"It will be a high- end concept for several years."

The DVD-Audio spec gives record companies and artists up to six full-range channels to play with, but the spec doesn't tell you what you have to do with the channels.
That's where the 2+2+2 variant of DVD-Audio comes in.

At least two specialty music companies-Germany's MDG and America's Chesky Records-have introduced a limited selection of 2+2+2 discs that use two of six channels to add "height" to the width and depth of the soundstage. The height speakers hang from the ceiling, either directly above the main left-right speakers, slightly in front of them, or slightly off to either side.

To make room for the two extra channels, a 2+2+2 recording dispenses with dedicated center- and subwoofer-channel information.

Some 2+2+2 discs add a standard five- or six-channel version of the same material for playback through typical home theater speaker setups. Discs lacking the duplicate tracks, however, will deliver their ambience information through a home system's center and subwoofer channels.
That "works fine," said 2+2+2 supporter Bob Stuart, chairman of Meridian Audio.

No matter how they're delivered, the height channels re-create the "sense of height of the original venue," creating a greater sense of "openness," said Stuart. "It will be a high-end concept for several years."

Meridian believes it might be the only company offering a DVD-Audio decoder that directs height channels to dedicated height speakers.

CE Vision Magazine - April/May/June 2002

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