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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
pardales
652 posts
 
I have about 125 SACD's, 4 DVD-A'a and about 400 redbook cd's. I love the Hi-Rez stuff. Only about 10-12 of my SACD's are not hybrids. Even though I am selling my Exemplar Denon 2900, easily the best sounding CD player I have ever owned (and that is on redbook alone - Hi Rez discs are awesome!) I will by another modified universal player in the not too distant future. I only listen in 2 channels.

You are going to have to decide how curious you are.
oldears
386 posts
 
By now you have gathered that you are not the only one totally confused. Most consumers are confused, myself included. Sony appears to be not supporting SACD by not issuing them as hybrids, and of course DVD-A discs (unless they are the new dual discs) will not play on a CD player.
Most DVD-As list if they have a stereo hi-rez layer as well as multi-channel layers, but on many players it is nearly impossible to tell if you are accessing the front channels of the multi-channel layer or the stereo layer unless you go through 2 set up screens, one for the player and another for the disc-which of course is absurd for anyone interested in 2 high quality 2 channel stereo.
The picture is fruther confused by many universal players not actually capable of hi-rez (see the review of the McCormick player in a recent Sterophile), and the fact that many discs don't really contain any higher rez than a good red book CD.
Overall a ridiculous situation for the consumer.
sbank's avatar
sbank
3,378 posts
 
Mgottlieb,
From what I've read, more LPs are being sold than SACDs. If you think that vinyl is limited to "what was available in 1980, or reissues of it" then perhaps you the one "is just sticking your head in the sand. Or somewhere else." Plenty of new titles are available on vinyl. Granted, they aren't stocked at the local Target, but they are available. There are more high quality reissues(including some amazing 45rpm versions, such as the Fantasy 45s) then ever before, and LP hardware continues to develop to a level of quality and price/performance few who gave up on it years ago, would believe.
While I don't dispute that a good SACD on a good SACD player will sound better than redbook on most redbook players, there's still a large gap from a hi-rez format that will survive, let alone flourish. Most SACD reviews imply that the better vinyl versions are superior. That about says it all. Cheers,
Spencer
pabelson
344 posts
 
Rex: Thanks for the correction. I had understood that downmixing was a standard option on DVD-As. I'm a bit surprised that it's not.

Mstram: The last numbers I saw suggested that new vinyl was outselling both SACD and DVD-A (and possibly both combined, though I'd have to check that). That's after 3-4 years on the market. Public acceptance has been non-existent outside the audiophile community, which is sadly very small. The music labels are responding rationally to that fact.
aroc
760 posts
 
I have bought tons of LPs that were of new music made in the last couple years. That stuff is out there. I think my peer Dirtyragamuffin can attest to that as well. For example, I doubt punk music has EVER abondoned the vinyl format. There's a ton of that available. Same for a lot of rock on indie labels. Unfortunately I cannot find new classical recordings on vinyl. That is a pity. Esp. since vinyl is still more or less the standard in consumer fidelity.
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