So basically only surround receiver can decode surround

[Pancreas]

I have the motu mk5 Ultralite. It has 10 outputs and the manual says that it does surround monitoring, but it doesn't mention anything about surround decoding.

I think you may be able to connect a surround decoder or receiver to the Motu spdif. Would that even work?

This sucks. I'm looking for an audio interface that can decode surround. The Symphony IO seems to do it but very expensive

https://apogeedigital.com/products/symphony-io

There is the Universal Apollo x6 and x8, but I think it may just be surround monitoring. I don't know if they decode surround.

So if you have 5 speakers, unless you have a surround decoder, you won't enjoy surround, only stereo times 2

You'd listen to a stereo recording that is distributed to 5 (or more) speakers which means it’s basically stereo times two (front and back) and a center speaker that has a bit of both. That’s not surround sound as it’s meant to be but it might give the impression of a fuller sound.

 

[Joachim Herbert]

Yes. It takes a decoder to decode.

 

[voodooless]

This sucks. I'm looking for an audio interface that can decode surround. The Symphony IO seems to do it but very expensive

https://apogeedigital.com/products/symphony-io

That thing has no decoders as far as I can see. It’s just a fancy box for surround mixing.

There are plenty of players that do software decoding of Dolby Digital or True HD. The only major limitation is actually Atmos. And most are maxed out it 7.1, but that may depend on player software and configuration.

 

[TonyJZX]

Yes. It takes a decoder to decode.

this is the sort of content i come for

i remember that emeritus fellow Xulonn was a strong proponent of this kind of thing

eg.

Lamenting the lack of good quality budget A/V Preamplifier/Processors

I use - and like - my $900 IOTAVX AVX1 7.1 4K "Home Theater AV Processor" with room correction (image #3 below), although I only use it for my 3.0 system (L-C-R, no subwoofer). My preference for music is still 2.0 stereo, but for movies with multichannel audio, a proper center channel anchors...

www.audiosciencereview.com

there are many ways to skin this cat without going to massive expensive or using schitt syn

 

[Pancreas]

That thing has no decoders as far as I can see. It’s just a fancy box for surround mixing.

There are plenty of players that do software decoding of Dolby Digital or True HD. The only major limitation is actually Atmos. And most are maxed out it 7.1, but that may depend on player software and configuration.

Then how is this guy able to supposedly hear surround and his pals look surprised in the video if it has no surround decoder

Whats the point being able to mix surround, if you can’t listen to it on your setup

If that expensive interface he has doesnt have a decoder, how is he listening to surround unless he has a decoder somewhere there that is connected to his interface?. I did see something that resembles an receiver under his desk

Without a decoder, you won’t hear surround as created by the music or movie creator basically you will hear the same in all speakers

 

[voodooless]

The keyword is "audio production" here. This is not for playback but for the creation of surround mixes. That needs no decoding because that's done only at playback, long after it was mixed and mastered. And probably he can play Atmos tracks with his production software as well, no hardware decoding is needed.

 

[Pancreas]

The keyword is "audio production" here. This is not for playback but for the creation of surround mixes. That needs no decoding because that's done only at playback, long after it was mixed and mastered. And probably he can play Atmos tracks with his production software as well, no hardware decoding is needed.

Yet he is “playing it back” to his friends lol

Also whats the point of spending thousands. Those 3 speakers on desk alone cost $10k total

Whats the point if you have to use software

How is he playing atmos tracks with production software?

Is he producing music? I haven’t seen one single track on his channel. Even if he had music, he is unknown, so for what

Just a regular rich dude with lots of free time

Why? Cause he can is that simple

He aint need all that and clearly aint making any real money from whatever tracks he may be producing

 

[DVDdoug]

With a DAW application you don't need encoding-decoding. I didn't watch the video, but the still image clearly shows a DAW. You can record (or "generate") multiple "mono" tracks. In pro audio production there are usually many-many tracks. Most of the time the tracks are mixed-down to stereo with each track panned (positioned) left-to-right across the soundstage.

Or, in the case of surround the tracks can be panned to any other channel/position.

During the mixing process in the studio the number of playback channels is only limited by the hardware, and the number of channels/tracks on the recording is virtually unlimited. At this point, nothing has to be encoded or decoded. That's a later step.

A pro studio will have surround (and Atmos) encoders/decoders so they can hear the final results of the encoding/decoding process. (They aren't using an AVR.)

