Mono-colour glasses with Procyon Ganzframe adapter and AudioStrobe

I thought I'd pass on some info about using Mindplace mono-colour glasses with the Procyon and the ganzframe adapter (adapter that lets you use mono-colour and bi-colour glasses with your Procyon) together with AudioStrobe.

The most important thing to know is that the adapter only outputs Red and Green channels (not Blue). Andy has already mentioned this in the Adapter Sticky thead in this forum.

The mono-colour glasses are wired to give each channel on opposite sides. If you have set your Procyon AudioStrobe (AS) settings (via the Procyon software) so that one side is Blue (only) and the other side is either Red and/or Green, you will find that only one side of the mono-colour glasses will flash. So, you have to make sure that your Procyon AS software settings have Green assigned to one side and Red to the other. I'm pretty sure that all Procyons shipped have this as a default anyway.

So, in theory, you should be able to use your Procyon together with the adapter, and any Mindplace mono-coloured glasses, and experience the way that the original AudioStrobe CD's were designed around. Namely, mono-coloured (Red at that time) and single-sided channels, at that time.

Unfortunately, I have not found this to be the case. I personally find that the AS patterns are much more defined and vivid using my mono-coloured glasses with either my Sirius or Proteus units (both are about the same, very good). I also find that the bi-coloured glasses work much better with the Sirius and Proteus units than with the Procyon (slightly better, in my opinion, than even the AS dedicated MindExporer Light & Sound Synergizer).

The interesting thing is that if I set the Procyon AS settings to Red on one side and Green (or Blue) on the other, the AS patterns are about as good (using the Procyon AS Analog mode) using the Procyon RGB glasses as they are with either the Sirius or Proteus with bi-coloured glasses.

As an aside, with the Procyon, I find that it's better to assign either Red on one side and either Blue or Green on the other to get the best AS patterns with AS CD's. Mixing a third colour just seems to blur thing a bit, for me anyway. Same goes if you are using the Laxman goggles. Still, bi-coloured does not give as crisp and vivid AS pattens as mono-coloured in my opinion.

I'm not sure what the problem is. Either the Procyon AS decoder is not as good as the Sirius or Proteus ones, or maybe it's due to the very long leads on my original adapter and hence more in-line resistance. I might try shortening my leads and see if this makes any difference.

Anyway, I thought I'd pass my findings on and I hope it helps.

Cheers,
TomC

Thanks for your post.
Really.
I'm just coming to the forum to ask right about this argument!

I recently discovered binaural and isochronic tones and they seem to have a positive effect on me, so I'm now looking to buy my first AVS system, and trying to decide whether to choose the Procyon or Proteus (or maybe the Sirius). As I read more on various sites and forums, I am getting more and more confused about the Audiostrobe functionality of these units. For start I would probably use the inbuilt sessions and listen to AS CDs (with monocolour glasses), but the programmability of these machines seems very intriguing as well.

I would go for the Procyon, but it seems that several users have been unimpressed with the way it presented Audiostrobe (back in 2008-9 anyway, like the OP). I also read that the unit only had a 'threshold triggered AS decoder', and no analog hardware decoder, so the glassess would always be limited to 'on-off' pulsing. I couldn't find any detailed information, but if I understand correctly audiostrobe is capable to do more than that.
My main worry here is that the AS format is standard, and any AVS machine that claims to be compatible with the format should be able to output the two signals close to what was intended when they were recorded, and I'm not sure if the Procyon is capable of doing that.

That points me to the Proteus, for it's analog decoder (?), and if I would eventually get bored of the inbuilt programs I could use a more 'user friendly' editing software than what's provided with the Procyon, such as the Neuro Programmer, which couldn't utilise all three LEDs on the Procyon (as yet). I could also go with the Sirius and use Audiostrobe entraining sessions to make up for the inbuilt ones I'd lose from the Proteus and Procyon.

I would really appreciate if someone with a technical knowledge about these machines could shed some light on this, so I could make a more objective decision. I posted this here instead of sending an email, in case someone else might be interested as well.

Kudos for the forum by the way, the fact that it exists was one of the main reasons I choose Mindplace.

Hello and welcome, Tamas!

