[Philip HS]

Hi,


to get the best "THX surround EX" sound...


- should I stick with my EAD Theater Master Ovation and

get the SMART unit

- ... get the ADA unit.

- Buy a DENON 4800 and keep the EAD TMO for Music listening


Thanks,


Philip

 

[Oscar Neundorfer]

Obviously, get the SMART unit!!!
http://www.avsforum.com/ubb/biggrin.gif


(SHAMELESS, SELF-SERVING PLUG)


Best regards,



------------------

Oscar Neundorfer

Chief Engineer

SMART Devices, Inc.


[email protected]

 

[Philip HS]

Oscar,


why is the SMART better than the ADA or the DENON?


Price is not the issue


Yours,


Philip

 

[Oscar Neundorfer]

Philip,


The SMART unit uses the patented Circle Surround matrix while the ADA uses ProLogic. I am not sure about the Denon, but I suspect it is ProLogic also. I am willing to be corrected on this if I am wrong.


The Circle Surround matrix, in my opinion and in the opinions of many others, is a better matrix than ProLogic. Its action is smoother and more natural sounding in that it tends to handle sounds panned from one channel to another very smoothly while the ProLogic tends to jump from one channel to another. The Circle Surround matrix handles complex multi-channel material better without the soundfield collapsing to center as the ProLogic does. The overall steering action is generally smoother than the ProLogic.


I would invite you to read the reviews on the SMART product and see what others have to say. You can expect me to be biased since I work for SMART. But there have been a number of good reviews from independent sources who say very good things about the SMART product.


Go to this web address and scroll down to the bottom of the page for links to the reviews:
http://www.smartdev.com/home.htm\\


Best regards,




------------------

Oscar Neundorfer

Chief Engineer

SMART Devices, Inc.


[email protected]

 

[Dan Hitchman]

DTS has got them all beat. Just came out with DTS ES Discrete 6.1. Plus they have DTS ES Matrix 6.1 and DTS Neo:6 (which acts similarly to Logic 7, Circle Surround, and Fosgate's 6-Axis).


The Denon 5800 will be the first receiver to offer these formats to consumers. Outlaw Audio is working on their own audiophile pre-amp for under $1,000 which is supposed to include these newest DTS formats and should arrive the latter part of this year.


The best part is that your current DTS chips will accept DTS ES Discrete 6.1 and play it as 5.1 (the seventh channel is embedded as a type of metadata) and any DTS Digital Out capable DVD player will pass this bitstream.


The Haunting DTS SE (with a new 24 bit, improved 7 channel remix from Lucasfilm encoded at 24 bits exclusive to this DTS release and reduced price!) and a new DTS CD, Don Henley's The End of Innocence, are the first titles to be released with discrete 6.1 tracks.


The first review of DTS 6.1 with The Haunting DVD compared it with the original 7 channel master first created at Lucasfilm's Skywalker Ranch and said that with the proper DTS ES equipment (symbolized with a new "DTS ES Digital Surround" logo to indicate compatibility with ES 6.1) at home, you would now get a definitive version of these 7 channel discrete masters (and it even improved upon it because of the new remix tweaking done). The extremely tight (not boomy like the previous DD EX release) bass comes out at 20-25 Hz in ALL seven channels when tracking the movement of the phantoms around the room precisely, so full range speakers at all 6 (or 7) main vectors and an LFE sub would be a must.



Chicken Run, Gladiator, and possibly even the Star Wars saga are likely candidates for DTS ES Discrete 6.1 tracks, plus more 6.1 DTS CDs are on the way. Can't wait!! =)


Dan