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Multichannel Silence

I use a Pioneer DVD 45-A which plays both DVD-A and SACD, so naturally I am comparing the formats. Also, I have used a center channel speaker since long before even matrix (SQ) multichannel: my room layout dictates this because stereo speakers would be about 16 feet apart.
I conclude that DVD-A can sound just as good as theroetically-superior SACD, and SACD spatial effects can match DVD-A. IT ALL DEPENDS ON MASTERING TECHNIQUES OF THE PARTICULAR DISC.
One SACD baffles me. Sony Multichannel disc of Hilary Hahn (violin) playing Brahms Concerto in D Major. Poor Hilary is chopped in two and deposited in the corners of my room, with silence in the center! Another Sony Multichannel disc, Midori and Nobuko Imai, (violin and viola) Mozart Concerto in E-Flat Major, has all channels playing appropriately. However I note that Sony has two versions of the Midori disc, one Multichannel and one Stereo. No stereo version is listed for the Hahn recording, but I wonder if one really exists, and I got it by mistake.
Perhaps someone out there has the Hahn "Multichannel" disk and can tell me what they hear from the center channel.
eldartford

Showing 1 response by eldartford

eldartford OP
4,262 posts
 
Sogood51...Thanks for the answer. My player settings are fine. That's why I mentioned the other Sony disc which is OK. When you say that your disc "has" all channels, do you mean that the soloist is almost entirely in the center channel? This is usual recording practice.
To play my disc I need to use the available 2-channel stereo signals and put them through Dolby Pro Logic to get a center channel, but this is ridiculous when I'm starting out with what is supposed to be a multichannel disc.
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