Talk about the purchasing standard of AV Amplifier

Talk about the purchase standard of AV Amplifier

AV fans always like to pursue the latest technology and audio-visual effects. More and more people are concerned about the 6.1 decoding function of surround sound. In the actual selection and purchase, there are a wide variety of AV amplifiers on the market, in addition to the standard 5.1, 6.1 and even 7.1 formats, which are dazzling. This paper discusses some problems about purchasing 6.1 decoding AV Amplifier

generally speaking, the purchase of AV Amplifier needs to consider factors such as the amount of investment budget, the preference of sound style, the collocation of peripheral equipment and the possibility of future upgrading. For 6.1 decoding function AV Amplifier, it is more important to consider the recognition and decoding ability of the machine for the new decoding format

I. about the background of 6.1 decoding format and the differences of various types

DVD based 6.1 channel program sources began to increase, but its core digital audio format is still 5.1 channel Dolby Digital or DTS. Dolby Digital's 6.1 is called Dolby Digital Surround ex in movies. Because Dolby Digital Surround ex was originally a 6.1 sound effect technology used in movies, it was synthesized during the post production of movie tracks; It was first used in the film "Star Wars prequel" as a result of the cooperation between Dolby and Lucas, who owns thx. It was agreed that the professional field was authorized by Dolby, and the certification of civil machines was entrusted to Lucas, which was called thx surround ex. Therefore, in the early market, for machines that supported Dolby Digital Surround ex decoding, the logo on the panel was actually thx surround ex, such as anqiao's tx-ds797 and Tianlong's a11sr. The basic principle of Dolby Digital Surround ex is still matrix technology based on analog system, so it belongs to matrix type. Therefore, many low-cost machines at home and abroad use matrix technology of directional logic to solve Dolby Digital ex sound effects. Because Dolby Digital ex 6.1 technology is based on Dolby digital5.1, even the digital audio track of Dolby Digital ex is still 5.1 channels, which is completely compatible with the current 5.1 system

dts is divided into DTS es matrix 6.1 and DTS es discrete 6.1. At first, DTS es system worked with matrix matrix 6.1 similar to Dolby Digital ex 6.1. Later, due to the needs of market competition and the pursuit of better surround sound effect, DTS company launched DTS es discrete 6.1 system, which is completely carried out according to independent 6.1 channels from production, coding to final decoding, so it will have better separation effect. However, in order to be compatible with the original Digital 5.1 system, in the process of recording such a DVD, the increased rear surround channel signal is hidden into the original Digital 5.1 channel signal. In the ordinary DTS 5.1 channel decoding AV Amplifier, this hidden rear center signal will not be detected, so pp-t20 and pp/epdm will not be affected T20 or PP rings the original DTS 5.1 channel decoding. In the new AV Amplifier circuit with DTS es discrete 6.1 channel decoding function, this signal can be detected, and the 6.1 decoding circuit can be started at the same time, and the hidden digital surround channel signal will be restored. It is worth noting that in pirated DVDs, not all DTS es tracks can be correctly marked with 6.1 to be recognized by the machine

