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Design Note on the SSP-5 SuperStereo processor

The SSP-5 frequency delay time generators for the side and rear speakers are constructed from analogue IC’s. These analogue IC’s are not the BBD IC’s which are commonly used by the manufacturers of surround sound equipment. Dynavector’s unique patented SuperStereo sound system is based on the theory that the delay time in auditoria is not constant over the frequency range, unlike that found in the digital delay.

• Why has Dynavector chosen analogue delay, unlike all other companies?

The choice follows from the actual measurement of delay time in concert halls arising between the sound source on the stage and the listeners in the hall. The total sound to the listener sitting in the hall is the direct sound from the source and the sound reflected by the walls, flow and ceiling. The lower the frequency, the lower the sound absorption rate by the wall surface, consequently, the lower frequency sound reflects many times before reaching the listener. The absorption rate becomes larger for the higher frequency sound, thus the higher frequency sound disintegrates easily by the reflection off the wall. The higher frequency sound energy coming to the listener is composed almost entirely of the direct sound from the source. The higher frequency sound therefore arrives earlier than the lower frequency sound.

Besides these phenomena, the higher frequency energy is dissipated by the well-known air attenuation effect. The Dynavector SuperStereo processor is the only time delay generator that approximately simulates the concert hall. All other delay equipment is based on digital delay that is constant regardless of the frequency. Dynavector holds worldwide patents for its SuperStereo processor technology.

In the actual use of a delay system, a longer time delay is required for the reproduction of low frequencies. But the larger time delay causes echoes in the mid and high frequencies if the delay time is constant. This contradiction makes the maximum delay time of a digital system limited to around 30msec; consequently, the feeling of presence is considerably limited compared to that achieved with Dynavector’s SuperStereo processor (SSP). In SSP there is no limitation in terms of the delay time. A maximum delay time of 342msec at 50Hz can be used with Dynavector’s system.

A second major reason for the superiority of the SSP system arises from the fact that when the sounds from the front and the rear speakers collide under the conditions of the frequency related time delays, there appears an acoustic “hologram” in the listening position, and so the best listening position is not limited to a particular sweet spot.

Click here for a background paper on SuperStereo