It's not just about movies, you know. With the help of a sensibly-priced set-up, Simon Pope gives ear to an example of what's currently available in the realms of multi-channel audio. Is it really the future of hi-fi and is it any good? Read on. . .

Multichannel music is nothing new. Remember how Quadraphonic was hailed as the future of audio back in the early 70s? Its demise was right up there with the best of them, along with the Sinclair C5 and Digital Compact Cassette. 

The world (and the music industry) wasn't quite ready to commit itself to new technology that involved yard upon yards of extra 'speaker cable and a wooden coffin in each corner of the room, not to mention a whole stack of new equipment - a surefire marriage-wrecker.
 
So why does the electronics consumer seem so eager to embrace it all now? It could have something to do with the telly. The consumer electronics buyer isn't as daft as some would like to think. What they want is value for money: if one complete system deals with both sound and vision, that's what they'll plump for. 

Be that as it may, it seems that only France has really embraced the multi-box thing, with sales far exceeding that of any other European country. The rest of us are pretty sceptical as yet, and with one new format replacing another on what appears to be a weekly basis, can we be blamed?
 
Wait a moment - what if you want music rather than pictures? Well, there is multichannel music, and quite a lot of it. Denon, for example have released multi-channel 'ambience' audio discs in Dolby Digital format of high quality classical performances, and DTS Entertainment (Digital Theatre Systems) have quite a catalogue of both popular and classical 5.1 channel discs. Armed with a wide selection of these we set up our multichannel system, placed our listening chair in the 'hot-spot' position and set to work.

FIVE ALIVE
For our particular set-up we called upon Denon for the electronics, and Danish 'speaker company Eltax for the sound boxes. As source we used Denon's DVD 2500, a not-so-old, reliable friend of Hi-Fi World and matched it with Denon's spanking new AVR 3300 five channel receiver. 

This beauty features both Dolby Digital and DTS decoding, two surround modes for both movie soundtracks and audio discs plus 24/96 DACs on each of the channels. This combination should hopefully play audio discs with all the power and control of good quality hi-fi, as Denon pride themselves on manufacturing 'audiophile' quality AV gear.

With this pair we added two of Eltax's Liberty 5+ floorstanders as front 'speakers, a pair of 1+ standmounts and the Liberty centre model. Multichannel audio discs are mixed for 5.1 channels, the .1 being an optional sub - only really necessary for huge rooms or film scores where extra boom is used for effect. Totting up, the complete outfit amounted to about £1600 which should be considered the 'entry level' for good multi-channel.
 
Connecting the DVD player to the receiver for multi-channel discs is executed by use of either an optical or coaxial digital connect (in our case a Tara Labs coaxial) - the decoding of the 5.1 channel data stream takes place inside the AVR 3300 receiver (although now some DVD players have an in-built decoder!). I duly set the receiver to 'no sub' and sat down to take in the all-encompassing experience of surround sound! 

MUSIC MAESTRO, PLEASE!
Kicking off the listening section I opted for Denonís 'ambience' DVD-video recording of Mahler's mammoth fifth symphony recorded live by the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra in the lush acoustics of the Alte Oper. 

Unlike the DTS discs, this a DVD-video disc (DTS recordings are CDs with digital data stream) although you can chose to skip the pretty mundane visuals. This truly is a live recording - applause, coughs, splutters, dropped programs et al.
 
For those used to the orchestral imaging of a stereo orchestra it's initially very weird to be greeted with a blaring fortissimo - minor chord coming from all four corners of the room after the initial trumpet theme. If you previously didn't know what it sounds like to be the oboe in an orchestra - a little blast of multichannel will answer all your queries! 
 
A little balance control was necessary to bring the sound from the centre of the listening room to nearer the front 'speakers, with the rears acting as more of an echo/ambience device. Moving them back another foot also improved the balance. What was achieved in these recordings is one step towards the high quality SACD multi-channel demonstrations I have heard. In this excellent recording you certainly feel you are in the stalls of the Alte Oper. 
 
Both the Denon combination and the Eltax 'speakers captured the detail in the recording - from the 1st desk violins turning their pages to the bloke in the back row with a chest problem!
 
Moving onto DTS recordings, of which there are many, it's best to stick to the discs that have dedicated 5.1 mixes rather than the older recordings such as Karajan's late Mozart symphonies with the Berlin Phil. 

Some of these are simply remixed old Quadraphonic recordings. Lyle Lovett's Joshua Judges Ruth really lights the multi-channel fireworks, with backing vocals coming from the rear, acoustic guitars from the front right, main vocals from the front left, kitchen sink from the middle, etc, etc. . . 

All this is, admittedly very impressive, and really impresses your mates when they come round, but listening to it for any lengthy period I found quite hard work - you can't help thinking that maybe it's all just for effect. This apart, tonal balance was excellent with taut - but not boomy - bass. Treble, although sometimes a bit brittle, was very detailed.
 
The problem that stereophiles might find with multi-channel is the lack of sound staging and imaging that they find with just two good 'speakers and an amp. Comparing the two is very difficult. Yes, it's definitely hi-fi, but not really as we know it. I attend quite a few concerts and have never heard the 'ambience' around me to the extent that it is used on the discs, or it may have put me off ever going out to listen to music again!
 
Multichannel, like it or loathe it, seems to be here to stay this time. The new digital audio formats, DVD-A and SACD have multichannel capability, and this looks like the future of high quality audio reproduction. Having said that, the full multi-channel experience is still quite a long way off. 

Of course, if after all this you still hanker for good old fashioned left and right, then the Denon DVD-2500, AVR-3300 and Liberty 5+s will give you a good-quality entry-level stereo hi-fi sound, and there's always the advantage of three more channels and pictures if you so wish, not to mention a radio!

DTS DISCS - THE FACTS
Digital Theatre Systems are probably best known to the layman as creators of cinema surround sound. However, this technology of mixing is also available to pure sound recordings.
 
The discs are encoded with the information which is a direct 20-bit transfer from the original multi-channel master tape. There are no set-in-stone rules to mixing techniques, therefore not all recordings will be 'uniform'. Different information will be allocated to different channels in every recording.

For a list of available DTS recordings: www.dtsdigitalsound.com

WHAT WE USED (Prices are those at the date of the feature)
Denon DVD-2500 £499.99, Denon AVR-3300 £799.99 - Denon: 01753 888447
Eltax Liberty 5+ £199.99, Eltax Liberty 1+ £99.99, Eltax Centre £99.99 - Eltax UK: 01327 860789