SACD / DVD-A / DTRS disks

[Silverti]

What is the going opinion now-a-days on which one offers the best sound. I have a few DVD-A and DTS disks now and they all don’t seem to be that different to me. I want to start developing a collection of one type. I just found out yesterday when trying that my PS3 does not play DTS disks but my Sony DVD changer does (as well as my car's system). But my car system does not play SACD's. Seems like they all play DVD-A. Does one really offer the best quality or is that another one of those things like Blue Ray and HDDVD that people cant decide on?

[cfrizz]

I think both DVD-A's & SACD's have comparable sound I can't tell the difference. DTS is available only on DVD-A's as far as I know.

Both formats are outstanding. Unless you have a multi format player, they all won't play nicely together on every machine.

[F1nut]

SACD is the only true high rez format. DVD-A can be, but it's not guaranteed. DTS is NOT a hi-rez format. Almost all SACD's are hybrid, meaning they have a 2 channel redbook layer, which will play in any CD player although the redbook layer is not hi-rez.

The over all sound quality is very dependent on what you are using for playback. The PS3 and Sony DVD player aren't going to give you everything hi-rez has to offer.

[G-2]

SACD is our preference as well. We try to get them in Hybrid format (so they'll play on an SACD player or a regular CD player). DVD-A is good but more suited to using music with video. Just our $.02

[Danny Tse]

All things being equal (and when's that ever going to happen?), both SACD and DVD-A can offer similarly good sound quality. SACD is usually the preference due its available catalog, ease of use, and in general compatibility with existing CD/DVD players.

The issue with the DVD-A format is that it was designed to operate with the aid of on-screen display. For those who has a music-only system, that creates a problem on how to set up the disc for play. SACD, or more specifically the hybrid SACD, only involves inserting the disc into a player and pressing play. Hybrid SACD has 2 layers (one for CD and one for SACD) and usually the player (or its remote) will let you toggle between the 2 layers without looking at a TV monitor.

Have to disagree with F1nut on single-layer SACDs....while almost all recent SACD releases within the 3 years or so have been hybrid SACDs, early ones were single layer discs. Ignoring single-layer SACDs will mean missing out on some important SACD titles such as those from Sony (i.e. Michael Jackson's Thriller, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Jeff Beck, Journey, Billy Joel, etc.) and Universal Music (i.e. Bon Jovi, Muddy Waters, etc.)

The PS3 is compatible with SACD despite Sony not advertising it.

[F1nut]

Have to disagree with F1nut on single-layer SACDs....

Danny, maybe I missed it, but I don't recall ever saying to ignore single layer SACD's.

[treitz3]

What is the going opinion now-a-days on which one offers the best sound.

For me, SACD.

[Bill Ayotte]

DVD-A is really touch-and-go with the SQ....I have a few, and the only two that stick out to me as having high SQ are Elton John Goodbye Yellow Brick Road and Sheryl Crow The Globe Sessions.......I was pissed, her version of Sweet Child of Mine isn't on it....

[Danny Tse]

Danny, maybe I missed it, but I don't recall ever saying to ignore single layer SACD's.

Sorry, F1....don't know where that notion popped into my head. :(

[F1nut]

LOL....it's all good.

[joeparaski]

Where do you guys buy your music from mostly? Online or at box stores?

Joe

[Silverti]

Where do you guys buy your music from mostly? Online or at box stores?

Joe

I usually get regular CD's and DVD's / BR at local stores like Best Buy / Fred Myers / Circuit City.

I buy the specialized stuff like DTS/DVD-A/SACD from Amazon.

[F1nut]

Joe, online at places like CD Universe, Music Direct, Elusive Disc, Acoustic Sounds and eBay.

[ben62670]

DTS only means 5.1 discrete channels. SACD is also 5.1 Discrete channels. I don't have enough DVDA's to make a fair judgment, but I do have some SACD's that are great.

[F1nut]

Slight correction, all SACD's have a hi-rez 2 channel layer, but not all have 5.1.

[ben62670]

Slight correction, all SACD's have a hi-rez 2 channel layer, but not all have 5.1.

