why do analog outs sound better than digital??? (1 Viewer)

[John Tompkins]

On a related note. I a/b tested the difference between my panny rp56 and sony 555es using digital connections, I could hear NO difference.

The way I tested this was to put two identical cds {cranberries} in the dvd player and cd player at the same time, and yes the volume was exactly the same verified by my radio shack meter. I was able at the push of the denons remote to go back/forth between the two units, No differnce that I could hear. Remember this was using digital outs on each player.

One other thing of note . If you are comparing the digital out versues the analog out of your player, remember to db them out to the same volume, as there was a 3db difference between the anoalog and digital out on my unit.. This could be enough to TRICK you into thinking that there was some huge difference!!

 

[Saurav]

One other thing of note . If you are comparing the digital out versues the analog out of your player, remember to db them out to the same volume, as there was a 3db difference between the anoalog and digital out on my unit.. This could be enough to TRICK you into thinking that there was some huge difference!!

That's an excellent point. Some people believe that human hearing percieves small volume increases (less than 1dB) as sounding better. So, a Radio Shack SPL meter might not pick up a difference in level, but the slight difference that exists would make one sound better than the other. Again, from stuff I've read, people recommend level matching the two to within 0.1dB.

 

[David Judah]

The denons dacs were warmer then the sony 555es dacs. The sonys dacs made the music a little to sharp to my ears

That doesn't suprise me. I noticed the same thing with the 222 ES(it has different DACs than the 555, but the sharper sound seems to be Sony's sonic signature)when I was doing some comparisons with it and the Pioneer 47A.

Everyone has different tastes though and it boils down to personal preference--I happened to prefer the "sharper" sound of the Sony over the Pioneer.

But to Ben's situation--I think it is a mistake to automatically dismiss the digital cable if, and only if, it is toslink. I've used cheap ones in the past that I suspected of degrading the sound. They don't always make tight connections and the plastic carrying the light impulses could cause problems if they get kinked or bent too much.

It's a possibilty that could easily be dismissed by simply trying a coax cable.

If that's not it then maybe the way the HK circuit board is laid out, there is some interference in the analog stage after the DAC conversion that isn't present when going direct analog pass-through. It's a possibility, although an unlikely one.

DJ

 

[Larry B]

Ted:

would you say the pass-through is more of a feature or a norm for todays receivers/pre-pros?

It seems that others have already answered this. (Which is all as well because I actually don't know a whole lot about HT. Rather, my passions are high-end 2-channel audio and film.)

Regards,

Larry