Stereo vs Surround Sound

[jefffree]

Deep within the bowels of the radio setup options are two buttons: stereo and surround sound. I have a 2011 FFH with what I thought was the top-of-the-line radio/nav option.

 

Is there a way to enable the surround sound, or is that a feature reserved for the Mercury and Lincoln lines?

 

Happy Motoring - Jeff

[erikduop]

How many of you stick with Stereo rigs even for watching movies/music?How many of you think that Surround Sound is the only way to view movies/music?How do you prefer to listen to two channel Music formats?

[FFHdriver]

Deep within the bowels of the radio setup options are two buttons: stereo and surround sound. I have a 2011 FFH with what I thought was the top-of-the-line radio/nav option.

 

Is there a way to enable the surround sound, or is that a feature reserved for the Mercury and Lincoln lines?

 

Happy Motoring - Jeff

Where in the menu do you see these buttons? Mine is a Sony 6 CD radio I see DSP mode - Stereo in the menu but can't change it..

[mettech]

On the 2010 you can use the Surround Sound, but on the 2011 you can not when playing music.

 

Believe me, the Stereo setting is much better for music.

[Eugr]

On the 2010 you can use the Surround Sound, but on the 2011 you can not when playing music.

 

Believe me, the Stereo setting is much better for music.

 

I have 2011 FFH, and I can use Surround Sound when playing music from USB.

[Oldguy16]

it doesn't matter if you use surround sound or not, music is recorded in stereo anyway.

[Eugr]

it doesn't matter if you use surround sound or not, music is recorded in stereo anyway.

 

It does, actually. It uses Dolby ProLogic II algorithms to convert stereo to surround when listening to regular stereo music. It doesn't always sound better than stereo, but generally, I like the sound more.

[Oldguy16]

It does, actually. It uses Dolby ProLogic II algorithms to convert stereo to surround when listening to regular stereo music. It doesn't always sound better than stereo, but generally, I like the sound more.

It "upconverts" it yes, but no point because the original source is still stereo. Like my home theater system, doesn't matter if Dolby Pro Logic II is on or not, if the source isn't digital and recorded in 5 or 7.1 then no point of changing the setup.

[akirby]

Actually you can have true 4 channel surround sound with Dolby Pro-Logic matrix encoded into 2 channels. This is how surround sound started. However you won't find matrix encoded surround sound on stereo music tracks. The other trick which the Fusion uses does as you suggest - it creates a simulated surround sound from the left and right stereo channels.

[hybridbear]

I figured I'd just use this old thread rather than starting a new one. I searched for info about this and only found this thread. With the Sony radio there are two options on the MFT screen labeled "DSP". The owner's manual only says:

Choose between STEREO SURROUND mode and STEREO mode.

What does this mean? I'm not an audiophile but I would like to understand what the difference is to get the best sound out of the system.

[acdii]

Stereo is left and right, but the surround separates the channels up so you have left/right/center/rear and sub. For normal music its processor based, but if you watch a DVD it will pull the separation from the movie instead.

[Barsoom]

I thought I'd bump this thread.

 

I have a problem with surround vs. stereo since Day Two.

 

On Day One, I found the setting for choosing Stereo or Surround, but it has since disappeared from my menus. I think I have the setting stuck on Surround, because I sometimes hear weird separation of sounds, like a surround emulator is trying to interpret the stereo signal.

 

However, I can find no DSP menu anymore, and thus no option to choose Stereo or Surround.

 

I have a FFH 2013 built on Feb 7, 2013. No upgraded Sony radio, as that was only a Titanium option that wasn't yet available when I bought the car.

 

Any ideas? Am I just looking in the wrong menu?

[gkinla]

I thought I'd bump this thread.

 

I have a problem with surround vs. stereo since Day Two.

 

On Day One, I found the setting for choosing Stereo or Surround, but it has since disappeared from my menus. I think I have the setting stuck on Surround, because I sometimes hear weird separation of sounds, like a surround emulator is trying to interpret the stereo signal.

