- Joined: August 2003
- Location: SF Bay Area
- Post Count: 2,329
I agree with both Jeff and Mike because they are both right. It does make a difference but not night and day. Going from mono to 5.1 would be a HUGE difference but from stereo to 5.1 just a big difference.
The analogy of cd to dvd-a is a good one. But it also depends on the mix and the quality of the remastering. I've always found great enjoyment from dvd's, both audio and video, and going to 1080P and HD audio adds just a little bit more to the experience but not night and day. Like anything else, the farther up the ladder you go the more expensive each step is. I've up-graded my dvd players to a Pioneer BDP-51 BluRay player and an OPPO BDP-83 universal BR but kept my old non-hdmi receivers. I could afford the up-grade at the time but If I couldn't I'd be perfectly satisfied with DD and DTS. BTW, my first BR player was a Samsung 1400 which let you switch "on the fly" via a button on the remote from DD to DD-HD (along with DTS-HD, an often over-looked sound format) to DolbyTrueHD and there was definitely a noticeable difference. Whether the high cost to up-grade is worth it will always be debated.
I think 5.1 is the biggest improvement to sound over the last few years and wish dvd had replaced cd's for that reason alone (a disc could have stereo track and 5.1 one on the same disc). 5.1 DTS cd's are also wonderful sounding but not many were produced. DVD-A, SACD and DolbyTrueHD/DTS-MA are steps in the right direction. Compressed files are a giant leap backwards. I hope they remain in the mobile arena and don't invade HT.
"Everyday room": Mitsubishi 52631 RPTV, H/K 520, H/K dvd-5, H/K 8380, H/K CDR 20, OPPO BDP-83 BluRay player, Dish-HD, Infinity Beta 20's-C250-OWS1's, Dayton HSU10.
"Movie/Music room": Toshiba 65HM167 RPTV, Pioneer Elite 59txi, Elite DV59avi, Elite CD-59, Pioneer PD-51FD BR, Dish-DVR, Swan Diva...
- Joined: August 2001
- Location: New York City Area
- Post Count: 3,532
Actually, I'd say there's a bigger jump from lossy DD (and likely DTS also) to the (higher res) lossless formats than there is from redbook CD to DVD-A (and SACD), but yeah, how much benefit you can personally appreciate can really depend.
Lossy DD on BDs (at a typical 640Kbps bitrate for a 5.1 track) is probably more like a high bitrate MP3. However, due to the nature of movie soundtracks and the fact your attention gets split between both visual and audio components (and the help of being 5.1 in many cases), the lower audio fidelity can get masked a bit easier/better than music-only content on MP3.
However, if you plan on getting into a fair amount of primarily music content on BD (like concerts, operas, etc), you just might find yourself hearing and enjoying the improvements more. For instance, I don't know what the Police reunion concert (ie. Certifiable) sounds like on DVD, but I get the feeling *nothing* in the various lossy formats *ever* sound as good as that BD's lossless track -- and I feel the same about their Every Breath You Take SACD as well. And no, I'm not the type that only buys and listens to SACDs (or DVD-As) just because it's higher fidelity than redbook CD -- a well mastered CD can still sound great (and very often, you just cannot get the same kind of recorded performance on the higher rez formats). Also, I do listen to some high bitrate MP3s on my iPod as well (mainly for a little pop music and such in more casual settings).
But yeah, again, what you will personally hear and appreciate will depend on you (and your choices). Do note though that the lossy tracks on most BDs tend to be higher bitrate (and likely somewhat higher fidelity) than on most DVDs, eg. all DTS-HD/MA BDs seem to come w/ a 1.5Mbps DTS core (and the trend of going w/ DTS is much greater on BD now than ever on DVD). So it's not like there's zero improvement, if you decide not to upgrade your audio gear.
_Man_
Edited by Man-Fai Wong - 10/28/09 at 3:19pm
Just another amateur learning to paint w/ "the light of the world".