however, there are still no unified and clear regulations on the logo of 6.1 format, and DVDs sold on the market are often ambiguous. On the one hand, for the logo of Dolby Digital Surround ex, you often can't see the logo on the package of the disc, but for later discs, you can see the option of ex on the menu. The new machine that supports Dolby Digital Surround ex decoding is also changed to Dolby ex on the panel logo to indicate that it has the decoding ability. In addition, in the process of DVD production, not many people added Dolby ex identification flag. Only Atlantis, Jurassic Park 3, Harry Potter 2, the Lord of the rings, 007 die another day, minority report and so on were confirmed. The ex tracks of the final versions of Star Wars prequel 1&2 and Terminator 2 also reacted differently on different machines. As for DTS es, due to the existence of matrix and discrete formats, this kind of unclear identification also occurs from time to time. Some discs only vaguely mark DTS es. It is impossible to distinguish whether it is an analog matrix or a fully digital discrete. It is easy to guide unnecessary debate and confusion during the 2018 Beijing international auto show when the pointer of the tensile testing machine immediately stops stretching when it swings slightly. Therefore, some DVDs simply label DTS es matrixs as DTS es 5.1 in order to distinguish the difference between the two. For example, 007 dies another day in zone 3 is marked in this way, because as mentioned above, the essence of DTS es matrix is still in the format of number 5.1. Of course, for AV amplifiers with complete 6.1 decoding function, different formats can be recognized and displayed. In general, the DTS es 6.1 sound effect can be seen from the logo on the disc package, but Dolby Digital ex 6.1 has no clear logo. Therefore, we should pay attention to which movies are made with Dolby Digital ex 6.1 at ordinary times, and the later discs will also be 6.1. As for whether DTS es is matrix track or discrete 6.1 track, we can refer to the official news of DTS. After all, the overall number is not large, and will continue to increase in the future, As for the Movie DVD with Dolby Digital ex 6.1 track, please refer to the news released by Dolby station. You can also refer to the menu and amplifier identification

in addition, for machines that support DTS 6.1 decoding function, DTS neo:6 format surround sound effect is also included to clamp the lower end of the test piece. We know that Dolby company can use any two-channel program source such as DVD, VHS video tape, TV broadcast, radio broadcast and CD to produce dynamic 5.1-channel surround sound effect. Compared with the first generation matrix decoding technology Pro Logic, rear surround sound is not only stereo, but also the frequency response is extended from the 7kHz bandwidth of Pro Logic to the full frequency band, and it has both music and cinema modes. DTS neo:6 is a DTS matrix processing technology launched to meet the needs of competing with Dolby Pro Logic II decoding format. It can obtain up to 6.1 channels of surround sound effect by using conventional stereo program sources. It can use any two channel analog or digital program source, such as CD, tape, FM radio, TV, stereo video recorder, etc., to produce 6.1 channel surround sound effect. Neo:6 also has two modes: neo:6 cinema is suitable for stereo movie sound with surround sound coding, and neo:6 music mode is suitable for converting stereo music programs into surround sound effects

as for the 7.1 channel machine, it is actually to adapt to the thx standard. In order to strengthen the rear surround sound image plane, the two-way rear surround sound layout is adopted, but the sound of the two channels is the same, and the signal still belongs to 6.1 channel in essence

second, purchase suggestions

first of all, we should pay attention to the recognition ability of 6.1 format, which is one of the main signs to measure the decoding performance of AV Amplifier. In this regard, imported equipment has obvious advantages. Basically, they both support DTS es matrix6.1 and DTS es discrete6.1 at the same time. However, not all machines can automatically recognize the sound track of Dolby Digital ex. As for domestic equipment, the recognition ability of 6.1 format track is generally poor, which shows obvious disadvantages compared with imported equipment. Although domestic equipment also began to take 6.1 as the selling point, this aspect still needs to be greatly improved. At the same time, in terms of decoding mode, automatic recognition also means that the corresponding decoding program can be automatically started. Dolby Digital ex decoding of many domestic equipment still needs to be operated forcibly, which is also noteworthy. In terms of surround sound parameter setting, imported equipment basically has relatively standard and rich menu setting items. In this regard, domestic equipment is insufficient. In addition to the pioneer vip003, which has relatively rich setting items, some equipment is too simple to adjust the sound quality according to the software program and the use environment. Secondly, the power of each channel of the multi-channel power amplifier should be the same as far as possible. In addition, the interface and the possibility of future upgrading should be considered. It is best to have 6.1 multi-channel input/output and several digital input ports for selection. Secondly, the strength of video switching function is also one of the important functions of high-end AV amplifiers, which is often ignored by domestic equipment, and even some models do not consider video function at all. The name of AV center is not true. A good AV amplifier can completely undertake the task of AV source switching