https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=l&ai...hUKEwjPndKy2eGCAxV7SjABHeWhATUQww8I-g4&adurl=

I started a thread about my 5.1 system I’m trying to wrap up. I’ve assembled it from premade dsp amplifier boards, power supply, buck converter, etc. In the other thread I ask about the preamp I’m using and having issues with.

If, and once I sort out my current setup I’ll still be left with a decoder limited to optical, digital coax, and 2ch analog. Ive read that those two digital mediums are functionally limited in comparison to HDMI. After all the care Ive put into dreaming up and building this, I feel the benefits of HDMI are worth the upgrade.

I’ve come across this 7.1 board before and didn’t want to shell out the coins. As usual being cheap can come with a much greater expense in the long run. I’m pretty sure my current 5.1 board is doing discrete surround channels but I’ve yet to do any testing beyond utube surround tests which I’m unsure about their reliability.

I have a handful of small ne5532 stereo preamp boards where I wouldn’t need a separate multi channel preamp. That’s hoping that the tv ir remote doesn’t interfere with the decoder as is the case with my current 5.1 unit.

Is the 7.1 board linked above a reasonably safe gamble to achieve at least a discreet 5.1 presentation ? I believe that sometimes the rear channels are just processing applied to the L&R surrounds signal to create a rear effect. I don’t really see virtual rear surround as a deal breaker if I can end up with a nice quality and true L,R,C,sL,sR presentation.

Would finding a deal on a 7.1 receiver and yanking out the surround processing board be reasonable for a guy mostly limited in understanding to using store bought premade boards? I don’t want to just use an AV receiver as that’s no fun and all my speakers are designed to be run active with dsp on each individual driver.

 

Why do you need so many channels?
I made a 4 channels surround sound decoder about 43 years ago but usually I use ordinary 2 channels stereo with rear speakers playing the same as the front speakers.
Instead of a sub-woofer I added a bass boost circuit..

 

Modern movies have specific tracks for each channel. Specifically, having a center channel solidifies the sound to the screen for more than a one seat stereo tune while also carrying the vast majority of dialogue. I most definitely critically listen to music in 2ch.

Are you saying your front L and rear L are playing the same exact information? Same with the R ?

 

Why do you need so many channels?
I made a 4 channels surround sound decoder about 43 years ago but usually I use ordinary 2 channels stereo with rear speakers playing the same as the front speakers.
Instead of a sub-woofer I added a bass boost circuit..

Because it's not for music. I sold quad music systems in the early 70's at RS that had those 'fake' decoders. Multi-channel discrete sound for media viewing immersion is a thing, today.

 

https://www.google.com/aclk?sa=l&ai...hUKEwjPndKy2eGCAxV7SjABHeWhATUQww8I-g4&adurl=

I started a thread about my 5.1 system I’m trying to wrap up. I’ve assembled it from premade dsp amplifier boards, power supply, buck converter, etc. In the other thread I ask about the preamp I’m using and having issues with.

If, and once I sort out my current setup I’ll still be left with a decoder limited to optical, digital coax, and 2ch analog. Ive read that those two digital mediums are functionally limited in comparison to HDMI. After all the care Ive put into dreaming up and building this, I feel the benefits of HDMI are worth the upgrade.

I’ve come across this 7.1 board before and didn’t want to shell out the coins. As usual being cheap can come with a much greater expense in the long run. I’m pretty sure my current 5.1 board is doing discrete surround channels but I’ve yet to do any testing beyond utube surround tests which I’m unsure about their reliability.

I have a handful of small ne5532 stereo preamp boards where I wouldn’t need a separate multi channel preamp. That’s hoping that the tv ir remote doesn’t interfere with the decoder as is the case with my current 5.1 unit.

Is the 7.1 board linked above a reasonably safe gamble to achieve at least a discreet 5.1 presentation ? I believe that sometimes the rear channels are just processing applied to the L&R surrounds signal to create a rear effect. I don’t really see virtual rear surround as a deal breaker if I can end up with a nice quality and true L,R,C,sL,sR presentation.

Would finding a deal on a 7.1 receiver and yanking out the surround processing board be reasonable for a guy mostly limited in understanding to using store bought premade boards? I don’t want to just use an AV receiver as that’s no fun and all my speakers are designed to be run active with dsp on each individual driver.

I can't find much information about that board but it looks to be obsolete judging from this thread about similar boards in 2016.
https://www.avsforum.com/threads/hdmi-arc-adapter-to-hdmi-optical-audio-device-adapter.2310474/

Alternatively, for me, I may be looking at another pre-amplifier/"processor" available as a set of PCBs which is supposed to decode all multichannel formats, LPCM, Dolby and DTS. It also has several hdmi inputs and one HDMI output to the TV and eight analogue outputs. It is the ZY-DTS8HD 7.1 Channel Decode Board DTS AC3 3D HDMI 1.4 DTS Decoders for about US$125. Just like the CLUX-11SA/ A3830A, it sits between the player and the amplifier. The only downside is that you have to put it all together, wire up a power supply and put the assembled PCBs into a case. But that is in the future. I'm sticking to the CLUX-11SA/A3830A.

I rather spend the money on a modern receiver and spend a lot more time with speaker and room optimizations than electronics.

 

I can't find much information about that board but it looks to be obsolete judging from this thread about similar boards in 2016.
https://www.avsforum.com/threads/hdmi-arc-adapter-to-hdmi-optical-audio-device-adapter.2310474/


I rather spend the money on a modern receiver and spend a lot more time with speaker and room optimizations than electronics.

Ill be giving that thread a good read later, thanks. Our tv was medium low priced but we bought it this year. We watch all of our entertainment directly from the tv. There’s no dvd, apple tv box or anything else except the tv and it’s apps. I’m going to find our TV’s manual and see if it outputs surround, which it probably should considering the tv is the only source for most people anymore.

This information has pointed me in a good investigative direction, thanks.

 

5.1 is a pretty good starting target for TV source sound media. I did upgrade to a 7.1 system in the past and IMO it's not worth it for the small improvement you get.

I gave it to one of my kids for their exercise room music.
http://resources.jvc.com/Resources/00/00/95/LVT1198-001A.pdf

 

5.1 is a pretty good starting target for TV source sound media. I did upgrade to a 7.1 system in the past and IMO it's not worth it for the small improvement you get.
View attachment 308480
I gave it to one of my kids for their exercise room music.
http://resources.jvc.com/Resources/00/00/95/LVT1198-001A.pdf

The tv does do dts and Dolby digital internally. I think I’m going to set the decoder board up to run off stereo analog and just do whatever fake surround, the processing that sums and subtracts left and right. That way my girlfriend can use the tv as the volume control because she needs to see the volume line on the screen.

When we’re watching a movie that I care about I can switch the input to optical and get up to adjust volume as needed since the decoder acts screwy from the tv remote ir signal. I agree about the extra rear channels, at least in our small townhouse living room. As far as the fake 5.1, I feel like it’s only the surround channels that are cheesy. The LCR channels are reasonably good considering the processing is just subtracting the left signal from the right and such. It’s trying to muster rear information from a stereo signal that’s wonky imho.