High-Res Audio discussion: Blu-ray Audio, SACD, DVD Audio, and HI-Resolution audio files discussion (1 Viewer)

[Jeff Brooks]

I grabbed
DIRE STRAITS “BROTHERS IN ARMS in Dolby Atmos, 2025 Blu-ray Audio
View attachment 253736
Haven’t listened to it in Dolby Atmos as of yet, only the vinyl edition in 96/24

The. Blu-ray is an import, got last month.

It has 5 different releases of the album.

2022 Atmos mix
2022 Atmos instrumental mix.

Then the 5.1 mix from 2005 in DTS-HD MA 96/24

1985 Cd version in 96/24 PCM and
The vinyl edition in PCM 96/24

Stellar.

I just ordered that from SDE from across the pond, as direstraits.com could not seem to come up with one I ordered in April. I have all the other releases of the album. What I find that appeals to me on this one is the instrumental-only track.

 

[Wes Candela]

Sorry on the double-post here. I am loving the Atmos BR releases from SDE, though.

Yeah dire is SDE.
I’ll listen today
But I’m not nuts about Atmos mixes for music.

Let’s see how Thai one is

 

[Wes Candela]

I just ordered that from SDE from across the pond, as direstraits.com could not seem to come up with one I ordered in April. I have all the other releases of the album. What I find that appeals to me on this one is the instrumental-only track.

Yes
I have chased every version of this albums rereleases also.

I have personally remixed the track “Brothers in Arms” specifically from the 6!channels of the 5.1 mix I ripped from my SACD disc in 2009, and again last year.

Isolating the vocal / lead guitar center channel track, which stripped down is beautiful, and the LFE track.
Then bringing in the other instruments and feeding out of them for each of the chorus’s until the 75% mark
That’s when I bring it all in. The strings, more of the percussion and the organ.

I love that song.

I would share it, but, for obvious reasons I cannot.

But agreed, this album is a Wonderland for me, I’m also very interested in hearing the instrumental mix.

More than the Atmos to be honest

 

[Wes Candela]

I just ordered that from SDE from across the pond, as direstraits.com could not seem to come up with one I ordered in April. I have all the other releases of the album. What I find that appeals to me on this one is the instrumental-only track.

Brothers in Arms
Atmos.


10/10
Wow.
Thunder is rumbling keyboards hit you from the sides

The guitar is sweeping across everything all speakers in the front

the symbols
I can't even tell you where they're coming from, but they were verberate all the way to the rear surrounds

I stand corrected amazing

 

[Mikael Soderholm]

I’ve always seen her name when looking at SACD’s
Classical, correct?
She seems to have a really big following. I don’t have any of her stuff that I’ve never heard it.

More like hotel lobby, with class.

 

[Mike Frezon]

More like hotel lobby, with class.

Ouch. Something of a back-handed compliment.

She's an accomplished jazz musician. I wish she stayed with her strength. But I guess the lure of sliding towards the standard/popular American songbook is too strong for musicians like her and Nat King Cole.

 

[Mikael Soderholm]

Not a compliment, just a statement of fact.
“For 20 years I worked as a bar pianist,” she recalled in a 2015 interview. “

Six Hours at the Piano: Diana Krall’s Barroom Years and the Art of Becoming - Know Your Instrument

Diana Krall’s years as a bar pianist shaped her artistry. Discover how six-hour sets and quiet resilience built a jazz icon.

www.knowyourinstrument.com

She was a hotel pianist who got lucky. And if you like it, good for you. I don't, she sounds just like all hotel pianists. Muzak.

I suggest Patricia Barber, now there is a pianist and singer.

 

[Mike Frezon]

I suggest Patricia Barber, now there is a pianist and singer.

I'll be sure to give her a try.

 

[Dave>h]

Wow, 10 pages of discussion since April. I can't read all that! So if my discussion is redundant, I apologize in advance.

I have been collecting hi res audio for what seems like a few decades. I have (and still do) owned DVD A, DTS 96/24 discs (think that was the name), HDCD etc, never really got into SACD but I own a lot of Mofi gold CDs which, pardon the pun, are the gold standard for typical cd quality sound. More recently i have picked up a few Atmos Cds and Black Sabbath's Paranoid Quadio mix.

Honestly though I am not entirely sure I have ever listened to High Def audio. DVD-A and DTS seemed to need special players with analog 5 output as I recall and you needed an amp with the same input. HDCD was just a hype thing I think. Maybe the Atmos disks are considered Hi Def but I am not sure and the Paranoid Quadio mix is meant for 4 equal sized speakers but I have a proper 5.1 setup which means the rear surrounds aren't the same size as the fronts.