Here is a bit of reading that might help shed some light on the subject of Procyon AS functionality:
http://www.mindplacesupport.com/foru...=5712#post5712
http://www.mindplacesupport.com/foru...=5118#post5118

The Procyon now has digital and analogue AS decoding (2 different modes) to suit the desires of the user. The analog mode is configurable, and there's a document written by a user describing how to adjust the settings to get the best results. It's written with Mind Workstation/Neuroprogrammer in mind, but the information is all relevant even for normal Audiostrobe discs. http://www.mindplacesupport.com/foru...read.php?t=550

Suffice to say, most are very satisfied with the default AS decoding functions of the Procyon. For those that aren't, there is the analog mode where you can make adjustments to your liking.

Reply back if you have any further questions.

-Andy.

Tamas,

I have all 3 MP machines. Just my opinion, but based on what you want to do, I'd go with the Proteus and purchase a pair of either red or white monochrome glasses (maybe both).

The Proteus comes with bi-colour red/green ones with work best with it's inbuilt sessions and some AS CD's look pretty good with them as well.

I feel that the Proteus has the best AS CD response, esp. if you use the monochrome glasses (no adapters are required btw).

Cheers,
TomC

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TomC

(no adapters are required btw).

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FYI - the new Procyon Rev3 does not require an adapter either.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Andy

FYI - the new Procyon Rev3 does not require an adapter either.

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Thanks for the update on that Andy. I have not seen this mentioned anywhere before. Just noticed that there is a new operationg system for this new unit. Is this revision simply to account for the new glasses plug, or is there something else?

So the latest Procyon uses a standard 3.5mm plug instead of the square looking one, or does it have both?

Any other major changes with this Rev3 unit?

Cheers,
TomC

Hi Tom;

The Rev3 has a new TRRS connector which should be more secure and reliable than the previous square connector.
It's like the one on an iPhone which has an extra connection. The extra connection is used for the blue color on the Procyon Ganzframes, but also allows 2-color/channel Proteus/Sirius Ganzframes to connect to the Procyon without an adapter.
The only other change is a minor one to allow for simpler installation of the driver on Windows 7 and x64 OSs.

There's been no announcement since they are just starting to ship.
Same goes for the Thoughtstream USB.

-Andy.

Thanks Andy, that answers everything I wanted to know.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by TomC

Tamas,

I have all 3 MP machines. Just my opinion, but based on what you want to do, I'd go with the Proteus and purchase a pair of either red or white monochrome glasses (maybe both).

The Proteus comes with bi-colour red/green ones with work best with it's inbuilt sessions and some AS CD's look pretty good with them as well.

I feel that the Proteus has the best AS CD response, esp. if you use the monochrome glasses (no adapters are required btw).

Cheers,
TomC

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I appreciate the advice Tom, however from the info Andy provided it seems the Procyon should be capable of what the Proteus does with the correct settings, and was referenced to the AudioStrobe Light & Sound Synergizer and that's good enough for me to make up my mind. I'll take your advice though and will get a pair of monocolour glasses as well, just deciding between the red or white.
I've read here on the forum that red light would have a stimulating effect, regardless of whether used for entrainment or not. Have you noticed that it's the case compared to white? It might be that white would be a more neutral colour for just visual stimulation.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Tamas

Thanks Andy, that answers everything I wanted to know.




I appreciate the advice Tom, however from the info Andy provided it seems the Procyon should be capable of what the Proteus does with the correct settings, and was referenced to the AudioStrobe Light & Sound Synergizer and that's good enough for me to make up my mind. I'll take your advice though and will get a pair of monocolour glasses as well, just deciding between the red or white.
I've read here on the forum that red light would have a stimulating effect, regardless of whether used for entrainment or not. Have you noticed that it's the case compared to white? It might be that white would be a more neutral colour for just visual stimulation.

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What I am trying to tell you is that for me the AS decoder on the Proteus and even the Sirius machines both seem to work better than the Procyon no matter how you try to fine-tune The Procyon settings.

I also have a L&S Synergizer (all it does is AS decode) and it works well, but not any better than the Proteus or Sirius. Also, the glasses that it comes with are pretty poor quality and not very bright.

While I could never get as good light patterns using AS CD's with my Procyon, the AS response using other programs like NP2/NP3 work fine on all machines.

If you have not had a lot of L&S experience it might be better to start off with the white monochrome glasses. You might find the red ones too harsh, and maybe a bit too stimulating to begin with.

Cheers,
TomC