Do you guys use small theatre large theatre or living room?

[lunarwolf]

I will suggest that you quit with your cocky attitude kid. Calling me ignorant will not prove your point. Not everyone is into the things that you like, or know the things you know. You have a better system, good for you, whatever. Try to be humble, or enjoy it and STFU...

humble? you are the one calling your boom box system "top of the line", in reality it's entry level at best. i said mine was merely mid-range. unlike you, i wasn't using insults, just stating the fact that you are ignorant on the matter.

 

[daft biker]

large is meant for surround sound systems not using a subwoofer. if you have a subwoofer you should set options to small. basically means anything below 80hz crossover goes to sub. living room is for TV speakers

Sounds plausible - large theatre did seem a bit mickey mouse to me with my 5.1 setup and am enjoying small theatre now. However when I selected large theatre it gave me a message that said something along the lines of it being for serious systems.....I'm not believing them either now I've tried it

I also have my crossover at 80hz....watching replays or playing b-spec with camera at the side of the track was silly loud when the car got close in large theatre...not comfotable at all and could barely hear the points counting up when drifting.

Anyway, SWMBO didn't approve of large theatre so that's an end to it here

 

[novcze]

Living Room as I listen through my Bravia TV when I play GT5.
Only occasion when I listen GT5 through sound system (Onkyo, Mission) is when I want to play some classical music included in GT5.
Only gaming I do with surround sound is Battlefield 3, which is superb and it really helps in battle. From what I remember Deep Space also sounded great.

 

[diptob79]

humble? you are the one calling your boom box system "top of the line", in reality it's entry level at best. i said mine was merely mid-range. unlike you, i wasn't using insults, just stating the fact that you are ignorant on the matter.

Umm.. Maybe he said top of the line refering to sony bravia sound system lineup.
And thanks for the explanation about LT. I didnt realize that is for system without sub.

....
I have an issue when setting the sound itu either small or large theater, its kind of unstable with buttkicker, so i stick with living room setting and back to basic with 2.1 system

 

[Griffith500]

Sounds plausible - large theatre did seem a bit mickey mouse to me with my 5.1 setup and am enjoying small theatre now. However when I selected large theatre it gave me a message that said something along the lines of it being for serious systems.....I'm not believing them either now I've tried it

I also have my crossover at 80hz....watching replays or playing b-spec with camera at the side of the track was silly loud when the car got close in large theatre...not comfotable at all and could barely hear the points counting up when drifting.

Anyway, SWMBO didn't approve of large theatre so that's an end to it here

No it didn't, it said there are likely to be large volume changes.
It's because it makes use of the full dynamic range available (16 bit audio is effectively about 96 dB of range, so about the same as our hearing, excluding masking effects). What this means is that distant cars are likely to be quieter than the sound coming from the PS3 itself (fans) and the loudest sounds will still be at the volume you normally use. The idea, then, is to turn it up so that quieter sounds (like the music) are audible as normal. That makes cars closer to you much, much louder. Supposedly as it would be in real life, but that can be a bit overpowering if you're not expecting it or just not in the mood for it.

I don't see how the dynamic range setting changes the bass quality / content though, but then I don't have a sub to test with at the moment.

 

[daft biker]

No it didn't, it said there are likely to be large volume changes.

It did


IMG_5031 by Andrew Robertson, on Flickr

I don't see how the dynamic range setting changes the bass quality / content though, but then I don't have a sub to test with at the moment.

Dunno what, if anything, it does to the response curve but to get the quieter noises at a nice level means the loud noises are at shake the room level for me.....which would be fine if the sound quality was up to it but on my "serious home entertainment system" the compression artefacts make the exhausts sound really harsh and raspy. Or maybe they don't count a £10K home cinema as serious enough! I prefer to keep the volume of the exhaust down a bit in whatever sound mode or the quality issues are too obvious.

In some ways I miss my old Sony 5.1 system......it was much more forgiving of lower quality sources like games consoles than what I have now. It even had a game mode on the amp which I used to love with my PS1

 

[novcze]

In some ways I miss my old Sony 5.1 system......it was much more forgiving of lower quality sources like games consoles than what I have now.

Exactly, more quality system you get, more things sound like s*hite

 

[BWX]

Exactly, more quality system you get, more things sound like s*hite

No, you are just able to tell the difference between low quality or low bitrate sound and higher quality sound sources. On a crappy system, everything sounds like crap.

I use Large Theater in the daytime or when I won't disturb anyone and really want to crank it up.

For night driving or when not in mood for full volume I use Small Theater.

When using ''Large Theater'' setting, I set the Menu music and sounds to 120, and race sounds to 50. I don't use race BGM.

