dgb Posted May 5, 2004 Share Posted May 5, 2004 Has anyone had any experience with this "3-D" processor from the 80s? Interesting thory, getting 3-D "surround sound" from 2 channels by interpreting acoustical cues. Evidently the technology is now embeded in everything from CD players to Sattelite boxes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuneBug Posted May 5, 2004 Share Posted May 5, 2004 I had heard about this technology back in the '80s, when it first came out. I was a broke teenager then, so I never had a chance to get one. Fast-forward to a couple of years ago, when I first heard of E-bay. After randomly looking up stuff that I had always wanted, but had never been able to afford, I came across one of the original Hughes AK-100 units. I picked one up for a few bucks, and started experimenting with it. I have to say, I really like it. If used in moderation, it can give some really interesting effects 2-channel stereo. The biggest advantage I was able to derive from it was that it expanded the sweet-spot in 2-channel radically, with sounds seeming to come from far beyond where the speakers were actually located. It was also really good at extracting ambient information from live recordings. It had the distinct advantage of doing it's thing without the really artifical "echoey" sound that you get in many preset sound fields. After I went with full surround, it was obvious that it wasn't as good as real surround sound, but what do you expect from just 2 channels. That being said, I still have the unit, and I still use it, because it has a really great 3D Mono mode that I like to use with old Mono movies. I like it even better than the mono mode on my Dolby Digital processor. One thing I have to mention is that the best implementation of this system was in the original AK-100. This thing was built to military grade specs in terms of the electronics used and discrete circuitry, but later versions (such as the ones in current TVs and such) were implemented with the "everything on one chip" approach that severly restricted the tweakability of the sound, which was essential to get the greatest performance out of the unit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgb Posted May 7, 2004 Author Share Posted May 7, 2004 Great, thanks for the info. I have a Carver Sonic Holography preamp, which I enjoy but has a tiny sweet spot. I've replaced that and was thinking of gettting a C-9 S.H. generator or this SRS thing. Sounds interesting, especially since I'm not going to be going into 5.1 anytime in the near future. If you're interested in selling it, shoot me a PM. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pzannucci Posted May 7, 2004 Share Posted May 7, 2004 That or look for a Nu-Reality vivid Theater. I have one and it does SRS with adjustable center and surround. When you were in a hall, you could hear the sound coming from the sides and above you. Really spectacular effect though there are some phase issues with these technologies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgb Posted May 7, 2004 Author Share Posted May 7, 2004 I have somthing like that on my PC, but I use the PC mainly for recording and not for playback. I see there are home stereo units, but can't find a link to buy. Where did you pick it up? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dgb Posted May 7, 2004 Author Share Posted May 7, 2004 How was the noise level? Did it add any crap or degrade the signal? Did it seem like a sturdy unit? ---------------- On 5/7/2004 9:22:48 AM pzannucci wrote: That or look for a Nu-Reality vivid Theater. I have one and it does SRS with adjustable center and surround. When you were in a hall, you could hear the sound coming from the sides and above you. Really spectacular effect though there are some phase issues with these technologies. ---------------- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JuneBug Posted May 7, 2004 Share Posted May 7, 2004 SInce I like the effect that SRS produced so much, I ended up buying several varieties of it's implementation. I currently have these versions: Hughes AK-100 Nureality VHT-200 (Vivid 3D Theater) 3 different versions of the Nureality boxes that were intended for portable/computer speakers. Each of these sounds distinctly different from each other. The best is the original Hughes unit. It has additional features on it (a couple of effect filters)that permit much finer control over the final output. The others got progressively worse, as they all eliminated the filters. The versions of this that I have seen on TVs are really bad, since they don't allow any adjustment of the effect at all. After playing with these, I can say that if you can't find the original unit, the Nureality VHT-200 is the best choice. I can't stress enough that the key to getting really interesting affects from these units, especially on high sensitivity speakers like Klipsch is MODERATION. Initially, I thought, if a little sounds good, a lot will be even better. This is not the case. It is very easy to over do the resulting sound, and depending on the source material, can give end up with a disconcertingly *unfocused* soundstage. I have used the units with other, less sensitive speakers (Advent Baby II) and these have benefited enormously from the effects, and are far more tolerant of overdoing it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pzannucci Posted May 10, 2004 Share Posted May 10, 2004 I had mine hooked to K-horns and it was quite interesting while listening to concert videos. Unfortunately I don't believe you can get any of them anymore but you might want to look for others that contain (I believe) Tru-surround and Circle-surround. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DPNoyes Posted June 4, 2005 Share Posted June 4, 2005 ---------------- On 5/7/2004 9:13:24 AM dgb wrote: Great, thanks for the info. I have a Carver Sonic Holography preamp, which I enjoy but has a tiny sweet spot. I've replaced that and was thinking of gettting a C-9 S.H. generator or this SRS thing. Sounds interesting, especially since I'm not going to be going into 5.1 anytime in the near future. If you're interested in selling it, shoot me a PM. Thanks ---------------- Hi, my name is Doug and I noticed your post while researching the AK-100 that I have. I don't use mine and if you'd like it, make an offer, but please bear in mind that I have no manual for it. Otherwise, it's in like new condition. You can contact me at DPNoyes@JoiMail.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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