Stuff that sounds amazing with the Surround Master

[Tres Discrete]

I'm so conflicted about listening to anything from Midnight Oil now. Lead singer Peter Garrett moved in politics and completely botched it including overseeing some really dangerous public spend initiatives. So sad . . . I bought all the vinyl on first release, went to their live shows and now I can barely listen to Peter Garret's voice. Angst. :-(

I worked in the music business for about a dozen years. Someone once told me “trust the art, not the artist”...though admittedly sometimes you are still left with a quandary...maybe something to keep in mind here & separate the man from the music? Just a thought

 

[SHB]

Enjoying Caligonaut Magnified as Giants in Involve 4.0. Great symphonic prog rock album.

 

[Sonik Wiz]

Enjoying Caligonaut Magnified as Giants in Involve 4.0. Great symphonic prog rock album.

Wow indeed. Never heard of that group before. I guess I need to check around.

 

[SHB]

Wow indeed. Never heard of that group before. I guess I need to check around.

Very new. It is a solo project by Ole Michael Bjørndal
I hope this link helps.

https://www.proggnosis.com/Release/58135

 

[DuncanS]

The French band Lazuli's new album "Dénudé" sounds great through the SM2 in Involve Quad mode, very immersive and discrete at times
HOME - LAZULI (lazuli-music.com)

 

[chucky3042]

I worked in the music business for about a dozen years. Someone once told me “trust the art, not the artist”...though admittedly sometimes you are still left with a quandary...maybe something to keep in mind here & separate the man from the music? Just a thought

Re Peter Garret. He instigated the home insulation scheme for rooftops- one of the best things to do to save energy. The issue was there were a few installer deaths due to touching crap wiring. In essence they were poorly trained by an industry that was rapidly cashing in on the well intended subsidy system and yes some better accreditation of training should have been specified. When I looked at the actual deaths in that industry over that period overall it was LOWER than the usual amount of deaths that do occur in that general industry! To an extent it was a media beat up and political assassination by that fool Abbott.

 

[Sonik Wiz]

Re Peter Garret. He instigated the home insulation scheme for rooftops- one of the best things to do to save energy. The issue was there were a few installer deaths due to touching crap wiring. In essence they were poorly trained by an industry that was rapidly cashing in on the well intended subsidy system and yes some better accreditation of training should have been specified. When I looked at the actual deaths in that industry over that period overall it was LOWER than the usual amount of deaths that do occur in that general industry! To an extent it was a media beat up and political assassination by that fool Abbott.

What, Sir? I guess I will have to read that again. Rooftop insulation. Electrocution. Trust the art? Trying to find the connection (stay away from me crap wiring!).

 

[chucky3042]

What, Sir? I guess I will have to read that again. Rooftop insulation. Electrocution. Trust the art? Trying to find the connection (stay away from me crap wiring!).

Peter Garret was originally more of an independent Greens type political person but was seduced by the Labor party, I think also because he thought he could achieve more by actually being in government and not just on the back benches. This immediately made him a bit of a political target plus the fact that the leader of the Labor party Kevin Rudd and Peter really did not like each other and Rudd was quick to blame Peter.

Hey I am a huge Oils fan!

 

[ar surround]

I was listening exclusively to stereo upmixed to quad via the SM last night. For whatever reason, the presentation on virtually all material sounded somewhat better using BYPASS mode on the processor. (No bass management, no speaker distance management.) What are others doing with regard to upmixing via the SM? Any thoughts on this @chucky3042 ? (For clarity, note that I do not do speaker distances/bass management in anything coming into the processor.)

 

[Sonik Wiz]

I was listening exclusively to stereo upmixed to quad via the SM last night. For whatever reason, the presentation on virtually all material sounded somewhat better using BYPASS mode on the processor. (No bass management, no speaker distance management.) What are others doing with regard to upmixing via the SM? Any thoughts on this @chucky3042 ? (For clarity, note that I do not do speaker distances/bass management in anything coming into the processor.)

The SM v2 does not have a "bypass" setting on the unit, just "stereo". In which case you are not upmixing at all just listening to 2 ch stereo.

As a side note, I think the term "upmixing" is more applicable for situations where someone does stereo to surround on a computer. Music played through an SM, or DPL II, or the such, is simply play back through the box. QS/Involve decoding is pretty nice since any sound direction left/right is determined by level differences between the input chs, and whether it is in front or back is determined by phase difference between the chs.

