JBL Synthesis Sdp3 Manual
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JBL SynthesisPCM Effects and Parameters 42 LOW FREQ WIDTH allows you to apply low-frequency spatial correc- tion to the signal. Positive values of LOW FREQ Width indicate that the difference signal (L-R) has additional energy below 500Hz, while the sum (L+R) has correspondingly less. Negative settings of LOW FREQ WIDTH can compensate for recordings with too much of this property. This control can add needed spaciousness and warmth to classical recordings made with coincident or near-coincident microphones. MAIN LEVEL controls the level of the mono signal that is reproduced by the main speakers. When a center speaker is part of the configuration many films may sound better when this control is set between 6-12. This spreads the film sound out around the screen and can be more pleasant than restricting the dialog and much of the other film sound to the center speaker. MID RT (midrange reverberation time) is the time required for midrange sounds to decay 60dB in level. PRE-DELAY increases the delay between the direct sound and the onset of reverberation. Because some pre-delay is inherent in the program material, a value of 0 is usually a good starting point. Increasing the pre-delay value will make the hall sound larger. RE-EQUALIZER equalizes the left, center, and right channel outputs to match the overall frequency balance of the original recording. Without this re-equalization, many films and some television programs will sound too bright. REAR DELAY adjusts the amount of time between the appearance of a signal in the front channels and its emergence from the rear. Gener- ally, the correct delay is about 16 milliseconds, but the setting depends on speaker set-up and source material. In general, the delay should be low enough so that the rear sound does not become identifiable as a distinct source. The settings also affect the side outputs. REAR DELAY OFFSET is an additional delay added to the rear channels. This delay increases the apparent size of the listening space by increasing the rear delay time. Feel free to experiment to find the setting that works best. REAR LEVEL controls the volume level of the rear speakers. Although we have selected a default value, the correct setting will vary with each recording, the room, and your personal taste. REAR ROLLOFF sets the frequency above which the rear-channel sound is attenuated. The appropriate setting will vary with the program material. It should be set high enough to give presence and airiness to the rear sound without placing distracting instrumental overtones or other sounds behind you. The settings also affect the side outputs.
SDP-3 Digital Surround Processor/ControllerPCM Effects and Parameters 43 ROLLOFF mimics the absorption of the air in the hall and, typically, should begin with a low frequency to simulate large spaces. SIDE LEVEL controls the volume level of the side speakers. Although we have selected a default value, the correct setting will vary with each recording, the room, and your personal taste. SIDE ROLLOFF provides a high frequency cutoff for the side speakers. The optimal setting for this control will vary widely with the source material. SOUNDSTAGE controls the level of the surround speakers relative to the front speakers in a dynamic way. The SDP-3 attempts to detect whether or not the sound source was originally encoded from a surround source by looking for occasional bursts of rear-steered material, and by identifying the directional orientation of the background sound between strong sounds. Whenever there is an indication that the source was originally surround encoded, the Soundstage control automattically reverts to the REAR setting — which gives the rear speakers full level. The NEUTRAL position attenuates the rear speakers 3dB. The FRONT position attenuates the rear speakers 6dB. The effect is to move the listening position forward in the listening space. SPEECH DETECT activates a circuit that distinguishes monaural speech from other inputs. Essentially, this control turns down the effect to make speech clearer. Whenever stereo signals are present, the right and left input channels are used independently as inputs to the ambi- ence synthesis. If there is a strong monaural speaking voice present at the same time, this component of the input to the effect is reduced while the stereo component is increased. If the input signal is pure monaural speech the reverb is almost entirely attenuated. SPEECH DETECT is a real benefit to some popular music (where spoken voice, such as rap, occurs along with the music), stereo television and early stereo movies. Any stereo material which was not carefully mixed for Surround is a good candidate for playing through the Jazz, Classical, Football or Cathedral Effect with Speech Detect on. SUBWOOFER LEVEL boosts or cuts the subwoofer output level. Although the normal subwoofer level is set during the calibration procedure, with some recordings it may be desirable to increase or decrease this deep bass level.
