Dolby True HD, DTS HD all that?

I've been around home theater for a long time.

I have seen a lot of improvements over the years.

video going from b/w to 1080p

audio going from mono to Dolby Digital 5.1

The majority of these improvements over the years have been very noticable.

But I am still on the fence about upgrading to Dolby True HD, DTS HD or any of the other "high resolution-lossless" audio codecs.

With the current trend in audio going towards smaller and more compressed files for mobile devices and my 50 year old ears not being as sensitive as they once were, is it really worth it to upgrade?

How much difference is there?

I own an obsolete DVD-A player and a few DVD-A discs.  Can I hear the difference in sound quality? - No.  The multichannel experience is kind of cool; but I don't need a higher resolution codec for that.

So I'm interested in what other people think.  Is there a real noticable difference in audio quality with these new codecs?  Is it worth it to upgrade?

Thanks.

Is there a difference?  Yes.  Is it noticeable?  Yes.  Is it a Pro-Logic to Dolby Digital difference?  Certainly not.  Is it a CD to DVD-A difference?  Yeah, that's about what I'd call it.  Do most people buy it just because they want the best new stuff available?  IMHO, yes.  You only have to check back to when HD capable receivers came out and see how many people were pissed because the Blu-ray did the decoding, so the "TrueHD" wasn't lighting up on their receiver.  Same sound, but the darn TrueHD light wasn't lighting, so it was no good.

PS - I am personally guilty of much of what I describe above, so my description can be seen as self-deprecating, instead of belittling others.  

Dave:

My ears just turned 50 earlier this year, too!

Anyone who's been around HT a long time knows you have just asked a very subjective question of which the answer is definitely going to vary from person-to-person.

My personal view is that the uncompressed soundtracks on HD discs are revelations in many instances and are a true thing-of-beauty to listen to. 

And--full disclosure--my HT system is rather bargain basement with the audio side powered by a 2001 vintage Sony entry-level receiver to Polk "R" model speakers (30s, 15s and cSi25) and a Sony SA-WM40 subwoofer via 5.1 analog outs.  But, still...when I hear those beautiful scores and awesome sfx ripple through my living room, I get a big grin on my 50-year old mouth.

The audio end of the HT experience is important to me though.  I think some people lean towards video.  I'm an audio guy.  I've recently added a Pioneer 563A to my system and have been enjoying SACDs.  One other thing that did for me was allow me to get to the higher rez tracks on my DVD-A collection.  I could definitely tell the difference. 

The lossless BD tracks and the high-rez audio really seem to create even further separation of the various features (instruments, fx, dialog/music) than standard lossy 5.1 tracks.  The richness and fullness of the scores is one of the things I notice most often. 

But that's me.  I'm sure you'll hear from people who'll feel otherwise, too.

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.  

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

I agree that the differences are difficult to quantify, and a lot probably depends on the quality of your equipment, too. Personally, I am amazed at the sound quality of the HD lossless tracks on some titles, while others it seems to make very little difference. We re-watched The Nightmare Before Christmas the other night, and the lossless track on this is absolutely amazing -- a big improvement over the SD-DVD soundtrack, IMO.

I only own a few concert BD's, but agree with Man that The Police concert sounds amazing in DTS lossless.