Audyssey processing of Main Pre-out vs LFE

Question.

Why do you "need" to use the "pure audio" (Pure Direct on my Denon amp) mode?

Audyssey is there to add room filters, etc to reproduce what was originally mixed.

it's designed to overcome the acoustic "problems" with your room.

This is unless you have a room that perfectly matches the acoustics of the mixing studio?

Does the Onkyo have another "Direct" mode?

i.e my Denon has three options for stereo listening

Stereo- all AV/ EQ/ Bass circuitry is active.

Direct- Video processors are de-activated and you have the option to have the EQ/ bass circuitry active or not.

Pure Direct- As it states. no other circuitry is active (even the display is turned off)

personally, on my system, in my room, 2ch audio in pure direct mode sounds awful.

I have a dedicated listening room with lots of acoustical wall treatments, so even without audyssey, my system sounds pretty good.  I however like the audyssey dynamic EQ especially for movies.  I often don't listen at top volume and with movies especially like the effect of dynamic EQ.

For two channel listening for me in my room, the pure audio mode just sounds cleaner and better. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that in 2 channel mode I am only listening to magnepan speakers which are planar dipoles and might actually be somewhat less of a good match for the audyssey processing anyway.

But to get the subwoofers back into the 2 channel sound I would need to move them to the front preout connections.  Hence my questions about how that would affect the audyssey for when I am listening to 7.1 HT movies.

Looking at teh specs of your amp

it "should" allow you to set a completely different speaker configuration for "Stereo/ Direct" mode (mine does)

aswell as turning off the AudysseyEQ 

it does have both a Direct and Pure Direct mode

i would expect that the "Direct" mode would allow you to still use subwoofers to output the low frequency signals of your fronts if you have them set to something other than "full range"

or if you just set your fronts to "full range" that forces the amp to pass all frequencies to the mains, regardless of their actual frequency range.

All Audyssey technologies work exactly the same way whether you are using speaker or line-level outputs.

However, if you attach a sub to a line level output that is not Sub Out (i.e. one of the main channels) then MultEQ will not know there is a sub there.  It will simply measure it together with the speaker.  You will lose the benefit of higher resolution filters in the Sub channel.

Frankly, I think the notion of using the two front channels as Large for music is a myth that has no foundation in science...

In any case, Audyssey does not have different modes for stereo and multichannel.  It simply measures each speaker in the system to find out what problems the room is introducing.  These problems are there for each speaker regardless of whether you are listening to stereo or multichannel content.

Chris, thanks for your response.

So specifically Dynamic EQ will work the same if the subs are in the LFE or Front Pre out outputs?  ie. the bass boost at lower volumes is determined by frequency not by output line that the speaker is connected too?

Also do you have any specific comments on how the Audyssey processing works when speakers are planar dipoles rather than traditional cone radiating speakers that might explain why I prefer non-Audyssey for 2 channel music listening?

Yes, Dynamic EQ will apply the low frequency compensation regardless of whether you have a sub or speaker connection.

Planar speakers can be a little tricky to measure because of the horizontal radiation pattern.  I suggest playing with the mic height.