How do you connect your SACD player? (1 Viewer)

[JohnRice]

So, how stupid am I? My receiver (Pioneer VSX-56TXi) which I bought used, has i.link which is DVD-A and SACD compatible. Clearly my best bet is to get an i.link player for SACD.

Any suggestions?

 

[JohnRice]

A quick audition showed that I actually prefer the sound quality from my Audio Alchemy CD playback setup to the analog SACD output from the Oppo I recently got used, which doesn't surprise me much. That AA gear was sweet stuff. Too bad they were so severely mismanaged. It's all good, because I'm glad to have a second Oppo in the house. So, clearly I need to find another player with i.link, and I suppose that means either Denon or Pioneer. I'm definitely not looking into putting too much into it. Hopefully using i.link it won't make much difference what the player is. Still looking for suggestions, and used would be good.

BTW, this also confirmed that I despise multi-channel music with a passion. I cannot express how much it sounds like gimmicky crap to me. Even the Classical stuff makes me sick. Give me a great recording and a great 2 channel system for music any day. OK, an exception is I do get a kick out of the one DTS "Dark Side of the Moog" CD I have.

 

[gene c]

I need to find another player with i.link,

One of the main reasons iLink (and most likely hdmi) should sound better than the analog inputs is you get to use your receivers processing.
Pioneer made three iLink players, the 47AVi, 59AVi and 79AVi. iLink players seem to be holding their value very well. Average prices should be $150-175, $175-225 and $200-300 respectivily. All three are now available on Audiogon for $250, $300 and $275. There's also a modified (?) 79 for $750! I have the 59 which is an excellent all-around player.

Yamaha also made an iLink player, the S-2500. I had one for a bit and while the performance was up to par, it did have it's quirks. And the menu/setup was more challenging. I have no experience with Denon but I'm sure their as good or better. Onkyo's high-end 1000 and it's Integra cousin (don't remember the real model numbers) also had iLink. There's one on Audiogon for $750.

BTW, this also confirmed that I despise multi-channel music with a passion.

. I like MC but I do see your point. While I prefer an agressive mix, most times they are somewhat strange. But a good one is enjoyable. We all have our own oppinions but Alice Cooper's "Welcome To My Nightmare" DVD-A is one of my favorites. Weird music, but a nice mix. Toto IV was a real disappointment. Sometimes drums are in the center channel and vocals around the back???

The main reason I like MC is I listen at modest volumes and this allows me to fill the room without distubing the neighbors. But stereo cranked up would be just fine to me.

 

[Mike Frezon]

I think some MC mixes are just terrific. Some, for sure, are gimmicky.

But for something like Diana Krall with her trio and strings surrounding her...pure heaven. They really seem to work well with smaller jazz ensembles and classical groups.

People doing the mixing can't even seem to agree on the best way to go. Mickey Hart of the Grateful Dead thinks the surround mix should put the listener on-stage with the band. Others think a surround mix should give more of a concert hall ambience.

 

[JohnRice]

Thanks for the player info Gene. I will try to find one of those Pioneers. Hopefully I can get info on what Denons have had i.link, but I expect they are all more expensive than the Pioneers. They currently have one for about $5K. HA! I'd be better off buying a new receiver for less that has hdmi audio and using the Oppo I already have.

The surround music thing is interesting. A little over 20 years ago I bought probably the first usable digital surround unit, Yamaha's DSP-1, and I thought aggressive surround fields were oh-so-cool. Now I simply can't stand them. I have to say, my Thiels have such incredible imaging that a good recording sounds like natural surround, without surround, and beats the pants off any music surround I have ever heard. So that is probably part of my issue. Still, I don't like any surround on my lesser system either, even though the Polks there are nothing special.

I listened to just a few minutes of Dark Side of the Moon (which just arrived yesterday) in surround, and promptly switched back to 2 channel. Sounds sweeping from front to back and instruments behind me just does nothing for me.

 

[Mike Frezon]

Originally Posted by JohnRice

I listened to just a few minutes of Dark Side of the Moon (which just arrived yesterday) in surround, and promptly switched back to 2 channel. Sounds sweeping from front to back and instruments behind me just does nothing for me.

DSotM = "gimmicky." As does, I suppose, the 5.1 mix of Bohemian Rhapsody. Although, for me, the 5.1 of BR sounds appropriate for some reason. Maybe because the song itself is "gimmicky."

The opening track (All that Jazz) of the soundtrack to Chicago on SACD, though, sounds marvelous. It sounds like you're sitting in a club and the instruments are just washing over you from all directions. Interestingly, they chose to remove the "jazz club" sfx from the track on the CD...but it still gives that feel of sitting at a stageside table.

 

[JohnRice]

I don't know Mike. I'm just a stuck up purist when it comes to this. Like I said, I have listened to whatever edition of "Dark Side of the Moog" it is I have in DTS, XII or XIII, a couple times and had fun with it, but it barely qualifies as actual "music". It's more a way to show off the capabilities of the system. Interesting to turn off the lights and crank it. I have a DTS recording of Holst "The Planets" that is fine, but the surround is so subtle, it is really just the ambiance of the hall.

 

[JohnRice]

Gene, do any of those three Pioneer players output SACD by hdmi?

 

[JohnRice]

I picked up a 59avi on eBay today for $177.75, which seems like a reasonable price. I'll finally be able to check out these discs with decent sound quality. I'm guessing i.link is kind of a dead technology. Are any receiver still made with it? As far as this player playing back SACD through hdmi, it is rather cryptic in the manual. It specifically says is CAN play DVD-A through hdmi, but it does not specifically say it can or can't play SACD through hdmi. Manuals are almost useless these days. I'm amazed how rarely they state things like this clearly.

 

[gene c]

Gene, do any of those three Pioneer players output SACD by hdmi?

I don't believe so. I'm pretty sure those players are hdmi 1.1 and you need 1.2 for SACD and the particular player has to support it. For some reason the dv79avi manual isn't available on-line

 

[JohnRice]

i.link really is very nice in certain ways. Using one connection (I know, they always have two for networking, but they are identified as one network) to connect multiple components is so much more flexible and advanced than having dedicated inputs. It's a shame the concept has died. I had forgotten about the DSD/PCM thing. I'm pretty sure the Oppo players, at least the later ones, output DSD if you choose by hdmi. So, the bottom line seems to be that you can't get high res BR audio AND i.link without spending multi K$ on some absurd AVR.

 

[gene c]

So, the bottom line seems to be that you can't get high res BR audio AND i.link without spending multi K$ on some absurd AVR.

The Pioneer 84txi was the best compromise. It's i-Link equiped (thus the "i" suffix) and it's hdmi 1.2 and accepts multi-ch LPCM over hdmi (the 74txi is hdmi 1.1) so a BR which internally decodes the new formats and sends them out hdmi as mc lpcm would get you the new formats. Add them to an i-Link hi-res player and you're all set.