is it normal for dolby digital 2.0 to have more bass than 5.1

i noticed that at first with "Collateral" where the 2.0 track had more bass than the 5.1 and recently with the superbit release of Panic Room. the 2.0 bass is no match for the DTS but still a lot better than the 5.1 track. am i going crazy or is this normal

no.

As Eddie says, in theory no. However, bass is handled differently in 5.1, with a dedicated bass track that may be differently equalized by the audio engineers than the 2.0 track. It depends on what audio format the film originally used as well--from how many audio tracks the disc's 2.0 and 5.1 tracks were mixed and whether the engineers went back and remixed the two tracks differently for the two audio formats. There are too many variables at play to make a generalization.

Then, too, "good" bass is in the ear of the listener. What you may consider "good" may sound to me like simply "more," and to an audiophile more bass is not necessarily a good thing. Too much bass--in DVDs mostly in the midbass, by the way--can easily obscure the midrange, which is where 90% of the audio information is contained.

It's not uncommon for DVD audio engineers to heighten the midbass to impress listeners, but it is not always what the film's original audio engineers intended.

Bass is also highly room dependent. The frequencies between 40 and 120 Hz can vary widely with room acoustics, most rooms heightening the midbass by as much ten or twenty decibels. And one's speakers play a huge part in bass reproduction. Likewise, every theater will play back bass at differing levels due to theater acoustics and speaker selection. So, as I say, which bass track on your DVDs is "right" or "normal" depends largely on how much or how little bass you like. Personally, I prefer bass that's well balanced with the mids and highs, and tightly reined in (dampened).

Lastly, it is not uncommon to hear the bass track sound louder on DTS recordings; it's their big claim to fame. However, again, whether that makes DTS better than Dolby Digital is a matter of personal preference, not absolute correctness.

John

You're very welcome, indian. I hope Josh keeps us informed about what develops. Other readers may benefit from his and your experience.

John

eddie & john,
absolutely! what you and john said is not wrong at all. I didn't mean to come across that way. Sorry if I did. So many things can make a big difference in your home theater performance. That is just one thing that I have found to be very common amoungst people who buy @ best buy. They don't train their employees!!! I even went to them and told them what what problems were. There solution was "do you have a coaxial or optical cable? Then it should work." I now find solutions to my problems on my own through the manual or internet. Tons of good stuff. And lots of it is thanks to you guys on this site! So by the way, THANKS!:D

indian,

Good point; another possibility.

And, Josh, while you're at it, check the settings in your audio receiver. The output for DD 5.1 needs to be set correctly, too. There are any number of things that could be wrong, but one thing we all agree on is that if the sonic differences between DD 2.0 and DD 5.1 are as big as you say, something IS wrong.

John

indian,

that is also a possibility, though what john and i wrote isn't wrong, either. :)

eddie

It's not that. Your dvd player is not set up right. If you think dts is waaaaay better than dolby digital, your digital out is set to pcm. Not dolby digital or bitstream. I made the exact same statements a long time ago until one day I went through my dvd players set up and saw pcm instead of dolby digital. I hate best buy! They don't teach you anything!!! Luckily my dts was turned on so I could atleast enjoy that. But when you try to pass dolby 5.1 thru pcm it just doesn't sound right and the bass is lost. Yet 2.0 sounds better cause pcm is a 2.0 channel output. I honestly don't know nor do I care what pcm is for. But when you have it set to dolby digital and dts on, there is very little difference unless you have a really powerful system and like to turn it up really loud. Go through your dvd players set up menu with your remote. You'll find an audio set up. Set output to dolby sigital or bitstream. same thing. then... enjoy!;)

Very true, what Eddie says. Of course, you would only set your main speakers to "small" if you had a subwoofer to go with them. If you do not have a separate, dedicated subwoofer, the main speakers would be set to "large." If you have a subwoofer, as Eddie points out, set your main speakers to "small," no matter what size your main speakers.

Also, if you have a subwoofer, check, too, to see that it's properly hooked up and working correctly. Then be sure that the crossover point on the subwoofer is set correctly (if in doubt, check your audio receiver's owner's manual) and that the sub's loudness control is turned up to the same level as the main speakers' midrange.

Somehow, the way you describe it, I'm not sure this is the solution to what you're hearing, but there should not be the huge noticeable difference between 2.0 and 5.1 that you're hearing. The differences I described in a prevous post are smaller than night-and-day.

John

it's possible that your a/v receiver is set up improperly.

a friend of mine had a problem where he couldn't hear any bass with 5.1 tracks. he had set his a/v receiver to "big" speakers for his front left and right channels. after i set the front left and right speakers to "small", all of a sudden, we were able to get bass when we watched movies in 5.1.

see if you have a similar problem. and yes, even when you have floorstanding speakers that are truly big, you should still set your a/v receiver to "small" for your front left and right channels.