PARASOUND CSE 6.1 ADDS

Alert the rear guard! The charge may be coming!

The number of decoders able to reconstitute the sixth surround channel of EX and ES sound recordings and currently available on the market could easily be counted on the hands of a disabled war veteran (!), so it's with the greatest enthusiasm that we announce the coming release of the CSE 6.1 ADDS (CSE for "Center Surround Expander") from the manufacturer PARASOUND.

This gift of the gods allows us, by being placed between the 5.1 processor and a supplementary power amp., to reach new sound horizons, completed by central rear channels. The only prerequisite is to already possess a multi-channel pre-amp or integrated unit with lines out for surround channels, an interface which should generally be labelled "6CH OUTPUT" at the back end of the machine, albeit in diverse formats (RCA plus, DB-25, etc.).

While the CSE 6.1 does not possess a THX logo on the facade, it is unable to use the copyright "THX SURROUND EX" and thus contents itself to be labelled "MATRIX 6.1". This limitation is at a first glance somewhat surprising, coming from a manufacturer that has never hesitated to submit a great majority of its power amplifiers to the draconian tests of the LUCASFILM laboratories.
It is, in fact, a technical choice which has been carefully calculated, far from any commercial constraints: with the THX de-matrixing procedure (based, we should remind you, on the "good old" DOLBY pro-logic system), PARASOUND has in fact preferred to use a technology called "Circle Surround Processing" from the SRS laboratories, which turns out to be a better performer in terms of envelopment, fluidity and precision in newly created effects.
The procedure also benefits from a full bandwidth, supplying the surround channels with 300% more information than conventional systems. For all supplementary information concerning "Circle Surround Processing", we invite you to download the two explanatory brochures in "PDF" format, available on the facing page.

The CSE 6.1 is thus able to generate up to two central rear channels from any 5.1 source, whether or not the instructions necessary for the reconstitution of an EX or similar signal be integrated in the machine. Auxiliary RCA outputs also allow for the addition of two extra channels to be placed ... for example ... on the ceiling! That means a total of 6 surround speakers to be managed. An extreme option reserved for the most fanatical among you.

Another function, doubtless more interesting: the processor also integrates a subwoofer line outwhose cut-off frequency is adjustable from 80 to 120 Hz. One can thus envisage the utilisation of smaller sized speakers, easier to place, which can be relayed by an appropriate active low-frequency box.

The ensemble of adjustments needed for the sixth channel that has thus been created are disconcertingly simple, notably by the use of a remote control offering direct access to its activation or placing on "stand-by", as well as volume control.
With a "bypass" mode allowing for a return to the initial 5.1 configuration, the CSE 6.1 becomes totally transparent.


The CSE 6.1 is mooted for the month of December, at a price of US$ 400.