SACD without a Sub? (1 Viewer)

[Dalton]

Thanks for the tip on the 555es Don. I am really hoping the Philips 963SA might have such a feature. It's good to know that the ability to combine the sub with the mains in stereo SACD exists.

 

[Lewis Besze]

Dalton,
one of the reason you notice the bass difference between the DD/DTS and SACD is, that those decoders boost the LFE by 10db.This is part of the encoding/decoding standards of those formats.
Also the use of the .1 channel[LFE] is all over the map,the labels are simply inconsistent on this,because their main engenieer/mixer personell has different ideas about this,based on their "artistic" merits.
Hence there won't be any industry standard on this IMO in the future.

 

[Rich Malloy]

Ok I have a question about SACD with a sub. My mains are not quite full range so i am not getting the bass i want in 2ch SACD. Is there any way to incorporate my sub into 2ch. SACD? I also noticed that the .1 channel in surround SACD discs is not very loud compared to DD and DTS when i am watching movies.

It's my understanding that the "LFE" channel is boosted by 10db for DD/DTS soundtracks, though I'm no expert on this. Maybe someone could chime in on this issue?

IMO, there are only two good options, and one poor option. The poor option is to use the player's onboard bass management, "2-channel + sub" option as Don indicates (assuming your Phillips has the same feature as our C555ESs). But, if your Phillips utilizes the same technology, you will get a sub signal at the expense of reduced sound quality. IMO, not a valid option at all. But check it out, toggle back and forth, and determine whether this loss of fidelity is as extreme on your system as I find it on mine.

The two good options are:

1. Outlaw ICBM-1: allows you to incorporate a sub in any two-channel source, crossing over at just about any frequency you desire (40Hz, 60Hz, 80Hz, etc.), choosing between two different filter slopes, and allowing you to double all or a portion of that signal in your mains if you desire. Also, you can run two subs off the ICBM-1, in mono or stereo. This will give you, by far, the most flexibility of any BM option available to you (and, of course, is even more significant in multichannel recordings).

2. Use the low-pass filter on your sub (rather than the line-out). May require re-cabling when switching between music and home theater sources.

 

[Dalton]

Thanks Rich,
Looks like the ICBM might end up being the way i go. I am still getting the Philips 963 to replace my 962 because i hear really good things about the 24bit/192KHZ unsampling feature for regular cd's. If the BM in the 963 causes a very noticable dropoff in SQ then i am going to give the ICBM a try. The other option i was considering is the Denon 2900 but it is just out of my price range right now. I already have the Yamaha C920 for DVD-A but i am not to fond of switching cables everytime i want to go from SACD to DVD-A. I think i am going to settle on SACD for the time being because there are alot more SACD titles i am interested in than there are for DVD-A. The few titles i do have for DVD-A all have DTS soundtracks also and i can live with that(the DTS tracks sound pretty darn good too and i can use BM also for them). Looks like the Yammy goes up for sale.