Sony sc555es is good, but............ (1 Viewer)

[Glenn Marshall]

Received mine last Friday. Oade had plenty. $595 + $25
S/H. Bought this unit not only for the 5.1, but to listen
to std CD's before they are retired to my 555es & 333es
changers. To my disapointment, you cannot select 2CH + SW for std CD's. That's the biggest issue. The other is on
Jerry Goldsmith's "The Film Music of", which is a fairly
recent release, there isn't any .1. On page 14 of the book-
let,, I found the answer; "creative decisions of the artist
and/or recording team". Not having purchased that many SADC's yet, is this a common occurance? This is a Hybrid
dics. Is this just a space saving decision?

Glenn

 

[Eujin]

Yes, the lack of the 2CH+SW is a disappointment--having to switch between multi-channel and 2 channel modes on the receiver/pre-pro for SACDs and CDs is a bit annoying. As for the lack of .1 on the JG disc, I think it shouldn't matter as long as you select "5 Small+SW" in the bass management settings--it's not a space-saving measure and should be, as indicated in the manual, a decision made by the artist/engineers not to have a dedicated LFE channel.

 

[KeithH]

Glenn, while I suppose a subwoofer option could have been included on the 'C555ES for CD playback, note that standard CD players have no bass management features at all. Sony simply used the standard implementation of CD playback.

 

[Glenn Marshall]

Eujin & Keith,

Thanks for your replies. My 555 is going into a Sony tap9000es then direct to the amps. My pre/pro is a tae9000es, which is by-passed. The best I can do is level & balance. I will try the 5 small + sw on the JG dics, all though I have 4 full range speakers and this p's me off.

Still can't understand why someone/team would elect not to
include .1 on such a great dynamic disc. I try to forget
what I'm missing and just enjoy what I'm hearing, bit it's
very difficult when you know what your system is capabile of

Equip: 100v.2 bi-amped - r/l frt
80v.2 bi-wired - r/l sur
CC = ctr - bi-wired
Servo-15
PW-2500 (was going to sell, when I got the 15, but
the combo is just to good. Smooth bass response
in the entire listen area (whole house!)
Glenn

 

[Glenn Marshall]

I think I figured out how to have 2CH + SW for std CD's. I will use the coaxial/optical output from the 555es to the coax/opt CD input on my tae9000es pre/pro, by-passing the
tap9000es. Will let you know if it works.

Glenn

 

[Mike Broadman]

Glenn, I believe using a digital output may cause some down conversion and you would lose some resolution, but I think it depends on the player...

or am I just playing Chicken Little?

 

[AaronD]

Glenn,
The lack of a .1 channel doesn't mean that the low frequency information isn't there, it just means that it's integrated into the other 5 channels as full range signals. As stated above, if you select the small+sw option it will set your cross over point to 120hz and send that information to your sub woofer.
I also agree with your disappointment in the lack of bass management for PCM sources. While it is true that the normal CD implementation on other players just has a full range L+R, these SACD players are usually hooked up to 5.1 ins that do not have bass management. It sure would be nice for them to always output a stereo full range signal on the L+R and a properly managed signal on the 5.1 out. Oh well, can't get EVERYTHING you want right?
Mike,
He is referring to red book CD's only, in this situation there should be no down conversion. SACD will not, and can't output over the supplied digital output.
-Aaron

 

[Glenn Marshall]

Mike,

I wasn't really happy about the coaxial connection either. Along with the resolution loss with the coax, I was also taking signal through my pre/pro. More loss & unwanted ad-
ditions. So, before undertaking the project, I revisited the manuals for my 555es, tap9000es (beautiful unit)and the
tea9000es pre/pro. I happy to report, for any of you having
the above or simular components, I'm now enjoying std CD's
with SW. Here's the connections:

. RCA's from the 2 ch output of the 555es
. Split one ch with a Y
. Connect to unused input (tap has two 5.1 inputs)
RF & LF with the split channel going to the SW
input
. Input 1 on selector switch becomes 2ch std CD
. Input 2 becomes 5.1

Now if you need both inputs for 5.1, your out of luck with
this set-up. My DVD-A is coming from a DVD player and going
into the tae.

 

[Frank_S]

I'm sure glad you guys have the patience to deal with these issues relating to a new format, although I guess it's wrong to say new since SACD has been around for a couple of years. And people said LP's were a pain in the ass to deal with.

 

[KeithH]

Frank, actually it's not that difficult. The sound of SACD is easily worth the little bit of work required to get set up.

 

[John Royster]

Frank, actually it's not that difficult. The sound of SACD is easily worth the little bit of work required to get set up.

yeah, insert disc...press play.

 

[KeithH]

John, absolutely!

 

[Don Bingaman]

You know, if you use truly full-range front speakers, (in my case Vandy 3A Sig.s), the 5.1 connection works just fine. For music, (unlike HT), the low frequency performance of the front L/R channels, is very important. Buettner and others use Vandy 3A's and VSM's with analog X-overs to channel-dedicated Vandy 2WQ subwoofers for LF/RF/LR/RR ,PLUS a seperate dedicated Vandy V2W subwoofer for the .1 channel. Seems like overkill to me, but I'm sure it sounds awesome. This approach bypasses all these bass management problems because each channel is good from "DC to daylight", (well, at least 20-20,000 hz)., and could probably be implemented with smaller, less expensive mini-sub's.

 

[Glenn Marshall]

Sure a lot of ways to skin at cat. No offence, I'm a cat owner. Until I get my Pioneer 38a DVD/DVD-A player, I will keep it configured, via RCA's to Input 2 of my tap9000es.
I will have to give this up when I receive the 38A. It will need to use Input 2 for the 5.1 DVD-A (I hope). At that time, I will A/B Input 2, so I can still have redbook CD's with Sub W.

And I thought I was so cool purchasing the, almost, straight line tap9000es. Here I go, around in circles again!