Dave Bryce Posted August 16, 2003 Author Share Posted August 16, 2003 Originally posted by billjv: I want an SACD player! Dave, what/where/how did you get one for $199??? Hellova price! Here\'s one for $179 - it also plays DVD-As! Be warned - you need to have inputs on the back of your receiver for all 6 channels... dB ==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <== Professional Affiliations: Royer Labs • Music Player Network Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmieWannaB Posted August 16, 2003 Share Posted August 16, 2003 Just bought my first DVD-A disc - ELP's Brain Salad Surgery. Unfortunately, it wa a big disappointment, A minute was missing off the first track and most of the others upcut the first few notes. I'm not sure if the problem is the disc or the player. I have a standard DVD player (Sony NS715P), but the disc claims to be compatible with both standard DVD and DVD-A players. I decided to put aside the upcut problem and try to appreciate the 5.1 aspects of the disc. I didn't hear anything to get excited about. The sound reproduction was great, but I there was no significant use of the rear channels. It basically sounded like a stereo CD with the front speakers turned up. In the early 70s I heard the bonus cut, Lucky Man in quad and remember being blown away by the full use of all four channels. I didn't expect the same mix, but would have hoped for more than what there was. Has anyone else had the same experience? I'm curious if it's my player or the disc. Given that it's the most cited disc (all positive) in this thread, I'm suspecting my player. Either way, I'll be returning the disc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odyssian Posted August 16, 2003 Share Posted August 16, 2003 Hi Jimmie, my first guess is that there is a setting in either your DVD player or surround sound reciever that is set to where it's not playing back all of the tracks. Of the discs that I've heard so far, this ELP disc is one of the more spectacular discs as far as surround effects is concerned. You should be hearing everything from Keith's Moog modular, to drums, vocals, and other things in the rear channels. For instance in KE9, when Greg sings "Roll up!, Roll up!, Roll up!" - that part I seem to recall started in the left rear speaker, then center rear, then right rear. A true test would be to play the Moog sequence at the end of KE9 third impression. That part should literally circle around the room faster and faster, as the sequence tempo increases (it's very cool, btw! ) If you can't hear these things on your system, double check your Dolby Digital settings. Are you using a TOSlink cable to connect your DVD player outpus to the receiver, or are you using the analog 5.1 outputs of the DVD player? Try going through all menus to check for items that may affect Dolby Digtal playback. Also, be certain to recheck all the 5.1 line conncetions if they are being used. If you can get this disc to play properly, I think you will be very happy with it. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odyssian Posted August 16, 2003 Share Posted August 16, 2003 Oh, and also be sure that your reciever is set to use a center channel speaker if you have one (with proper volume setting), or make sure it is off if you don't have one. Same goes for the subwoofer settings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odyssian Posted August 16, 2003 Share Posted August 16, 2003 Originally posted by Tim Casey: Hi! I'm glad I found you guys! This is my first posting, so I hope I don't get chewed out for espousing the wrong opinions! I've been mixing my own stuff in 5.1 surround using Digital Performer and pressing it in compressed dolby digital using A-Pack (as found in DVD Studio Pro). I have to admit, I'm hooked.Welcome Tim! I'm still sort of a newbie myself. Can you tell us about your recording setup, like how much A-Pack costs, any problems you have run into, etc? How about your monitoring setup? I'm getting a new computer soon, and would be interested in learning more about your experiences with 5.1 ch. recording. I've been curious of recording my own stuff in 5.1, and now maybe I can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmieWannaB Posted August 16, 2003 Share Posted August 16, 2003 Originally posted by Odyssian Hi Jimmie, my first guess is that there is a setting in either your DVD player or surround sound reciever that is set to where it's not playing back all of the tracks. I had the same thought. After posting, I pulled out a small pair of speakers for the rear channel so I could lift them up to ear level and started going through all the amp settings. I usually use the Normal Surround setting and Auto Mode select. I found the Auto Mode saw the disc as a stereo source. I'm not a lover of enhancement modes but the Sony amp's "CST.EX B" setting seemed to make the most of the mix. I'm now able to appreciate the great mix. (Much better than the old quad one.) The upcut problem remains. (shit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Bryce Posted August 16, 