade to an Onkyo with hdmi inputs. So if I run hdmi in from the ps3, I can get uncompressed in 7.1 digital?
    Main Set-up: 55" 120 hz Samsung LN55B650, Onkyo TX-SR806, Emotiva XPA-5, Emotiva XPA-2, PS3 Slim, Sony BDP-S560, Apple TV (160g), Panamax M5300-PM, Polk Audio CSi5, RTi10's, FXi3's, RTi4's, and SVS PB12 Plus

    Bedroom: Panasonic 50" S2 Plasma and Panasonic BD65 blu-ray player, Onkyo TX-SR707, Emotiva XPA-3, Emotiva UPA-2, KEF IQ7's, IQc, IQ8Ds, and SVS PB10-ISD
  • cheddar
    cheddar Posts: 2,390
    edited April 2008
    Thanks for the info Imperitor. I didn't know that optical carried uncompressed audio in 2.0. I need to upgrade to an Onkyo with hdmi inputs. So if I run hdmi in from the ps3, I can get uncompressed in 7.1 digital?

    Yes, you can get the three lossless audio formats, uncompressed PCM, TrueHD, and DTS-HD MA all transmitted as PCM in up to 7.1 over hdmi (most blu-rays are still 5.1 at this point). At AVS, there are posts that say even music CDs get a nice boost in quality over the hdmi connection. Definitely worth it to move from optical to hdmi. A new onkyo which is capable of internally decoding TrueHD and DTS-HD MA might be good for future proofing yourself if you eventually get a lossless bitstreaming player. But with the PS3, since it can't bitstream lossless anyways, any hdmi 1.1 and above AVR will do.
  • landry_p2000
    landry_p2000 Posts: 1,313
    edited April 2008
    Cool. Thanks for the info fellas. I am a little behind on a/v. I just got my ps3 in January, and I plan on upgrading to my old Onkyo to an 805 model very soon.
    Main Set-up: 55" 120 hz Samsung LN55B650, Onkyo TX-SR806, Emotiva XPA-5, Emotiva XPA-2, PS3 Slim, Sony BDP-S560, Apple TV (160g), Panamax M5300-PM, Polk Audio CSi5, RTi10's, FXi3's, RTi4's, and SVS PB12 Plus

    Bedroom: Panasonic 50" S2 Plasma and Panasonic BD65 blu-ray player, Onkyo TX-SR707, Emotiva XPA-3, Emotiva UPA-2, KEF IQ7's, IQc, IQ8Ds, and SVS PB10-ISD
  • polkseller
    polkseller Posts: 184
    edited April 2008
    I did my test with quality equipment, in a small room with good RTI6 speakers and anticables speaker cable.

    Setting the PS3 HDMI to bitsream in the configuration menu;
    - Gave better sound overall with any vanilla DD track or uncompressed PCM (casino Royale)
    - No Tru-Hd sound with that setting.

    Setting the PS3 HDMI to PCM in the config menu;

    - Compatible with Tru-HD tracks, but there's a bitstream to pcm convertion in the PS3 that is changing the way the track sound, dynamic are better but high frequency was affected before firmware version 2.30.
    - Some regular tracks get some kind of low level distortion( before 2,30). Like on the Dave Matthews vanilla DD track.

    Swithching with BITSTREAM for regular DD track corrected the problem.

    Find out why now...no sub used.

    Did not test the optical output, but on my previous yamaha htr-5960 I was experimenting the same subtle low level distortion over optical when the pcm was choosen in the menu.