JBL SynthesisPCM Effects and Parameters 44 SURROUND ROLLOFF allows the high frequencies of the rear channels to be attenuated with the same detection circuitry as that described for the Soundstage control. The attenuation is quite attractive on many music and broadcast sources that were not mixed for surround. When a surround source is detected, these filters are removed, so the rear speakers can reproduce surround events with full bandwidth. This control should be set high enough to give presence and airiness to the rear sound without placing distracting instrumental overtones or other sounds behind you. The settings also affect the side outputs. SURROUNDS selects the type of surround decoding used by the SDP-3. STEREOPHONIC provides extraction of five channels of surround information from a standard 4-2-4 matrix-encoded soundtrack (Dolby Surround, Ultra*Stereo, etc.) The drama of this effect is depen- dent on the source material and is most noticeable with strong stereo music soundtracks. The DECORRELATED setting electronically alters the monaural surround channel to provide added spaciousness and envelopment. VOCAL ENHANCE boosts vocals in the center channel. By targeting specific frequencies, it can boost only vocals, without raising the entire center channel level (which would alter the output balance achieved during calibration).
SDP-3 Digital Surround Processor/ControllerPCM Effects and Parameters 45 AC-3 Effects are compatible with Dolby Digital input signals. Any AC-3- capable software and/or source components should be labeled with a Dolby Digital badge, similar to the one on the SDP-3 front panel. AC-3 Status Display In the AC-3 effects, an AC-3 Status Display is available in the parameter menu with the following information. MATRIX ENCODED: YES indicates a 2.0 Dolby Digital input is matrix encoded; No indicates it is not. DOWNMIX: YES indicates a Dolby Digital input is being downmixed for the selected speaker configuration. NO indicates no downmixing is taking place, except in the 5.1 2-Channel Effect, which is designed to create a two-channel downmix from Dolby Digital 5.1 channel signals. DATA RATE: 32-640kb, depending on the data rate of the incoming Dolby Digital signal. SAMPLE RATE: 44.1kHz or 48kHz depending on the incoming Dolby Digital signal. PGM CONTENT: shows you the actual spatial characteristics of the incoming soundtrack. The information appears as F/S.LFE where F = the number of front channels and S = the number of surround channels. LFE = 1 if the LFE channel is on. For example, a given source may display 3/2.1, indicating that the source was mixed with 3 front channels, 2 surround channels, and the LFE channel. When the designation .1 indicates that the LFE channel is on, as in our example, a level meter at the bottom of the display will show LFE channel activity. (Note, that there may be instances where the LFE channel is on, but no activity shows in the meter display.) REF OFFSET indicates the Dialog Normalization value that is present in AC-3 bitstreams. In AC-3, dialog is reproduced at -31dBFS (31dB below full scale). If the program material was mixed so that dialog is at -31dBFS, then REF OFFSET=0dB. If the dialog was mixed at a "hotter" level, for example, -27dBFS, then REF OFFSET = -4dB and the SDP-3 would adjust the levels down 4dB to bring dialog back to -31dBFS. AC-3 STATUS DOWNMIX SAMPLE RATE DATA RATE PGM CONTENT REF OFFSETNO 48kHz 384 kb/sec 3/2.1 -4dB MATRIX ENCODEDNO LFE 4 AC-3 Effects and Parameters
JBL SynthesisAC-3 Effects and Parameters 46 Parameter Initial Value Range AC-3 STATUS (display only — not user adjustable) COMPRESSION OFF OFF, ON, AUTO RE-EQUALIZER OFF ON, OFF BASS ENHANCE OFF ON, OFF REAR DLY OFFSET 15ms 0-20ms SIDE LEVEL +0dB -5dB to +5dB REAR LEVEL +0dB -5dB to +5dB LFE MIX LEVEL +0.0dB -10dB to 0dB SUBWOOFER LVL +0dB -10dB to +10dB CUSTOM/TRIGGER ENABLE ENABLE, DISABLE 5.1 Music This Effect enhances playback of Dolby Digital music recordings, or Dolby Digital film soundtracks with strong musical content. This effect contains many of the features found in 5.1 LOGIC 7, with settings that are more appropriate for music. Parameter Initial Value Range AC-3 STATUS (display only — not user adjustable) COMPRESSION OFF ON, OFF, AUTO CENTER MIX 15 0-30 SURROUND MIX +2dB -5 to +5dB CENTER DLY SAMPLES +0 -127 to +127 MASTER LEVEL +0dB -5dB to +5dB LFE MIX LEVEL +0.0dB -20dB to 0dB SUBWOOFER LVL +0dB -10dB to +10dB CUSTOM/TRIGGER DISABLE ENABLE, DISABLE 5.1 Two Channel This Effect mixes Dolby Digital 5.1 information for two-channel play- back. These soundtracks can be recorded onto two-channel formats, or played back through left and right front speakers. The mix is designed to play back with full surround when decoded through Logic 7. In mixing a film with very heavy use of the Low Frequency Effects Channel, it may be desirable to lower LFE MIX LEVEL.
