5.1 supporting HD lossless audio?

[jerryyeatman]

I have an ageing Yamaha DD/DTS processor and I'm looking to get a new AV receiver such as the Sony STR-DA2400ES so that I can benefit from the new lossless audio formats.

I have 5 B&W speakers and a REL sub and I don't want to get any more speakers as they take up far too much room already!

My question is: does using 5.1 speakers in any way prevent the receiver from outputing the lossless audio properly? or does it just mix the rear 4 channels down to 2 channels? Or do I HAVE to go down the 7.1 route...

I'm currently also using the Sony BDP-S350 blu-ray player as a source.

Thanks

 

[Messiah]

Your current speaker set up will be fine. Most films are still only in 5.1 anyway!

 

[professorhat]

Yup, tis a common misconception that HD audio means 7.1. In fact it's the same as a lossless music file vs an MP3 - both are still in stereo, but one is a much better quality as there is less compression. Same with Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD compared to their older counterparts. As Messiah says, virtually all of the new HD soundtracks are still in 5.1.

 

[jerryyeatman]

Thanks for the replies. The reason I asked is that I downloaded the manual to the STR-DA2400ES and it said to hear HD audio you should select a picture resolution of greater than 720p which surprised me as I didn't think picture resolution would have any bearing on sound output. I wondered if there were any other anomalies...

So if I were to watch a 7.1 blu-ray would it be downmixed to 5.1 or would 2 channels of audio just be lost?

I assume it's also not a problem to have a vacant set of speaker outputs on the receiver?

 

[Pistol Pete1]

No problem if receiver has vacant speaker terminals....in the set up it detects it, and takes them off the menu's and , I assume, 'switches' the terminals off.

Hope thats useful..............

 

[jerryyeatman]

I've just read this on another forum, it's a reply from Yamaha to a question about 5.1 with Dolby True HD

Thanks for your email and for your interest in Yamaha. With reference to the DSP-AX863SE. The Surround back L/R channels are NOT directed to surround L/R.

This will only be in the case of Dolby True HD contents playback, other audio formats such as Dolby digital plus, DTS-HD Master Audio are supposed to be directed to surround channel, when setting surround back to "NONE".

Unfortunately, it is a Dolby True HD specification. So we can not change it.

So is this saying that Dolby True HD requires 7.1 speakers? If you watch a film with a 7.1 soundtrack through 5.1 speakers you just LOSE 2 channels of sound rather than is being mixed with the other 2 surround speakers?

If so, that's a bit rubbish to say the least.

 

[professorhat]

Well, the surround back channels are ambient effects, just to further envelope you in the sound. Whilst you will definitely notice them if they are there, I don't think it will make much of a difference if you're not used to this enveloping effect i.e. you only have a 5.1 system. Also, I don't think there are any Dolby TrueHD 7.1 soundtracks as yet. I certainly haven't seen any.

I honestly wouldn't worry about it - if you ever do come across a Dolby TrueHD track with 7.1, I don't think missing the surround back effects is going to spoil the movie somehow.

 

[bballtom]

I've been a little confused about this recently. I've got the KEF 3005 with Sony STR-DA1200ES amp. It has multi channel input so if I get Sony BDPS550 with the onboard decoding I will benefit from the HD audio tracks in 5.1?

 

[daveh75]

bballtom:

I've been a little confused about this recently. I've got the KEF 3005 with Sony STR-DA1200ES amp. It has multi channel input so if I get Sony BDPS550 with the onboard decoding I will benefit from the HD audio tracks in 5.1?
yes. you certainly will benefit from hd audio tracks!

 

[jerryyeatman]

OK thanks, fair comment. I was just thinking that volume level may be affected is surround effects are only coming out of half as many speakers as they should do.

Are there few 7.1 soundtracks in general, or is it just on TrueHD?

 

[professorhat]

Very few in general at the moment.