How do you know? I don't think my current amp (Yamaha RX-V1083) displays the source. It might say Atmos/PCM which is just confusing... which is it, Atmos or pcm? They aren't the same right? Anyone who can enlighten me on these Hi Def disk and how to play them to get the most out of them, I would really appreciate that.

I don't think anything in my current set up is capable of playing Hi Def other than Atmos. Set up as follows:
Yamaha RX-V1083
LG UHD player (the cheaper one)
Sony 3d Blu ray
Toshiba HD DVD A2 that I use as a CD player mostly (and yes I am that old!)
Xbox One for streaming and Blu ray too.

Look forward to reading the rest of this thread and thanks to the author for setting it up. Love all this stuff.

K

 

[Wes Candela]

I don't think anything in my current set up is capable of playing Hi Def other than Atmos. Set up as follows:
Yamaha RX-V1083
LG UHD player (the cheaper one)

What’s up, Dave
Yes, you absolutely can listen to high definition music from Blu-ray audio discs from your UHD player connected to this receiver.

I’ve researched your receivers specs…
Your receiver is capable of playing back SACD’S, DVD-Audio discs, Blu-ray audio discs (DTS-HD MA 96/24 5.1, Atmos and PCM)

I would need to know the exact model of your 4K UHD player to give you more info…
But Blu-ray players in general can playback Blu-ray audio discs, so you are all good there.

What is high resolution audio?
Audio that is mastered and delivered in a higher resolution than standard lossless CD format.

The higher, the sample rates and bit rates, the wider the spectrum of sound from the masters is captured in digital audio

Deeper base, higher, highs, and more detail throughout the music

I took a look at your receiver, it is quite capable of playing most formats that deliver Hi-Rez audio.

Send me the exact model number of your UHD player and I will tell you if you can play DVD Audio discs, SACD and more.

But any Blu-ray player can playback Blu-ray audio.

You’re receiver is capable of playing back what I have highlighted below from the websites spec sheet.

Let me know about the UHD player model number and I’ll tell you more.
Hope this helps

Godspeed.

 

[Dave>h]

What’s up, Dave
Yes, you absolutely can listen to high definition music from Blu-ray audio discs from your UHD player connected to this receiver.

I’ve researched your receivers specs…
Your receiver is capable of playing back SACD’S, DVD-Audio discs, Blu-ray audio discs (DTS-HD MA 96/24 5.1, Atmos and PCM)

I would need to know the exact model of your 4K UHD player to give you more info…
But Blu-ray players in general can playback Blu-ray audio discs, so you are all good there.

What is high resolution audio?
Audio that is mastered and delivered in a higher resolution than standard lossless CD format.

The higher, the sample rates and bit rates, the wider the spectrum of sound from the masters is captured in digital audio

Deeper base, higher, highs, and more detail throughout the music

I took a look at your receiver, it is quite capable of playing most formats that deliver Hi-Rez audio.

Send me the exact model number of your UHD player and I will tell you if you can play DVD Audio discs, SACD and more.

But any Blu-ray player can playback Blu-ray audio.

You’re receiver is capable of playing back what I have highlighted below from the websites spec sheet.

Let me know about the UHD player model number and I’ll tell you more.
Hope this helps

Godspeed.

Hey Wes, thanks for the detailed answer.

The UHD is an LG UBK80

So, for example, you believe that I can put my DVD A disk of Queens "The Game" in my UHD or Sony Blu Ray and it will play the actual hi res versions on the disk? I always figured that it would down res the version to red book CD quality if the proper equipment was not used. That you needed a player with the 5.1 analog outs into 5.1 analog in compatible amp in order to access the HI Res versions. That if you tried to play these DVD-a's through an HDMI set up that whatever happens in that situation (HDMI handshake, copy protection etc) would then automatically down res the file and you wouldn't get the true HD version of the song.

Again, I am curious how you would know? It has been a while since I revisited the disks I have but as I recall when I first got the amp and tried to play the disks, it worked in that they played but nothing on the amp lit up to say 96/24 or DTS or anything. So i figured it just didn't really work; it played but it was giving me a down res'd version of the songs.

Hmmm. gives me something to think about.

Thanks again, Dave

 

[Robin9]

Wow, 10 pages of discussion since April. I can't read all that! So if my discussion is redundant, I apologize in advance.

I have been collecting hi res audio for what seems like a few decades. I have (and still do) owned DVD A, DTS 96/24 discs (think that was the name), HDCD etc, never really got into SACD but I own a lot of Mofi gold CDs which, pardon the pun, are the gold standard for typical cd quality sound. More recently i have picked up a few Atmos Cds and Black Sabbath's Paranoid Quadio mix.

