dvd sound quality - Axiom Message Boards

i am using the optical cable from my dvd to my pre-amp and i was wondering-since the info isnt getting decoded in the dvd player,is there a differance in the sound quality if i bought a better dvd player?or would the digital signal be basicly the same.thanks....ron

Doubtful there would be any significant difference. What DVD player do you have now?

It should be identical. It's a digital stream of 1's and 0's. So long as the stream is reaching the decoder intact, it shouldn't matter much what pulls the stream off the disk.

its a panasonic 199 jobber from wall-mart(as my head hangs in shame)i thought about getting a more expensive or "much much better one"as any salesperson will try to tell you,but i figured light is light and couldnt justify the extra cost,thanks for your oppinions...ron......by the way has anyone seen- die another day- james bond on dvd?great pic and sound...must own it...i wonder what it looks like on a 120 screen-surley SsOuMsBhOiD!y knows

Unless the player itself has problems-like skipping, bad motor, etc., it shouldn't be a problem (and there shouldn't be a difference.)

Maybe you are using the same DVD player as me (Panasonic DVD-RP82 silver slim one) ?

I find that the DVD-RP82 DVD player's decoders and DAC's(24-bit/192k) sound better than my old Yamaha RX-V2095 receiver's decoders and DAC's (20-bit/48k). I dont know if it is because of the DAC's or the decoder chips onboard the equipment or the cable connections.

I have connected the 5.1 channel analog outputs on the DVD player to the 'External Decoder In' inputs on the receiver and also I have a $6 TOSlink cable running from the DVD player to the receiver. And I am using very short cables (2-feet or so) to connect the 5.1 outputs to the receiver.

Everytime I play a source (CD, DVD-V or DVD-Audio), I always switch between and listen to both the Digital PCM (optical connection) and the External Decoder In (analog connections) signal.

99.9% of the time, I prefer the External Decoder In. Of course if I want the DSP modes (rarely) I have to switch to the Digital connection.

I find the sound when using the DVD player's decoding to be more detailed and rich. I have the settings in the multi-channel audio setup of the DVD player set at default '0'.

A couple of good features on this machine for audio use are the 'Audio Only' and 'Re-Master'. I haven't thoroughly experimented so cant be 100% sure but the 'Audio Only' psychologically seems to sound better.

In reply to:
Everytime I play a source (CD, DVD-V or DVD-Audio), I always switch between and listen to both the Digital PCM (optical connection) and the External Decoder In (analog connections) signal.

I wasn't aware the 82 has DVD-A capabilities, but upon looking it up, you're right. Learn something new everyday. Too bad they discontinued it.

In reply to:
99.9% of the time, I prefer the External Decoder In. Of course if I want the DSP modes (rarely) I have to switch to the Digital connection.

I should hope so. In DVD-A, the digital connection doesn't carry the high bit rate signal. It's a normal DD/DTS. You have to use analog out to get the high bit rate audio.

In reply to:
A couple of good features on this machine for audio use are the 'Audio Only' and 'Re-Master'. I haven't thoroughly experimented so cant be 100% sure but the 'Audio Only' psychologically seems to sound better.

The best video reproduction of any other DVD player on the planet, according to most reviews, is a good feature too.

Die Another Day was pretty awesome in the sound dep't - loud, clear, rich, beautiful - but the movie itself still isn't up to the standards set by Sean Connery's James Bond.

I'd stick with the cheap DVD and CD players and pop on speakers and amp/processing equipment. I wish I had bought the cheapest carousel DVD player I could get and upgraded my receiver. Oh well.

Yeah, I would choose a DVD player soley based on the quality of its deinterlacer, which does show significant differences among brands. In general, the models that use the Faroujda/DCDi chips, such as the Panasonics and Denons, seem to be best (see this article for details). They are not necessarily expensive. I too doubt there is any differences in the sound quality.

Let me see if I'm on the right track here in deciding whether to use audio rca cables or audio digital cables for playing cds or dvd audio. If the dvd player's or cd player's DACs are much better then you use analog cables and if the receiver DACs are much better than you use digital cables? Is that how you decide on which cables to go with or am I on the wrong track?

ereed,
You are on the right track.
To allow the receiver to process a signal, use the digital connection.
For the source item to process the material (dvdp, cdp) use analog.