SDP-3 Digital Surround Processor/ControllerAC-3 Effects and Parameters 47 5.1 Logic 7 5.1 Logic 7 combines all the features of Dolby Digital AC-3 with enhancements by JBL Synthesis and LucasFilm. This effect uses Logic 7 matrix technology to enhance the steering between the side speakers and the rear speakers, so sounds intended to come from behind the listener actually do come from behind. This effect also includes the adaptive decorrelation and re-equalizer features of 5.1 THX. 5.1 Logic 7 provides the ultimate in film reproduction. It brings out all the increased excitement and spaciousness a 7 channel speaker system can produce. Parameter Initial Value Range AC-3 STATUS (display only — not user adjustable) COMPRESSION OFF OFF, ON, AUTO VOCAL ENHANCE +0.0dB +0.0dB, +3.0dB, +6.0dB RE-EQUALIZER ON ON, OFF BASS ENHANCE OFF ON, OFF REAR DELAY OFFSET 0ms 0-20ms SIDE LEVEL +0dB -5dB to +5dB REAR LEVEL +0dB -5dB to +5dB LFE MIX LEVEL +0.0dB -10.0dB to 0.0dB SUBWOOFER LVL -5dB -10dB to +10dB CUSTOM/TRIGGER ENABLE ENABLE, DISABLE 5.1 Dolby The 5.1 Dolby effect decodes Dolby AC-3 encoded soundtracks. Unlike analog Dolby Surround decoding, 5.1 Dolby uses five discrete full-range channels and a sixth dedicated, Low Frequency Effect (LFE) channel. In this effect, any rear speakers present are connected in parallel with the side speakers. This is the basic Dolby AC-3 effect. It does not include the enhancements by JBL Synthesis or LucasFilm, which are available with other AC-3 effects in the SDP-3. Parameter Initial Value Range AC-3 STATUS (display only — not user adjustable) COMPRESSION OFF OFF, ON, AUTO VOCAL ENHANCE +0.0dB +0.0dB, +3.0dB, +6.0dB BASS ENHANCE OFF ON, OFF SIDE LEVEL +0dB -5dB to +5dB REAR LEVEL +0dB -5dB to +5dB LFE MIX LEVEL +0.0dB -10.0dB to +0.0dB SUBWOOFER LVL +0dB -10dB to +10dB CUSTOM/TRIGGER ENABLE ENABLE, DISABLE
JBL SynthesisAC-3 Effects and Parameters 48 AC-3 2.0 Effects The AC-3 2.0 Effects will be chosen by the SDP-3 whenever an AC-3 5.1 Effect is selected and the Program Content of the signal is 2/0 (see page 45 for more detail). The following matrix shows which 2.0 effect will play when its corresponding 5.1 effect is selected manually or programmed as the AC-3 FX for the selected input (see page 17 for more detail). 2.0 2-Channel When this effect is chosen, playback from an AC-3 encoded 2/0 signal will be in stereo, whether or not the signal is matrix encoded as indicated in the AC-3 status display. Parameter Initial Value Range AC-3 STATUS (display only — not user adjustable) COMPRESSION OFF OFF, ON, AUTO RE-EQUALIZER ON ON, OFF SIDE LEVEL +1dB -5dB to +5dB LFE MIX LEVEL +0.0dB -10.0dB to 0.0dB SUBWOOFER LVL +0dB -10dB to +10dB CUSTOM/TRIGGER ENABLE ENABLE, DISABLE 5.1 Dolby/THX This Effect provides THX 5.1 enhancements for film soundtracks recorded in the Dolby Digital format. This processing compensates for the acoustical differences between large mixing theaters and the typically smaller home environment. In this effect the side and rear speakers are driven in parallel when you designate the use of rear speakers in the Speaker Configuration menu. AC-3 5.1 Effect AC-3 2.0 Effect 5.1 Two Channel 2.0 2-Channel 5.1 Music 2.0 Rock/Pop 5.1 Logic 7 2.0 Logic 7 5.1 Dolby 2.0 Pro Logic 5.1 Dolby/THX 2.0 Dolby Cine Parameter Initial Value Range AC-3 STATUS (display only – not user adjustable) COMPRESSION OFF ON, OFF, AUTO SUBWOOFER LEVEL +0dB -10dB to +10dB CUSTOM/TRIGGER DISABLE ENABLE, DISABLE