Honestly though I am not entirely sure I have ever listened to High Def audio. DVD-A and DTS seemed to need special players with analog 5 output as I recall and you needed an amp with the same input. HDCD was just a hype thing I think. Maybe the Atmos disks are considered Hi Def but I am not sure and the Paranoid Quadio mix is meant for 4 equal sized speakers but I have a proper 5.1 setup which means the rear surrounds aren't the same size as the fronts.

How do you know? I don't think my current amp (Yamaha RX-V1083) displays the source. It might say Atmos/PCM which is just confusing... which is it, Atmos or pcm? They aren't the same right? Anyone who can enlighten me on these Hi Def disk and how to play them to get the most out of them, I would really appreciate that.

I don't think anything in my current set up is capable of playing Hi Def other than Atmos. Set up as follows:
Yamaha RX-V1083
LG UHD player (the cheaper one)
Sony 3d Blu ray
Toshiba HD DVD A2 that I use as a CD player mostly (and yes I am that old!)
Xbox One for streaming and Blu ray too.

Look forward to reading the rest of this thread and thanks to the author for setting it up. Love all this stuff.

K

First, high definition audio does not necessarily involve more than two channels. Second, your Sony 3D player can probably play SACDs. What you need is a DAC that can process and output a high resolution signal and a resolving audio system that can do justice to that.

 

[Wes Candela]

Hey Wes, thanks for the detailed answer.

The UHD is an LG UBK80

So, for example, you believe that I can put my DVD A disk of Queens "The Game" in my UHD or Sony Blu Ray and it will play the actual hi res versions on the disk? I always figured that it would down res the version to red book CD quality if the proper equipment was not used. That you needed a player with the 5.1 analog outs into 5.1 analog in compatible amp in order to access the HI Res versions. That if you tried to play these DVD-a's through an HDMI set up that whatever happens in that situation (HDMI handshake, copy protection etc) would then automatically down res the file and you wouldn't get the true HD version of the song.

Again, I am curious how you would know? It has been a while since I revisited the disks I have but as I recall when I first got the amp and tried to play the disks, it worked in that they played but nothing on the amp lit up to say 96/24 or DTS or anything. So i figured it just didn't really work; it played but it was giving me a down res'd version of the songs.

Hmmm. gives me something to think about.

Thanks again, Dave

Hi Dave ,
Apparently your lg uhd player does not play back dvd audio or SACD
but as @Robin9 states
Try your PlayStation unit to playback super audio CDs
It will most likely work, as for DVD audio the new players can pass the high resolution information through HDMI
You're not old, you're wise brother

I started like you did also, you needed a player with multiport outputs on the back that would go into a receiver that had analog inputs

We don't have to do that anymore

But you need the right player, for example, my Sony UHD player plays back all the formats, DVD audio, SACD, and I didn't realize it when I bought it
So it was a happy surprise

But I just checked and double checked and yes, your player is unable to play those desks, unfortunately

But if you're in the market for a new UHD player, I can recommend mine to you as your UHD player doesn't seem to playback Dolby Vision either

But you receiver is a monster and it can put out heavy duty audio
Do you still have your DVD audio player?

 

[Wes Candela]

Toshiba HD DVD A2 that I use as a CD player mostly (and yes I am that old!)
Xbox One for streaming and Blu ray too.

Dave, by the way, I just checked the specs on your Toshiba
It will not play DVD audio or SACD

Can you give me the model number for your Sony 3-D blu-ray player?

My thoughts are, as Robin stated above, that a Sony Blu-ray player is your best shot at having a super audio CD player that you weren’t aware of.

They created the SACD format so there is a chance

But no dice on the DVD audio so far with the equipment you have. Sorry buddy.

this is the Blu-ray UHD player I own from SONY

https://www.crutchfield.com/p_158X800M2/Sony-UBP-X800M2.html

Sony 4K UHD player
Model #: UBP-X800M2
it retails for about $350 now,
and please back almost everything:

(By the way, I owned that Toshiba HD DVD player, I traded it for a PS3 as soon as the format wars ended, but I still have a bunch of HD DVDs… If you’re ever interested)

 

[Dave>h]

The Sony is a BDP S590.

I initially bought the LG 4K because it was a good price for 4K eventhough I had no way to play 4k video. Now I have a 4k display (Benq TK800M that is new to me) and have been moving into the 4k arena, I may need to rethink the LG 4k and go for something a bit more robust. Appreciate the suggestion.

