2. digital
  3. 1106779239

I'm totally confused about Hi Rez formats

I was hoping that somebody out there could help this two-channel audiophile make some sense out of the DVD-A and SACD formats. I was interested in exploring these hi resolutiuon formats, but was told by a salesman that the benefits of these formats are only achieved when used in multichannel setups. I went to the dealer under the impression that if one wished to, he or she could simply use such players as two channel digital front ends, and still obtain the benefit of the higher sampling rate and bit rate. I know of one high end player like the Marantz SA-11 that only has two channel analog outputs.

I was interested in testing the waters with a universal player, but I don't want to go nuts and spend thousands of dollars until I have a chance to experiment with the possibilities. Certainly, I have no use for the so-called high resolution formats unless I can truly obtain higher resolution in a two channel system. I am not interested in multichannel audio at the moment. Can somebody please explain things to me.

Thanks!!
mstram
treyhoss
287 posts
 
I can't speak directly about DVD-A but I *think* it is designed to be played in multi-channel. There may be a stereo only option but I'm not sure if all DVDA's have a stereo layer. SACD, on the other hand, has a stereo layer (always) with many discs also containing an optional multi-channel layer. These are two distict layers where the 2-channel and multi-channel are separate and mixed differently as opposed to the stereo simply being a "fold down" of the multi-channel mix. If you are primarily interested in 2-channel, you may want to be looking at SACD.
sbank's avatar
sbank
3,378 posts
 
Rumor has it that Sony is about to stop or at least cut back on issuing new SACD software. There are other threads here discussing that aspect in detail.
The biggest problem vs. CD is that there isn't enough good 2 channel sacd software. As already mentioned, there may never be much good DVD-A 2 channel software.
The highest resolution format available today is vinyl, plain and simple. My suggestion for you is to sit on the sidelines of the digital battle, and upgrade your tt if you want the best 2 channel sound available today.
Even most of the SACD reviews alude to the fact that the vinyl versions are superior, and we know that the reviewers are under pressure to help encourage support of the new formats. At CES I saw little "hi-rez" being demoed. Either vinyl on top notch setups, or plain 'ole redbook CD. That should tell you something, too. Cheers,
Spencer
yohjo
83 posts
 
Sbank is right. I would not bother getting into either sacd or dvd-a. The software, especially for dvd-a is limited and it is questionable whether either format will survive. But to answer your question, there are several universal players that will play both formats and cd. Denon for one, makes 2 or 3 models. Mstram is also correct on the 2 channel layer on sacd. Fewer dvda discs have a two channel format. With the dvda disc you are required to choose the format through the standard dvd setup when the disc is inserted. Denon, and probably most other universal player, allow you to set a preference format, 2 or multi-channel, for sacd discs. As for the salesman, personally I prefer 2 channel. For me it is more realistic. I also have a vinyl set-up and it is the most hi-rez as it is simply analog. No conversion back and forth. Hope this helps.
More to discover