Dvd-a & Sacd

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SoWat

Guest
Anybody tried any DVD-Audio or SACD discs?

I quite fancy getting Mike Oldfield's re-release of Tubular Bells on DVD-Audio.

Normal audio CDs sound pretty naff through my Home Cinema kit, but film scores sound absolutely terrific... hopefully the new formats will sound as good in 5.1 surround.
 
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Tom

Guest
5.1 receivers are notoriously poor at reproducing 2 channel audio.
 
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SoWat

Guest
I agree about the poor reproduction of stereo through a Home Cinema kit, and I normally play my LPs/CDs/Tapes through my 'proper' Technics kit.

The DVD-Audio idea sounds good though, as it's specifically encoded for 5.1 systems... guess I'll just order the 'Tubular Bells' DVD as it's cheap enough, though I'll need to get some analog connectors (6) to hook up my DVD player to my receiver (bloody things don't play through digital-audio connections, supposedly to prevent piracy).
 
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Ono

Guest
The cheapest DVD player capable of playing DVD-A and SACD is the Pioneer 565A.

As SoWat mentioned mentioned you have to connect the channels up to a seperate amp which is a pain in the ass and not something I'm willing to do.

One single optical cable to the AV Amp is much neater. :/
 
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Yaka

Guest
ive got muzic on both dv-a and sacd, mabe its me ears but i cant tell much of a difference between the 2.
 
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SoWat

Guest
After ordering a set of analog leads, I discover that my receiver doesn't accept them (digital only).

However, depite what my DVD manual states, DVD-A do play with just my digital coax audio connection.

My Tubular Bells hasn't yet turned up, but the new R.E.M. one has... and it sounds absolutely fantastic! It's like being in the middle of the band during a concert (It also has a nicely done multi-angle option for the videos).

The DVD disc also has the option to play via Dolby Digital Surround or DTS (as well as normal stereo). I have to admit that I much prefer the DTS version over the specially enhanced DVD-A version (maybe because DTS has better bass due to it's LFE stream). The Dolby Digital and DVD-A versions sound almost the same.

I can't wait for Tubular Bells to drop through the letterbox, and I'm searching for Pink Floyd's 'Dark Side of the Moon'.
 
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Tom

Guest
When I upgrade my CD player, I will probably go the SACD, mainly because most of the audiophile releases are now on either Vinyl or SACD. Mind you, Vinyl steal owns SACD anyway.

Gosh this new turntable has repeatedly blown my cd player out of the water, and it wasn't a cheap cd player either.
 
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Embattle

Guest
Originally posted by SoWat
It's like being in the middle of the band during a concert (It also has a nicely done multi-angle option for the videos).
Click to expand...

If that were true it would sound awful ;)
 
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SoWat

Guest
The idea does sound odd, but actually works very well. The music is actually biased towards the front (otherwise it would sound weird), but the space to the side and behind the listener is filled in very well... on the R.E.M. release anyway.

On the track 'Everybody Hurts' some of the vocals are dubbed to give a kind of echo effect. The 'main' voice is still in front, but the echo is behind the listener. It's hard to explain, but sounds really good.

There's not an awful lot of stuff available in either the DVD-A or SACD format, and I'm not about to replace my music collection built up over 25 years or so (I've been down that route with CDs), but the format is pleasant enough to purchase selected titles; i.e The above mentioned Tubular Bells and Pink Floyd are just the kind of music that would benefit.
 
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Big G

Guest
I find my home cinema decoder/amp is fantastic for reproducing two channel audio *shrug* but it does have specific inputs for CD/SACD as well has decoding and amplifying DD and DTS from DVD players.

G
 
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Tom

Guest
No offense G, but put it on a quality hifi system, and your amp would suck balls.
 
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Big G

Guest
Errr, Indeed I have and as I say it sounded great.
 
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Tom

Guest
Explain what you mean by a great hifi system then, or list it here.
 
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Big G

Guest
It sounded great through a set of KEF reference speakers, and i'd say they were pretty much top quality (comparing to an Audiolab pre amp and two seperate, per-channel Audiolab power amps).

Of course, Tom, it depends on your idea of "top quality" - if you're talking about comparing it to (ballpark top quality) a Linn Valve amp through similar spec speakers (such as cresta/reference), I daresay that my home cinema amp may not sound quite up to a several thousand pound valve amp.

But lets not drag this to anus level.

Who's to say that those that complain about shit stereo performance from their home cinema amp do so because ... well ... they bought a shit amp. Who knows.

My amp sounds great, be it 6.1 through my mission home cinema setup or via stereo.

G
 
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