More power to my home theater

[psiddaba]

My home theater sounds best when switched to A.L.C (Auto Level Control)
mode in my Pioneer 1018 receiver (but it is a Stereo mode). When I
switch to surround modes like DTS or DD the sound dramatically
reduces!!! How to have the same sound quality in the surround mode also?
I know that in the stereo mode the sound comes only from the front right
and front left speakers.

[MrBoylan]

Originally Posted by psiddaba

My home theater sounds best when switched to A.L.C (Auto Level Control)
mode in my Pioneer 1018 receiver (but it is a Stereo mode). When I
switch to surround modes like DTS or DD the sound dramatically
reduces!!! How to have the same sound quality in the surround mode also?
I know that in the stereo mode the sound comes only from the front right
and front left speakers.

Hi, Prasad,

ALC might sound "better" to you but what it's actually doing is compressing the dynamic range of the signal so that the loud parts get softer and the soft parts get louder. This can be "pleasing" in its sound quality, but it's actually not "accurate" - it's taking the natural wide dynamic range sound and compressing it to a narrow and more uniform sound level.

Your best bet for the most accurate and dynamic surround sound is to leave ALC or any other dynamic range compression off. Yes, the agerage volume level might be a little lower when you listen this way, but it is a closer representation to what the producer and director intended. And you can always turn it up (or down) with the volume control.

That said, the ALC feature was actually just enhanced in the 2009 line of Pioneer receivers (specifically in the VSX-919AH and VSX-1019AH) to now feature ALC3e-multi, which works in surround sound mode, in addition to 2-channel mode. So unfortunately if you really like that ALC sound and want to use it on movies and other surround material, then you'll need to upgrade your receiver.

On your receiver, if you hit the "Audio Parameter" button on the remote control, then the up and down buttons, you may also see the "Midnight" and "Loudness" settings, depending on what program material you are listening to. These also provide some dynamic range compression (Midnight mode) and boost the lower bass and upper treble (Loudness) - both of these can help improve the sound quality if you are listening at lower volume levels.

Hope that helps.

-Chris