Ben....you got a link for us?
-curtis
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Ben....you got a link for us?
-curtis
thanks Ben...stuff like this can only help SACD and DVD-A.
-curtis
I'm so confused.
What's the most efficient, smartest way to go (total budget of about $600).. buy a solid cd 5 disc changer model, then get a seperate single tray DVD player that will accomodate both SACD & DVD-Audio?
I need both a DVD & CD player, and I know that seperate players for each format, as well as single tray units for each, are considered to be of better quality. So.. I thought I could get a solid CD changer unit, since that is most prevalent audio format, thus wisest use of a changer unit. Prices are low as we've reached the limit of the standard CD format, so good quality can be had, even with a changer at a moderate price.
Then, for DVDs and a relatively small SACD/DVD-A market, a single tray unit makes more sense. Saves $$$, better quality, convenience of disc change-outs not so important, etc.
And that's not even considering all the DVI/HDCP/HDMI/HDMI v.2 issues! Too much for my brain to entertain at the moment, so will try to keep the it simple.
How's my reasoning? please critique me. be gentle.
Gregisme,
For $600 you can pick up a Denon DVD-2200 universal player. I've been very pleased with mine, excellent audio quality on both Hi-Rez formats as well as redbook cds. The video is reported to be on par with the highly-regarded Denon 1600 and 2900 players. Theres a review of the 2200 in the January issue of Sound & Vision.
I did a little research on the 2200, including reading that Sound & Vision review. It sounds like a really sound unit Ben.
But it dawned on me that I don't expect to have anything beyond a 3.1 setup anytime soon. So, there's no reason for me to get a player that has DVD-Audio. Or, would it sound better even on a 3.1 system? Same question with SACD?
Then there are all those connectivity issues that I can't quite wrap my brain around. And of course the spectre of 'blue laser' looms.
So now, I'm leaning towards getting a good CD changer, and just a basic $100 DVD player, and await the emergence of blue laser units a couple years or so down the line, and hopefully better clarifications of those connectivity questions (HDMI ad nauseum).
Gregisme,
Both SACD and DVD-A have stereo tracks that have the highest resolution available. I believe that some DVD-As have stereo tracks as high as 24/192. I primarily listen to the multi-channel tracks, but the stereo tracks are an interesting option.
So is the 24/192 better than the HDCD quality? I think those are 20 bit, correct me if I"m wrong.
HDCD is a compression scheme I thought. My receiver is HDCD capatible...and when that HDCD light comes on, I hear no difference is quality.
-curtis
My (possibly mistaken) understanding is that the HDCD disks are 20 bit resolution instead of the standard 16 bit. In order to hear that increase in resolution, you must have a newer CD player that is HDCD capable.
Right...it is 20bit encoded into 16bit...compressed.
http://whatis.techtarget.com/definit...843768,00.html
But like I said...I heard no difference. There is not much HDCD stuff out there anyways.
-curtis
From what I've read, both DVD-A and SACD are higher in resolution than HDCD. Plus you have the option for multi-channel.
I hear huge upgrades in HDCD endoded disc. Is it the HDCD encoding or a superior recording? Can never be certain, can we?
picasso_04901@yahoo.com
FWIW....Microsoft owns the HDCD technology.
-curtis
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Arial, Verdana, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by curtis
HDCD is a compression scheme I thought. My receiver is HDCD capatible...and when that HDCD light comes on, I hear no difference is quality.
-curtis
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
I just read that in order for you to hear the difference, you need to use your digital out from your HDCD capable receiver. Otherwise, no difference in sound.
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Arial, Verdana, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Gregisme
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Arial, Verdana, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by curtis
HDCD is a compression scheme I thought. My receiver is HDCD capatible...and when that HDCD light comes on, I hear no difference is quality.
-curtis
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
I just read that in order for you to hear the difference, you need to use your digital out from your HDCD capable receiver. Otherwise, no difference in sound.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Yup...that's what I did.
-curtis
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Arial, Verdana, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Ben_Wood
From what I've read, both DVD-A and SACD are higher in resolution than HDCD. Plus you have the option for multi-channel.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Well I don't have any doubt about that, but what I've been trying to find out is.. which brings out better sound from standard "redbook" cds? That's what I'll mostly be listening to over the next few years, at least. Both HDCD and DVD-A/SACD players claim to improve regular CD sound.
If they are both about equal in doing that, I would go for the convenience of a CD changer with HDCD. Then in a couple years down the line I'll pick-up DVD--A/SACD hybrid as prices come down and titles multiple. If however, a DVD-A/SACD player is better at that, then I would go in that direction (even though a changer isn't possible there).
Btw, the really expensive Denon DVD players, 5900 and higher, feature both HDCD and DVD-A/SACD. Out of the question for me, but it suggests the continued legitimacy of HDCD even in light of DVD-A/SACD advancements.
To expand on that, here's an excerpt from this link (http://hdcd.com/partners/proaudio/hdcdmix.html) that speaks to this:
Granting that HDCD will work for DVD-Audio, the question arises again as to why you would want to use it in a format that already has such high resolution. Ritter's answer is that better resolution actually increases the need for optimizing all links in the recording/playback chain. "Let's take a camera analogy," he says, "where HDCD is like a lens with very high resolution and very low chromatic aberration. That quality can actually be better appreciated if you are making a 4x5 plate than a 35mm image. So the truth is that the advantages of all the work we do to achieve extremely low distortion and extremely high resolution are even more evident in a high-resolution format like DVD-Audio than with the CD."
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Arial, Verdana, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by curtis
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Arial, Verdana, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by Gregisme
<blockquote id="quote"><font size="1" face="Arial, Verdana, Helvetica" id="quote">quote:<hr height="1" noshade id="quote">Originally posted by curtis
HDCD is a compression scheme I thought. My receiver is HDCD capatible...and when that HDCD light comes on, I hear no difference is quality.
-curtis
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
I just read that in order for you to hear the difference, you need to use your digital out from your HDCD capable receiver. Otherwise, no difference in sound.
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
Yup...that's what I did.
-curtis
<hr height="1" noshade id="quote"></blockquote id="quote"></font id="quote">
well, ok then.
Thats odd about HDCD having to use a digital output, SACD and DVD-A have to use the analog outs. Does that make HDCD the antithesis of SACd and DVD-A? [:D]
they don't play well together so you must keep them seperated. lol.
Incidently, the "secret guys" are likely to be doing a review of the Denon 2200 at the end of the month or the beginning of next, according to another website (Home Theater SPOT, or whatever it's called).
I'll be sure to check out that upcoming review. The one from Sound & Vision was positive, but lacking in detail.