Lexicon CP-1 Theory Of Operation page 19

Multi-Channel Music & Cinema Systems
Theory and Design
Reverb
Reverb is very good for simulating a large
reverberant space.
16
While the Ambience effect simulates the early reflections of real halls, the
Reverb effect, used in Church and Cathedral, is more concerned with what
happens to the sound after the first hundred milliseconds or so. The first
reflections are not intended to simulate any particular hall and no real shape
will be audible.
The Reverb effects produce a rapidly increasing echo density that smooths
out impulsive sounds. The decay in these effects is unusually smooth and
natural and can create the effect of a church or a very reverberant hall. The
early sideways reflections are weaker than they are in the Ambience effects.
For both reverb and ambience simulation, the stereo input is fed directly to
the front loudspeakers. Some of the reverb is also added to the front
channels to produce a convincing sense of surround.
Direction is critical to maintaining clarity in the Reverb as well the Ambi-
ence effects. The recording engineer has probably put as much reverbera-
tion in the recording as the music can withstand. Adding more through
speakers located in front of the listener is generally not a good idea, since
these effects combine with the sound from the front speakers, making the
music muddy.
Delay and reverb in the rear can occasionally be helpful but the ear is not
particularly good at distinguishing between front and rear sounds and, as
with the ambience effects, it is at the sides that reverb information is most
needed.
Lexicon