I never use the stereo or TSS on the Involve unit. For stereo or QS it's always the "Involve" setting with a DIY front end to control input level/phase balance. I do not use any speaker distance or bass management either when using the SM or when playing back SACD/DVD-A, etc from my Oppo.

 

[Mr. Afternoon]

The Flaming Lips is a whole new experience in 5.1, specifically The Soft Bulletin. Amazing mix, although I would have preferred the LFE channel to not have frequencies above 120hz.

 

[ar surround]

I was listening exclusively to stereo upmixed to quad via the SM last night. For whatever reason, the presentation on virtually all material sounded somewhat better using BYPASS mode on the processor. (No bass management, no speaker distance management.) What are others doing with regard to upmixing via the SM? Any thoughts on this @chucky3042 ? (For clarity, note that I do not do speaker distances/bass management in anything coming into the processor.)

The SM v2 does not have a "bypass" setting on the unit, just "stereo". In which case you are not upmixing at all just listening to 2 ch stereo.

As a side note, I think the term "upmixing" is more applicable for situations where someone does stereo to surround on a computer. Music played through an SM, or DPL II, or the such, is simply play back through the box. QS/Involve decoding is pretty nice since any sound direction left/right is determined by level differences between the input chs, and whether it is in front or back is determined by phase difference between the chs.

I never use the stereo or TSS on the Involve unit. For stereo or QS it's always the "Involve" setting with a DIY front end to control input level/phase balance. I do not use any speaker distance or bass management either when using the SM or when playing back SACD/DVD-A, etc from my Oppo.

I think you misread my post. I am outputting Involve 4.0 from the Surround Master and setting the Lexicon processor to BYPASS mode. That means that whatever comes out of the SM does not get any post processing such bass management or speaker distances. It is strictly analog outputting from the Surround Master to the amplifiers. But you answered my question anyway...You don't use bass management or speaker distance settings when using the Surround Master. Thanks.

 

[Sonik Wiz]

I think you misread my post. I am outputting Involve 4.0 from the Surround Master and setting the Lexicon processor to BYPASS mode. That means that whatever comes out of the SM does not get any post processing such bass management or speaker distances. It is strictly analog outputting from the Surround Master to the amplifiers. But you answered my question anyway...You don't use bass management or speaker distance settings when using the Surround Master. Thanks.

I did misunderstand your post, thanks for the clarification. Yup, it is a good goal to have equipment/environment optimized so you don't really need post processing, just if you want it.

 

[mlrocker]

Wobbler - From Silence To Somewhere (2017) (Full Album)
2017 early yes-like, pleasing

 

[J. PUPSTER]

The Flaming Lips is a whole new experience in 5.1, specifically The Soft Bulletin. Amazing mix, although I would have preferred the LFE channel to not have frequencies above 120hz.

So are you running a stereo version through a Surround Master in 5.1 or are you talking about the actual 5.1 DVD release?
https://www.discogs.com/The-Flaming-Lips-The-Soft-Bulletin-51/release/1491553

 

[Mr. Afternoon]

So are you running a stereo version through a Surround Master in 5.1 or are you talking about the actual 5.1 DVD release?
https://www.discogs.com/The-Flaming-Lips-The-Soft-Bulletin-51/release/1491553

The actual DVD-Audio release.
This Discogs page is inaccurate, it should list the 24/96 5.1 and stereo MLP tracks on the DVD.

 

[J. PUPSTER]

The actual DVD-Audio release.

This is a golden opportunity for me to introduce you to our bud here @chucky3042 who can bring smiles & smiles of joy your way
But beware, he is Australian and says he’s a liar, I have no direct confirmation of any of that though!

 

[GOS]

This is a golden opportunity

As in, Golden Bonana? lmao

 

[Mr. Afternoon]

As in, Golden Bonana? lmao

I cannot believe it took me that long to get that.

 

[Akaiquadster2]

Recently purchased the SMv2 and have hooked it up to the direct multichannel inputs on the onkyo assuming no post processing by the amplifier but something to check next time I’m back at home to use it - unfortunately I’m working in rural area and only had a few hours with unit last weekend.