What's the best Sound Field to use with 5.1 Channel Surround Sound???

Question

I have a Sony Dream DVD Home Theatre System (DAV-FX900KW). Which Sound Field would be best to choose from? Choices are Auto Standard (Automatically detects type of audio eg. Dolby Digital, 2 Channel Stereo), Auto Multi (Audio comes from all speakers), Pro Logic (2 channel sources are put into all 5 speakers), Pro Logic II Movie/Music (Think its the same), Sony Cinema Ex A, Ex B, Ex C (Don't know what these are?). I just want to know whats the best Sound for watching a movie or music DVD??? :)

Answer 1

What you're gonna have to do is see what they recorded the soundtrack in, (5.1 Dolby as an example) on the dvd you're going to watch and "play" with the settings on your reciever to see what sounds best to you.Placement of your speakers plays an important part in the sound also.

Answer 2

Generally you want the system to auto-detect the DD 5.1 sound.

The Cinema Ex A/B/C are called "DSP Modes". They do strange things to the sound with time delays and equalization to make your room sound different.

These DSP modes are fake - but so is the sound for most movies, so you basically play with them and pick the one that sounds best to you with a favorite movie.

Example: Pirates/Terminator could sound bigger/louder with the "C" setting, but a comedy/drama may sound better without any of the DSP modes. You just have to play and hear what sounds good to you.

For the Superbowl, I turned on a "Stadium" mode which gave the sound a hallow/echo sound kind of like being in an outdoor stadium. It was fun, then I turned it off for movie watching.