Is it normal for the analog outputs to sound better than digital? (1 Viewer)

[Justin Ward]

Today I was taking a good listen to my new Paradigm Titans. I have an RCA RC5240P DVD player and a Pioneer VSX-D510 reciever(not quite hi-fi I know). Anyway, I have had the speakers for a week and I listen to them a lot so I thought they would be mostly broken in. The highs sounded a little too harsh though. At first I thought it was because I like to listen with loudness turned on but that only helped a little. Just for fun I tried the analog input instead of the digital and the sound was noticeably better. The bass was a little timid but not boomy and the highs were smoother. Is this normal? Right now I am using el-cheapo cables but I am going to replace them next paycheck hopefully. Will they sound even better once I get decent cables? And one more question. If I bought lots of radioshack coax cables and RCA adaptors for them, will the sound be any better or should I spend more money than that?

Thanks

 

[TomCW]

Could be the DACs (digital to analog converters) in the DVD player are better than the ones in the receiver.

As far as cables go, I'd get some inexpensive gold ones from Radio Shack or AR and spend the leftover $ on music (or better yet, save for a SACD player)!
Tom

 

[greg_t]

To add to what Tom said above, when you use the analog outs, you use the DAC's in the DVD/CD player. when you use the digital out, you use the DAC's in the receiver.