Using a Yamaha RX-V661 7.1-Channel receiver hooked up via HDMI to the PS3, then to a 52'' Aquos. I sit about 6 feet away from the TV in a sim rig w/G25.

edit.. for anyone who cares, maybe one person? (some specs)
-90.0 Watt - 8.0 Ohm - 20 - 20000 Hz - THD 0.06 % - 2.0 channel(s) (Front)
-90.0 Watt - 8.0 Ohm - 20 - 20000 Hz - THD 0.06 % - 1.0 channel(s) (Center)
-90.0 Watt - 8.0 Ohm - 20 - 20000 Hz - THD 0.06 % - 2.0 channel(s) (Surround)
-90.0 Watt - 8.0 Ohm - 20 - 20000 Hz - THD 0.06 % - 2.0 channel(s) (Surround back)
---Audio D/A Converter 24bit/192kHz
---Output Power / Total 630.0 Watt
----Weight25.6 lbs

Using some surprisingly good sounding Onkyo speakers, although they are the weakest link. I can dial them in nicely with YPAO, which uses a microphone to equalize each speaker independently according to it's location in the room and it's characteristics. YPAO makes a huge difference actually. 10'' subwoofer crossed at 60Hz. My front left, right, and center speakers are medium sized and have no problem with 80Hz and lower.

GT5 sounds great most of the time, but there are times when I can hear some 'digitized' sounds that GT5 spits out that are not pretty. It's kind of like a tone that repeats itself several times a second when certain sounds mix together.. Like engine sounds and wind noise combined with three other cars and some tire squeel. It's like the PS3's sound processor can't handle it and just does the best it can, and the sound gets digitized and muddled at the same time. When an engine is droning around an oval it's most notable. It's subtle though, and doesn't happen all the time. I think the last update helped that problem quite a bit too.

Large Theater setting is definitely made for a system with a subwoofer. I never read anything that said otherwise. It sounded like someone said ''Large Theater'' was made for a sound system without a subwoofer in a post earlier, but that makes no sense at all.

 

[Tsukasa_Bullet]

5.2 is like a 5.1 but with a reinforcement of the bass. I saw some speakers that has an extra bass reinforcemnt in the same box...

My RX-A1010 is labeled by Yamaha as a 7.2 ch amp. An it does have to LFE outputs which I utilize using two Soavo subs.

I'm not a expert on this stuff, so please correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[novcze]

No, you are just able to tell the difference between low quality or low bitrate sound and higher quality sound sources. On a crappy system, everything sounds like crap.

But that is the same thing as I wrote, isn't. On a crappy system everything sounds like crap, but that is your reference so you can't tell what is better. Then you buy more quality system and half of things you liked now sound like crap, because that mp3 or record isn't exactly quality one. Thus more quality system you get, more things sound like s*hite.

Then you learn about room acoustics and everything goes to hell (joke)

 

[daft biker]

.....Then you buy more quality system and half of things you liked now sound like crap, because that mp3 or record isn't exactly quality one. Thus more quality system you get, more things sound like s*hite.

Just aswell most of what I like is Pink Floyd and in the DVD days sought out disks of my favourite movies with high bitrate DTS sountracks as what you say is absolutely true but for me the benefits of good stuff sounding staggeringly good easily outweigh the flaws of the not so good stuff being more obvious.

My system mostly dates back to when there was only one Fast and Furious film (with a very nice for it's day DTS option on the DVD)! When I got it and watched F&F at cinema volume my next door neighbor complained that it sounded like a car was about to come crashing though his wall....I took it as a compliment since from where he was sitting that's what it should have sounded like

 

[BWX]

But that is the same thing as I wrote, isn't. On a crappy system everything sounds like crap, but that is your reference so you can't tell what is better. Then you buy more quality system and half of things you liked now sound like crap, because that mp3 or record isn't exactly quality one. Thus more quality system you get, more things sound like s*hite.

Then you learn about room acoustics and everything goes to hell (joke)

Well, yeah, but you just said ''more things sound like s*hite''.. I think more things sound better, you can just tell the difference between the great and not so great.

Anyway, Blu-Ray with Dolby TrueHD/ DTS-HD Master Audio, and other loss-less streams, things can sound amazing. For instance GT5's BGM sounds a lot better and cleaner than anything coming out of my DVR, even though they're both digital and acceptable bit-rates. GT5's BGM must be a higher bit-rate (not sure what it is though). Some 7.1 truly ''loss-less'' Blu-Ray movies sound amazing, almost real at times. At that point it's just your speakers and receiver holding you back, not the source. I still think the better your equipment, the better you can make things sound, regardless of the source, because you have more options to play with.

