Audyssey Dynamic EQ

After years of dormancy, Dolby and Audyssey, it seems, have both brought back their own flavor of the 'loudness' control which came standard on all stereo systems, boom boxes and portable music systems made during the 80s and 90s. Audyssey Laboratories is introducing its flavor of this revised and improved tech, dubbed the Audyssey Dynamic EQ. The culmination of years of research, Dynamic EQ selects the best possible frequency response and surround volume levels moment-by-moment.  The result is bass response, tonal balance and surround impression that remain constant despite changes in volume. This is the first technology that carefully combines information from incoming source levels with actual output sound levels in the room, a pre-requisite for delivering a dynamic volume solution.

"Most users listen to audio systems at levels well below the original mix volume, thereby degrading tonal balance, bass response and surround impression," explains Michael Solomon, Audyssey CEO, "Audyssey Dynamic EQ enables the listener to set the volume control at their preferred playback level, and yet still enjoy the same rich, enveloping sound as if played at reference volume level."

Audyssey Dynamic EQ will be available in eight new Denon products shipping between CEDIA and Thanksgiving, 2007. Four of these products are the new network-centric home entertainment systems, the Denon S-32, S-52, S-102 and S-302.

The other four Dynamic EQ-enabled products are the new Denon top-of-the-line A/V receivers AVR-3808CI, AVR-4308CI, AVR-5308CI, and the AVP-A1HD separate controller. The system doesn't appear to be for the inexperienced, however, as Audyssey clains that for loudness correction to be effective in AV receivers, it is necessary to first perform proper frequency and time domain room equalization.  To ensure proper installation and the best possible result, Dynamic EQ is enabled in these A/V receivers by a professional installer when installing Audyssey’s room correction technology, MultEQ XT.

We'll be very interested to see how this compares to standard 'loudness' controls and what the improvement will be in a correctly-configured AV system. As with room EQ, results often vary from location to location, but we're happy to see new technologies like this blossoming which ultimately help the end-user realize a better, more accurate sound.

For more information, please visit http://www.audyssey.com.