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Another feature request. Rather than just basic bass/treble/ambient/full adjustments for speakers, any chance of pre-configured (or configurable) DSP settings for music Sonos, you know, those “old skool” DSP settings like Concert Hall, Jazz Club, Dance, Dolby Theatre, etc to select from?

For some added context and having been through MANY different varieties of music, surround sound and home theatre systems over the years. Sometimes, nothing beats good old fashioned 2.0 stereo but without the technology of today, those old systems had to use psychoacoustic trickery to make the sound more interesting/engaging, some with greater success than others 

Using my TruPlay’d Arc, 2 x One and Sub setup as basis, for movies and TV’s, it sounds as great as would be expected. For music as well, it’s definitely no slouch and certainly has presence and fills rooms but it’s all based on TruPlay and the room acoustics and manual adjustments of levels. The only thing I found is that it’s still somewhat directional and you really need to be in the sweet spot in front of the main channel (the Arc in most cases).

I’ve tried spatial audio and Atmos content on Apple, Amazon etc. but found it very hit and miss in terms of the experience because it is so heavily dependant on how well the mix has been done. In my mind, the old skool DSP approach applies it to all audio regardless of mix so a “Concert Hall” DSP might leverage the upfiring speakers or psychoacoustics better to make to add a bigger/different colour to the soundstage rather than expand it  

Granted, some of those old DSPs are/were VERY tacky and it may not be something that everyone wants. It would also be very subjective in terms of experience whether people would like it.

From my side though, a small, nicely curated set of specific DSPs (e.g. Concert Hall, Jazz Club) would be a nice touch just for music (automatically disabling the DSP when switching source back to TV/video) to give an added (different?) sense of immersion to music when you want to listen to music more immersively like how we get 5.1/Atmos/DTS for modern movie/audio content.

Just thought I’d throw it out into the ether. Sorry if it’s been asked already.

Hi @Dean_H 

Thank you - I've marked this thread as a feature request and it will be seen by the relevant teams for consideration. Keep the ideas coming!

Appreciate it @Corry P , thank you.
 

As hopefully came across, the aim is not to be devalue the sound of the system through trickery and gimmicks. Granted most music was designed for 2.0 stereo, and sometimes there is no substitute and it sounds perfect as it is, 

It’s just about making music that little bit more immersive and engaging and having it come around you rather than at you, perhaps similar to the approach incorporated into the Beam Gen:2 to compensate for the lack of dedicated Atmos upfiring drivers.

I’ll do my best to keep the ideas coming 😉

Hi @Dean_H 

It should be noted that the DSP pre-sets you speak of have/had nothing to do with spatial correction and were EQ adjustments only. At least, not in the cases that I remember coming across. To have these instead of treble/bass controls would not affect immersion in the way that you speak of it. Some devices may have added reverb, but I would argue that reverb is a choice for the audio engineer/producer making the recording, not the listener, to make. 

TruePlay, on the other hand, does perform spatial corrections as well as EQ adjustments, so perhaps we already have the feature you were looking for? TruePlay does not add reverb, however.

Or, perhaps I have misunderstood you.

It’s similar to having a tray of condiments on the table that allows the diner to “adjust” the chef’s choices.

Sorry @Corry P . I am no sound engineer or expert on the subject. I didn’t mean spatial correction, using true play, but more around sound fields and synthesis.
 

The simplest comparison I think I can find is what (….quick Google search….) the Yamaha DSP-1 does/did.

hope that makes better sense

Hi @Dean_H 

I looked at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yamaha_DSP-1

That sounds quite like the stereo up-mixing we already perform on Home Theatre setups, when the audio is coming from the TV. I take it you’d like to see the same done to stereo sources of music specifically? I think I get you now. I can’t see us ever adding pitch control or echo, but that’s not for me to decide - your request has been noted! Thanks again!

Incidentally, if you somehow get your TV (or source device connected to the TV) to play the music in stereo, then your Arc will up-mix and play some sounds through the surround speakers.

 

Jazz Club

“Niiiice” 😑

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