SACD & DVD-A, Forget the Debate... Logistics of Having Both. (1 Viewer)

[AaronD]

I've been sort of looking at both SACD & DVD-A but my receiver (HK AVR-310) only has one set of analog 5.1 inputs. So what am I to do? Suffer with 5.1 for one format and stereo for the other? Are any 5.1 switchers made *shiver*? I wish combo players would come out soon.
What is everyone else doing?
-Aaron

 

[Rob Curtis]

We are waiting for the Pioneer 747 universal player.
It will be released very soon

 

[PatrickM]

I don't have a SACD player yet but hopefully I will this year. I went with the Denon 5800 which has two sets of 7.1 inputs. Outside of that I would look at the upcoming Pioneer DV-747 as suggested above.

Patrick

 

[Shawn Fogg]

Aaron,
"Are any 5.1 switchers made *shiver*? "
I make one, see:
Link Removed
Nothing to shiver about though. If you receiver had 2 sets of 5.1 inputs it would be a switcher too. Ditto the multiple inputs on the H/K.
Shawn

 

[AaronD]

The *shiver* was more for just the thought of all those RCA cables... I wouldn't be able to let my self go with bargain basement cables, it would get very expensive.
Where can I get stats on the pioneer player? Whats the projected cost?
Thanks!
Aaron

 

[Shawn Fogg]

Aaron,

"The *shiver* was more for just the thought of all those RCA cables... "

Ahh, gotcha. Yup, it does mean extra interconnects running both formats.

Shawn

 

[RicP]

Shawn,

you have a great idea there and I'm sure you could sell a few of them but I have to ask...

Why so expensive? $200 is bordering on ridiculous for a switchbox, one that's not even wireless remotable.

Can you explain the price? Thanks.

 

[Shawn Fogg]

"Why so expensive? $200 is bordering on ridiculous for a switchbox, one that's not even wireless remotable.

Can you explain the price?"

Sure, my *parts* cost is over $100 on each box and they take me about 5 hours to build. I don't have the economies of scale that major manufacturers have, I build these myself by hand. I doubt you can find much else that sells for less then twice *parts* cost in the audio world.

I wish I could build them for less which would then allow me to sell them for less. But I can't do that without making a compromise somewhere in quality or in their flexibility. Neither of which I was willing to do.

As such most people that have bought them are using them with really big guns systems.

Shawn

 

[Dzung Pham]

There's also the Sony TA-P9000ES 5.1 analog preamp that you can use in conjunction with another preamp. It has two normal 5.1 inputs plus a 5.1 bypass input. Here is a link.

 

[RicP]

Shawn,
Thanks for the explanation. As I can't see inside the box, I was unsure of what wiring you were using inside.
It's good to hear that you took the high road where the parts are concerned. If I cannot find a better solution, I may take you up on one of them.
Thanks again.

 

[Roger Mathus]

The new Pioneer 747 has a street price of about 65,000-70,000 yen in Tokyo so it should be at good price point in U.S. when introduced. The list price in Japan is 20% less than the 838 as a frame of reference.

 

[rodneyH]

Shawn,

Is there any way to get a more conventional look, like by putting all the input/output plugs on the rear ONLY and just have a switch on the front?? also is there a way to do it with a nicer (bigger) enclosure, I know that "blanks" are avail for about $40 and up for a black metal face and slightly more for a brushed alumin face, have you done anything like that (it would look much better). I guess buy the time you add up hte extra$$ and get the remote and pay for shipping one would be real close to the Sony anyway???

 

[Shawn Fogg]

Rodney,

" I know that "blanks" are avail for about $40 and up for a black metal face and slightly more for a brushed alumin face, have you done anything like that (it would look much better). "

In every system I've sold the switch boxes in the box is unseen. That is kind of the point of it *being* small so it can be unobtrusive in a system.

You can hide it behind your DVD-A and SACD player and you never even look at it. With the optimum setup you never even have to think about the switch box, it works automatically with the pre-pro. If your pre-pro can't be integrated with the switchbox you can use the remote switch and put the remote switch next to either of your players. Since you have to get up to load the player anyway the switch it no big deal to most. Because of this spending a lot more on a chassis didn't make sense to me, it is a set it up and forget about it type of thing.

Shawn

 

[Philip Hamm]

I'm using two sets of el cheapo Radio Shack L/R/V switchers in my system to switch between my LD DTS/DD decoders and the DVD-A machine with built in DTS/DD. It works fine but I'm no critical listener.

 

[John Tillman]

Ditto what Philip said except I go between DVD-A & SACD. Cabling is currently el'cheapo but will go with DIY interconnects soon. Also evaluating the need for bass management.

Bit of a hassle, but having separate players has it's own strengths.