Survey: DVD audio/SACD

[Clive]

Just Curious as to how many of you have seriously gotten into DVD-audio and SACD formats and why have you chosen your particular format? When answering (if you wish) please tell us the name of your machine/unit you're using.




CLIVE




HEY!! Why buy movie tickets when you can own a Theater?

[Danbry39]

I just got into DVDA recently. The reason I chose DVDA is, probably like many, because my DVD player, Denon 1600, came equipped with it. I became DVDA curious.

Can't say I'm serious about it thus far, although I really do enjoy some of the music. First off, I only started a couple of months ago and, secondly, I only own 11 discs at this point.

My main problem with it is the very limited available selection.




Keith

[David Meek]

Clive, I can't say I'm serious about DVD-A. I've only bought the Eagles' Hotel California disc to play with. Like Danbry I did it mainly because I could and I was curious. I'd like to get into SACD - especially the 2-channel variety as high definition stereo REALLY appeals to me, and what I've heard so far hasn't changed my mind. So far my reaction to DVD-A is a mixed bag: the surround is interesting, but the quality of the music isn't that superior to good RedBook. The whole surround thing? While unique, unless the surround channels are used for ambient noise/reflections, etc. it doesn't represent what I hear at live venues and so is more of a novelty to me than anything.

My DVD-A system:
Panasonic RP-91 progressive scan DVD/DVD-A player
Yamaha RX-V1 receiver
CATCables Silvercat 1m interconnects




David - HTGuide flunky
Our "Theater"
Our DVDs on DVD Tracker

[David Meek]

Serendipity. 8)

Just saw what I think may be my SACD player in Jaakan's thread in A/V Chalet.

1. Link

David - HTGuide flunky
Our "Theater"
Our DVDs on DVD Tracker

[Andrew Pratt]

My experiences mirror Keith's as well since we both have the Denon 1600. I only have one title at the moment (Queen's "The Game") and its good but due to the high costs and limited selection I don't see myself getting serious about high resolution audio just yet.

[George Bellefontaine]

Naw, I'm still just a 2 channel stereo guy.




My Homepage!

[Danbry39]

And the home theater powers that be, one day said, "Hey, why don't we test George by putting Frank Sinatra's Live at the Sands out on DVDA?" :B

Again, it's a selection issue. I've combed listings of available DVDA's and there isn't that much, as far as being indispensible, out there for me. Now, if the rumored DVDA of Abby Road comes out, I'll be buying it because it's just personally too important a recording to ignore.




Keith

[Dan Schulze]

Would like to get more into Hi-res Audio, but I too have encountered limited selection, but it is slowly growing.

I have both formats, but choose the Artist/Title over format. I enjoy DVD-Audio more because there is something to see (even though it may be still images/lyrics) in addition to just listening.

Why? I am currently upgrading my entire system, and am hungry for more audio. I currently have 10 DVD-A's, & 3 SACD's. My player is Denon DVD-2900.

Dan






I want to be SHAKEN not stirred!!
My Home Theater

[George Bellefontaine]

Yeah, Keith, the DVD-A Sinatra Live At The Sands is being released August 12 and you just know I gotta have it, even though I still have the original LP album in my music collection. But it will be nice to be able to put images to the music. As far as the surround aspect, It will likely be audience sounds in the rears, I would guess. So yeah, I will play it in my HT through my Denon, but it will probably be the only DVD-A in my collection. They're hard to get and very expensive up here, which also doesn't help.




My Homepage!

[George Bellefontaine]

Put images to the music ? What was I thinking. This is DVD AUDIO. AUDIO. AUDIO. Okay, it's sunk in now. I'll still buy it.




My Homepage!

[Chris D]

Me personally, I'm about to enter the DVD-A and SACD world. I need to buy a new DVD player anyway, and reportedly there are going to be some new universal players released this fall, particularly by Denon. I'll probably pick one of those up, then some DVD-A and SACD albums to show off the system. I have little experience with the formats, and the only thing I own right now is one DVD-A album I got for free from Silverline Records for signing up for their E-mail. but it can be played on normal DVD players as well.

I'm curious--does this mean that there are TWO tracks on it? One for normal DVD players, and one for DVD-A specifically?




CHRIS
Luke: "Hey, I'm not such a bad pilot myself, you know"

[Danbry39]

Yes, and sometimes more. AIX is one of the premier quality DVD-A companies. Their releases typically have a DD track (good), a DTS track (better), and a DVD-A track (best). There's quite a bit of debate as to how good high res really is.

I usually love it best when the surrounds are used for ambiance, but it is recording by recording. The Yes album Fragile does all sorts of weird things with DVD-A and I really enjoy that too. So, I guess I'm trying to say that not all DVD-A's are great sonically, at least to my taste, and that redbooks CD's, when recorded well, can sound superior to a poorly engineered DVD-A. Still haven't tried SACD.




Keith

[Danbry39]

George,

Sinatra's Live at the Sands is now out on DVD-A, but I'd advise you hold off on spending all that extra money on analog connects and stuff. Some are complaining that they're having a difficult time to get the release to play right. This isn't happening with everyone's players, but I'd hate to see you go to all the trouble only to be disappointed in the end.




Keith

[Sonnie Parker]

I just got my Denon 2900 all connected up for the mulit formats and took a listen yesterday to a couple of disk.

Eagle - Hotel California DVD-A
Pink Floyd - DSOTM SACD

I thought they were spectacular! Awesome!

I've been to 1 Pink Floyd concert and 2 Eagles concerts and personally I feel like listening to the DVD-A was the closest I've heard to the real thing.

Maybe my setup is geared more for the multi formats... all I know is it sounded better than any 2 channel stuff I've ever listened to.

I'm struggling with the availability issue myself with such a limited selection.






SONNIE

Cedar Creek Cinema

DVD Collection

BFD Comprehensive Setup Guide

[Chris D]

I'm still curious--with the Eagles Hotel California DVD-A specifically, how does it compare sonically with the Eagles Hotel California DVD that many people use for reference demonstrations?




CHRIS
Luke: "Hey, I'm not such a bad pilot myself, you know"

[mazuly]

I'm still curious--with the Eagles Hotel California DVD-A specifically, how does it compare sonically with the Eagles Hotel California DVD that many people use for reference demonstrations?

Hi,

Let me just say, that you hear things that you have never heard before on this album. Having guitar players at each corner can do wonders and since the music is more spacious, you can hear sounds that were hidden in the 2 channel recording of this album. The DVD is good, but the quality of the sound on DVD-A is in another league. Highly recommended.

Thanks,
Maziar

[aud19]

I was actually looking for a universal player back in June at the same time as purchasing our house. Unfortunately (and understandably) funds ran a little dry and I ended up "downgrading" to the Denon 1600 DVD-A player from the Yamaha 2300 universal player I was going to be purchasing. Now short of the whole no SACD thing ( :cry: ) (and the annoying lack of a digital coax output) I'd have to say I'm quite happy with both the video performance and DVD-A performance of the machine. (CD's sound pretty good too, though a dedicated player is in my future I think.) Other than one DVD-A I purchased (Sex-Pistols... low-fi in high-res is just not happy) I've been very happy with either the high-res stereo or multi-channel mixes (or both on a few) on all of the discs. For more check out this thread. A friend of mine was actually over the other day and we were listeing to music, both CD's and DVD-A's, and he actually commented a few times on the added detail and space on the DVD-A's. In large, I would have to agree.

Jason




Need a new display? Questions about new display technologies? Visit RPTVs, plasmas, and other monitors @ HTguide