The Issue
Unfortunately, as I wrote about this before, legacy Pro Logic / Pro Logic II / Pro Logic IIx / IIz Decoders have to be removed from Dolby Atmos enabled receivers. The only surround decoder / upmixer that is included is the new Dolby Surround upmixer.
Unfortunately, this has an unintended consequence on Yamaha receivers. When engaging any of the Cinema DSP modes with two-channel or 5.1 channel sources, the DTS Neo:6 decoder is used to upmix the channels to 7.1 surround sound before CinemaDSP is applied. I don’t know about you but I have never been a huge fan of DTS Neo:6 as compared to Dolby Pro Logic IIx.
When Can You Do?
You have two choices:
- Put up with Neo:6 for 2-channel and 5.1 channel expansion before CinemaDSP is applied
- Use the Surround Decode function to switch to plain Dolby Surround upmixing without CinemaDSP for 2-channel and 5.1 channel mixes
Please note that 7.1, Atmos and DTS:X mixes are not affected. However, 7.1 mixes will not be unmixed to all speakers, they will simply have CinemaDSP applied so again you will need to choose between upmixing and CinemaDSP.
Possible Solutions Yamaha Could Implement
The best solution would be for Yamaha to enable the Dolby Surround decoder to be used for upmixing before CinemaDSP is applied. Of course Dolby’s new Dolby Surround upmixer is computationally much heavier than the old Pro Logic decoders.
The other option would be to ask Dolby for an exception in this case and allow the Dolby Pro Logic IIx decoder to be used only under CinemaDSP. I understand they may require disabling it on the main interface so that users don’t accidentally select it instead of the new upmixer. However, in this case, the option is hidden quite down in the interface to cause much issue.
Related Articles
Recreating the Cinema Experience: Yamaha’s Cinema DSP
Opinion: Dolby Needs to Bring Back Old Surround Decoders / Upmixers
Yamaha YPAO Configuration – The Right Way
Related Professional Guide
If you need independent advice, or you just want to have a chat about your setup, please see my availability here.
Discover more from Simple Home Cinema
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
Hi Roland,
I saw an interview in Japan saying that the Yamaha A8A is not using neo:6 upmixer with the CinemaDSP. It uses a new Yamaha in-house upmixer.
From Google Translate:
“In addition, as an upmixer to be combined with the sound field processing, we have previously used upmixing processes from other companies such as “DTS Neo:6” and “Dolby Pro Logic II”, but this time we have developed our own upmixer, with particular attention paid to tuning the sound quality, with particular attention paid to the tone. This is another feature we would like to promote, as it is the first time that this has been installed.”
https://hometheater.phileweb.com/2022/07/28/01-182/
Do you have any experience with this new in-house upmixer?
Hey PKNY,
Sounds like Yamaha is listening to feedback. No I haven’t heard their new upmixer, but that’s a positive development for sure. Although, I’d question why they can’t use Dolby Surround then overlay their own processing. It could be a bit too processor-intensive maybe? 🤔
Anyway, thx for bringing this to our attention!!!