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MC-1 Digital Controller
PCM Effects and Parameters
ROLLOFF mimics the absorption of the air in the hall and, typically,
should begin with a low frequency to simulate large spaces.
SIDE LEVEL controls the volume level of the side speakers. Although
we have selected a default value, the correct setting will vary with each
recording, the room, and your personal taste.
SIDE ROLLOFF provides a high frequency cutoff for the side speakers.
The optimal setting for this control will vary widely with the source
material.
SOUNDSTAGE controls the level of the surround speakers relative to
the front speakers in a dynamic way. The MC-1 attempts to detect
whether or not the sound source was originally encoded from a surround
source by looking for occasional bursts of rear-steered material, and by
identifying the directional orientation of the background sound between
strong sounds. Whenever there is an indication that the source was
originally surround encoded, the Soundstage control automattically
reverts to the REAR setting — which gives the rear speakers full level.
The NEUTRAL position attenuates the rear speakers 3dB. The FRONT
position attenuates the rear speakers 6dB. The effect is to move the
listening position forward in the listening space.
SPEECH DETECT activates a circuit that distinguishes monaural
speech from other inputs. Essentially, this control turns down the effect
to make speech clearer. Whenever stereo signals are present, the right
and left input channels are used independently as inputs to the ambi-
ence synthesis. If there is a strong monaural speaking voice present at
the same time, this component of the input to the effect is reduced while
the stereo component is increased.
If the input signal is pure monaural speech the reverb is almost entirely
attenuated. SPEECH DETECT is a real benefit to some popular music
(where spoken voice, such as rap, occurs along with the music), stereo
television and early stereo movies. Any stereo material which was not
carefully mixed for Surround is a good candidate for playing through the
Nightclub, Concert Hall, Church or Cathedral Effect with speech detect
on.
SUBWOOFER LVL boosts or cuts the subwoofer output level. Although
the normal subwoofer level is set during the calibration procedure, with
some recordings it may be desirable to increase or decrease this deep
bass level.
SURROUND LEVEL adjusts the loudness of the signals sent to the rear
channels. This control should be set so that the rear is audible without
calling attention to itself. Numerical values and screen graphics are
displayed during adjustment. The settings also affect the level of the
side outputs.
