stereo listening of DVDA (1 Viewer)

[Lee Scoggins]

Read post #3 again. I made this statement almost 2 months ago...at the time I was not aware that more than handful of recordings were out in 24/192. When I talked to Mark Waldrep at HE2004 he lamented the lack of 24/192 recordings as well and he is one of DVDAs biggest supporters.

By the way, Neil Young's albums do not count as I was not addressing 176k.

 

[John Kotches]

176.4K is a cleaner transition to 44.1K if you're going to be doing PCM based releases.

It's also a cleaner transition to DSD, and it is unlikely you would find anyone around that will tell you they can hear any differences between 176.4 and 192K.

In practice, both could use the same pass band with only minor modifications to the guard band before cutoff.

Cheers,

 

[Lee Scoggins]

John,

You are addressing points no one raised.

176k is a cleaner multiple for 44.1 and I can't hear any difference between it and 192k. I did not claim otherwise.

The discussion was about the number of releases in 192k.

 

[ScottCHI]

hmmmm.



correct me if i'm wrong, but i thought the limitation of 24/192 to 2-channel was due strictly to the capacity of a dvda, and that a 24/192 disc will ONLY have 2-channel hirez content, alone; like neil young's 24/176s.

so, if that IS true (perhaps i AM wrong), how can all these discs that you guys claim are 24/192 be so when many of those sited contain multichannel hirez tracks in addition to the 2-channel tracks?

 

[Lee Scoggins]

I think they are counting Stereo 24/192 as valid.

 

[Phil A]

Mulit-channel hi-rez tracs are ltd. to 24/96 from what I understand of the published spec. In additon to that there is room for a stereo hi-rez track incl. 24/192. There is no requirement for having both stereo and multi-channel hi-rez on one disc.

 

[Charlie C]

ive been trying to run through the hoops trying to get my sacd - dvda - mutlichannel setup done right but ive heard some only listen to high res in 2 channel. I really enjoy 2 channel 'redbook' so this makes sense but it seems to waste the extra info from the other channels.

1) who here listens to ALL hi res through 2 channel only?

2) when you listen to 2 channel, does the extra info get sent to the mains?

pardon my ignorance but with these format wars, everything is so new and secretive. I just want to enjoy my music without having to wonder 'if I had it up this way, it would maybe sound better' or something to that extent.

 

[Brian L]

Not sure I am grasping your question Charlie, but will toss out a few personal thoughts.

While hi-rez 2CH is no doubt an improvement over redbook, for me its an incremental increase. Good recordings can sound very good in redbook if care is taken in the production. Hi-rez does move the bar higher, but it may or may not be a night and day difference (IMHO, AFAIC, YMMV!).

Some of the most incredible hi-rez recordings are from AIX records, but those are all new recordings done in hi-rez right from the give go. I bet they would still sound great if they were down-converted to 16/44.1.

For me personally, the real leap is to MC. Old familiar recordings can sound stunning and take on new life when remixed in MC.

To answer you questions:

1. I listen to MC almost exclusively, although I do own a few SACDs that are 2CH only. As for DVD-A, I listen to the MC tracks 100% of the time.

2. Not sure what you mean here. You should get every bit of the 2 CH hi-rez track when using the players analog outs. Not sure what "extra info" you mean.

BGL

 

[Charlie C]

'extra info' is what comes out of the surround/center speaker

stupid question but as I said, I havent found an info site about this topis that is the end-all be-all.

Im trying to put together an all tube system and make that my exclusive music system. so if im confusing, ill try to reexplain.

thanks

 

[Brian L]

OK, let me try again.

SACD's always have a dedicated 2CH track, so there would be nothing else sent to any other channel.

DVD-A may or may not have a 2CH track, but in my experience, most (all???) my titles also have a dedicated 2CH mix, so again, no extra stuff to be sent any where.

Now, I think the DVD-A spec allows for a player to do a 2CH mix "on the fly" derived from the MC mix, but I do not know if this feature has ever been implemented. That would be a good question for John Kotches.

And if thats still not what you are asking, my apologies.

BGL

 

[ElevSkyMovie]

Charlie,

The 5.1 mix and the stereo mix are separate mixes. They are mixed differently in the studio. While it's possible to only listen to the left and right channels of a 5.1 mix, it would sound odd.

If you choose the stereo mix on a dvd-audio or sacd, you are getting a mixed designed for two speakers and all the information will be there.

Kyle

 

[Charlie C]

Brian & Kyle, thanks for the explination.


What this is all leading up to is who prefers what?
like my surrounds/center are POS's and will most likely be POS's until I can get my all tube setup going, but I dont want to/cant find the exact amps/cant afford an all tube multichannel setup. Although I will say 'redbook' CD's sound excellent but I really have only heard hires and multichannel music on very very nice systems.

So I would like to have the cream of the crop playing through my tube gear but if its better [speculative] to listen to them in MC then Ill just postpone or sell the all tube setup and focus on my 5.1 setup.
OR I can have my mains as tube amps but not the center/surrounds.

I know its all my ears, my money, my opinion, but I just wanted to see what others are doing so I wont entirely miss out on anything. I will say I listen to all my concert dvd's in stereo mode unless I have people over [then its in 5.1 if possible], and I love the imaging with 2 channel.

i dont want to drag on but these format wars are killing all of us and destroying our appreciation for music and making us worry more about our gear instead of expanding our music collections!!!!

 

[Phil A]

I prefer stereo on probably around 85% of hi-res, as I like the other speakers to enhance the 2-channel vs. be aggressive and detract from it. Others have different tastes. I do have a good set-up for surround with amps and speakers and when multi-channel is done to my taste, it is stunning. Yes, the format wars are quite silly.

 

[LanceJ]

I wrote a little review here of how Panasonic's stereo-only dvd-audio player, the S47, deals with surround tracks.