John Pine

Why doesn't the analog outputs on a universal player degrade the sound (DVD-A/SACD)?

As opposed to a Tos-Link or Digital Coax connection? I'm interested in a universal player and I'm considering the Pioneer DV45A. DVD-A or SACD players aren't available with a digital connection, right?

Ted Lee

currently, you can't use a digital connection for sacd/dvd-a. it's an industry thing to prevent someone from making a perfect digital copy of the music.

a couple of companies (on their higher end units, denon and pioneer come to mind) have a proprietary digital connection that can be utilized to effectively handle bass-management.

so...for now...it's six more cables baby!

this is my dvd collection. there are many like it, but this is my own ...

John Garcia

The difference in quality between analog and digital is not solely determined by the connection type. If your player has better DACs than your receiver, you can actually get BETTER sound via the analog connection and good cables.

"The trouble with the world is not that people know too little, but that they know so many things that ain't so." - Mark Twain

HT: Marantz SR-8300, MA500 monoblocks x 2, 5X GR Research A/V-2s, Adire Audio Tempest sub, Denon 2900, Oppo 980H, Toshiba HD-A2, RC2000MkII remote, Panamax 5100, Panamax Max2 sub, Slim PS2, PS3 60G + 320G USB

Bedroom: Marantz PM-7200 Integrated, GR Research A/V-1s, Sony 222ES SACD, RC3200 remote, Panamax M8EX

Audio: Audioquest * Video: Bluejeans

My DVDs My HT

John Pine

Thanks for the feedback guys! So.....how critical are the RCA cables connecting the two. Is it really necessary to buy Monster Cables/equivalent or can I just buy some decent cables from the Shack. By the way, I will be connecting the player to a Yamaha RX-V530.

Ted Lee

hoo-boy! talk about a can of worms!

ultimate answer: get both and experiment. see for yourself whether you hear a difference.

but, imo, just get some decent cabling from the shack. i use their gold series and am quite happy with it.

nothing wrong with monster - you just pay more than you probably need to.

fwiw, i did a test using skinny cabling, rat-shack, and monster. i heard a diff between skinny and rat-shack, but no difference between rat-shack and monster.

this is my dvd collection. there are many like it, but this is my own ...

John Pine

Got it, Thanks Ted!