Owner's Manual Media Console N40

1-8
Getting Started Mark Levinson
In a movie theater, film sound tracks that have been encoded with
Dolby Digital Surround EX technology are able to reproduce an
extra channel which has been added during the mixing of the
program. This channel, called Surround Back, places sounds behind
the listener in addition to the currently available front left, front
center, front right, surround right, surround left and subwoofer
channels. This additional channel provides the opportunity for
more detailed imaging behind the listener and brings more depth,
spacious ambience and sound localization than ever before.
A list of movies created using Dolby Digital Surround EX technol-
ogy can be found on the Dolby web site at www.dolby.com. A list of
available DVD software titles can be found at www.thx.com.
The Nº40 can also engage the “THX Surround EX” mode during the
playback of 5.1 channel material that is not Dolby Digital Surround
EX encoded. In this case the information delivered to the Surround
Back channel will be program dependent and may not be very
pleasing, depending on the particular sound track and you individ-
ual taste.
ASA (Advanced Speaker Array)
ASA is a proprietary THX technology which processes the sound fed
to the two surround speakers and the two back speakers to provide
the optimal surround sound experience. When you set up your
home theater system using all eight speaker outputs (Left, Center,
Right, Surround Right, Surround Back Right, Surround Back Left,
Surround Left and Subwoofer), placing the two Surround Back
speakers close together facing the front of the room will provide the
largest sweet spot. If you have to place the Surround Back speakers
apart, you will need to go to the THX Audio setup screen and
choose the setting that most closely corresponds to the speaker
spacing, which will re-optimize the surround sound-field.
ASA is used in two new modes: THX Ultra2 Cinema and THX Music
Mode.
• THX Ultra2 Cinema mode
THX Ultra2 Cinema mode plays 5.1 movies using all 8 speakers
giving you the best possible movie watching experience. In this
mode, ASA processing blends the side surround speakers and
back surround speakers providing the optimal mix of ambient
and directional surround sounds.
•THX MusicMode
For the replay of multi-channel music the THX MusicMode
should be selected. In this mode THX ASA processing is applied
to the surround channels of all 5.1 encoded music sources such
as DTS, Dolby Digital and DVD-Audio to provide a wide stable
rear soundstage.