I will never swap this surround decoder with any PRO LOGIC or analog matrix decoder. It is like having a DISCRETE ANALOG Surround decoder. >:)
   Watching X-Files, I can hear phones ringing, babies crying and guns being shot from my rear left/right speakers! There was one episode which i really ENJOYED. I heard this psychologist (woman) speaking from the rear-left of me. At that time, the camera was focused on who she (psychologist) was speaking to. And as the camera brings the psychologist into view, I heard her voice shifting from the rear-left to the left side to the front-left and then to the center of the SOUNDSTAGE! the effect was OUTSTANDING! and I was not even in the 'CRITIC' mode when I heard this. I was simply watching and enjoying the show.
   This effect was possible thru the VIVID 3D Plus and the HTS-1. Without the SRS, the 'ambient' sound will not be very realistic.
   The HTS-1 decodes the surround sound material differently from how PRO LOGIC does. The sound that it routes to the rear speakers are not MONO! Moreover, the sound in the main left and right speakers are not 'PROCESSed'. The HTS-1 has an option for you to upgrade your home theater set-up to have a center channel - with a center channel line level output. Eitherway, the Left and Right material is not processed. This means that you will need an active speaker or another mono amp to drive your center speaker. I do not use any center channel at the moment and I always advice my friends not to use the center channel mode when using their Dolby PRO LOGIC amps/receivers as this messes up the left/right (LR) channels. When the center (C) channel is activated, much of the sound that was intended for the L/R channels are being drawn into the C channel. This means YOU ARE LOSING THE SOUND STAGE!!! I advice my friends to use the PHANTOM center mode instead. good L/R speakers should produce a good phantom center channel even in off-axis listening.
   Go ahead and load your TRUE LIES LD... Get to the point where Arnold and Tia are dancing in this really HUGE place. There is a background music being played by a LIVE orchestra. Now, switch your decoder to the WITH-CENTER- and the WITHOUT-CENTER-CHANNEL MODE. You should easily find out that the 'background music' collapses into the center channel, thus losing your sense of WHERE-YOU-ARE-IN-THE-MOVIE (ambience!). Your set-up should be able to let you hear the AMBIENCE of the scene. Try courtroom movies!
   My favorite test LD is ALADDIN! Search for the part where Aladdin was thrown into the 'dungeon'/jail and was talking with himself and Abu went in to save him. This is really a great scene. you should be able to HEAR that you are with him in that jail. You will hear his voice echo and bounce against the walls! The jail is 'acoustically LIVE' because it has bare concrete walls all over! This is a really great reference movie from Walt Disney that even Toy Story can not match in sonic ability.
   High Performance Review recommended that a set of speaker and this decoder be connected in parallel to the amplifier.
   i am not sure about this but it looks like Chase is non-existent anymore. also, i am wondering if they are now involved with CIRCLE SURROUND.