Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Technical Questions DTS vs. Dolby Digital

I generally choose DTS when watching a film that has both on the DVD, but can YOU really hear the difference?

DTS is said to have less compression.

I've never really noticed too much difference, but I have switched a couple of movies back and forth to try. DTS seemed better on some, while DD on others, and most with no difference at all (that my ears could tell). I generally use DTS if the option is there though.

Your new avatar seems to be a bit at odds with your name...

yeah you're right Ken, I just thought it was funny.

Thanks again to Saturn, he link me to a couple of dozen avatars. Unfortunately there was no head-banging Joey Ramone or Joe Strummer to put in there.

Hey, it's cool. I still haven't replaced my avatar. (My scanner doesn't work in OS X 10.3. Arg!)

One test I like to use is the begining titles of Lethal Weapon 3. The Eric Clapton song sounds far superior in DTS. It sounds like flat stereo in DD while it fills the room with excellent imaging in the DTS version. This is where DTS often shines. The imaging is superior and the bass is often tighter.

However, a well mixed DD track can still sound amazing. Look at Terminator 3 or The Lion King. That is the beauty of remixing for HT.

The Disney Home Theater Enhanced mix on the Lion King is one of the best I've ever heard.

Saint,

I can definitely hear the difference on DVDs with both audio options -- most notably in the dialog. With the LOTR extended edition DVDs, for example, I find the speech to be much better anchored to the screen with DTS than with DD. The difference is subtle, but plainly there.

MINIMUM compression is lower on DTS, but the sound engineer could simply elect not to use all that data so it's not an inherent win, necessarily. In my experience, it is used better and it's been shown to often have a higher gain in the track in order to produce the illusion of superior sound (people tend to think louder sounds better).

My personal theory, though, is that sound engineers realize those of us that look for DTS are more anal and more likely to have better gear as your average user doesn't even know it exists (hence al the irritating warnings). As such, I could see them taking more care in these tracks and most disk reviews seem to bear this out.