|
|
|
DSD said:
Early on I discovered that Cable TV degrades my imaging and adds a low level hum to my system, so when I had Cable TV I unplugged it from the wall when listening to music. I no longer have Cable TV, partly due to increased price and due to the adverse effect it had on my stereo.
I agree with Kal on this. I had a hum and other artifacts in my system when I first hooked up my cable based TV to my stereo about 15 years ago. The insertion of a "ground trap" into the cable TV lead has completely solved it to this day. Apparently, cable TV is at a different ground potential than that at the wall outlets causing the hum. The ground trap devices can be bought or homemade. Mine is made by Madrigal, but my understanding is that a pair of coax to 300-ohm twinlead baluns back to back will do the same thing. Some slight video degradation might be a theoretical byproduct, but I do not see any. There is zero sonic difference now in my system before and after disconnecting the cable TV lead.
|
|
|
|
|
|
Integrating audio/video in a single system has always had its rewards and drawbacks.With DVD-A, it was mandatory to navigate the menus but not so with sacd. Another consideration for lovers of video projectors is the size of the screen and speaker placement (supposedly, or is this an old wive's tale) the speakers (sans center channel/opting to sum l/r to form center) should be the width of a grand piano for precise imaging. I recently installed FIOS and have no ground loop/hum problems (thankfully) and which is "kinder" to non hd material than Direct TV ever was. Of course the compromise I make is that there is ONE good seat [the "sweet' spot] since my front speakers are behemoth Genesis monitors which are right on top of the screen to maintain a proper soundstage. Perforated screens with speakers behind muffle the sound so that is not even an option (I always remove ALL grilles from my speakers). With blu-ray and FIOS HD, I find myself watching images of my choice on the screen while listening critically to music...which for me is the perfect marriage of high def sound and vision!
|
|
|
|
|
|
rammiepie said:
With DVD-A, it was mandatory to navigate the menus but not so with sacd.
As for audio-only BD, the company that apparently worked on the discs for 2L as well as Stockfisch, writes the following at http://www.pureaudio-bluray.com/?page_id=2
"Developed by Munich’s msm-studios in co-operation with Lindberg Lyd, the Pure Audio Blu-ray combines the requisite storage capacity for surround and high resolution sound (24Bit/192kHz) with the uncomplicated handling of a standard compact disc (CD). This Blu-ray disc is configured in such a way that it can be played back with the simple functionality of a CD on any Blu-ray player. The user can, but is not obliged to, take advantage of the visual options (screen menu). In other words, the Pure Audio Blu-ray Disc is an autonomous medium: no TV is required to use it. The functionality is as easy as with CD: the user can navigate with the remote control and push the dedicated buttons for PLAY, STOP, SKIP and all other functions. The numeric keys directly access the corresponding track number and the desired audio stream can be selected by the coloured keys on the remote control. For example, press the red button for 5.1 DTS HD Master or yellow for 2.0 LPCM. "
|
|
|
Post by RWetmore August 17, 2009 (54 of 67)
|
|
The Seventh Taylor said:
As for audio-only BD, the company that apparently worked on the discs for 2L as well as Stockfisch, writes the following at http://www.pureaudio-bluray.com/?page_id=2
"Developed by Munich’s msm-studios in co-operation with Lindberg Lyd, the Pure Audio Blu-ray combines the requisite storage capacity for surround and high resolution sound (24Bit/192kHz) with the uncomplicated handling of a standard compact disc (CD). This Blu-ray disc is configured in such a way that it can be played back with the simple functionality of a CD on any Blu-ray player. The user can, but is not obliged to, take advantage of the visual options (screen menu). In other words, the Pure Audio Blu-ray Disc is an autonomous medium: no TV is required to use it. The functionality is as easy as with CD: the user can navigate with the remote control and push the dedicated buttons for PLAY, STOP, SKIP and all other functions. The numeric keys directly access the corresponding track number and the desired audio stream can be selected by the coloured keys on the remote control. For example, press the red button for 5.1 DTS HD Master or yellow for 2.0 LPCM. "
That's still too complicated. It should work exactly like SACD where I can program the player to default to stereo or multichannel. Anything more than that and forget it.
IMO, they should make a Blu-ray CD spec or BD-CD and have it work exactly like SACD. One would think they would have learned the lessons of the totally failed DVD Audio, but it sounds like Blu-ray audio is not much different.
|
|
|
|
|
|
RWetmore said:
That's still too complicated. It should work exactly like SACD where I can program the player to default to stereo or multichannel. Anything more than that and forget it.
IMO, they should make a Blu-ray CD spec or BD-CD and have it work exactly like SACD. One would think they would have learned the lessons of the totally failed DVD Audio, but it sounds like Blu-ray audio is not much different.
