Upgrading - Must my new receiver "support" SACD and DVD-Audio for playback? (1 Viewer)

[pitchman]

I apologize in advance for asking what is probably a dumb question, but so far, I haven't been able to get a straight answer. Here is my situation. I currently have a Denon AVR-3805 that has served me well for years. In fact, there is absolutely nothing wrong with it and I still love the way it sounds (especially for CD and hi-rez audio playback) with a Denon DVD-3910, connected via D-LINK III. I also have a PS3 for a Blu-ray player. Lastly, I just purchased a Samsung LN46A850 HD-TV so I am finally ready to jump into the world of "1080p and HDMI." The problem is that the AVR-3805 offers neither, so I need to upgrade my receiver. I really like Denon products and hope to replace the 3805 with another Denon receiver. Unfortunately, I spent more on the TV than I had budgeted, so now I am looking at "lower end" Denon models including the AVR-1909, 2309 and 2809CI. In fact, the 2809CI is really out of my price-range at the moment. So, here is my question... If I use the 3910 as a playback source (which supports both SACD and DVD-Audio) and I connect it to either a 1909 or 2309 via HDMI, can I still get hi-rez multichannel audio playback? What about HDCD playback? Once again, the 3910 can do the decoding.

If I can't, it's not the end of the world, since I plan to keep the 3805 and move it into my music room, but that room is really geared more towards two channel devices. If I have to re-work the room for multichannel, I can. Still, I'd love to be able to play hi-rez multichannel audio in the family room (where the new LCD resides) when we're entertaining, etc.

So, that's the long and short of it. I really appreciate any advice on how best to proceed.

Thanks much!

 

[Ed Moxley]

Don't forget...........you can playback dvd-a and sacd multi-channel music, with the analog inputs of the EXT. IN section, on back of receiver. That's the way most people have to use. I have the Denon DVD-2200 universal player, and I use the 5.1 analog outputs of the player.

 

[gene c]

I'm 90% sure DVD-A and SACD is hdmi compatible (DVD-A needs vs. 1.1 SACD 1.2) but Denon's website is down for maintenance. The only thing is SACD may be converted from DSD to PCM.

 

[pitchman]

Thanks, guys!

That helps. I guess I didn't ask the question properly (I told you it was DUMB question!)

What I forgot to mention was the DSD part...

So, if I understand you correctly, to get properly flagged DSD through HDMI, both the player and the receiver must support SACD. But, for DVD-Audio, the pure digital stream still passes from the player to the receiver without down-converting?

So if I buy a receiver with SACD support, but no DVD-Audio support, I won't be losing any capability?

They sure don't make this easy!

 

[erkkimies]

Ye that would be the case

 

[gene c]

As I understand it, any hdmi vs. 1.1 or higher will accept DVD-A and no "decoding" is necessary. DVD-A is simply multi channel LPCM. So any receiver that does SACD, be it PCM or DSD should do DVD-A as well.

In my opinion, i-Link is the best transfer of DVD-A and DSD/SACD but I haven't heard a real good HDMI equipped dvd player/receiver combo yet and i-Link is on the way out.

 

[pitchman]

Thank you for your last reply, Gene. I think I am going to sit this one out a bit longer and either save more so as to afford a 3808-CI, or look at comparable alternatives from Yamaha or another company. If I get a lower-powered or less capable receiver than my current 3805, I know I will never be fully satisfied with the new purchase.