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Rear Channel fill

I have to start out by saying I was in high school, when the 4 channel or quad hi-fi made it's debut.  The discrete quad was very different, but appealing.  I remember in Nashville, on WKDA, they would broad cast the Quad hour.  That's not what it was called, but close.  Of course it was nothing like the quad LP's that were sold.  Real quad is mind bending.  Alas-no more.  Now, the debut of 5.1 surround, has let dad or husband get pretty good sound "for the family."
Sometimes, I enjoy adding rear channel speakers, at a low level, as "fill."  Some say they want to experience the live concert experience, but the only concert experiences I recall, that were of great quality, were classical concerts I had to attend for school.  In the right venue-wow.
I mostly listen to old classic rock, some hybrid bluegrass and progressive jazz.  About the only thing I can say about live rock concerts is that some of them, when mixed properly, are ass kicking, as far as sound that drives me into my chair-when sitting down,  Anyway, sometimes I like to add a little rear channel fill.  Am I alone?  I've had some say I'm not reproducing the "real' concert sound.
I dig it-occasionally.
handymann
12 responses Add your response
handymann OP
383 posts
 
bdp24:
I went up to listen for a while and I will say, when incorporating the rear speakers, I loose some of my imaging and sound stage.  One would speculate, it would be the opposite. I guess with 4 dimensional sound  sound, you have no reference point. My son recently visited and he had the same opinion as you.  I love this forum.  Always thinking and learning.
handymann OP
383 posts
 
bdp24
I don't want you to misinterpret what I'm saying.  Yes-I'm talking about the same signal sent to my rear speakers as the front, but at a very low level.  You actually have to get close to the speaker to hear if it's even on.  Just gives me a fuller sound.  I don't do it all the time, just occasionally.
handymann OP
383 posts
 
imhifan:
I have experienced surround sound in audio, bet I don't prefer it.  I still enjoy 2-channel sound, but occasionally, with just a little signal doing to my rear speakers.  You actually have to get close to the speaker, to hear if it's even on.  It just sounds like more of a whole room effect.  I'm in the process of building a modified QRD-13, to put on the front wall, with more emphasis on the lower frequencies.  Soon, I plan to build two QRD-11's to put behind my listening chair.  I have an abundance of absorption, that serves me well.  Sometimes I think I may have too much.  I can't hear things I used to, I know are in certain LP's, but it could be age.  I can't hear anything over 12Khz.:(
imhififan's avatar
imhififan
2,183 posts
 
My Denon AVR has Multi channel stereo mode, the front left channel signals are output to the surround and surround back signal left channels, the front right channel signals are output to the surround and surround back signal right channels, and the in-phase component of the left and right channels is output to the center channel, all channel level can be adjusted and unlike most DSP modes there is no delay built in, its fill up the room with sound nicely.
 
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
The digital time delay of yore was the best for rear channels, since the rear channels should produce only the ambient sound that is comprised mostly of reverberant decay. The rear channels were rolled off above 7 kHz as I recall. I had the six channel Audio Pulse Model Two time delay set up with all six channels. Whoa, Nellie!














bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,788 posts
 
So you mean speakers behind the listening position making the same sound as the front speakers? Not anything I would want to do or hear, and imo not a desirable thing. But to each their own!
handymann OP
383 posts
 
It's amazing to me, how people can get off on tangents.  I'm talking about rear speaker fill, with the same source as the front speakers.  Da...
handymann OP
383 posts
 
simao:
I'm not wanting a real concert sound.  From my experience, I can produce better than concert sound.  In the last few months, I have had the privilege of seeing Roger Waters in two different states, David Gilmour in Chicago, which was the absolute best experience I've ever had, Mike Mcdonald, at the Ryman and several Eagles concerts that to me were primo.  I think I have the ability to better real concert sound, with one exception.  Gilmore in Chicago.  Best sound I've ever experienced.
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,788 posts
 
A Dynaco ambience box (Dynaquad, or was it Quadaptor?) is a cheap, easy way to mimic the hall sound in live recordings. It merely creates an out-of-phase (left minus right) signal from the 2-channel signal, creating ambience that a pair of rear speakers can be fed. Fun!
simao's avatar
simao
1,819 posts
 
You want 'real concert" sound? Go to a real concert.

Seriously. Invest the money you'd spend on audio on a live experience (or 10).
handymann OP
383 posts
 
I failed to mention I play only two channel in music.
erik_squires
16,058 posts
 
Have you tried Neo6? It does a pretty good job, not just with rear fill but also with a very good center channel signal if you have it.
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