Yes I have heard of this, but have never seen this.
Thanks F1nut

[jmwest1970]

From what I've read SACD used when playing though a transport that sends the signal via digital output. I believe it was tated that it's a copyright issue. Is this correct? Can SACD only be played when using analog output of the transport?

[F1nut]

Can SACD only be played when using analog output of the transport?

That's correct. Analog connections sound better anyway.

[Danny Tse]

There're a few SACD players that can output the DSD bitstream through a digital output, but only through proprietary connections. Any these are generally very expensive machines.

Analog is the way to go.

[fatchowmein]

Are most SACD players good enough to equal the quality of a transport playing redbook cd's using an external DAC like the Benchmark? Can I get away with say a $100 or $150 player (been testing the Oppo 970 but it isn't mine) or do I have to look at players in the $500 or $1000 price range?

[Danny Tse]

Are most SACD players good enough to equal the quality of a transport playing redbook cd's using an external DAC like the Benchmark? Can I get away with say a $100 or $150 player (been testing the Oppo 970 but it isn't mine) or do I have to look at players in the $500 or $1000 price range?

Just because SACD has the potential to sound better than CD doesn't guarantee it will always be the case. In general, you do get what you pay for.

Isn't the Benchmark DAC something like $900.00?

[Phil Dawson]

DTS is a higher resolution format than PCM which is used on CDs. DTS can also be used for 5.1 and the DTS stands for digital theater sound. The format is put on a standard CD. It is not a lossless format like SACD or DVD-A but it still sounds very good (better than CD IMHO) The format is in between CD and SACD/DVD-A. Bonny Raitt's Road Time 2 disk set in DTS is wonderful.
Cheers, Phil

[F1nut]

My $.02

When you compress something and then bring it back, not all of the info makes it. DTS, thanks, but no thanks. Besides, any good CDP upsamples to at least 24/96, the better ones to 24/192 and no compression.

[MGPK]

DTS is a higher resolution format than PCM which is used on CDs. DTS can also be used for 5.1 and the DTS stands for digital theater sound. The format is put on a standard CD. It is not a lossless format like SACD or DVD-A but it still sounds very good (better than CD IMHO) The format is in between CD and SACD/DVD-A. Bonny Raitt's Road Time 2 disk set in DTS is wonderful.
Cheers, Phil

DTS is actually a lossy codec. Although the music CD's that are encoded with DTS sound quite good, PCM will sound better.

[Phil Dawson]

DTS - digital theater sound was introduced as a alternative to Dolby Digital for 5.1 movie soundtracks. Yes it is compressed and doesn't sound as good as DVD-A or SACD. It does sound better in many cases than Dolby Digital. As a music format it is probably down for the count but at one point when DVD discs were very expensive it offered an alternative for 5.1 music since you can put it on a standard CD. Just as a side note DVD-A uses MLP (meridian lossless packing) which is a lossless compression codec.
Phil

[cfrizz]

I don't care if DTS is lossy or not, it sounds GREAT!

[Silverti]

Ive noticed yesterday after pluging in my rears after a year or so of just running 5.1 that DD PLII doesnt send sound back there but DTS does.

[snow]

I think the key here is let your ears be the judge. SACD is the format with most potential. But... that being said, I have heard cds sound better than some SACDS and some DVDAs sound incredibile. ELPs brain salad surgery is one of those. DTS as a rule seems to sound better to me than most dolby digital tracks.

REGARDS SNOW

[treitz3]

SACD is the format with most potential. But... that being said, I have heard cds sound better than some SACDS and some DVDAs sound incredible.

I can kinda agree with you on some CD's sounding better than SACD, but I would like to make an addendum to the agreement. That being that some recordings of particular CD's can sound better than some recordings of SACD, but when given the same album and comparing CD's to SACD's/XRCD's/HDCD's,DVDA's, etc., [Dire Straights, Brothers in Arms for example], the same recording sounds better and has a higher resolution with SACD than the other formats.

I have been pleasantly surprised with certain XRCD's and DVD-A's though [Gotta admit], they do sound pretty damn good.

[Phil Dawson]

DTS supports a higher bit rate than Dolby Digital so all things being equal more information means less compression and thus better sound. We should all remember that a recording on any format can be either great or terrible and that the most important thing is the music.
Phil