2003 Author Share Posted August 16, 2003 Originally posted by JimmieWannaB: Originally posted by Odyssian Hi Jimmie, my first guess is that there is a setting in either your DVD player or surround sound reciever that is set to where it's not playing back all of the tracks. I had the same thought. After posting, I pulled out a small pair of speakers for the rear channel so I could lift them up to ear level and started going through all the amp settings. I usually use the Normal Surround setting and Auto Mode select. I found the Auto Mode saw the disc as a stereo source. I'm not a lover of enhancement modes but the Sony amp's "CST.EX B" setting seemed to make the most of the mix.You may still only be hearing DSP, not the surround. Odyssian is right - there's probably a menu in your DVD player that will enable surround. The last one I bought had this problem as well. The upcut problem remains. (shit)My former DVD player did the same thing. My latest one does not. dB ==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <== Professional Affiliations: Royer Labs • Music Player Network Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimmieWannaB Posted August 16, 2003 Share Posted August 16, 2003 Originally posted by Odyssian For instance in KE9, when Greg sings "Roll up!, Roll up!, Roll up!" - that part I seem to recall started in the left rear speaker, then center rear, then right rear. A true test would be to play the Moog sequence at the end of KE9 third impression. That part should literally circle around the room faster and faster, as the sequence tempo increases (it's very cool, btw! ) I must have it set right now because I heard this very effect - very cool. Originally posted by Dave My former DVD player did the same thing (upcut). My latest one does not. I guess, for the moment, I have to live with the upcut problem. No new DVD player is on the horizon. Between buying Linwood's B3 and setting my daughter up to start USC next week, my disposable income is nil (make that in the red ). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billjv Posted August 16, 2003 Share Posted August 16, 2003 Thanks for the link, Dave. My wife is gonna kill me, but thanks! bv "If you want to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first create the universe." -Carl Sagan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Bryce Posted August 16, 2003 Author Share Posted August 16, 2003 Originally posted by billjv: Thanks for the link, Dave. My wife is gonna kill me, but thanks! Oh, if she's a music fan, the SACD 5.1 version of Dark Side of the Moon will fix that...or, you could always try something mellower, like the Diana Krall "Look of Love" CD...or Carole King's "Tapestry" remixed for 5.1... Oh, yeah - get Billy Joel's "The Stranger" - it's unreal in 5.1... dB ==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <== Professional Affiliations: Royer Labs • Music Player Network Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pat Azzarello Posted August 16, 2003 Share Posted August 16, 2003 Wasn't there some 5.1 work done on the ELP Return of the Manticore compilation? I seem to remember hearing something about that. Pat http://www.patazzarello.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odyssian Posted August 17, 2003 Share Posted August 17, 2003 Originally posted by JimmieWannaB: I usually use the Normal Surround setting and Auto Mode select. I found the Auto Mode saw the disc as a stereo source. I'm not a lover of enhancement modes but the Sony amp's "CST.EX B" setting seemed to make the most of the mix. (shit)Hi Jimmie, The "normal" surround setting is definitely not what you want. That mode only uses the front two audio channels to create it's surround track. You will not reap the benefits of the DVD-A surround disc this way. I also have a Sony surround receiver. This might be old news (sorry if it is), but the "CST.EXT" and other similar surround settings are more like "pseudo" surround modes. They get that by adding delay and reverb effects to the mix, and placing the wet signal in the surround channels. This is something that your should really not use if you want to hear the mix on the DVD-A disc the way they were intended to be heard. It can (and will) mask a lot of the "soundstage" of the 5.1 ch discrete surround sound experience. Try turning those spatial surround and "Normal" surround settings off. If your surround speakers then go silent , then we know we still have some tweakin' to do. If you can, use one of those optical cables from the output of the DVD player to the input of the reciever. By doing that, you should see a blue light on the reciever (if it has one) indicating that it is decoding the Dolby Digital audio tracks. Alternately, you could try buying RCA cables and connecting them from the DVD player's analog 5.1ch outputs to the receiver's 5.1 inputs. Then, select the receiver's 5.1 input button (instead of "DVD", "Video", or whatever input you were using previously). This may not work though... it depends on if your DVD player will decode the Dolby Digital track onboard