Harman Kardon AVP-2 Owners Manual - Page 7

AVP2 SURROUND PARAMETERS INTRODUCTION The AVP2 has been designed to offer the most important surround parameters which accomodate all types of music and motion picture sound tracks. Conventional motion picture surround processing technology was not originally intended for music reproduction so virutally every other manufactuer of surround processors has elected to offer digital soundfield processing, or "DSP", for music listening enhancement. While DSP is rather technically ambitious, it often delivers results that are distinctly artificial sounding. Digitally-generated reverberation or effects are usually added to the natural or studio-created ambience of the original recording. But mixing DSP-generated effects via a home processor usually creates a sonic result that is not representative of the original recording or the desired new venue. More recently, some manufacturers have started providing digital front channel effects, as well, in combination with Pro Logic decoding in an attempt to create the sound characteristics of a large theatre auditorium environment. Unfortunately, the result is usually the accurate recreation of an acoustically less-than-perfect theatre! The very best theatres are designed and constructed using acoustical techniques to actually reduce reverberant information. This allows the audience to hear through to the sound track rather than be distracted or suffer from poor dialogue intelligibility and imaging as a result of too much reverberant sound in the auditorium. The various operating modes designed for the AVP2 deliver natural recreation of the original recording environment without the use of DSP. The technology employed in the AVP2 is the result of nearly two decades of research in the field of multichannel sound by Jim Fosgate. Rock This mode was designed to give an exciting, wrap around presentation to a typical multi-track recording. The Rock mode is beneficial with any stereo recording which has a very narrow front soundstage. Stereo recordings which are recorded with excessive left/right separation should not be played back in the Rock mode. Popular The Popular mode is very similar to the Rock mode but the listening perspective is slightly more frontal with less of a "wrap-around" effect. The Popular mode is the most universal for a wide variety of music, including rock, light rock, Broadway shows, etc, especially if you enjoy an "up front" perspective. Many motion picture sound tracks are very exciting when decoded through the Popular mode. Jazz The Jazz mode is particularly well suited for the reproduction of any live recording of popular or jazz music. The soundstage will be primarily frontal in presentation with ambience coming from the surround speakers. Separation of instruments will not sound exaggerated, but will sound like an ensemble playing in front of you. The natural room acoustics of the recording environment will be preserved. The Jazz mode delivers full-range mono surround information. 70mm This is our most advanced motion picture surround mode and features controlled blending of left/right front channel information into the surround channels. This provides a heightened sense of spaciousness with software which has little or no encoded surround information. The 70mm mode also produces stereo-like surround effects without destroying the integrity and accuracy of the front sound stage. Up to 45 ms of time delay may be used in the 70mm mode. Pro Logic This is the consumer version of the professional Dolby surround system used as part of Dolby Stereo in motion picture theatres. A sophisticated microprocessor system in the AVP2 re-configures Digital Servo Logic to precisely duplicate Pro Logic. The audio circuit topology used within the AVP2 delivers Pro Logic decoding with superb audio quality. Time delay settings range from 15 to 30 ms in 5 ms increments. Classical The Classical mode uses no processing on the front channels unless the CTR button is engaged on the handheld remote control. This "purist" approach delivers maximum sonic quality from complex orchestral and choral works. The Classical mode provides a "midhall" listening perspective. 6