Dolby Digital EX or DTS-ES Will Give You A 6.1 Surround Sound Set Up

Crikey dick,

Y'all probably wondering what the heck the Maxman has been up to lately, and no don't be concerned I'm not low on my supply of electric sugar thats for sure.

I'm still buzzing around this whole surround sound format topic and heck I tell ya it sure is a foreign language to most people especially if you are new to home electronics and all things home theater.

But don't despair because one thing I know that almost all folks are not foreign to is the way that it sounds unless of course you have a hearing disability in which case you wouldn't be reading my blab anyway.

So lets get to the guts of it shall we?

First up today is Dolby Digital EX. Maybe you've heard of it, maybe not. But now you have. Right?

Sometimes it's called Dolby Digital Surround EX (Just thought I would put that in there to confuse you a little more).

Anyway what I was about to explain is that this format is an extension of Dolby Digital 5.1 (which we discussed in a previous article) in that it adds another channel at the rear of your surround sound set up.

So now we have what is known as 6.1 (that is 6 speakers and a sub woofer).

What does this give me I hear you ask?

The idea of this 6th channel is to add more realism to what are known as fly around & fly over effects making your surround sounds more consistent and stable than if you were using a 5.1 set up.

Now don't be disheartened if you are currently using a 5.1 set up, this is because to maintain compatibility this extra center channel is what they call "matrix encoded" into the left & right rear channels so you still get the desired effect just with a little less realism than a 6.1 set up would give you.

Now it's highly unlikely that your receiver/amplifier is incompatible with 6.1 unless it was manufactured before 2001 and even then you probably still have 6.1 but you may just have to activate it manually where as if your receiver/amp is more up to date the Dolby Digital EX soundtrack has a digital flag giving you the option of activating it if you so choose.

Now as you've probably figured DTS-ES is the competition for Dolby Digital EX.

Thats pretty obvious isn't it?

Lets not get ahead of ourselves though because there a some subtle differences between the two competing formats

DTS-ES expands upon standard DTS. Yes it is a 6.1 surround sound format, giving you that extra center surround channel that is located between the left & right rear channels (speakers).

While other 6.1 surround formats are decoded in the analog domain DTS-ES is decoded in what is known as the digital domain.

What does that mean Maxman, I hear you ask?

Well what it means is DTS-ES gives a full discrete rear surround channel that delivers precise accurate sound positioning and imaging without any assistance (so to speak) from the left and right surround channels (speakers).

It is also delivered in 2 forms "Matrix & Discrete"

• Matrix is basically a 5.1 soundtrack that has been modified to take advantage of the extra center surround channel.
• Discrete is where the aural information on the disc has been specifically encoded for use with that extra center surround channel of 6.1 system.

Final Word

Well my "Fantastic Followers" I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions (about 6.1 surround sound) that you may or may not have had. So until we meet again.

Maxman Out

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