SDP-3 Digital Surround Processor/ControllerAC-3 Effects and Parameters 49 2.0 Rock/Pop 2.0 Rock/Pop is a surround effect developed specifically for music listening with AC-3 encoded 2/0 signals. It makes full use of additional speakers placed at the center, sides and rear of the room and provides a slight degree of steering for the front channels. 2.0 Logic 7 2.0 Logic 7 works just like the Logic 7 PCM effect but for AC-3 encoded 2/0 signals. This mode is ideal for film sound. For more detail on Logic 7, see the description on page 38. Parameter Initial Value Range AC-3 STATUS (display only – not user adjustable) COMPRESSION OFF ON, OFF, AUTO CENTER LEVEL 14 0-30 VOCAL ENHANCE +3.0dB +0.0dB, +3.0dB, +6.0dB FRONT STEERING MUSIC OFF, MUSIC, FILM SOUND STAGE NEUTRAL FRONT, NEUTRAL, REAR 5 SPKR ENHANCE OFF ON, OFF BASS ENHANCE OFF ON, OFF SURR ROLLOFF 11.8kHz 453Hz – 20.0kHz REAR DELAY OFFSET 5ms 0-20ms SIDE LEVEL +0dB -5dB to +5dB REAR LEVEL +0dB -5dB to +5dB SUBWOOFER LEVEL +0dB -10dB to +10dB CUSTOM/TRIGGER ENABLE ENABLE, DISABLE Parameter Initial Value Range AC-3 STATUS (display only – not user adjustable) COMPRESSION OFF ON, OFF, AUTO AUTO AZIMUTH ON ON, OFF VOCAL ENHANCE +0.0dB +0.0dB, +3.0dB, +6.0dB RE-EQUALIZER ON ON, OFF SOUND STAGE NEUTRAL FRONT, NEUTRAL, REAR 5 SPKR ENHANCE OFF ON, OFF BASS ENHANCE OFF ON, OFF SURR ROLLOFF 11.8kHz 453Hz – 20.0kHz REAR DELAY OFFSET 15ms 0-20ms SIDE LEVEL +0dB -5dB to +5dB REAR LEVEL +0dB -5dB to +5dB SUBWOOFER LEVEL +0dB -10dB to +10dB CUSTOM/TRIGGER ENABLE ENABLE, DISABLE
JBL SynthesisAC-3 Effects and Parameters 50 2.0 Pro Logic 2.0 Pro Logic provides Dolby Pro Logic surround decoding designed for Dolby Surround encoded movies, music or television programs or games. This effect works just like the Pro Logic PCM effect but for AC-3 encoded 2/0 signals. 2.0 THX Cinema 2.0 THX Cinema works just like the THX Cinema PCM effect but for AC- 3 encoded 2/0 signals. For more detail on the THX Cinema effect, see the description on page 39. AC-3 Effect Parameters 5 SPEAKER ENHANCE simulates 7 speaker playback through a 5 speaker system, providing a heightened sense of spaciousness and envelopment without extra speakers. This enhancement is most notice- able if the surround speakers are positionned directly to the side of the listening position, or if the listening position is located against the rear wall. Note that, although this provides very convincing improvement to a 5 speaker system, it is not a substitute for a properly set up and calibrated 7 speaker system. The difference is most noticeable when the listener is seated to one side or the other of the calibration position. AC-3 STATUS displays the current status of incoming AC-3 data. The displayed items are not user adjustable. AUTO AZIMUTH is short for auto azimuth error correction/automatic input balance. Auto Azimuth should be set to ON for films, and OFF for music. When ON, special patented algorithms continually monitor the input signal and adjust both the relative level and time offset of the two