Direct Stereo

[Skidmarks]

I hate to bring a question like this to the forum, but i am just starting to get into a little more 2 channel audio. I feel it just sounds more natural than 5.1 or 7.1.

Anyway i change between 2 ch. and direct stereo and I find it makes a big difference. Now is this just a Yam. feature or is direct stereo a house hold name?

[3dzapper]

My Yami RX-V1 calls it 'Processor Direct". It eliminates the tone controls and loudness contour and sends the pre-amp signal straight to the output amps and pre-out jacks without any DSP.

Rick

[gibby214]

What 3d said. Plus. No sub with direct.

I also notice a big difference on mine.

Havn't figured out what the usefullness of direct stereo is, and how it differs from "straight". The manual is really vague on what the programs actually do.

Gib

[MrMcGoo]

Digital receivers usually have some form of direct stereo. It elimnates most or all of the processing prior to sending the PCM bitstream to the DACs. Depending on the system, there can be substantial sonic improvements from reducing digital processing.

My receiver produces far lower noise levels when I minimize the processing on SACDs also. (Most receivers cannot process SACDs.) The same machine also sounds better sometimes when I set it to "direct" for processing Dolby Digital 5.1.

The bottom like is that digital processing can add lots of noise. It depends on the processor, the source material and who knows what else.

Bill

[gibby214]

To my knowledge Yammies "Direct Stereo" is 2.0. Maybe your Elite's direct is the same as Yammies "Straight"?

I don't know.

[MrMcGoo]

My Pioneer has "stream direct" that has three different options. Stream direct minimizes unnecessary processing for 5.1 or 6.1 sources.

Bill

[sivadselim]

i run all 5 channels of my denon as "pure direct". i do all of my processing, including dvd movies, with my universal player.

[dragonfyr]

By removing the additional intermediate gain stages, the injected noise floor should not be 'raised', and you may be able to notice at least some improvement, or maybe it is better said, less degradation in the sound quality.

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Personally I prefer to clean up the electronic transmission elements using 'sound' basic physics (the straight wire with gain approach) and to tune the room-speaker acoustical interaction rather than employ any of the electronic means to attempt to 're-engineer' the mix.

After this is done, if EQ of the minimum phase components is still necessary, that is an option, but one I seldom find necessary.

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And as far as trying to play with the DSP functions which claim to adjust the apparent mix of direct and reflected signals in the direct field, well, have fun, but I personally don't have much use for them except as a rather strange effects generator. But then I could always insert a SansAmp or a wah-wah pedal inline as well

[Skidmarks]

Thanks for all the wisdom, I am quite the amature , so many of the answers here are for the most part over my head. I have a Yam. RX-V1400. I bought to put together my first HT/Stereo. I used to use it exclusively for HT but now I find myself listening to more music.

So that would be the reason for the question of what is direct stereo.

I must say I think its a noticable improvment over any other listening mode, at my disposal.