Solved: My internet radio is so old-fashioned!

[verbalista]

I'm able to use all 5 speakers in my living room (includes woofer), for everything else connected to my receiver...my TV, CD player, tape deck, turntable, standard radio (AM and FM). But, my Grace digital radio can play only stereo, and my music from Pandora can be heard only in stereo (back in the stone age!).
Does anyone know of a digital radio that works through a home network with the capability to play through 5 speakers?

I'm not sure I'm in the right forum, so, admin, please shove me over to the right place, if possible...

Techguys never has failed me...I know this is a weird question for these forums.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Oddba11]

You realize that most ALL music is stereo right?

Stereo = front left/right (and sub)

The ability to use all 5 speakers to play back a stereo source is a function of your Receiver. Most Receivers that support surround sound have audio modes to use more/all of the attached speakers.

Whatever you are doing to get fake surround sound from the other sources (ie: CD player, turntable, etc.) also apply to your digital radio input.

 

[verbalista]

Well, setting up the other devices was easy, and this Grace Digital radio simply cannot be played that way, because of the way it hooks up...I phoned Grace and asked about it, they said there would eventually be a version of their radio that could be used as a surround-sound radio. My TV is so clearly defined that, when the base speaker on one side carries something like the sound of an avalanche, the audience in my living room looks over there!
My system was set up by a sound engineer, he was the one who put the digital radio on the hookup, I think that, if there were a way to make my receiver play the digital music that it receives in a fake surround-sound effect, he would have done it. It's hard to get hold of him, he's much in demand...but, I'll try calling him. I'm totally uneducated on quad technology, but, I am able to learn anything. So, I came here, where all the experts hang out! Thanks, Oddball.

 

[Triple6]

Your audio receiver should have an option to upmix to all the speakers regardless of where the audio source is coming from. Its a function of the audio receiver not the Grace internet radio. It's just usually a button on the remote, I would check the receivers manual.

 

[Oddba11]

There is a difference between a stereo source and a surround source. The "TV", DVD player, and Blu-Ray player all support and play surround audio. Each "speaker" output of a surround source is recorded as an individual audio track. A 5.1 source is 6 audio tracks (front left, front right, rear left, rear right, center, and sub) Hence the fact that sounds only come from exactly where they should be (ie: your example of your "TV" audio).

A stereo source is only 2 audio tracks (front left and front right). IF you are getting audio from any other speaker (aside from the sub) when playing a stereo source (ie: AM/FM, tape deck, CD player, turntable, etc.), then the Receiver is using an audio mode to send audio to the other speakers. In this example, "Grace" is no different than any of the other stereo inputs. It's NOT a Grace issue.

As noted above, the User Manual will likely list all of the audio modes available. The remote or front panel can usually be used to change modes.

 

[verbalista]

Well, I understand what you've told me, but, modes for Grace radio are not in an intuitive place, if they are available. There's no manual, I had to speak to a tech at the company when first I added this to my network. I may be a quad/stereo ignoramus, but, I've had a computer since the first 2-floppy ones without hard drives, and I know that it wasn't my lack of tech saavy that made that call necessary.

Well, I'll try to discover why the receiver is not using the correct mode for the Grace, or, why the Grace isn't responding. But, it's good to know that having the sound of Pandora booming from all 5 of my speakers will be possible. You should hear the way the sound is divided in that room, from a movie on TV, it's as though I'm in the middle of the action, if something happens on a side of a room in the story, I hear on the side of my own room. At first, I kept turning around, LOL. Thanks for your help.

 

[Oddba11]

The options are NOT on the player (ie: Grace). They are on the Receiver itself.

And a stereo source typically does not create a good surround playback. So it won't be like your TV viewing experience which is very likely using a true surround source.

 

[verbalista]

Thanks, that makes sense. So, if Grace developed a surround source, I could hear it properly on all 5 speakers?
I need to write to Grace (or discover another internet radio).

My CD player does use all speakers, so does my turntable. I just didn't know that they were "surround" sources. Well, I'll check when I buy any media again, to be sure I make the most of my speakers.

 

[Triple6]

The CD player and turntable are NOT surround sound sources, the audio receiver up-mixes(fakes) the surround sound.

There's few internet radio service that provide surround sound, they are mostly based of regular radio which is just stereo.

The solution is simply, tell your audio receiver to up-mix the radio into virtual surround just like it does for the CD player and turntable.

 

[Oddba11]

A surround source is an audio track recorded in 6 (5.1) or 8 (7.1) channels. Examples would be DVD movies, Blu-Ray movies, cable or SAT movies broadcast in 5.1, etc.

As noted several times, CD players, tape decks, AM/FM, turntables, Grace, etc. are all STEREO sources. If you are getting audio from all of your speakers from any of those devices, the RECEIVER is configured to output that source on all channels.

Configuration options should be noted in the Receiver User Manual.

 

[verbalista]

Thanks, I get it. It's surprising, is it not, that, with all the 5-point speaker systems on the market, nobody seems to be working on universal surround sound as the standard?

Anyway, I'll try to find the 9-year-old manual for my receiver, or download one from the manufacturer.

 

[Oddba11]

Universal for what?

The majority of users don't want to create fake surround sound from a stereo source, especially a music source. The fake surround technology market was driven by the movie industry and began back in the days of VHS tapes when you couldn't get real surround sound.

For music sources, most people either use stereo (ie: front left/right + sub) or "quadrophonic" (name varies by hardware brand), but it's just the same stereo audio played on the front and rear speakers (ie: left on the front left and rear left speakers, and right on the front right and rear right speakers).

In any event, there are numerous options for sound playback and they are all configured on the receiver.

 

[Triple6]

True surround is great for TV and Movies, for music it doesn't really add much. Stereo sound expanded to all the speakers is perfectly sufficient for music and talk.

 

[verbalista]

Thanks, Triple 6.

I can look into how to make my receiver turn the stereo internet radio into a 5-point sound.