[brucek]

Can anyone enlighten me as to what the selection of THX Ultra 2 does in an SP2 for the Subwoofer selection of
 Yes, Yes Ultra 2, None. 

brucek

[James Tanner]

Hi brucek,

The YES is if you have a Subwoofer in your system.
The ULTRA 2 is if you have a Certified THX Ultra 2 subwoofer
The NONE is if there is no sub in the system.

james

[brucek]

hehe, I guess I should rephrase the question.

My question is what difference does it make if the selection is made - Yes Ultra 2.

There must be some process or signal that is modified if I make this selection, or the choice wouldn't be offered.

brucek

[MOZ]

James,

Can i put my THX Ultra sub on the THX Ultra 2 settings or will i take a risk (KEF TDM45) ?

http://www.kef.com/history/1990_2/thx/tdm_45b.asp

And speaking of those news settings, what are the differences for the BACK speakers between small-1, small-2, large-1 and large-2 ???
And finishing, is the DOLBY EX setting still available without THX processing (much better without it !), as it was proposed with the last version of the SP1.7 ?

[James Tanner]

James,

Can i put my THX Ultra sub on the THX Ultra 2 settings or will i take a risk (KEF TDM45) ?

http://www.kef.com/history/1990_2/thx/tdm_45b.asp

And speaking of those news settings, what are the differences for the BACK speakers between small-1, small-2, large-1 and large-2 ???
And finishing, is the DOLBY EX setting still available without THX processing (much better without it !), as it was proposed with the last version of the SP1.7 ?

Hi MOZ,

Yes you can use any sub with the Ultra 2 setting.

The back speakers at 'small' means low frequencies go to the sub - the back speakers at 'large' means the frequency response to those speakers is full range. 1 or 2 speakers is based on a 6.1 or 7.1 system.

I will check on the EX setting for you - I believe it is required to be a THX signal.

james

[MOZ]

I will formulate it differently, if i have a 5.1 source, can i choose in the surround modes DOLBY EX (not THX SURROUND EX mode) ?

[James Tanner]

I do not think so but I will check.

james

[MOZ]

That's toot bad... you said you've "bought the licence" the last time (DOLBY EX stand alone), how come it's not here anymore with the upgraded SP1.7 to SP2 ???
It just sounds so much cleaner without the THX post-processing !!!

[James Tanner]

HI MOZ,

So you have your SP2 at home now?

james

[MOZ]

No,

Should be tonight...

[brucek]

Well, after some hunting around I found the answer to my question.

If anyone is interested , when you select Yes-Ultra 2 subwoofer in the speaker setup, it enables the selection of BGC in the THX menu setup.

THX.com describes this feature as:

Boundary Gain Compensation - Filters Excessive Bass
If a listener is sitting too close to a room boundary their perception of the low frequencies is exaggerated. However, with The Boundary Gain Compensation (BGC) filter applied to all output channels, the bass is equalized resulting in a flatter, more accurate bass response.

That SP2 manual sure needs some updating.

brucek

[James Tanner]

Yes it rolls off the bass at 6dB per octave.

james

[brucek]

you said you've "bought the licence" the last time (DOLBY EX stand alone), how come it's not here anymore with the upgraded SP1.7 to SP2 ???
It just sounds so much cleaner without the THX post-processing

Moz.... In the THX menu, you're able to DISABLE Re-Equalization. This may help, although it doesn't disable Timbre Matching and Adaptive De-correlation features of THX.

I didn't realize stand alone Dolby Digital EX was a licensing issue...

brucek

[sikoniko]

I have the b&w asw850. Anyone know if it meets the thx specs, just does not have the license?

also, am i hurting the sub if I tell the bryston it is a thx sub, even if it is not?

[James Tanner]

It will not hurt the sub.

james

[MOZ]

Moz.... In the THX menu, you're able to DISABLE Re-Equalization. This may help, although it doesn't disable Timbre Matching and Adaptive De-correlation features of THX.

I didn't realize stand alone Dolby Digital EX was a licensing issue...

brucek

Yes i found this one !
And it works quite good without it
I find the THX Ultra 2 post-processing much better than the Ultra 1 (nice software upgrade James !).
Using the THXUltra2cinemamode is wonderful with a 5.1 material to a 7.1 system, it sounds like the LOGIC 7 of a Lexicon 
How should i set the THX ASA mode thing : what is the deal between 1ft, 1-4 ft or big area ?
Do you refer to the distances around the listening point to the surrounds + back speakers ?
As for the BGC, my retailer told me he didn't like, less impact in the bass respons, so we put "sub yes" only... not using it.

As for the THX SURROUND EX and DOLBY EX thing, you can't "force" a 5.1 soundtrack to DOLBY EX (or i didn't found it yet !) but when i tried SW III last night, it was writen DOLBY EX on the pre.
So you need the soundtrack to be flagged with EX and then you can have the DOLBY EX without THX processing (my mistake James !).
If not, you can force a 5.1 track to THX Surround EX, and without Re-equalization... it does the job

As for the results... hum, i probably need some more time but it works a lot better in HT, faster, more precise, feels easier with decoding, everything seems well better handled and still some hell of bass respons ! God i forgot how violent that was

I'll get back to you as soon as i've done more testing but as for today, there is a big smile on my face, thanks to you James and all your people at Bryston ! 
Good job !
Now waiting for the EQ thing ( ) and the HDMI 1.3 + HD decoding thing 

[James Tanner]

HI MOZ,

Great to hear your enjoying the new SP2 - I have had a lot of feedback from over here that the differences between the SP1.7 and the SP2 are not at all subtle.

I agree that the Boundard Compensation thing is an iffy feature.

Do you think a software upgrade offering EX without the flag would be welcome?

The 2-4 feet option is the distance between the BACK speakers.

Again, enjoy the sound.

james

[sikoniko]

OOC, while my room is under construction, I am only have a 5.1 system. Would you say the system really shines at 7.1, or it is equal in both?

[MOZ]

HI MOZ,

Great to hear your enjoying the new SP2 - I have had a lot of feedback from over here that the differences between the SP1.7 and the SP2 are not at all subtle.

Haven't tried enough softs (just 20 min of SW III) to tell you everything right know, it sure is different in A LOT better, but i need more time to see/ear 

Do you think a software upgrade offering EX without the flag would be welcome?

Check with your people if it can't actually be "forced up" to a non-EX 5.1 track at the moment ???
Maybe it does ?
But i would really like to have the option as it was proposed before, yes.

The 2-4 feet option is the distance between the BACK speakers.

Thanks

Again, enjoy the sound.

I'm and i will 

[MOZ]

OOC, while my room is under construction, I am only have a 5.1 system. Would you say the system really shines at 7.1, or it is equal in both?

I believe it depends on what is your system made of, what are the troubles due to the room and what are the possibilities to deploy more speakers...
Check the picture of my HT (link at the bottom), it isn't a dedicated room and in that case you really need EQ to get things to work together.
But, 7.1 is, for movies, SO MUCH better in an immersive way... and this pre is surely capable of the best in all the ways !