What to Dolby S tapes sound like on B or C decks

[gonzo]

I haven't quite been able to figure this one out. If I picked up some home made tapes using dolby S, but only have dolby B or C on my deck would the tapes sound as though they were recorded with B or C ? In other words would the other forms of NR, that dolby S have, interfere with the other more common NR algorithms or are they just additive? Would the dolby S tapes sound worse than tapes recorded with B or C NR if played on a deck with just B or C NR? I hope I am being clear enough, but as I read this I'm not sure I am! Thanks Norm

[Marc Hugo]

Hi Norm,

This exercise is best not entered into with positive expectations. One of the only really misleading pieces of disinformation trotted out by magazines and Dolby Labs in the early 90s when "S" was seeping into the marketplace, was that you could play a Dolby S encoded tape back on a deck with Dolby B selected (on). In theory, the tape should have sounded brighter than with Dolby S decoding but quieter than without any decoding at all. In practice, it sounds duller than either; somehow lifeless and uneasy. Although, it is not as bad as listening to a raw dbx encoding, it will be unrewarding to say the least. Harbour no unjustified optimism on this. Above all, it will give you no idea about the possibilities of Dolby S at all.

Cheers - Marc

[braxus]

I've used both Dolby B and C to decode. They both work. But Dolby designed S to work on B if needed. Dolby S is one of those NRs that need some NR turned on to be listenable. Without NR Dolby S tapes sound strange. But keep in mind whether you use B or C, the low end will be lacking so the bass needs to be turned up to compensate.