Classe Audio SSP-300 - Manual (Page 13)

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Advanced Surround Array™ The people at THX have also found a solution to a problem that dogged high
performance multichannel systems for years: the apparent conflict between
optimal music and movie setups.
You see, movies are mixed in highly standardized environments,with even
spaced surround speakers in an array designed to provide a diffuse, enveloping
soundfield. Their goal is to draw you into the movie on the screen. If the
surround sound tempts you to look over your shoulder, the system has failed:
it has reminded you that you are safe in your living room rather than “in” the
movie you are watching.
By contrast, most multichannel music is mixed with a single pair of surround
speakers aimed directly at the listener from behind. Many music mixers
deliberately place particular instruments or musicians in these locations, and
want you to feel as though you are “in the middle of the band.” Thus, a diffuse,
non-localizable soundfield is not what you might like for the most accurate
reproduction of the musical producer’s intent.
THX Ultra solves this apparent dilemma by the innovative use of a special
surround array that can provide either highly diffuse surround sound (for
movies) or highly localizable surround sound (for music), without having to
reposition any loudspeakers. The Advanced Speaker Array™ places a pair
of surround speakers to the sides of the listener, and another pair directly
behind the listener (and as close to each other as practical). Through the use of
sophisticated digital signal processing (DSP), this array can create the audible
illusion of either many speakers surrounding you on all sides, or only a single
pair of speakers behind you and spread apart as you might normally expect.
THX Music Mode By using the technology in ASA (described above), the THX Music mode
optimizes the performance of the speakers in the system for multichannel
music – whether found on a concert video DVD, a DVD-Audio disc, or a
multichannel SACD disc.
When in THX Music mode, ASA creates the illusion of a single pair of
surround speakers located at ±30° from directly behind the primary listening
position. This simulates the most common configuration found in multichannel
music recording studios, and provides the best-possible recreation of the
experience the music producer had when mixing the recording.
There are other changes as well (for example, the Re-Equalization circuit
is not employed, since the music was not mixed with large movie theaters
in mind) – but the bottom line is that the THX Music mode does a terrific
job of optimizing the performance of your system for multichannel music
reproduction, with the touch of a button.