Mark Levinson N40 - Manual (Page 15)

1-7
Nº40 Media Console Getting Started
Movie sound tracks are mixed in special movie theaters called
dubbing stages, and are designed to be played back in movie
theatres with similar equipment and conditions. This same sound
track is then transferred directly onto Laserdisc, VHS tape, DVD,
etc., and is not changed for playback in a small home theater
environment.
THX engineers developed patented technologies to accurately
translate the sound from the movie theater environment into the
home, correcting the tonal and spatial errors that occur. The Nº40
adds the following THX features when a THX Cinema mode or THX
Surround EX is indicated.
Re-Equalization™
The tonal balance of a film sound track will be excessively bright
and harsh when played back over audio equipment in the home
because film sound tracks were designed to be played back in large
movie theatres using very different professional equipment. Re-
Equalization restores the correct tonal balance for watching a movie
sound track in a small home environment.
Timbre Matching™
The human ear changes our perception of a sound depending on
the direction from which the sound is coming. In a movie theater,
there is an array of surround speakers so that the surround informa-
tion is all around you. In a home theater, you often use only two
speakers, located to the sides of your head. The Timbre Matching
feature filters the information going to the surround speakers so
that they more closely match the tonal characteristics of the sound
coming from the front speakers. This ensures seamless panning
between the front and surround speakers.
Adaptive Decorrelation™
In a movie theater, a large number of surround speakers help create
an enveloping surround sound experience, but in a home theater
there are often only two speakers. This can make the surround
speakers sound like headphones that lack spaciousness and envel-
opment. The surround sounds will also collapse into the closest
speaker as you move away from the middle seating position. Adap-
tive Decorrelation slightly changes one surround channel's time
and phase relationship with respect to the other surround channel.
This expands the listening position and creates – with only two
speakers – the same spacious surround experience as in a movie
theater.
THX Surround EX
Dolby Digital Surround EX is a joint development of Dolby Labora-
tories and the THX division of Lucasfilm Ltd.