#1003012 - 07/13/05 06:30 PM
surround system and audio CDs
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jark
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Hi,
I am not sure if I'm posting at the right spot but here goes.
I recently bought myself a surround system. very happy with it. It's got all of the sound that I need and more with DVDs.
Disappointed with the audio CDs though that I play through the system. Am I expecting too much if I want my audio CDs to sound as good as my DVDs through the surround system?
All suggestions appreciated...
jark
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#1003013 - 07/13/05 06:46 PM
Re: surround system and audio CDs
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jark
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Second question.
Anything I can do to fix the problem? Some addition to my system ?
thanks again.
jark
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#1003014 - 07/14/05 03:44 AM
Re: surround system and audio CDs
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Neil Wilkes
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Registered: 07/06/02
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It depends here on what you are trying to do.
If you are playing Audio CD's through the DVD player in stereo, then as long as you bought a good DVD player it should be okay. If you got a cheap one though, you will notice that CD playback is not as good as it is from a dedicated CD player.
If on thhe other hand you are using pseudosurround settings on stereo discs, such as either Dolby ProLogic II, or the built in DSP surround options, then this is always going to be poor.
A DVD with Surround mixes on it was created that way.
A stereo CD was not created for surround, and will not decode into surround very well at all. Dolby ProLogic was not designed for music but for movies, and will never do what you want.
Okay, having just said that there are exceptions. Some CD's - especially early CD issues of old classic albums that were also released in Quad often still have the SQ matrix system encoded to the CD as well. As long as it is not one of the never-ending stream of so-called "remasters", then the SQ encoding will be preserved.
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#1003015 - 07/14/05 04:01 AM
Re: surround system and audio CDs
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jark
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Thanks.
I am playing CDs through the XBOX. Would that make a difference?
jark
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#1003016 - 07/15/05 09:59 AM
Re: surround system and audio CDs
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Neil Wilkes
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I have no idea at all.
How is the Xbox connected to the amplifier?
Analogue or digital?
And what are you using on the amp settings wise - DPL II, DSP surround, stereo, ??
If you can post the signal path for each of the CD & DVD, along with amp settings, we can shed some light on this.
But remember the DAC in an Xbox are not going to be all that, as it is a games console that can play CD's rather than a dedicated CD player...
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#1003017 - 07/23/05 02:43 PM
Re: surround system and audio CDs
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jark
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This is what I use. Bought a seperate cord for audio connection.
The Advance AV pack allows for S-Video output (better than the normal yellow
cable, but only works on some systems.) It also has the optical audio cable. If a
surround system allows for an optical audio cable to be plugged in, it will give you
true 5.1 surround sound. Some Surround Systems do not have optical audio inputs.
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#1003018 - 07/23/05 02:47 PM
Re: surround system and audio CDs
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jark
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One last thing, if I compare the bottom end with DVDs and audio CDs, the audio CDS are really lame when it comes to bottom end. DVDs are fine.
Thanks for any input.
Jark
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#1003019 - 07/24/05 07:54 AM
Re: surround system and audio CDs
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Neil Wilkes
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Probably because most Audio CD's are far too heavily compressed, and as it requires double the energy to reproduce an equally percieved level for every octave you go down, Bass end always suffers at the hands of most brickwall limiters.
At least, this is what I think happens.
Overcompressed CD's are always harsh, tiring & toppy.
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