 

However, I can find no DSP menu anymore, and thus no option to choose Stereo or Surround.

 

I have a FFH 2013 built on Feb 7, 2013. No upgraded Sony radio, as that was only a Titanium option that wasn't yet available when I bought the car.

 

Any ideas? Am I just looking in the wrong menu?

 

With my 2010 FFH I had the option of choosing stereo or surround. I never liked the surround so I kept it on stereo for the 3 years I owned the car. When I got my 2013 FFH with the standard MFT stereo, I went looking for the stereo or surround function. I never found it, I don't think it ever had the option.

[hybridbear]

Only the Fusions with the Sony radio have the Stereo vs Surround Sound option AFAIK.

[Easy Rider]

If you have the option and haven't tried it yet.......I recommend that you do.

 

I just switched mine over to "surround" this morning on a lark and with a station broadcasting in HD radio I think it is AWESOME.

[md13ffhguy]

I've been all thru the menus on my 13 FFH SE, and don't recall seeing such an option. You may be right. I may be crazy.

[Easy Rider]

Mine's a Titanium; probably has a different radio.

The option is right there with fade, balance and tone controls.

[hybridbear]

Does anyone else find that their car doesn't stay programmed to Surround? Ours keeps going back to Stereo by itself.

[murphy]

Does anyone else find that their car doesn't stay programmed to Surround? Ours keeps going back to Stereo by itself.

Yes. Mine has done that since day 1.

[acdii]

Yep another wonderful MFT bug.

[Easy Rider]

Does anyone else find that their car doesn't stay programmed to Surround? Ours keeps going back to Stereo by itself.

Sooooo, that is why the radio didn't sound as good yesterday when I got in it.

That is just pathetic.

I don't suppose that the latest update fixes that......or is it in the firmware of the radio and not "fixable" ??

 

Resident Ford Rep.........how about looking into that please.

 

P.S. Just tested my '14. Sure enough, when I turned the radio on in ACC mode it had set itself back to stereo so I reset it to surround.

BUT I then turned it off, opened the door (for a real OFF) and when I turned it back on again......still surround.

I wonder if switching to AM or SAT turns surround off ??

Edited October 13, 2014 by Easy Rider

[hybridbear]

P.S. Just tested my '14. Sure enough, when I turned the radio on in ACC mode it had set itself back to stereo so I reset it to surround.

BUT I then turned it off, opened the door (for a real OFF) and when I turned it back on again......still surround.

I wonder if switching to AM or SAT turns surround off ??

Great observation. I'll have to pay attention to that in the future.

[ptek]

The radio will switch from surround to stereo when you press the mute button or press the voice command button. If it is the first time since starting the car, it won't switch back when unmuting or exiting voice command mode. Set the radio back to surround and now it will switch back to surround on unmute or voice command exit (until the next time you start the car).

[tr7driver]

I just don't like listening to music in surround sound. Especially MP3 files with their limited fidelity. Video and games really require the surround sound, but I guess I'm not comfortable sitting in the middle of the band. Just saying, to each his own, but this isn't a problem for me.

[hikyuuri]

The thread I started on this got closed, so reposting here (hopefully more people can test this and verify).

 

This may be a possible software bug. I can get this issue to repeat every time. I'm glad to hear others have the same problem.

 

Here is what I do:

 

1. Turn on car

2. Set Audio mode to Surround

3. Turn off car and open door (radio turns off)

4. Turn on car

5. Verify Surround mode

6. Hit the Mute button on steering wheel (audio mode changes to Stereo)

7. Hit the Mute button again to unmute the audio (audio remains in Stereo mode)

8. Set Audio mode to Surround

9. Hit the Mute button on steering wheel (audio mode changes to Stereo)

10. Hit the Mute button again to unmute the audio (this time, audio returns to Surround).

 

At this point, you can mute and unmute as much as you want and the setting will return to Surround until the car is turned off and on again, then you will have to manually set it to Surround again.

 

It also does this after placing or receiving a phone call. I can record the exact issue and post it if that makes more sence, but if you follow the above steps, you should see what I am talking about.