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I'm a purist when it comes to sound quality (home system is Linn LP12 turntable, NAIM electronics, Harbeth speakers) but in my LS, I kinda prefer "surround" (whatever that entails) on.
I am leaning that way also. It really raises the sound stage up where it should be.
When traveling with passengers and the tunes are at moderate volume, I have the Surround Sound on.
When traveling solo with the tunes jammin', I think the Surround Sound causes the Bass sounds to come
out muddy so I turn it off.
Update - I am finding that if I turn the midrange way down and treble up it eliminates that weird painful condition and makes the sound a little more airy which is nice. Most people suggest to turn down the treble and turn up midrange but for me the strong hollow sounding midrange seems to be the problem. Who knows what I will think a week or two from now. 😀
Update - I am finding that if I turn the midrange way down and treble up it eliminates that weird painful condition and makes the sound a little more airy which is nice. Most people suggest to turn down the treble and turn up midrange but for me the strong hollow sounding midrange seems to be the problem. Who knows what I will think a week or two from now. 😀
My EQ has always been V shaped, which means the mid is all the way down. This is for my music set up.
And for the surround being on or off, the off sounds dry for me, so I keep it on as it sounds richer IMO.
My EQ has always been V shaped, which means the mid is all the way down. This is for my music set up.
And for the surround being on or off, the off sounds dry for me, so I keep it on as it sounds richer IMO.
Hey @happy1977 Surround is the last setting I am trying to decide on. The image is so much higher and wider with it on but when it is off the bass/mid-bass is much tighter.
Hey @happy1977 Surround is the last setting I am trying to decide on. The image is so much higher and wider with it on but when it is off the bass/mid-bass is much tighter.
That's where your source comes in, make adjustments to the EQ on the source player. I switched back and forth with the surround on/off but I always go back to the wider sound stage. Same thing w/ listening to my home audio, I would use the multi-ch stereo to get the fuller experience. Hence I love my 7.4.1 atmos set up for movie set up. It's just personal preference when it comes to sound stage. Playing flac/wav source also makes it better.
What source are you using? Phone/DAP? Spotify has a multi EQ set up and just tweak it from there.
Last edited by happy1977; Aug 25, 2025 at 10:31 PM.
That's where your source comes in, make adjustments to the EQ on the source player. I switched back and forth with the surround on/off but I always go back to the wider sound stage. Same thing w/ listening to my home audio, I would use the multi-ch stereo to get the fuller experience. Hence I love my 7.4.1 atmos set up for movie set up. It's just personal preference when it comes to sound stage. Playing flac/wav source also makes it better.
What source are you using? Phone/DAP? Spotify has a multi EQ set up and just tweak it from there.
Morning @happy1977. I'm a 7.4.2 guy also and always listen to music in my theater in Atmos via Apple Music. So are you saying in your 7.4.1 setup you don't listen to music in Atmos and use the "multi-ch stereo" option on your Denon?
In my Lexus I use Apple Music since I have a subscription for Apple One for all the other services that I use. I wish Apple Music had a built in EQ.
@happy1977 Just tried your V shape and getting close.
This is with the surroundoff and faded back one click, I may drop the bass a little and fade it back another click. I have never been a person that cranks the treble at all, but with the surround off, it seems to be the only way to add a little bit of airiness / liveliness to the sound while removing the harsh midrange (AM Radio) sound.
Morning @happy1977. I'm a 7.4.2 guy also and always listen to music in my theater in Atmos via Apple Music. So are you saying in your 7.4.1 setup you don't listen to music in Atmos and use the "multi-ch stereo" option on your Denon?
In my Lexus I use Apple Music since I have a subscription for Apple One for all the other services that I use. I wish Apple Music had a built in EQ.
Yes. Flac/Wav are recorded in 2.0 stereo. The Atmos is only good for multi-channel encoded audio. My EQ on the Denon audyssey are different for movies and music.
Last edited by happy1977; Aug 27, 2025 at 02:31 PM.
@happy1977 Just tried your V shape and getting close.
This is with the surroundoff and faded back one click, I may drop the bass a little and fade it back another click. I have never been a person that cranks the treble at all, but with the surround off, it seems to be the only way to add a little bit of airiness / liveliness to the sound while removing the harsh midrange (AM Radio) sound.
Yes. Mine is with mid all the way down as I also adjust my Spotify EQ to my taste. Now on a DAP using Poweramp app w/ Flac/Wav, it audio is fuller so I also have different EQ settings for it. People just have to tweak the EQ settings to suite their audio needs instead of just plug/play.
Morning @happy1977. I'm a 7.4.2 guy also and always listen to music in my theater in Atmos via Apple Music. So are you saying in your 7.4.1 setup you don't listen to music in Atmos and use the "multi-ch stereo" option on your Denon?
In my Lexus I use Apple Music since I have a subscription for Apple One for all the other services that I use. I wish Apple Music had a built in EQ.
Apple Music does have EQ settings. Go to Settings>Apps>Apple Music and you can select from a couple dozen presets.
