Pro Logic (dolby, not emagic)

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

I mix on 2 Mackie HRS 824's and a Mackie HRS 120 sub. However, when I
listen to my stereo mixes in Pro Logic the majority of the mix comes out of
the center channel speaker. Things sound fine when I switch to stereo mode
on my receiver, and other CD's fill out the soundscape a lot better through
Pro Logic mode, or just sound good in both environments. Perhaps there are
some elements I am overlooking. Of course there is the fact that I don't
have a sub on my surround system, but my crossover is set to 80hz and my
floorstanding loudspeakers have a very good frequency response with dual
8.5" woofers. Also, there is always the possibility that I am noticing an
overall eq problem with my mixes, that have too much mid-high end and that's
why I'm hearing a lot/more out of the center channel and less out of the
stereo pair. Of course a monitoring setup that incorporated 5.1 would
probably help me "fix" my mixes, but unless They have 3 monitors for $20 I
probably won't be buying the other 3 monitors I would need, not to mention a
mixer with 5.1 output any time soon. So if anyone has some tips on how to
ensure (maybe improve is a better word) my stereo mixes to allow good
surround performance please let me know.

Another note: I am not using any effects processing like 3d stereo, hall,
pavilion, simulated surround, or anything like that. Just raw dolby pro
logic. I also realize that without surround mixing I will not probably hear
much of anything out of the mono rear channels, it is the front
left/right/center channels I am more concerned about.

I notice that most movies, shows, cd's accurately use the center channel for
what it's supposed to be used for, vocals/speech, and most music is sent to
the left and right fronts. This is not usually the case with my mixes.
Also to note is that most of my current project is mono recorded, except the
guitars which are stereo mic'd and hard panned left/right and this mix seems
to have more on the front left/right than previous mixes. But my cymbal
mics and drum mics come out of the center speaker a lot.

Thanks in advance, sorry for such a long post.

Archived from groups: rec.audio.pro (More info?)

Paul,

> However, when I listen to my stereo mixes in Pro Logic <

Dolby ProLogic is meant for playing encoded "stereo" tracks, not normal
stereo tracks. If you play normal stereo through a ProLogic decoder you get
all of the problems you mentioned - "an overall eq problem with my mixes,
that have too much mid-high end." And sometimes there's too little high end.

Here's how ProLogic works: Anything panned to the stereo center is routed to
the center speaker. Anything panned left or right comes out of the front
left and right speakers. Any content panned to the center but with the
polarity reversed between the left and right channels comes out the (mono)
rear speakers. All of this is separate from the "Hall" and other effects
settings built into your receiver, which just add extra echoes and ambience.

You could mix for surround using ProLogic if 1) you listen through the
decoder as you mix so you'll know what it will sound like, and 2) you have a
way to reverse polarity to force some sounds to the rear speakers. But then
the mix will sound screwy in normal stereo. I use the Ultrafunk plug-ins
set, and one of them is a surround panner meant for ProLogic. When you drag
a track toward the rear it sends equal amounts to the left and right
channels, but with the polarity reversed.

All in all, this is not a very good way to do surround mixing.

--Ethan