What Happened to my .1 or Why is the surround in 5.0?
December 9th, 2006 by sqbPat Long wrote:
Someone responded the problem is that the mix is only 5.0. I only have sattelite cube speakers on my system.
I know that Stephen Barncard used to monitor these lists - if he still does, I have question for him. I bought the 5.1 version of David Crosby\’s If I Could Only Remember My Name. However, when I play the DVD-A version through my RCA jacks I do not get any sound through the bass module of my 5.1 system. If I play through the optical cord and play the normal DVD version I do get bass, but I know that I am not getting the highest level of sound. The menu of the DVD does not give one the option to play the DVD-A or the dolby digital version as most DVD\’s do.
So my question is - how do I play the DVD-A version through my RCA jacks and get sound through the bass module?
Hello Pat,
Good Question.
If one plays a DVD on a system that has small speakers, bass management is usually always on, regardless if there is LFE channel content.
Non-use of LFE channel does not mean you do not get bass. That’s not what it is for. IICORMN was mixed with the idea of full range speakers for the 5 surround, however, in sub-optimal (home theater) situations and even in some bigger systems, there is BASS MANAGEMENT, which means that low frequency signals from the 5 channels are summed and sent to a subwoofer.
Bass management works on the principle that low frequencies have the ability to be non directional, and can supply the missing range for the ’satellite’ speakers The LFE was designed for movies sound effects (think “EarthQuake”) and is added to the BASS MANAGEMENT signal on the way to the subwoofer.
The LFE was never intended to be a replacement for what BASS MANAGEMENT does for the other channels, and not for “more bass” either.
Not providing a LFE was an artistic decision - mine. I’ll take the blame. Warner/Rhino didn’t like it either. Remember that the playback format has the capability of as many channels are appropriate. In some cases mixers are creating THREE channel ‘mixes’ (L C R) from old 3 track tapes or Quad. using 4 speakers.
I’ve done a lot of research and discussed the use of the LFE with other surround mixers like Nate Kunkel, Al Schmidt, and Elliot Schiner, and the consensus is ‘less is more’.
If one were to listen to the content of most of the project, there is incredibly very little activity down there (below 60 hz). Only ‘Cowboy Movie’ and ‘What Are Their Names’ had anything down there at all, and when I tried to add kick or bass to the LFE on those songs, it didn’t enhance, it detracted. It sounded ‘muffy’ and unnatural and did not relay the experience of the original work.
My guiding light in the mixing of IICORMN was to be as true to the soundspace of the original as possible while expanding it. It was mixed in two locations over the span of 7 months, and I worked pretty hard on it. I hope many people will get a chance to hear this masterpiece in surround; you won’t forget it.
The stereo mixes, with the exception of KIDS AND DOGS, are from the original master tapes.
The surround mixes will play in all modern DVD players one way or the other, via Dolby, DTS, and DVD-A.
thanks
stephen barncard
12/6/06