Pace Twin weird sound problem

I have my Pace Twin connected to my home cinema amp,
I have tried using both phono links and optical digital out links,
But I get a strange whispering distorted sound when emulating 5.1,
It is only really apparent when I listen closely to each individual speaker,
Not that noticeable when just listening normally,
Is this normal? Do I have a fault somewhere?
Thanks
lisa

"lisa" wrote in message m...
I have my Pace Twin connected to my home cinema amp,
I have tried using both phono links and optical digital out links,
But I get a strange whispering distorted sound when emulating 5.1,
It is only really apparent when I listen closely to each individual speaker,
Not that noticeable when just listening normally,
Is this normal? Do I have a fault somewhere?
Thanks
lisa

This is the most likely explanation (though there might be others):

There's probably no fault, it could be just the way the sound is
transmitted on FreeView.

All UK digital TV services use MPEG-1 layer II lossy audio coding
(usually called mp2, which is a simpler version of mp3). This means
some of the audio signal is altered (distorted, removed) to reduce the
amount of space the signal takes when broadcast (allowing more
channels to broadcast at once).

This "lossy" audio usually sounds OK in stereo, but when you use a
surround sound decoder, it can reveal some of the distortion that was
added. It sounds like a burbling, gargling, underwater, rushing (but
quiet) kind of copy of the actual audio itself. If the surround sound
decoder sends the real audio to your front speakers, but the
distortion to the rear speakers, then putting your ear near to the
rear speakers can reveal some strange effects! The reason a surround
sound decoder can do this is because it looks for subtle differences
between the two stereo channels to help it decide which sounds to push
towards the rear; the lossy audio coding can damage these subtle
differences, and add new ones - hence the strange sounds!

Do you get this effect on all channels? (The BBC ones may sound
better, because they add less distortion, by sending a more accurate
version of the audio signal).

If you hear it on every channel, then the only solution is to ignore
it, or don't use that surround sound decoding mode.

However, if it's only on specific channels (e.g. ITV) then you could
try complaining to them - someone somewhere made the decision to
reduce the audio quality that little bit more, and cause audible
problems. It's probably impossible to get through to someone who knows
about this issue, but if you do, there's just a chance they'll change
it.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
David.

I have my Pace Twin connected to my home cinema amp,
I have tried using both phono links and optical digital out links,
But I get a strange whispering distorted sound when emulating 5.1,
It is only really apparent when I listen closely to each individual
speaker,
Not that noticeable when just listening normally,
Is this normal? Do I have a fault somewhere?
Thanks
lisa

This is the most likely explanation (though there might be others):

There's probably no fault, it could be just the way the sound is
transmitted on FreeView.

All UK digital TV services use MPEG-1 layer II lossy audio coding
(usually called mp2, which is a simpler version of mp3). This means
some of the audio signal is altered (distorted, removed) to reduce the
amount of space the signal takes when broadcast (allowing more
channels to broadcast at once).

This "lossy" audio usually sounds OK in stereo, but when you use a
surround sound decoder, it can reveal some of the distortion that was
added. It sounds like a burbling, gargling, underwater, rushing (but
quiet) kind of copy of the actual audio itself. If the surround sound
decoder sends the real audio to your front speakers, but the
distortion to the rear speakers, then putting your ear near to the
rear speakers can reveal some strange effects! The reason a surround
sound decoder can do this is because it looks for subtle differences
between the two stereo channels to help it decide which sounds to push
towards the rear; the lossy audio coding can damage these subtle
differences, and add new ones - hence the strange sounds!

Do you get this effect on all channels? (The BBC ones may sound
better, because they add less distortion, by sending a more accurate
version of the audio signal).

If you hear it on every channel, then the only solution is to ignore
it, or don't use that surround sound decoding mode.

However, if it's only on specific channels (e.g. ITV) then you could
try complaining to them - someone somewhere made the decision to
reduce the audio quality that little bit more, and cause audible
problems. It's probably impossible to get through to someone who knows
about this issue, but if you do, there's just a chance they'll change
it.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,
David.

Wow - yes that is exactly the problem I am having,
It does sound much worse in the rear speakers,
And it does sound like a gurgling / water type sound,
I will experiment with all channels,
And send e-mails of complaint to anyone relevant I can find online,
Thanks for the explanation - I really wanted to find out the reason
lisa

David Robinson wrote:
It's probably impossible to get through to someone
who knows about this issue.

Write to the Chief Engineer at your regional TV station, who will
probably be able to forward your letter to someone who does.

A copy to Ofcom might help concentrate the mind.