DVD Audio - stunning

[Richard M]

I've never tried it before but I've got the Creative SB Audigy 2 ZS 7.1 Platinum Pro with the Gigaworks 750 7.1 speakers (both THX-certified) and a DVD drive.

I went down to Virgin yesterday to buy some DVDs and picked a copy of The Eagles - Hotel California on DVD Audio.
I played the first track (Hotel California) and my jaw dropped on the floor!
I have never heard such quality in my life!

For those who don't know, DVD Audio is played back over 5.1 channels (upmixed to 7.1 on my system) and is 24bit/96Khz quality - loads of headroom etc.
The discs also have usual Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS soundtracks included as well but as these are compressed and are only 16bit/48Khz, they don't sound as good as the DVDA part.

Highly recommended, my next purchase is going to be Tubular Bells from Amazon.

[punky]

That's totally true. My dad has a surround system out in the States, and last christmas, I bought him an Elton John DVD. I sat on the floor in the middle (the rear speakers are level with the chairs - not brilliant but best I could set it up given the room layout), and was impressed how realistic it was. The music came from the front, the cheering came from the back, it really felt like a concert.

I think though, if you aren't going to take advantage of surround sound, then DVD audio would be a waste. With a halfway decent amp regular, or even old CDs sound more than good enough.

[Bifta]

The Nine Inch Nails live DVD is absolutely amazing sound wise too, I've got the same sound card as Richard, but a set of Inspire Digital 5700's.

[SMHarman]

Originally Posted by punky

That's totally true. My dad has a surround system out in the States, and last christmas, I bought him an Elton John DVD. I sat on the floor in the middle (the rear speakers are level with the chairs - not brilliant but best I could set it up given the room layout), and was impressed how realistic it was. The music came from the front, the cheering came from the back, it really felt like a concert.

I think though, if you aren't going to take advantage of surround sound, then DVD audio would be a waste. With a halfway decent amp regular, or even old CDs sound more than good enough.

Sounds about where they should be. All speakers should optimally be at ear level when at listening height. This normally means they should be at the head height when sitting on the sofa.

[punky]

Well, they are about a '1-2' below it. They sit on coffee tables. The surround sound doesn't work too bad, but I always though you had to be an equal distance from the front and rear speakers. We sort of get round that, because we can set up speakers indivually, so we turn the rear ones down a bit so we don't get deafened by them when the front ones are screaming.

Call me a sceptic but. Was the eagles recorderd in 5.1? noooo so therefore there is artificial mixing going on so cant be real.

How can it sound real to have Elton John pumping out of every corner of the room? Sound at the right frequency is directional and therefore it can only have one source. unless youve been totally enveloped by Elton John (noooo dont even think about it!!)

Yes i am one of those people that believe digital sound is inferior to analogue. The human ear is an analogue device

[Bifta]

Originally Posted by gary_580

Call me a sceptic but. Was the eagles recorderd in 5.1? noooo so therefore there is artificial mixing going on so cant be real.

How can it sound real to have Elton John pumping out of every corner of the room? Sound at the right frequency is directional and therefore it can only have one source. unless youve been totally enveloped by Elton John (noooo dont even think about it!!)

Yes i am one of those people that believe digital sound is inferior to analogue. The human ear is an analogue device

The thought of Elton John in Surround Sound frightens me, and I'm almost agreeing with you about this, however, I still prefer to listen to DVDA (even though most of the releases are complete tripe) over Vinyl (though obviously the actual tracks I want to listen to are on vinyl), it just sounds a lot fatter and more meaty.

[punky]

Originally Posted by gary_580

Call me a sceptic but. Was the eagles recorderd in 5.1? noooo so therefore there is artificial mixing going on so cant be real.

How can it sound real to have Elton John pumping out of every corner of the room? Sound at the right frequency is directional and therefore it can only have one source. unless youve been totally enveloped by Elton John (noooo dont even think about it!!)

Yes i am one of those people that believe digital sound is inferior to analogue. The human ear is an analogue device

First of all, all properly recorded concerts are multi-tracked. That means the level of each instrument can be played back independently at whatever volume, through whatever speaker. They almost always have a few tracks dedicated to recording the crowd. So when the song starts up, the instruments came through the front, and the crowd noise comes from behind. It makes for a really immersive environment.

Also, some larger venues have speakers at the rear, so it isn't uncommon to have sound coming from behind you as well. Also, the rear speakers can be used to playback a faux-echo effect of the front, giving a much more realistic 3D depth to the sound that you can't do with 2 speakers.

[Richard M]

Originally Posted by gary_580

Call me a sceptic but. Was the eagles recorderd in 5.1? noooo so therefore there is artificial mixing going on so cant be real.

It has been remastered and remixed in 5.1

[SMHarman]

Originally Posted by punky

Well, they are about a '1-2' below it. They sit on coffee tables. The surround sound doesn't work too bad, but I always though you had to be an equal distance from the front and rear speakers. We sort of get round that, because we can set up speakers indivually, so we turn the rear ones down a bit so we don't get deafened by them when the front ones are screaming.

Go to your local maplin or wherever and buy a SPL meter. With that and the remote control and the amps white noise generator sit in the chair that would be best to watch / listen solo.

Then with each speaker in turn check that the sound level generated is equal, probably at about 50Hz. You don't need an equal distance, but an equal volume.

You will then need to play with the delay to get the sound balance / timing front to back correct. The manual will give some guidance vs. distance.

[punky]

Originally Posted by SMHarman

Go to your local maplin or wherever and buy a SPL meter. With that and the remote control and the amps white noise generator sit in the chair that would be best to watch / listen solo.

Then with each speaker in turn check that the sound level generated is equal, probably at about 50Hz. You don't need an equal distance, but an equal volume.

You will then need to play with the delay to get the sound balance / timing front to back correct. The manual will give some guidance vs. distance.

That's how you do it properly, but my dad and brothers aren't bothered enough to that length to it set that perfectly. I ran the sound check with them, where we turned the rear down a bit so everyone was more or less happy with it. By ear, we got the volume close enough so that audience was in 'the middle' so to speak. With the room set up there are always going to be trade offs. IE the sofas are set in a right angle and the TV/front speakers/sub are across the room pointing at the angle. The two rear speakers are at either corner across from the right angle. That means if you sit at the far ends of the sofas you will get it louder, than if you sit at the other ends of the sofas (near the right engle). Like I said, far from brilliant but it does the job and and everyone out there seems happy with it.