David Chesky: I'll tell you this - 6.0 leaves stereo in the dust.

5.1 Surround was developed for movies/home theater, and that system has nothing to do with the science of concert hall acoustics. 6.0 Surround was designed for music recordings and is all about recreating concert hall acoustics in your listening room. 5.1 is really nothing but a glorified quad setup and we all know quad didn't make it in the 70's. With our 6.0 DVD Audio recordings we can deliver 6 full-range channels of high resolution 96/24 and exploit the full potential of the DVD-A format.

SG: Audiophiles are hung-up on stereo.

DC: Audiophiles are obsessed with recreating a musical event in two channel, but in the real world we always hear ambient information around us. The problem with stereo is that all that ambient information is stuck in the front two channels. We have become so used to stereo we think it's correct when it's entirely wrong for recreating a real space in our listening rooms! Two channel is like looking into the recording -- 6.0 puts you in the space.

SG: Hey, I think 6.0 sounds great, but it's a 5.1 world. Why don't you make it easy on yourself and just make 5.1 recordings?

DC: Listen, the world is not flat. We cannot simply sit back and accept things because they are the norm, otherwise we would all still be listening to mono 78 rpm records. We must progress in our thinking because some of today's craziest ideas will become tomorrow's norm. In the future we will have 7.1 Surround, 9.1 Surround, 10.2 Surround and then who knows what. In art, dignity is in the effort. I want to make the best recordings I can and 5.1 does not allow that, but 6.0 does. And for the few out there who want the best, it is there.

SG: What happens to 5.1's center and subwoofer channels?

DC: We take the center speaker channel (channel 5) and the subwoofer channel (channel 6) and redirect them to side channels positioned at 55 degrees from the listener. We do this because the 55 degree side reflection is the first reflection the listener hears off the side wall in a concert hall. This side reflection gives the listener a sense of lateral envelopment, and our use of the 55 degree side speakers recreates the concert hall space. That reflection is missing in the 5.1 Surround setup. Why waste a channel on bass when most audiophile speakers can deliver enough bass without the subwoofer channel? If you need to use a subwoofer, simply run it off the main pair. The center channel was designed to anchor dialog to the TV for off-center listeners, but most audiophiles do their serious listening alone, and in the sweet spot. I cannot remember when I invited someone over to listen to music on a stereo. Go to a live concert if you want to hear music with your friends.

SG: But the home theater crowd depends on subwoofers.

DC: As I said, I am not in the home theater business. Audiophiles don't own multi-channel systems -- I just hope that when they begin to set them up, they will use them as music systems instead of all that noise and nonsense you get with home theater systems. They're just crazy amusement park rides that have absolutely nothing, and I mean nothing to do with acoustic music. And acoustic music is what I hope my customers are interested in.

SG: Today's DVD-A players lack any form of bass management, can you explain that?

DC: DVD Audio players lack bass management - they can't "redirect" bass information lost by small satellite speakers to a subwoofer. But my market is the audiophile market and audiophiles do not need bass management because they already have full range systems. We are not interested in playing back Star Wars and having the whole neighborhood shake, rattle and roll!

SG: Which reminds me, how sweet is the "sweet spot" in 6.0 Surround?

DC: The sweet spot will vary from recording to recording. The recording process will determine the sweet spot as much as the speaker layout, but that subject deserves a whole entire article. With 5.1, you get a better center image if you sit off axis, but how many people listen at home off axis? With 6.0, you will get a smaller sweet spot but a much better sense of a real space within that sweet spot, which is a small trade off in my opinion. When multi-channel goes to 7.1 then maybe we'll reintroduce a center channel, but with 6 full channels, 6.0 is a better way to go for now.

SG: How do Chesky's 2/4/6 discs work?

DC: These discs are the ultimate audiophile fantasy discs -- there is something for everyone here. Our 4.0 Dolby Digital mix will play on 5.1 home theater systems with DVD Video players. We also include the 4 channel 96/24 DVD Audio mix for the newer DVD Audio players. So we're totally compatible with 5.1.

The two channel crowd can select stereo on either their DVD Audio or DVD Video machine. This stereo mix is not a 5 to 2 fold down, but rather a true 96/24 stereo mix.

For the audiophiles and music lovers who want the best ride, there is the 6.0 mix. This mix will give you six full channels of 96/24. This mix includes our side channel layout (the center and subwoofer channels now become side channels) and surpasses any 5.1 mix. You get true lateral envelopment which is very necessary for creating a surround environment.

SG: That's great but I'd say you're going to have a tough time convincing audiophiles, you know, the hard core two channel people, to run out and buy four more speakers and four channels of amplification to get into surround.

DC: I am not forcing anyone into surround. Like I said, I encourage listeners who prefer two channel to try the 2/4/6 disc in stereo. Regardless of your feelings about surround, this disc, when played in two channel still sounds much better than any CD. If you want to get into surround later the mixes are on the discs, you can always do that. If you do not, no problem, enjoy the discs in stereo. This disc will make everybody happy - home theater buffs, stereo-philes and those adventurous people looking to get into serious surround.

SG: Do you think any other record companies will use 6.0?

DC: This format will become the norm, and as time passes, we will evolve past 6.0. With our 2/4/6 discs, we are giving a glimpse of the future today. The problem is the same as always: the lack of acceptance of the unfamiliar by both other record companies and the industry at large. It will take time!

SG: And one day we will look at stereo the way we look at old mono 78 records?

DC: Not sad, but true and exciting!