Purchasing first Blu-ray player questions?

Re: Purchasing first Blu-ray player questions?

My first choice with your equipment would be the Panasonic 55. Second choice would be the Sony 550. Both offer analog inputs and internal decoding of the advanced sound codecs. Yes, HDMI directly to your projector.

Re: Purchasing first Blu-ray player questions?

I too recommend the Panasonic BD55.

Re: Purchasing first Blu-ray player questions?

Troy, the DSP-A1 does not have HDMI so it cannot receive and decode lossless HD audio from the BD player. It does, however, have 5.1 channel analog inputs so the above mentioned players can internally decode the HD audio from BD discs and send that audio via analog LPCM to the DSP-A1.

As far as the difference in sound... To my ears, it's a night and day difference.

Re: Purchasing first Blu-ray player questions?

I agree about the difference in sound quality. What I have most noticed is a much wider expanse in the sound and with a clarity and expressiveness that far surpasses standard DD and DTS.

Re: Purchasing first Blu-ray player questions?

HD audio via HDMI and HD audio via analog should sound the same.

There's adjustments you'll have to make in terms of bass output (it will automatically be 10db lower), but once that's adjusted you'll be fine.

Re: Purchasing first Blu-ray player questions?

Yeah, I'm not sure if the DSP-A1 has analog input bass management, but my Yamaha RX-V995 which came out at the same time does not. Like Kevin noted, I calibrated all my speakers 10dB soft so my sub sounds proper.

Re: Purchasing first Blu-ray player questions?

As far as the projector, a professional ISF calibration is always best. If that is not in your budget, however, pick up a copy of Digital Video Essentials on Blu-Ray which will walk you through proper calibration. I've never calibrated a projector so I'm not sure how much it differs from direct view and projection televisions in that respect. Perhaps a projector owner or one of our pro calibrators (Michael TLV or Gregg Loewen) can help out here.

The disc will also have audio signals which you can use to calibrate your speakers. I am not familiar enough with the S550 to know if it has adjustable level controls in the set-up menu or if it's like my Sony BDP-S300 which only turns speakers on and off, but has no distance or level control. Others should know more about your BD player model.

You will also need an analog SPL meter from Radio Shack. I think they still run about $15 or so. Set it for slow response and "C" weighting. Put it at the listening position at ear height and pointed up about 45 degrees. It's easier to do if you get a small camera tripod to put it on. I picked one up from WalMart for a few dollars.

Basically, the way I calibrated my RX-V995 was to go into it's audio set-up mode and select -10dB for the main levels. This dropped my front L&R 10dB from everything else. I then found 72dB by playing the white noise test on the Video Essentials disc and adjusted my center and surrounds to 72dB. I like a bit more LFE so I calibrated my sub to 82dB.

Let us know if there's anything you still can't figure out or if you have any more questions.

Re: Purchasing first Blu-ray player questions?

An analog SPL meter from Radio Shack is $45. Here is a link to the current model, which looks a little different than mine, which I bought many years ago for around $30. An SPL meter is a very useful tool, and is well worth the expense.

Re: Purchasing first Blu-ray player questions?

Wow! I had no idea they had shot up that much. I bought mine 7 or 8 years ago (I think) for only $15. Who would have thought the price would have tripled for the same technology...

Re: Purchasing first Blu-ray player questions?

Troy,

Most receivers do no processing -- bass management, level settings, delays, etc. -- on the multi-channel analog inputs, so the settings on the Sony BDP-S550 would take precedence. That is the downside to using multi-channel analog inputs -- you lose all the processing power of your receiver.

Re: Purchasing first Blu-ray player questions?

To add to what Scott said, you do lose the processing power of your receiver. If your receiver has a calibration mic for instance that you used for setup, you'll have to use your own spl meter to calibrate with the S550. Your results for distance and levels of the speakers should all be fine with one exception ... there is no onboard control for the subwoofer crossover in the S550. You just set your speaks to small and select 'yes' for the sub and rely on it to do its job. I'm pretty happy with how it sounds, but the center came out a bit low and the sub a bit boomy, so I adjusted it to where I thought it sounded right after watching a few movies.

Re: Purchasing first Blu-ray player questions?

Troy,

Yes, you will use the test tones of the Sony 550 and an SPL meter to level the volume of all your speakers. 75db is usually a good reference point.

Re: Purchasing first Blu-ray player questions?

Agreed. That's what I did. The only annoying thing about the calibration is that the S550 can only adjust levels down. Makes sense, since there is no amplifier. But the practical effect that most people are seeing is that it requires you to increase the level on your sub. So, I had to turn the dial on my sub to get it right, which then threw off my levels when watching tv from my satellite box, so those had to be recalibrated. And then, I thought the result was a little too boomy despite the SPL meter saying I was at the right levels. Not a huge deal if you know your way round your calibration discs and component menus, but it took a little longer than the 15 minutes I was expecting.

Re: Purchasing first Blu-ray player questions?

You can calibrate the sub to 75dB if you wish. A lot of people (myself included) will calibrate the sub 5-10 dB hot which would put it at 80 - 85dB. It really boils down to what sounds best to your ears.

You will still want to use a proper calibration disc since the equipment-generated test tones may be different than what the player outputs while playing the disc.

For example, I can play the player-generated tones from my HD-DVD player and they are different levels than the tones output from a calibration disc played on that same HD-DVD player.

Re: Purchasing first Blu-ray player questions?

Troy,

Are you sure that's not a +10db boost on your Yamaha, as opposed to a -10db attenuation on the sub channel? My Pioneer Elite receiver has a setting for a +10db boost on the multi-channel sub input, and I in fact need it to get the sub channel level with the others on my Sony SACD player, which is connected to my multi-channel inputs.

Use the multianalog connections to decode the HD audio codecs into your 'older'receiver which cannot do this via bitstream----make sure you press the multichannel button on your receiver----your receiver is not processing the sound thru the multis----your player is doing the decoding or processing----and, to get 7.1 HD Surround when your playing a 5.1 DTS-MA, Dolby Tru, or DOLBY DIGITAL PLUS, when have to switch the normal setting of your SBS to BI-AMP---if you have a 7.1 older receiver with 8 mult-analog inputs---if its just a 5.1 receiver, just make sure, in the audio settings of your player, your surround back channel is switched to 'off'

Use the multianalog connections to decode the HD audio codecs into your 'older'receiver which cannot do this via bitstream----make sure you press the multichannel button on your receiver----your receiver is not processing the sound thru the multis----your player is doing the decoding or processing----and, to get 7.1 HD Surround when your playing a 5.1 DTS-MA, Dolby Tru, or DOLBY DIGITAL PLUS, when have to switch the normal setting of your SBS to BI-AMP---if you have a 7.1 older receiver with 8 mult-analog inputs---if its just a 5.1 receiver, just make sure, in the audio settings of your player, your surround back channel is switched to 'off'