Post by Sonny May 29, 2011 (1 of 88)
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Hi,
Have recently purchased Cambridge Audio DVD99 SACD/DVD-A/CD/DVD player (entry level $400), which will be hooked up to a Yamaha RXV667B amplifier, (discrete amp entry level $500).
I will be using the Cambridge player solely for music.
Should I use HDMI out, (my understanding is if I do this the amp will change the signal to analogue), or 6 audio out, (allowing the Cambridge to convert the signal to analogue. Which would likely do the better job?
Any idea?
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Sonny said:
Hi,
Have recently purchased Cambridge Audio DVD99 SACD/DVD-A/CD/DVD player (entry level $400), which will be hooked up to a Yamaha RXV667B amplifier, (discrete amp entry level $500).
I will be using the Cambridge player solely for music.
Should I use HDMI out, (my understanding is if I do this the amp will change the signal to analogue), or 6 audio out, (allowing the Cambridge to convert the signal to analogue. Which would likely do the better job?
Any idea?
My guess. Try both. If you have decent matched analogue cables I would also try them if solely for music. The easy part is the HDMI hook~up, so be daring or just plain curious. I would!
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rammiepie said:
My guess. Try both. If you have decent matched analogue cables I would also try them if solely for music. The easy part is the HDMI hook~up, so be daring or just plain curious. I would!
Good advice for a change, however have found Cambridge products to be very troublesome and have always had to return them for a refund, even the original Cambridge products designed by Stan Curtis 35 years ago.
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Disbeliever said:
Good advice for a change, however have found Cambridge products to be very troublesome and have always had to return them for a refund, even the original Cambridge products designed by Stan Curtis 35 years ago.
I have a DVD99 in storage - it developed problems, so I retired it. Of note is that you can send SACD as DSD from the DVD99 to a compatible receiver. I used the analogue outputs into my Arcam receiver when I tried MCH and it was fine, but do try the HDMI route too.
$400 you say? They're so much cheaper in the UK, got mine for £100. I now have a Cambridge BD650 universal (used as a transport for BD/DVD-A fed into my dCS SACD/DAC), which has been trouble-free so far. But I took out the 5 year extended warranty just in case (£40).
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Post by steviev May 29, 2011 (5 of 88)
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Sonny said:
Hi,
[...]
Should I use HDMI out, (my understanding is if I do this the amp will change the signal to analogue), or 6 audio out, (allowing the Cambridge to convert the signal to analogue. Which would likely do the better job?
Any idea?
Try both ways and see which sounds better. Some players, like Sony's, do a low-pass filter at 40,000 Hz. I'm not sure about yours; you might want to check the manual. My receiver, which also decodes DSD, does not filter, and produces the full frequency response up to 100,000 Hz. Not that it matters, because my speakers give up at 27,000.
When I let my receiver handle the decoding, I swear the sound is a little brighter and more immediate, but I'm not able to do a blind A/B test, so it very well could be suggestion.
Another thing to consider is that your amp likely doesn't allow any sort of EQ or speaker-distance correction when amplifying the analogue signals from the player. To get that, you'll have to go through HDMI, and then the amp will convert the DSD to PCM before applying EQ, etc. If your speakers are all the same distance from your listening position, then you could happily listen in pure-direct mode, or whatever it's called on your amp, where it directly modulates the DSD instead of first converting it to PCM.
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Sonny said:
Hi,
Have recently purchased Cambridge Audio DVD99 SACD/DVD-A/CD/DVD player (entry level $400), which will be hooked up to a Yamaha RXV667B amplifier, (discrete amp entry level $500).
I will be using the Cambridge player solely for music.
Should I use HDMI out, (my understanding is if I do this the amp will change the signal to analogue), or 6 audio out, (allowing the Cambridge to convert the signal to analogue. Which would likely do the better job?
Any idea?
I think that you mean the Yamaha is a receiver, not just an amplifier. By all means, try both, if you have a mind to.
If I were a betting man, I'd bet the HDMI will sound best and perform best, particularly in budget components. If you are familiar with digital technology at all in many fields, not just audio, you will realize that the cost of digital technology keeps declining rapidly, while its capabilities continue to increase dramatically. Analog has been on an entirely different path with costs ever spiraling upward and with no technological end in sight. There is no continuing succession of faster, better, cheaper chips in analog to do most of the work in audio circuits. Virtually all of high end audio bears witness to this.
Audio is much slower to adapt to these technology trends. Did you ever wonder why analog cell phones no longer exist as cell phone prices have declined? Try finding a high quality camera that is not digital. Those that still exist are dinosaurs for traditionalists at nose bleed prices, in spite of reduced capabilities, except of course for trashy disposables.
I am not saying that analog at its best and costliest cannot be of high quality in audio. But, at any realistic price point, like your components, digital has every conceivable edge in price/performance. Your Cambridge and Yamaha components were designed with that in mind. They were optimized for HDMI out of necessity to keep costs in line with product pricing.
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Fitzcaraldo215 said:
I am not saying that analog at its best and costliest cannot be of high quality in audio. But, at any realistic price point, like your components, digital has every conceivable edge in price/performance. Your Cambridge and Yamaha components were designed with that in mind. They were optimized for HDMI out of necessity to keep costs in line with product pricing.
Well said Fitz, and if he uses Analog output to the Yamaha, there'll no doubt be more ADA stages when channel-delay etc are inacted.
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Post by Sonny May 30, 2011 (8 of 88)
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Yes it is a receiver amp, still struggling with correct terminology. Re: price comments just gave the RRPs so forum regulars can get idea what level gear I'm using (barely audiophile). Paid $320 for DVD99 which is cheap for Australia, as receivers/ players here generally cost double US price, (smaller market, & if we import need stepdown transformer for different voltage, warranty issues etc.)
As most suggested I will try both, was just a little intimidated by blind testing as even assuming I can pick difference in sound, I might not have ability to determine which is better. I guess enough listens I can work out what I like which is what matters.
Interesting logical argument re: HDMI having more R&D$ thrown at it, before that I was assuming the Cambridge would be better for signal conversion as it was specialist SCAD/ DVD-A equipment.
I was hoping for a definate answer, but I guess the best is trialling both. Will start with HDMI cable & then play around later with both set ups when I'm in the mood.
Thanks All, & hope Disbeliever hasn't jinxed me :), as I bought the DVD99 after a fair bit of googling reviews.
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Post by Claude May 30, 2011 (9 of 88)
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Do home cinema amplifiers in this price range convert analogue multichannel input signals to digital to process them?
If multichannel analogue signals get digitized by the amplifier anyway, another possibility may be to use analogue output for stereo discs (SACD or CD) and HDMI for multichannel SACDs.
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Post by AmonRa May 30, 2011 (10 of 88)
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steviev said:
Try both ways and see which sounds better. Some players, like Sony's, do a low-pass filter at 40,000 Hz. I'm not sure about yours; you might want to check the manual. My receiver, which also decodes DSD, does not filter, and produces the full frequency response up to 100,000 Hz. Not that it matters, because my speakers give up at 27,000.
Actually it might matter, as the HF level from noise shaping in a "clean" DSD signal is quite high. If it is not filtered out it might harm the tweeter and cause intermodulation distortion in the amplifiers. Nothing above 30 kHz is needed in the amplified signal (and many say even 20 kHz is enough) so it is better to filter it out.
With gentle enough filter, of course...
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