DD 5.1 or DTS? (1 Viewer)

Rob.melone · Apr 22, 2003

For sound intensive dvd's such as Twister and Apollo 13, which is the better sounding format, DD 5.1 or DTS? Both are available. Thank you.

Jason Whyte · Apr 22, 2003

Moving to Software...

Chris Atkins · Apr 22, 2003

It's been my experience that, all things being equal, DTS sounds better than DD. A good recent example of this (again, IMHO) is the 2 disc DD track for FOTR and the DTS track the 4 disc set. Huge difference.

However, the gap between the two has been closing in the past several years. I have been listening to an increasing number of disappointing DTS tracks and an increasing number of good DD tracks.

All my opinion, again.

RobD · Apr 22, 2003

The reason DTS seems to have fropped in quality is that DTS used to encode and master all their own tacks until a few years ago. When studios started doing it quite often they did not have such good sound engineers and often used half rather than full bit rate DTS. Apollo 13 was mastered by DTS at full bit rate and is better than the DD version, I dont know about Twister.

SteveA · Apr 22, 2003

Asking if DTS sounds better than DD is like asking if Coke tastes better than Pepsi!

The answer is a resounding "yes" in both cases!

Dave Molinarolo · Apr 22, 2003

I've got the DD version of Apollo 13 and IMO, the sound is quite bland. Really pathetic actually. I detected very little sound envelopment. So if you have DTS and want Apollo 13 for its supposedly good DTS track, go with the DTS version.

Bill_D · Apr 22, 2003

Neil Joseph · Apr 22, 2003

The general concensus for Apollo 13 is that the dts soundtrack is better than the DD one (particularly in the music portions) but the PQ may have sufferred as a result of the dts taking up more space on the disk than the DD soundtrack. As for Twister, I detected little difference between the two.

Dave H · Apr 22, 2003

The general concensus for Apollo 13 is that the dts soundtrack is better than the DD one (particularly in the music portions) but the PQ may have sufferred as a result of the dts taking up more space on the disk than the DD soundtrack.

Definitely. I noticed this on my set-up. Someone posted comparisons pics in a previous thread.

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LDfan · Apr 22, 2003

Dammit. Everytime I read one of these type of posts it makes me want to get rid of my Dolby Digital only Harmon Kardon AVR-75 receiver.
Am I really missing that much by not having DTS?

Jeff

Rob Gillespie · Apr 22, 2003

The general concensus for Apollo 13 is that the dts soundtrack is better than the DD one (particularly in the music portions)

I used to have both DVDs but ended up selling the DTS version. Although I did prefer the DTS' slightly better audio it wasn't impressing me enough to forgo the DD's improved video quality and the excellent supplementary material.

However I also compared both discs to the old DTS LaserDisc and - surprise surprise - neither were as good.

I used to post on here extolling the virtues of DTS - but that was back in the day of LD when it actually did make a big difference.

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RobD · Apr 22, 2003

Recently went from an old Pioneer VSA-E06 (First Gen THX DD) amp to a VSA-AX10I. I thought DTS would make a big improvement, but it is quite slight, general improvement in sound quality and volume is much much bigger with the change. My point is it is only one reason out of a coulple or more that most people would need to change. IMHO Dolby PL2 and DTS NEO6 were much more impressive improvements on the new amp.

I found the following to sound better in DTS:
LOTR FOTR (More spacious and refined sound)
ACDC - Stiff Upper lip (Notably better bass detail)
Road Trip (Slight improvement to music)
Gladitaor (A few extra little details can be heard)
Happy Gilmore DTS LD vs DD DVD (LD much more powerful mix)

Michael Reuben · Apr 22, 2003

Am I really missing that much by not having DTS?

I would say no, but there's a determined group of DTS fans who wouldn't agree.

M.

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Malcolm R · Apr 22, 2003

For sound intensive dvd's such as Twister and Apollo 13, which is the better sounding format, DD 5.1 or DTS? Both are available.

At least for Twister, both are available on the same DVD so just buy it and . . .

(in booming, echo-enhanced voice)
TAKE THE DIGITAL SOUND CHALLENGE!

I haven't done a lot of comparisons, and my setup probably isn't sophisticated enough to reveal any major differences, but I have read a lot of reviews and in 90% or more of the reviews where DTS and DD are available, DTS gets the advantage.

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Rob Lutter · Apr 22, 2003

IMHO, half-bitrate DTS (which 99.9% of new releases utilize) will sound the same as Dolby Digital unless you are using some mighty fine REFERENCE equipment (like in the $10k area). Otherwise, the difference is minimal (I'd actually much rather have a PCM track, but that is just me

)

Michael Reuben · Apr 22, 2003

volume is much much bigger with the change

That's because of a feature of DD known as "dialog normalization" or "dialnorm". On most DD tracks, this results in a 4db overall reduction of volume (individual DD tracks may vary). DTS has no equivalent feature.

On DVDs where you have both tracks and find the DTS louder, try raising the DD by 4db.

Having read these threads for years, I'm firmly convinced that many of the "improvements" that people hear with DTS tracks result from a failure to equalize volume levels when making the comparison.

(BTW, the Warner DVDs with dual DTS/DD tracks, like Twister have the dialnorm level set to neutral, which results in no reduction in volume. They are good candidates for a listening comparison, because the volume has already been equalized for you. Why are the Warner DD tracks mastered this way? Because Dolby advised Warner to do so.)

M.

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jonathan_little · Apr 22, 2003

IMHO, half-bitrate DTS (which 99.9% of new releases utilize) will sound the same as Dolby Digital unless you are using some mighty fine REFERENCE equipment (like in the $10k area).

As a person who has sound equipment which cost about 10% of the "reference equipment" price, I can say that I often do hear an improvement with half-rate DTS over Dolby Digital. In particular, film scores almost always sound better in DTS over Dolby Digital. (And yes, I'm aware that DTS is usually louder. )

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RobD · Apr 22, 2003

Dont normally quote myself but:

volume is much much bigger with the change

Was referring to difference between amps, not DD and DTS. In a related question though, does the VSA-AX10I (AKA. 49TXI) compensate for the 4DB? I kinda liked the way the old amp informed me of normalisation (Ie. + or - whatever DB).

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