In home studios interfaces with multiple inputs are very common, but the output/monitoring/production is usually 2-channel stereo and most of these interfaces only have stereo output/monitoring.

 

[voodooless]

@Pancreas, seems like you’ve got it all figured out… why ask questions if you already seem to have all the answers?

 

[Pancreas]

If i had it figured out I wouldn’t be asking why lol

I want to know what encoder or decoder a pro studio would have to hear the final result.

So basically is impossible to have true surround for music, movies, games, consoles, etc unless you buy an AVR

So me having an audio interface won’t do it

My interface has 10 outputs and it says is capable of surround monitoring whatever that means

I just want to buy more genelecs so i can enjoy surround with movies games music etc

Is that too much to ask of life?

How can i do this if i have a motu mk5 ultralite

 

[Zensō]

If i had it figured out I wouldn’t be asking why lol

I want to know what encoder or decoder a pro studio would have to hear the final result.

Pro studios are monitoring from within their mixing/mastering environment, no decoder is required.

So basically is impossible to have true surround for music, movies, games, consoles, etc unless you buy an AVR

Basically, yes. For that you need a decoder, which your interface is not.

So me having an audio interface won’t do it

Nope.

My interface has 10 outputs and it says is capable of surround monitoring whatever that means

That means monitoring from within your mixing/mastering environment, not consuming content from an external source that requires decoding.

I think the confusion here stems from trying to combine music production with music consumption, which are two altogether different processes.

 

[Pancreas]

Well that sucks, so I would need to get an avr for my media consumption

I understand now lol

 

[Tom C]

Maybe I’m not understanding the conversation correctly, but…
It is possible to buy a disc player with analog outputs. You can get 7.1 surround sound out of that.
It is possible to rip discs of movies that have multichannel soundtracks, or music produced in a multichannel format, and play them back from a hard drive using player software. There are several options, but what I use is JRiver. Because that’s what I have, and it’s cheaper than some of the other options.
Because of digital rights management, playing Dolby Atmos at home has been problematic, with the easiest solution being an AVR. However, a Mac mini plus multichannel DAC like your Motu will play compressed Atmos, without an AVR. And I just go an email yesterday from JRiver where they say they will be supporting Atmos playback in their next generation of JRiver Media Center, but that will be for Windows platform only, so there’s another option without AVR.

 

[Joachim Herbert]

Well that sucks, so I would need to get an avr for my media consumption

Nope. One of these would be sufficient. It will even feed your video screen. https://3-h.de/lyngdorf-startseite/lyngdorf-mp-60/

 

[Pancreas]

The reason I use an audio interface is because i use my genelec to play guitar and Neural DSO amp modeler software, thats why I don’t have an surround receiver

If I were to buy physical amp modeler and a powered cabinet for guitar playing, then I could dedicate my genelec for surround and use that for both computer, consoles, TV

I would simply need to buy 2 or 3 more genelec 8030c as is ideal to use the same speakers, then buy a surround capable receiver.

That’s the only way. I would no longer have need for my audio interface.

 

[Pancreas]

Nope. One of these would be sufficient. It will even feed your video screen. https://3-h.de/lyngdorf-startseite/lyngdorf-mp-60/

Isnt that an AVR or similar

I have my speakers connected to my audio interface. I would have stop using my audio interface, thus no longer being to play giirar through my Genelec

 

[Pancreas]

However, a Mac mini plus multichannel DAC like your Motu will play compressed Atmos, without an AVR. And I just go an email yesterday from JRiver where they say they will be supporting Atmos playback in their next generation of JRiver Media Center, but that will be for Windows platform only, so there’s another option without AVR.

Why a Mac mini?

I don’t see how the motu mk5 can playback Atmos. It doesn’t say anything about in the manual.

Does an AVR play compressed or uncompressed Atmos?

I just as if not more confused as in the beginning

 

[Tom C]

Why a Mac mini?

I don’t see how the motu mk5 can playback Atmos. It doesn’t say anything about in the manual.

Does an AVR play compressed or uncompressed Atmos?

I just as if not more confused as in the beginning

Sorry.

 

[voodooless]

You can just hook the AVR to the Motu (only front channels), and play media as well as play guitar.

 

[Pancreas]

You can just hook the AVR to the Motu (only front channels), and play media as well as play guitar.

What do you mean front channels?

Where would I hook it to and what cable.

Here is the Motu MK5