just tried DVD-a - what am i doing wrong.. (1 Viewer)

[Sean Patrick]

since 1) my RP91 has DVD-A capabilities, and 2) my harman kardon avr75 receiver has 6 channel inputs, i decided to buy a dvd-audio disc and give it a whirl (fleetwood mac's "rumours").

when i started playing the disc, sounds burst out from all the speakers and i couldn't adjust the volume. with this setup, am i going to need a preamp?

i changed the setup to having the dvd plater sending analog audio from the normal l/r rca outs to one of the receiver's sets of rca inputs and played the disc again. The sound was REALLY good, warm, and noticeably better than the regular "rumours" cd.

question is - are these DVD-a's made for 5.1 surround sound or analog 2-channel stereo? am i getting any added benefit when compared to a regular cd when i'm playing it through 2-channel rca outputs?

sorry if this is a dumb question

 

[Eric T]

DVD-A are made for 5.1 sound. On my system, I have to use the 6 RCA outputs of my DVD player directly into the "external decoder" inputs of my receiver. Digital connection doesn't work with DVD-A for some reason...I think it's not capable to reproduce the much higher bandwidth of DVD-A.

So if your DVD player has 6 discrete outputs, plug them into your receiver and try it that way.

 

[Sean Patrick]

as it turns out the 6 channel inputs of my receiver aren't really compatible with DVD-A. The receiver is from 1999.

The sound i'm getting from the basic stereo inputs (with the stereo mix of Rumours) is phenomenal though....and quite frankly i'm not sure if i'd want a 5.1 version of it.

my question now is...am i getting any added benefit from DVD-A with my RP91 and a receiver that can't handle the 5.1...or is what i'm hearing the same as if i'd play the disc in any old dvd player??

 

[Keith Mickunas]

What do you mean not compatible? Is it a 5.1 input meant for external decoders? That's all you need, there's nothing really special about DVD-A, its jsut six channels of analog music. However if you are using your receiver's pre-ins, it might be bypassing the volume control, I don't really know for sure.

 

[KeithH]

Keith Mickunas brings up an interesting point. Sean, perhaps you are using the receiver's pre-ins, not the 5.1-channel inputs. If you are using 5.1-channel inputs, you should be able to adjust the volume on the receiver. If your receiver has 5.1-channel inputs with analog bypass, you should have no problems taking advantage of the higher resolution of DVD-Audio, in both stereo and multi-channel modes.

 

[Sean Patrick]

yeah, the receiver only has 5.1 pre-ins, not 5.1 channel inputs. It's a Harman Kardon AVR75.

even though it's old and doesn't have DTS, i'm reluctant to replace it because 1) i love the way it sounds 2) the dvd-a 2-channel stereo i'm hearing is phenomenal.

Now what i want to know is whether my RP91 is sending a different 2-channel analog signal to my receiver to that of a normal dvd player without dvd-a capabilities, since i'm not using 5.1 inputs.

 

[KeithH]

Sean, no, the 'RP91 is sending stereo DVD-Audio information regardless of the inputs you are using on your receiver. The processing takes place in the player. Note that you can use the stereo analog outputs on the 'RP91 for playback of stereo DVD-Audio tracks as well. That way, you can use stereo analog inputs on your receiver and have volume control. The problem, however, is that if your receiver, as an older model, has no analog bypass mode, the incoming analog signals will be routed through the receiver's A/D and D/A converters, and the benefit of DVD-Audio will be lost.

 

[Sean Patrick]

so how can i tell if my receiver has analog bypass mode? it's a Harman Kardon AVR75 from 1999.

Do most new receivers have this feature?

 

[Marvin]

Is 'analog bypass' the same as 'direct' mode? My receiver - Denon 2700, which isn't new - has that. Do H/K receivers have that type of mode or is that unique to Denon?

 

[Patrick Sun]

Do you still have the receiver's user's manual? That would be the first place to look for info on whether it provides analog bypass.

 

[Craig F]

Is 'analog bypass' the same as 'direct' mode?

Yes.

 

[KeithH]

Sean, analog bypass is a feature you have to engage, so as Patrick said, check your owner's manual. Also, see if there is a button that says analog bypass, direct, or something like that.

 

[Sean Patrick]

i don't think it has analog bypass.

looks like i might upgrade receivers, but i'm reluctant. Whether or not i'm getting "real" dvd-a, "rumours" sounded about 100 times better than any cd i've heard. The mix was phenomenal.

i just recently spent some $ to cure the one big drawback of my receiver (only one optical input) by buying a digital audio switcher, so i'm probably going to wait a while to upgrade. plus, as it stands, there are only 4 or 5 DVD-A titles i'm interested in.

 

[KeithH]

Sean, again, I have no doubt that you are hearing true DVD-Audio in your current set up. Unfortunately, you don't have volume control. With your current receiver, definitely don't use the stereo analog inputs.

 

[Sean Patrick]

keith -

it's with the analog 2 channel analog inputs that i'm hearing the amazing sound, and i am a cd/dolby digital veteran. i've actually gone back and plugged the 5.1 pre-inputs in again, even without volume control, and i actually prefer the 2 channel stereo. Even better than the PCM on "The Dance" dvd.

i know that if i got a newer receiver i could hear the 5.1 DVD-A mix, but with an album like Rumours I wonder if i want to hear that, because what i'm hearing now is about as perfect as can be, and it's STEREO (2 channel) like the original album.