Lexicon CP-3 Plus Supplementary Manual page 14

CP-3 PLUS Digital Surround Processor
Highly percussive material is almost always better in the Small mode which
is quite successful in livening and expanding popular music.
If you have no side loudspeakers, both Ambience and Reverb contain
versions of the Panorama mode that will simulate them within a narrow
area between the speakers.
While the Ambience mode simulates the early reflections of real halls,
Reverberation 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 mode produces a rapidly increasing echo density that smooths
out impulsive sounds. The decay in this mode is unusually smooth and
natural and can create the effect of a church or a very reverberant hall. The
early sideways reflections, which produce the most SI, are weaker than they
are in the Ambience mode. In Reverb, as in Ambience, the stereo input is fed
directly to the front loudspeakers. Some of the side energy can also be fed
to the front speakers; side and rear outputs are generated from the stereo
input.
Direction is critical to maintaining clarity in Reverb and Ambience. The
recording engineer has probably put as much reverberation in the record-
ing 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 Ambience, it is at the sides that Reverb is most needed. However, if you
are interested in producing the largest possible effect from the Reverb
modes, consider placing speakers in the front corners of the room and
driving them in parallel with the rear speakers. Note, however, that this
configuration does not compensate for the absence of side speakers, which
continue to be the most important. Also, these additional speakers should
be shut off for correct operation of the Panorama and Surround modes.
If you have no side loudspeakers, both Ambience and Reverb contain
versions of the Panorama mode that will simulate them within a narrow
area between the speakers . Choosing a speaker configuration with no side
speakers will automatically turn the Panorama Effect on and mix the side
outputs into the front outputs.
PLUS
CP-3 Theory
and Design
The Reverb
Mode
Reverb is very good for simulating a large
reverberant space.
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