Will Logic 7 play DVD audio discs?

 

No.

 

I'd say that you'd probably not want to be playing it in the car anyway. To get the multichannel to sound correct requires quite a bit of tuning - levels, time/delay, etc... Things you can't do well in most listening rooms, let alone in a car.

As an aside, does anyone besides me think a center channel in a car is a stupid idea?


If you need a copy of the music and there isn't a standard set of CD tracks on the DVD, it should be possible to rip the Dolby Digital portion of the DVD-Audio to MP3. It is also possible to "hint" some of the multichannel information when you downmix it to stereo so that it will sound a bit better when played back through a PLII or Logic7 system. You need to know your stuff with LAME though. I have been meaning to try this out but have never gotten around to it.

 

I'd say that the center channel is perfect for a car. Designers are forced to shove speakers all over the place, resulting in imaging compromises. With a center channel, the image is put where it belongs - around ear level. I don't like the heavy center channel setting in L7 (studio?) but the "spread" setting (Theater?) gives a fairly balanced presentation that doesn't sound like its coming from one source.

 

The sound never images properly - there is no soundstage and none of the voices or instruments seem to come from in front of me the way they should. In a multichannel environment, your center is directly in front of you. It just seems pretty silly to me, but probably great if you're sitting in the middle of the back seat.

I would advocate a dual center setup, with one in front of each passenger, or perhaps a center that has two drivers that fire towards each of the front seat occupants. If the processing was done properly, this could create a proper soundstage for each person.

 

When I was test driving cars, the Acura equivalent to the BMW 5 series had DVD audio. It sounded very good. In fact, the sales person spent more time on that feature than almost anything else.

I had DVD Audio and SACD at home. As there is little software and what was released was expensive, this was not a very good investment.

My wife's car has the center speaker (a Volvo). I like it. My 5 series does not. I don't love the stereo; but its okay (US model; 10 speakers). My beef is the inadequate bass. And I am not a "pound pound boom boom" listener. In general I listen to stereo flat with all processing off.

 

Yes I've also driven the Acura RL with its DVD-Audio system....it blows away our L7!

 

it cant

 

I had a $20,000 aftermarket stereo in my old Lexus.

It blew away the Logic 7.

 

I agree with you. You have turn off L7 to get a direct reproduction, but you hear it from the left pillar. Some folks like the "sound everywhere" effect, which in my opinion, is lame and injustice to real sound, which is more direct. For example, when you listen to someone sing or play an instrument, it comes from a particular direction. Additionally, I like accurate reproduction that includes being about to hear every instrument recorded. That's what a good sound system should be. H/K and L7 is decent.