Does the DVD Player really affect the sound quality?

[Yahmoncool]

I was under the impression that sound quality had everything to do with your receiver, speakers, etc.

I am still debating between the Oppo and the Denon 2910... trying to figure out if the price difference is worth it.

On a side note... what DVDs have macroblocking issues that I can bring into Tweeter to play on the 2910 to view the issues?

[DidHeFocus]

If you use the a digital connection, the DD or DTS stream is passed directly from the DVD to your receiver. Most players should sound the same unless you use analog connections.

[BillP]

For SACD (which the Oppo doesn't even play), you need to use analog connections.

[smarsh66]

Originally posted by DidHeFocus
If you use the a digital connection, the DD or DTS stream is passed directly from the DVD to your receiver. Most players should sound the same unless you use analog connections.

wow! not even close. Most players DON'T sound the same. Transport, pickup, D/A, output stage, construction, etc... *ALL* greatly influence the sound that a CD/DVD/DVD-A/SACD/HDCD player will produce.

[Stitz]

so if you use a pure digital connection is there still any D/A conversion?

[Stimby]

He meant the optical/coaxial digital connection, where any decently built player will pass the exact bits from the dvd player to the decoder. The player doesn't do any decoding in that case.

[smarsh66]

i know what he meant and i still disagree. try posting the same question at www.audioasylum.com and see if you get a different answer...

[ted_b]

Originally posted by smarsh66
wow! not even close. Most players DON'T sound the same. Transport, pickup, D/A, output stage, construction, etc... *ALL* greatly influence the sound that a CD/DVD/DVD-A/SACD/HDCD player will produce.

Smarsh66,
Why would you insult a person like that, and then proceed to not even get the issue!? Why would you answer a digital connection issue with a response about D/A or output stages? It was clearly stated above that if he used analog connections (i.e for SACD or DVD-A) then build, DACs, analog stages, quality of opamps, quality of caps, etc would make a huge difference. If you use the digital connection (coax or toslink, only good for redbook or DD/DTS) then these issues are less pronounced and a more level playing field exists between the Oppo and the 2910. Not level, but you'd be hard pressed to a/b them with receiver-level amplification.

I would guess that the 2910 outdoes the Oppo (I own one for simple DVD-A analog only, and as a 1080i DVI option) as a transport and certainly as an analog player. But if the rest of your system is not too revealing, and all you are using it for is Dolby Digital and DTS movie sound, along with a few cd's, then the Oppo is a good choice. If you have the coin for the 2910, go for it and you'll have a better DVD-A and redbook player, you'll have SACD capability, and the video will be fine. And the 2910 even does HDCD.

Ted

[CCarncross]

Right or wrong in his delivery, not for me to say, smarsh66 is dead on when saying that all dvd/cd/etc.. do NOT sound the same even when using the digital output....are teh differences typically as large as when using analog outputs, not usually, but there are differences that MANY people can hear AND measure...

[smarsh66]

you are right Ted, my apologies to you and DidHeFocus.

Analog or Digital outputs will be greatly affected by Transport, Pickup, and construction...even if you use an external DAC, two players do not sound the same. That was all i was trying to say. Sorry it came out wrong!

Btw, back to the original post... i have noticed macroblocking with just about any DVD from my Denon 5900. It seems the problem is the DVD and display unit combined... some displays (like my Panny Plasma) show it, some don't with the Denons. The Dark scenes in Space at the beginning of Fifth Element consistenly showed macroblocking for me before... i now output 480i to a DVDO iScan for de-interlacing and scaling to the display.. no more macroblocking...

Again, my apologies. had a bad day, i guess...

[sfhub]

Does an MP3 read from Maxtor drive sound different than the one read
from Seagate?

[ted_b]

Yes, the macroblocking issue seems to be VERY display dependent, and of course, dependent on the software. When evaluating the Oppo, I played a bunch of MB-suspect titles on my Runco CRT pj and saw no MB, even displayed at 120". However, took one of the titles, Peter Gabriel, Growing Up Live, over to a neighbors digital display and voila.....blocks galore.

CCarncross,
I'm not at all saying that a digital bitstream is a digital bitstream. The transport, the cables, the quality of the dejitterer at the end of the stream, all factor in. However, a/b the Oppo and the 2910 ($200 vs $600 players) blindly on the digital side, with the same cables and I will bet a few $$ that you can't tell within a few percentages. A/B the analog sections and your kids coming down the stairs outside the room could tell. Now, change the players and compare a tank transport to a Best Buy player and yes, it becomes more obvious.

Ted

[Disclord]

This will help clear up some of the confusion:

http://theaudiocritic.com/downloads/article_1.pdf

[CCarncross]

Originally posted by sfhub
Does an MP3 read from Maxtor drive sound different than the one read
from Seagate?

Probably not if in the same PC, which eliminates most of the reasons for a difference already mentioned. But I'll just about guarentee it will sound like garbage being mp3. Even 320kbps mp3's cant compete with redbook cd. If you cant hear the difference, its either your ears or lackluster system.

[ted_b]

Originally posted by CCarncross
Probably not if in the same PC, which eliminates most of the reasons for a difference already mentioned. But I'll just about guarentee it will sound like garbage being mp3. Even 320kbps mp3's cant compete with redbook cd. If you cant hear the difference, its either your ears or lackluster system.

Agreed. Also, if you're going HD-based (quiet Barracuda or whatever) then why go mp3? Get a large HD (250gig+) and do lossless compression like FLAC. Most players are FLAC (or Ape, whatever, pick one that's open source code so it can be accessible once the next great lossless comes around) compatible. The lossless codexes save you 50% on storage and, through a bit-perfect souncard, produce results that are inline with the audiophile gear at the other end. Leave the mp3 stuff for portables (although I like AAC better...:( )

How the heck did we get on this in this thread anyway.......sorry

Ted

[KenLand]

Originally posted by sfhub
Does an MP3 read from Maxtor drive sound different than the one read
from Seagate?

As long as you've got $200 Audiophile hard drive cables that have been Cryogenically treated, you should be fine :)

(Oh, and don't forget to use a green felt tip on the drive case)

Ken