Good morrow; it is early from whence I write this- up early on a Sunday morning enjoying the relatively low drain on the States’ power supplies that can lead to ‘lesser’ stereo systems having better signal to noisefloor (and other benefits that come from ‘better power’)…
Power and regulation/rectification and power supplies et al are discussed elsewhere and so are NOT the point of todays’ post - that would be DOLBY VOLUME - a tool I have not seriously considered for audio enjoyment.
What is Dolby Volume, and how might it help me to enjoy audio?
Dolby Volume is an intelligent way to compress the dynamic range of a recording, generally considered useful for late night listening that doesn’t annoy the family whilst providing the viewer a closer approximation of what the full soundtrack might offer them… (when we turn highly dynamic soundtracks down to a low volume level, a lot of useful scene audio is lost due to being buried under the noises that have our attention (and stop us from being allowed to turn the system volume UP whilst other people sleep).)
Having spent the last month or so listening nearly exclusively to the ‘bedroom surround setup’ not just for TV and movies, but also for some music; a few thoughts have surfaced regarding surround vs stereo amps and audio in surround vs stereo etc…
Dolby Volume is without doubt a real benefit to the ‘surround processor’ being inline with the main speakers and working on top of any room correction/timing correction/speaker correction that may be applied by a modern processor.
Yamaha has had continual various loudness control and ‘other methods’ to play late night music have been around for decades…(stereo amplifiers gave this in the eighties)
…
So what happens when I apply Dolby Volume to my nice music track?
From an audiofool perspective- the playback is destroyed; the true dynamic range - something we have spent decades evolving all equipment past 85dB of dynamics… is C R U S H E D.
Whilst losing potential dynamic range that we have paid big $ for, only to hit a button on a remote and squash it back down to late 70s ‘budget-fi’, is the output still HIGH FIDELITY (hi-fi) sound?
Yes- very much so- ONE METRIC (dynamic range) suffers, but…
I had found the bedroom ‘hifi’ (a surround system) very ho hum when listening to music.
That isn’t to say it is bad sounding- just (and this is important for context)- nowhere near as nice as any decent stereo setup when listening to music.
Sure I enjoy gaming in 10plus speaker surround sound, but for music, “not so much”.
Using an Anthem MRX720, with outboard power amps for all channels (except centre) the setup plays music ‘acceptibly’.
If I use a nice external DAC the sound can be improved (even if it has to redigitize/ADC the signal again for processing). When I put a Naim amp as a power amp in place for the main two speakers the audio improved MASSIVELY. (has been reason I have spent many many weeks just living off the surround system for all audio)
For music listening I found the Anthem Music mode made decent use of surround speakers for subtle ambient and room cue extension (it drops centre speaker for this mode).
All Channel stereo is all speakers, and the DTS X upmixer is probably the best way to enjoy the system (games set to PCM audio output and then using the DTS X to add height etc… sounds much better than Dolby Atmos gaming which uses a low fidelity ‘compressed’ base layer and DTS output might add latency…)…
But Dolby Surround mode allows me to use Dolby Volume.
‘Dolby Surround’ (not to be confused with the late eighties /early nighties product with the same name; a precursor to Dolby ProLogic) is the Dolby Upmixer (akin to DTS Neural X).
When listening to a music disc, altering between the various surround modes- Dolby Surround is NOT the best one to chose. Quite simply - most others sound better. (maybe not ‘all channel stereo’ but that is a personal preference thing that some users’ LOVE)
IT really depends on the music.
I can entertain soundtracks and soundscapes easily on a surround setup- but rock n roll? (rarely!)
Dolby Volume changed this for me… I actually found myself listening to orchestral recordings FOR ENJOYMENT
When Dolby Volume is switched on (and the processor set to a Dolby listening mode, for Dolby Volume to be useable), the effect is akin to the first time one realises with noise cancelling headphones that they can listen to music at SUPER LOW VOLUME levels and therefore experience less fatigue, can hear adeptly the full scope of what is going on, and can really focus on the music in front of them…
I found with Dolby Volume, that listening to recordings that typically require lots of volume (or else the quiet bits are missed, aside from the dynamic flourishes not quite ‘reaching high’) was now super easy, and could be done at any hour of the day…
falling asleep to classical pieces that usually require a bit of power, and having the whole piece play out -in my quiet space- but sounding like I have paid tickets to a real gig in an expensive auditorium is a modern luxury, true,… but Dolby Volume makes this totally possible in ways that my lack of prose to sell it as a ‘try it you may like it’ feature- it is so worthwhile.
Do I prefer my DAC through my processor bypassing the ‘reprocessing’? yes. (it sounds better than the DAC sound from the amp)
Do I do an ADC pass on my external DAC so that it can be room tuned and speaker tuned etc? yes. (it sounds better)
Does Dolby Volume mode allow a shitty surround processor that doesn’t hold a candle to a half decent stereo system to sound ‘good’? Yes it bloody does: and I am a purist who buys into cables and isolation practices and gold CDs etc… (yes- I love this hobby; ‘so what?’)
Whilst I am NOT one to use surround setups for music -since around the year 2000 I found it easier and cheaper to keep two systems; one for mass market recordings and ‘surround sound’ and one for nice recordings done in stereo- putting a Naim power amp (or integrated amp in AV Bypass mode) onto a surround amp is one of the biggest cheats to GREAT surround sound I have ever learned… that ‘valve like’ rendering sounds as 3D physical objects that have presence effect that Naim amps have, and we all take for granted, is amazing when incorporated into a surround system. (Air space and rendering beyond the front wall etc all given, but with added roar, growl and Boogie).
Whether or not people figure out the benefits of adding even two channels of outboard power amp to their surround setup (takes tonnes of burden of the surround amp and makes ALL OTHER CHANNELS sound so much better); Dolby Volume allows for listening to genres of music that REQUIRE power to sound right, and delivers THAT performance at a volume level that suits the listener.
I sat with a huge smile on my face, found there anytime I have heard some of the best orchestral performance from any given piece of kit, and that silly smile crept loving across my face as I listened to a lacklustre surround setup, delivering the music experience I want… without having to blast music and make my neigbours hear it.
(and to save the discussion perhaps getting derailed heavily with regards to ‘surround setup for music’ type quips; I FULLY AGREE the two channel setup in the next room blows away the surround setup- there is not contest, and no overlap- a person has to spend many times more momey to net a surround setup that is equal to a fairly budget stereo rig, generally speaking.)
Using Dolby Volume, I found some of the genres I had never considered to play via a surround setup, to be more than just playable… Perhaps one of the better music listening experiences, for enjoyment, I have had in recent years.