channels to keep the dialog properly centered and special effects properly localized. This automatic feature is the reason the unit does not need an input balance control for Dolby Surround decoding. Parameter Initial Value Range AC-3 STATUS (display only – not user adjustable) COMPRESSION OFF ON, OFF, AUTO AUTO AZIMUTH ON ON, OFF VOCAL ENHANCE +0.0dB +0.0dB, +3.0dB, +6.0dB SUBWOOFER LEVEL +0dB -10dB to +10dB CUSTOM/TRIGGER ENABLE ENABLE, DISABLE Parameter Initial Value Range AC-3 STATUS (display only – not user adjustable) COMPRESSION OFF ON, OFF, AUTO AUTO AZIMUTH ON ON, OFF RE-EQUALIZER ON ON, OFF SURROUNDS DECORR STEREO, DECORR SUBWOOFER LEVEL +0dB -10dB to +10dB CUSTOM/TRIGGER ENABLE ENABLE, DISABLE
SDP-3 Digital Surround Processor/ControllerAC-3 Effects and Parameters 51 BASS ENHANCE derives stereo bass to provide low frequencies that are noticeably less localizable and more spacious in the playback room. Note that results will vary depending on room acoustics and the low frequency capacity of the surround speakers. CENTER DLY SAMPLES adjusts the time offset of the center channel. The appropriate value is +0 unless you know that the center channel is not properly timed, as well as the amount by which it is off. CENTER LEVEL adjusts the output level from the center speaker. CENTER MIX adjusts the level of the center channel applied to the two- channel downmix. The appropriate value for film is 16. The appropriate value for music is 11. COMPRESSION enhances the intelligibility of Dolby Digital material at low volume levels (-6dB or lower). When set to AUTO, this control automatically limits peak signals and boosts low level signals. The amount of compression increases proportionately as volume is de- creased. This is quite useful when listening to Dolby Digital soundtracks at low output levels. When set to ON, full compression is applied, regardless of volume. FRONT STEERING provides three basic settings which have been developed specifically to optimize center channel signal strength for film and music. The FILM setting has excellent frontal image stability through the whole room during dialog and vocals, while preserving the full width of the front image in the spaces between dialog, and for music without vocals. The front image during vocals is noticeably narrower than with the MUSIC setting, but highly satisfactory nonetheless. The MUSIC setting reproduces sound in all three front speakers when a strongly centered, or mono signal is present. This is an excellent choice for heavily centered pop music such as metal and sounds more natural for broadcast material with a single announcer. OFF sets the center channel level to 4.5dB less than the front left and right speakers, and then leaves the level unchanged as the steering varies. This setting is equivalent to conventional stereo with a slight center fill. LFE MIX LEVEL allows separate level attenuation of the LFE channel, which is ultimately mixed to the subwoofer output. As the bass from as many as five other channels is added to the LFE, it can significantly raise subwoofer output levels — and create the risk of damage to a system. Careful adjustment of this parameter will allow you to achieve proper tonal balance and reduce the risk of damage.