The few music Blu-rays I have all play by just inserting and pushing play. Actually, the audio/video Blu-rays are pretty much the same. They all default to a hi rez Mch format. For stereo only fans, I do not know how many players will remember a default to stereo only, but I expect many do. That's a player, not a disc issue. The monitor is generally only needed for initial setup.
It is also doubtful that stereo only music listeners will be buying many Blu-rays in the first place.
|
|
|
Post by DSD August 18, 2009 (56 of 67)
|
|
Fitzcaraldo215 said:
It is also doubtful that stereo only music listeners will be buying many Blu-rays in the first place.
Actually I am a stereo only person considering BluRay and ironically it is so I can get the AIX 24/96 recordings with both HD audio and HD video at the same time. On AIX's current DVD-Audios you have a choice of 24/96 Multichannel or 24/96 stereo, but audio only. AIX records all their sessions in HD video but on the current DVD-Audios with the Video sessions one has a choice of Dolby Digital or DBX as DVD-Audio cannot be combined with Video. BluRay solves this problem.
Also I believe movies will be more enjoyable with the new lossless Dolby and DBX systems offered on BluRay than the lossy systems offered on DVD.
Not to mention an improvement in the video quality.
|
|
|
|
|
|
DSD said:
Actually I am a stereo only person considering BluRay and ironically it is so I can get the AIX 24/96 recordings with both HD audio and HD video at the same time. On AIX's current DVD-Audios you have a choice of 24/96 Multichannel or 24/96 stereo, but audio only. AIX records all their sessions in HD video but on the current DVD-Audios with the Video sessions one has a choice of Dolby Digital or DBX as DVD-Audio cannot be combined with Video. BluRay solves this problem.
Also I believe movies will be more enjoyable with the new lossless Dolby and DBX systems offered on BluRay than the lossy systems offered on DVD.
Not to mention an improvement in the video quality.
Good move. There is probably only one machine you should consider - the Oppo BDP-83. To get better analog quality (I know that's your preference), you are probably going to have to spend about $2K or more.
No question that movies, including opera, are immensely more enjoyable from Blu-ray than from DVD with lossy audio.
On a decent hi def monitor - they are getting cheaper all the time - video is awesome. But, the BDP-83 even makes older DVD's look much better than you might think.
It will be interesting to see how you make out. You might even like the machine for SACD. It's my reference player for now. But, it might not handle downloaded music the way you would like. Check out the specs for supported formats, and you might search the Official BDP-83 owner's thread at AVS Forum for details or questions.
|
|
|
|
|
|
FullRangeMan said:
Yeah, SACD ever Rules...
Yep that review was dead on.
I have a couple of the 2L Blu-Ray and SACD combo discs.
I just re-played a track and compared them on my new player.
(Yamaha RX-V663 and the new Oppo BDP-83)
The blu-ray version sounds good (definitely better than dvd-a) but when playing the same track from the SACD disk the difference is almost immediate.
Something is getting cut off on the Blu-ray side. The range is way better on the SACD..it's like hearing a note but then being able to hear the edge of each note.
Upper range is also suffering on the Blu-Ray version wit he same feeling like the note/vocal is getting cut off too early.
I received an AIX disk with my Oppo. AIX obviously does some great production with their music, but I dare them to release a side-by-side disk with a Blu-Ray
and SACD version.
I really liked the Albert Lee cut, but was definitely dissappointed that there was no SACD track.
Their sound disk is great for calibration but misses the mark by not including SACD in the mix
|
|
|
Post by rammiepie September 8, 2009 (59 of 67)
|
|
AIX records only releases in the DVD-A format ...... SACD isn't even a wishlist option. As Blu-Ray players are introduced by high end manufacturers, I am sure that the gap between the hi-rez wars will diminish as the picture alone is worth the price of admission and we should see more popular fare introduced into this format as prices of software diminish and the price of audiophile players increase (to satisfy the purists). Let's be totally honest: SACD has become the format of choice for classical music (of which I have a substantial collection) but with the majority of music labels behind blu-ray (which I think will be around for at least a decade before we have 4000 X 2000...thus exceeding the resolution of a 35mm negative) [Actually the $185,000 Meridian projector already upsamples to this resolution] we should see an astounding diversity in music and widespread acceptance because let's face it...this five inch disc really has it all!
|
|
|
Post by Karlosak September 8, 2009 (60 of 67)
|
|
rammiepie said:
because let's face it...this five inch disc really has it all!
Yes, it has it all, but what if I want music only? So far only a few labels have stepped up and offered a Blu-ray music only release. In the age of constant music devaluation (i.e. "free" downloads) and hunger for video content I don't see a shift in that regard on horizon. You could say: "it's easy to disregard the video information" but one must take into account the added cost of a video release. It's *MUCH* pricier to produce an audio/video release than a simple music record. Especially in the classical world I don't see a huge shift to Blu-ray coming. Our best hope is that the SACD capability will be added to the majority of upcoming Blu-ray players and that the labels stay committed to SACD (or at least take the "Blu" pill).
|
|