and pipe it out of the 5.1 outputs (if it has them). I know, I know...it sounds complicated, but it's not that bad once you go through these steps. The upside is that you won't have to do it again, and all DVD-A discs will play correctly from now on. Also be certain that the reciever's setup matches the *exact* speaker setup that you have. If you don't have a center channel speaker, but the receiver is set to "Yes" for the center speaker, you will not hear that audio channel from DVD-a. Same with the sub channel. If you do have a center ch., make certain the volume is turned up. One of these details might be the cause of you not hearing parts of the song like when you mentioned the first minute was missing on part of the disc. Another thing you can do if find the test tone setup in the reciever. By turning that on, you should hear each speaker play a short burst of white noise. If there are any pauses where you DON'T hear the noise, that means you are missing a channel. The test tone diagnostic is also a great way to set speaker levels to maintain a good balance between all speakers. This is very important since these DVD-A discs can really make use of all channels in a big way. Sorry for all the typing. I would just like to help you hear the Brain Salad disc in true discrete surround. It really is amazing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odyssian Posted August 17, 2003 Share Posted August 17, 2003 Originally posted by PatAzz: Wasn't there some 5.1 work done on the ELP Return of the Manticore compilation? I seem to remember hearing something about that.Hi, I'm not sure about that one. I don't have it myself, but if it's a CD box set it's most likely just a "normal" surround recording. It won't be an actual discrete 5.1 ch recording. It still might sound good though! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odyssian Posted August 17, 2003 Share Posted August 17, 2003 oops..sorry, bum post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odyssian Posted September 11, 2003 Share Posted September 11, 2003 Sorry to bring up this old thread again, but last night I finally had a chance to listen to Peter Gabriel's "Up" SACD (multichannel). It was really, really good! The music was captivating - lots of very interesting sounds throughout. It was sort of like listening to a lot of new-to-you synth sounds, but instead of "electronic synthy" sounds, they were mostly sample based. Another thing that really impressed me was the 5.1 mix. It was VERY tastefully done, IMO. Everything sounded nice and clear too. Overall, I give this disc two thumbs up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Bryce Posted September 11, 2003 Author Share Posted September 11, 2003 Originally posted by PatAzz: Wasn't there some 5.1 work done on the ELP Return of the Manticore compilation? I seem to remember hearing something about that.Sorry I missed this before... Yeah, they did a new shorter studio version of Pictures at an Exhibition in surround for the Manticore boxed set. dB ==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <== Professional Affiliations: Royer Labs • Music Player Network Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djwayne Posted September 12, 2003 Share Posted September 12, 2003 I recently setup my 5.1 system, when Cool Edit Pro was upgraded to 2.1, it had a 5.1 encoder program, so I decided to try it out using some old amps and speakers I already had. I purchased a DVD player for my computer, and upgraded the WIN DVD 4 player to the Platinum Version, so the dvd player would play 5.1 24/192. It sounds great !! I have a Kenwood 100 watt powered sub woofer, and purchased a cheapo Vidsonix center channel speaker off e-bay, and the whole system sounds really good. I'm just getting started with concert dvd's and a few dvd-a's. There's no going back to stereo, it sounds awesome. I'm using a M-Audio's 7.1 Revolution Sound card, with a SRS Circle Surround II effect for stereo cd's and it brings a new life to stereo cd's, they sound much better with the simulated 5.1 sound effects. Living' in the shadow, of someone else's dream.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Bryce Posted February 12, 2004 Author Share Posted February 12, 2004 Originally posted by Dave Bryce: I want an old Genesis album. Almost any of 'em. In an ideal world, it'd be The Lamb, but that ain't gonna happen. Apparently, I was wrong. The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway is being remixed for 5.1 even as we speak. It's due out in a few months. I understand that there'll be a new stereo mix of it on the same disc as well. dB ==> David Bryce Music • Funky Young Monks <== Professional Affiliations: Royer Labs • Music Player Network Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sysexguy Posted February 12, 2004 Share Posted February 12, 2004 SACD (583 results found).... This is going to get expensive!!!!! Anyone care to comment on the tribute to Jaco that just came out? Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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