Auro-3D "Auro-Matic": Preset and Strength settings and effects. (Brief look at Dolby Surround Upmixer and DTS Neural:X.)

A number of months back, I talked about the nVidia Shield TV Pro box and explored Auro-3D which is another technology for reproduction of immersive sound with height layers. As noted in that post, I've seen comments over time about the use of Auro-3D's "Auro-Matic" surround upmixing algorithm for music playback as being the preferred setting compared to Dolby Surround Upmixer [DSU], and DTS Neural:X being the other two common options in modern AV receivers. As a reminder, while Auro-3D could use object-oriented tools in production, it is delivered as channel-based playback rather than the hybrid channel/object systems like Dolby Atmos and DTS:X.

Having now owned my Integra DRX-8.4 for about a year and listening for myself, I concur that for 2.0 and 5.1 upmixing, I tend to prefer using Auro-Matic to expand the 3D image into the height and surround channels. For most music material, Auro's method is noticeably "fuller" in presentation without sounding harsh. It also has more options as we can see in the settings menu for Onkyo and Integra receivers that have this feature:

QUICKIES: Black aluminum alloy footers. Equipment racks. Center channel in music. Underwhelming Spotify Lossless. More Paul McGowan/PS Audio USB cable & jitter foolishness.

Hey guys and gals, not much time this week to test stuff but to start I thought I'd show some pictures of the black version of the inexpensive aluminum footers that were discussed last week.

I got these black-colored ones for my center channel, the Paradigm Signature C3 v.3 which is a 3-way, 4 speaker design that sits on my wood/glass component rack. (You can see other pictures of that component stand in my room article, or earlier when setting up the room.)

I picked the black ones since the center channel is sitting straight in front of me when watching movies, keeping it black will not add any color contrast to potentially distract from the show.

Do loudspeaker footers make a difference? Inexpensive aluminum alloy "isolation" footers.

As you can see through my posts, I'm obviously not averse to trying out "cheap audio guy/gal" products. 😏 I trust that this is completely consistent with my perspective on audio hardware for the most part being mature technologies, refined over decades already. For the high-fidelity audio reproduction pursuit, we can achieve excellent quality at very reasonable prices. Many (not all of course) of the "high-end" stuff that go for very high prices are clearly targeting a luxury crowd without necessarily achieving better fidelity. And some products, like what we'll be talking about in this post, I believe only demand "low-tech" solutions anyway.

China is the de facto consumer manufacturing powerhouse of the world in the 21st Century and we'll often find interesting and inexpensive products by mail order from places like AliExpress or Temu. Possibly worth trying some of this stuff if tariffs or shipping charges aren't too high for your country (eg. the de minimis suspension in the USA could take a big tax bite out of easy access to inexpensive goods). Technologically mature products made of standard materials at reasonable quality do not need huge price tags. For example, in early 2024, I grabbed this Nordost-like cable which worked out quite well and I believe performs equivalently in the ways that matter.

Similarly, for this post, let's look at this set of aluminum "isolation" footers which we can easily source from places like Amazon, AliExpress, and Temu:

Price: only about US$25 for a set of four as shown above - available in matte silver, black and gold. I bought two sets of the silver color for my pair of Paradigm Reference Signature S8 v.3 speakers for less than $50 total from Temu among other trinkets in that shipment. 😆

Linn's SPACE Optimisation DSP feature for their DS/DSM digital audio streamers. Does it even work?

Linn Klimax DS/2 streamer getting tested.

A couple months back while evaluating the Linn Klimax DS/DSM streamers, I mentioned that the products have the capability to implement what Linn calls "SPACE Optimisation" (Speaker Placement And Custom Environment, we'll call it SO for short); available since 2015. Because the products are network-connected, they're always online and through the Linn Account webpage, you can check the settings for your streamer and activate the SO function.

I remember being intrigued by this function and the claims of significant room-correction capability. For this post, let's take some time to explore what Linn SO features. To start, here is what their literature says about the intent of the system:

Space Optimisation is a toolset available to all Linn DS/DSM system owners which uses highly sophisticated acoustic modelling to build up a complete picture of how your speakers, their placement, and the unique characteristics of your room interact to affect the sound you hear. Space Optimisation takes account of the characteristics of your speakers, such as the position of each drive unit and the response of bass reflex ports, and of the characteristics of your room, such as room dimensions, construction materials, and features like doors and windows, to accurately model these interactions. It then precisely identifies frequencies that are artificially distorted by your environment, and reduces their energy and decay time, to reveal the music that would otherwise be hidden. It also applies a delay to each speaker to ensure the content from each speaker reaches your ears at the same time.