I already own many many hd dvds which I never really watch. A couple I don't have a blu ray replacement and some I won't repurchase on a newer format but have them in case I ever do want to revisit them. I keep the HD DVD because of that and the fact that it is an excellent cd player. A big plus for HD DVD ownership is the nice red clam shells add a nice contrasting colour to all the blu ray shells on my shelf.

I am cautiously dipping my toes in the 4k environment - what did The Who say? "Won't get fooled again" - with a few sparing disk purchases. We will see how it goes.

Thanks for all the great input. I had no idea that they had removed the 5 analog input output restriction from DVD A. That is something to definitely consider if I look to upgrade my 4k player.

First, high definition audio does not necessarily involve more than two channels. Second, your Sony 3D player can probably play SACDs. What you need is a DAC that can process and output a high resolution signal and a resolving audio system that can do justice to that.

System is pretty good:
Yamaha RX-V1083 as pre amp mostly
Bryston 4b powering Paradigm Reference 100 v5
Bryston 3b powering Paradigm Reference Studio CC v2
Adcom GFA-535 powering Paradigm Reference 590 v5
Two generic speakers used for Atmos powered by the Yamaha
Velodyne CT 100 powered Sub

Certainly adequate to do justice to some high resolution audio if I ever manage to play it.

Hopefully, with your guys help I may finally actaully be able to!

Dave

 

[Wes Candela]

The Sony is a BDP S590.

OK, Dave
You can play SACD from the Sony 3-D Blu-ray player

However, you cannot play DVD audio on it.

Sorry, I was for you, brother.

But all clear on super audio CD and Blu-ray audio

Ready to go.
https://www.crutchfield.com/p_158BDPS590/Sony-BDP-S590.html

But yeah, the newer model UHD players can do it
I've done the tests with my classical music, DVD audios and My Beatles love DVD audio.

Plays through the HDMI.

 

[Dave>h]

Thanks again! So If I upgrade the LG to a Sony I should be good?

Someone has a Sony Ultra HD Blu Ray DVD PlayerUBP X 800 M2 up for sale for C$175, which is a great deal. Only problem is she is about 70 miles away. I might just go get it though as it seems to be significantly more robust than the LG. I can always sell the LG and recoup some of my costs too

 

[Wes Candela]

Thanks again! So If I upgrade the LG to a Sony I should be good?

Dave, no problem at all my pleasure. I’m glad I could help.

And that’s a big fat yes
If you upgrade to the Sony player,Yes

You will be able to play your DVD audio discs and then some
Also, if you have a Dolby Vision enable TV, you will be able to watch Dolby Vision content from your 4K Blu-rays
Grab it if you can!

 

[Wes Candela]

I just ordered that from SDE from across the pond, as direstraits.com could not seem to come up with one I ordered in April. I have all the other releases of the album. What I find that appeals to me on this one is the instrumental-only track.

Hey Jeff
OK, check this out if you have a chance

This is my mix of Brothers In Arms which I made 15 years ago and then refined last year

These were taken from the 5.1 stems off the SACD. (the photos are mine, in the video… As I needed a video to justify putting the song up.)

let me know your thoughts

 

[Dave>h]

Dave, no problem at all my pleasure. I’m glad I could help.

And that’s a big fat yes
If you upgrade to the Sony player,Yes

You will be able to play your DVD audio discs and then some
Also, if you have a Dolby Vision enable TV, you will be able to watch Dolby Vision content from your 4K Blu-rays
Grab it if you can!

Alright alright!!

Long story short, I bought the Sony and just threw in my DVD A of Queen The Game. This is one of the first albums I purchased when I was a kid (obviously not the DVD A, the actual record) and I am very familiar with it, having owned it through many different iterations including the MFSL Gold version.

Let me just say "Holy crap!!" There is detail and subtlety here that I have never experienced. I just gave this a cursory listen and could not believe the level of detail I am hearing. I have listened to this disk many times in, I guess Dolby Surround, not sure exactly how an older blu ray would pick up the audio, but this is something completely different. I had no idea I was missing THIS. Freddy's voice in all its glory, the decay on cymbals, on and on it goes. And all this from a quick listen. I can't wait to take a deep dive into this.

I guess I now have to revisit my entire DVD A collection, since apparently I have never heard them before.

I have to say, I am pretty excited by the prospect here. I think I have about 10 of them, maybe more. I can't believe they might all sound this good?!?!

How very cool. Thank you soooo much for creating this thread or else I may never have even considered revisiting them or even questioning whether they would work or not. They would have just sat collecting dust like some other red colored box I have on my shelf...

Dave