 

[Griffith500]

It did

IMG_5031 by Andrew Robertson, on Flickr

Dunno what, if anything, it does to the response curve but to get the quieter noises at a nice level means the loud noises are at shake the room level for me.....which would be fine if the sound quality was up to it but on my "serious home entertainment system" the compression artefacts make the exhausts sound really harsh and raspy. Or maybe they don't count a £10K home cinema as serious enough! I prefer to keep the volume of the exhaust down a bit in whatever sound mode or the quality issues are too obvious.

In some ways I miss my old Sony 5.1 system......it was much more forgiving of lower quality sources like games consoles than what I have now. It even had a game mode on the amp which I used to love with my PS1

Ha, I only saw that the day before, as well; I must've only read the part about volume changes.
Still, you can see what they mean; TV speakers aren't gonna cut it. I don't think it's implying that you need to invest quite as much in a sound system as you have, for sure, especially when it works fine with headphones.

Again, it implies dynamic range, not "quality" 👍


Some of the artefacts people are describing sound like classic looping problems (the samples not being perfectly suited to being looped, like a bad ani' .gif) and of phasing / combing which occurs when multiple versions of the same sound are being played (e.g. tyre noise). It has nothing to do with the PS3 "breaking down", "not being able to handle it" etc. Some of it might be sample-rate dependent, but most of it is normal superposition stuff, or other effects that are par for the course when you're dealing with recordings (what with them being fixed and all, and most things in the world being infinitely and infinitesimally variable.)

 

[daft biker]

Again, it implies dynamic range, not "quality" 👍

Aye, although it's not exactly hifi quality the surround effects can be pretty good....if being draughted I can hear where the car is before it comes into view for example, which I think is nice. The surround panning in replays and stuff can be most impressive too.

 

[Grimmeh]

I use “Small Theater” with my Sony home-theater-in-a-box. Not too much difference between living room, but it certainly is labeled the most appropriately, so I stick with it.

 

[CSLACR]

I'd like to know what the grounds are to claim "large theater" is for systems without a subwoofer (smaller systems) and "small theater" is for larger systems. (ones with subwoofers)
Just like to see a single shred of evidence to support that it's backwards. (though it wouldn't be the first thing)

Anyway before the new "improved" sounds, I'd recently found small theater sounder great through my TV speakers, only to have PD "improve" it, and now living room setting offers better sound.
Neither currently sounds as good as small theater did for me before the update.

 

[Wiki]

Im using Large theater with my ONKYO (i did a super set-up) 7.1 channels, but sounds much better in DTS 5.1, this can easily beat FM4.

 

[DGXR]

I use living room. My audio system is 2-channel stereo. It is *very* powerful, but it's not fancy like the Dolby 5 or 7 or whatever the latest multi-channel audio is. Sounds fine to me.

 

[mikecustom]

i have nothing but my tv speakers and a custom equalizer, lol, so i use living room, it sounds good in small theater but the sound gets really silent on the replays, large theater sounds good,but then the volume gets incredibly high while i'm reving the car, so the living room fits best with my EQ,

my TV is a '65 inch LED 3D, so the speakers aren't that bad but nothing like a good 5.1/7.1 sound system

 

[Kino321-X]

Small theatre with 7.1 Surround. Sounds amazing on the Official Wireless Headset.

 

[Snakebitten]

Good info, but I don't think my all-in-one Sony Bravia Theatre is crap at all... It's top of the line and it cost me big bucks. It's was the most I could afford.

Is not as good as a build-it-yourself theatre like yours, but is better than many other regular sets for people who don't have a clue on how to set up a good reciever plus speakers.

Believe me before I got into the audiophile game I used to think just like you that Sony, Denon, Pioneer, Onyko etc were top of the line and high end. NOT EVEN CLOSE. Well the Pioneer Elite series are very good from what Ive read. If you think your system was big bucks it would open your eyes REALLY WIDE to see prices for just a "mid-fi TURNTABLE. It could cost more than your entire system 1-2 times over. And we didnt even get to high end. Tippity tip top high-end speakers can cost as much as an Aventador or more. And thats just a speaker not the rest of the system lol.

Lunarwolf might have come across a little harsh to you but once you get in the game and realize the crap they sell as top of the line to most of the public you will understand where Lunarwolf is coming from. His words were more against the so called top of the line Sony product that it was directed toward you.

Im a fledgeling audiophile and my knowledge isnt all encompassing but from my exposure to brands like Merlin, Manley etc you can never go back to enjoying th elow end stuff that is passed off for highend...As Lunar wolf mentioned watts mean nothing when it comes to quality of the audio. Loud and boomy is easy thats why everybody sells cheap subwoofers.

OT....I use small theater....My setup is not as good as Lunarwolf's. I have a Marantz SR7005 feeding 3 Mythos XTR60's and 2 Mythos Gems and the .1 will soon be a JL Fathom F113. I cant wait.

 

[Dean]

I don't have a surround sound system, but I use small theatre. It's the best setting, I believe, for Sony's 32" BX and EX TV's.

 

[Cappers]

I'd like to know what the grounds are to claim "large theater" is for systems without a subwoofer (smaller systems) and "small theater" is for larger systems. (ones with subwoofers)
Just like to see a single shred of evidence to support that it's backwards. (though it wouldn't be the first thing)

Anyway before the new "improved" sounds, I'd recently found small theater sounder great through my TV speakers, only to have PD "improve" it, and now living room setting offers better sound.
Neither currently sounds as good as small theater did for me before the update.

It's referring to the speaker size. Large is used when you don't have a sub, when it's a full range speaker and there's no crossover going to the sub. You select small speakers when you have a sub and the bass crosses over to the sub.

Google phrases such as large speakers small speakers, you should find many explanations such as this:
http://www.hometheater.com/content/setting-avr-large-or-small-speakers

I didn't even think of that until the angry condescending guy posted it. Good job, I guess.

Sorry to bump this old topic but it's for the good of the game! It think many people don't have their audio settings correct for many games. If you don't have 5.1 or 7.1 then living room should be the selection to pick, it should simulate the surround better than trying to use a format that's not intended for your speaker arrangement.

 

[BWX]

It's referring to the speaker size. Large is used when you don't have a sub, when it's a full range speaker and there's no crossover going to the sub. You select small speakers when you have a sub and the bass crosses over to the sub.

Google phrases such as large speakers small speakers, you should find many explanations such as this:
http://www.hometheater.com/content/setting-avr-large-or-small-speakers

I didn't even think of that until the angry condescending guy posted it. Good job, I guess.

Sorry to bump this old topic but it's for the good of the game! It think many people don't have their audio settings correct for many games. If you don't have 5.1 or 7.1 then living room should be the selection to pick, it should simulate the surround better than trying to use a format that's not intended for your speaker arrangement.

No you are wrong and that is total BS.

 

[GODfreyGT5]

Large theatre, with my headphones is the best for drifting and racing as it stops your engine sound being drained out by nearby cars.

 

[Dean]

After I've read a bit about it, I would say, small theatre is a 2.1 setup, while the large theatre is 5.1 and above. Living room, must be 2.0 (maybe 2.1). - Though, I'm not sure.

 

[Griffith500]

It's just controlling a dynamic range compressor. Living Room uses the highest compression levels and Large Theatre is near zero compression. That's all it does.

They need this because the sound design encompasses the large volume differences you get in real life, but not all speakers are capable of working well over that same range (the "larger", more expensive setups tend to do better, but it's not as straight forward as "2.1" or "5.1", which tells you nothing about the quality of the speakers).
Some people don't like the violent swings in volume anyway, despite having hardware that could do it justice. In that sense, it's just as much an aesthetic choice as it is hardware permitting.

In that sense, I've never understood the labels given to the options. Perhaps it's easier than explaining what DRC is, which I think they should do.

 

[Ridox2JZGTE]

I have a set of 5.1 Mordaunt Short Carnival series, the sub has a frequency dial at the back for 50 Hz to 150 Hz, should I set this to 80Hz, I have it at 60 Hz since new, watching Bluray movies is pretty good. Should I set my Harman/Kardon AVR crossover for LFE to 80 Hz ? My bi-wired speaker set can go as low as 55 Hz, I think, so should I set crossover for them at 60 Hz or 40 Hz, these are the only setting available on my AVR.

The Mordaunt Short Carnival set is the best investment I ever made, great quality at reasonable price, from $200+ per pair.

 

[BWX]

It's just controlling a dynamic range compressor. Living Room uses the highest compression levels and Large Theatre is near zero compression. That's all it does.


..........

Exactly.

 

[esoxhntr]

It's just controlling a dynamic range compressor. Living Room uses the highest compression levels and Large Theatre is near zero compression. That's all it does.

They need this because the sound design encompasses the large volume differences you get in real life, but not all speakers are capable of working well over that same range (the "larger", more expensive setups tend to do better, but it's not as straight forward as "2.1" or "5.1", which tells you nothing about the quality of the speakers).
Some people don't like the violent swings in volume anyway, despite having hardware that could do it justice. In that sense, it's just as much an aesthetic choice as it is hardware permitting.

In that sense, I've never understood the labels given to the options. Perhaps it's easier than explaining what DRC is, which I think they should do.

exactly, just a compression setting that levels out the volume of the various sounds coming out of your speakers.

has nothing to do with 2.0, 5.1, 3.1, 99.2

when nobody's home, I play it on large theatre and give 'er. when there's people home it's on small theatre.