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DVD-A/SACD 6-channel switching question


fini

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DD,

One note: I have in my lap two issues of Sound and Vision magazine. May '02 has a review of the 47a, and mentions its inability to allow the front speakers to be set "small." In the (current) Dec. '02 issue, the 45a is reviewed. It looks like one may set the fronts to small. There is no mention of the DVD-A, speaker switching situation (five times real fast) you mentioned. I guess I'll have to do as BBB suggests, and go back to Magnolia with some familiar discs in hand!

fini

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I am running a Sony 550ES sacd and a Denon 1600 dvd thru my hk520 using two Radio Shack AV switch boxes part #15-1952 $15 each.The boxes have two sets of inputs and one set of outputs which is all you need to switch between dvd-audio and sacd.The bad news is the extra set of cables.I have not detected any sound quality differences.

Good luck

Wata

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fini,

Thanks for the info on the warranty. I will have to give Etronics a call and *****. They have a disclaimer on their website that says they are autorized dealers of everything except Yamaha and Dennon if I remember right. They went on to say that those two companies do not allow sales of their products at unauthorized sales prices or something like that. Anyway I did not see anything about Pioneer.

Either way, I am happy. Hopefully I will not have any problems with it if I do not have the warranty. When you pay $450 for a dvd player you gotta hope that the damn thing will last at least 2 years without any problems but we'll see.

EJ1.gif

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Eric,

From what I've gathered, Pioneer Elite is different from Pioneer in terms of dealers, and how they're sold, so they may be authorized Pioneer dealers, just not Elite.

Have you set everything up? Any comments on bass management? How is the general look/feel? (Next I'll be asking, "Does she go, eh? Know what I mean? Nudge, nudge..")

fini

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Fini, I dont use the RP-91 for audio. It is primarily a fine video machine with fine digital sound and scaling for my DVD movies. I have played a few regular CDs with it and the sound is good but I do not have the 6 analog outs hooked up for DVD-Audio. I am having a problem lately recommending the RP-91 for DVD-A use while this Warner brothers navigation problem with their new discs might become an issue and keeping in mind the W/E/A and Rhino labels have an awful lot of titles out there that may or may not be affected. Who knows ? On the other hand some Panasonic owners think they have a legitimate complaint with Warner. You see, I always felt that my Toshiba SD-9200 was at the top of the heap as far as overall Audio performance and I still do especially when you take in consideration the price you can pick one up for today. It plays every audio format I would want, HDCD,DD 5.1,DVD-A etc, EXCEPT SACD. I mean give me a break .LOL. No boasting intended but I havent heard anything that can compare to the sound of the Toshiba pumping DVD-A audio tunes through an ICBM and eventually in your face with 4 RF-7s each getting 400 watts of Cinepro power , a biamped RC-7 and a couple of SVS Ultras. Yo! I mentioned this because without the Outlaw Bass management it just wasnt happening with the DVD-A discs no matter how good the other equipment was performing. I believe the same will hold true with SACD material. All this switching things around stuff also drives me nuts. That is the reason I have another player, a Sony NS700P, for playing regular CDs. When using the SD-9200 you need to go into the menu and navigate it to play 6 channel analog every time you want to play a DVD-A disc. It will auto read it but will not send the signal to the ICBM unless designated in the set up so I just leave it there and sometimes I even play DVD movies that way. It sounds pretty cool however it is only 5.1 without rear surrounds. I have a way around that also but thats another story. You dont want to drop Lord of the Rings or Star Wars into this set up and forget to adjust your bass volume. Yikes! With the Toshiba I can adjust all the channels SEPERATELY with its internal test tone including the bass. Not all DVD players do that on the bass channel. The RP-91 doesnt send a SEPERATE test signal to the bass in the 6 channel analog mode. I keep everything at zero attenuation with the Toshiba because I can adjust the multichannel volumes with the receiver I have. I realized, at least in my system, the less people fool around with the players settings the better off you are. I let the outboard equipment do that stuff. This post is getting very long. If I were to pick up a Sony for SACD purposes I would get the Shawn Fogg switch or use the 2 Radio Shack switches between the Sony and the Toshiba connected to the ICBM. If I purchased a unit like the 45-A that plays both DVD-A and SACD I think it would still require my using the ICBM for me to be satisfied. By the way ,there is a difference, as you said , when talking about Pioneer and Pioneer ELITE dealers. The Elite products are not supposed to be available on the internet by authorized dealers and be able to provide a warranty that they will expect Pioneer to back. I tried that route when shopping for their receivers and the closest dealer to me is an hour drive in the snow. At least today. That is why I have had some experience with trying to get an Elite product on the net with a guaranteed PIONEER warranty to no avail. Later. 1.gif

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BBB,

I was unaware of a navigation problem with WB discs. Do you have a link to an informed discussion on this? Is this a software or a hardware problem? Thanks. I find your experience invaluable.

fini

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O.K. Fini, the first link Panasonic and Yamaha are dicussed on the AVS forum and the second is home theater. WARNING . this will require plenty of reading to get to the meat of the DVD-A matter. Try to pay attention to John Kotches responses.

AVS here= http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?s=&threadid=192460

Home Theater here= http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htforum/showthread.php?s=88ed19e8326ab53a92068c7676a2ebf5&threadid=110059&highlight=Yes+Fragile

happy reading 9.gif

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1.gif I had a problem with my Panasonic RA-60 playing the highres surround content on YES "Fragile" and R.E.M. "Automatic for the People". I run full range speakers, Cornwalls and Heresys, no sub. As such I selected no sub in the multichannel setup on the Panasonic. Now my understanding is that the multichannel setup on most DVD-A players should not effect DVD-A playback due to the lack of bass management. Anyway I though just for kicks I'd add the sub back in the players setup. Load up the "Fragile" and whada ya know? I can now playback the Highres Surround content. "Automatic" now works too.

Fixed my problem... might work on other Panasonic models too.

Brian C.

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Thanks a lot Brian for the interesting info. I hope this helps people with their DVD-A set ups who own Panasonic and other players such as the Yamaha who have been having difficulty playing these Warner discs. As I said before I dont use my Panasonic for DVD-A so I wouldnt know if there was truly a resolvable problem with the RP-91 on its audio side. However I did not want to take a chance in steering Fini toward a DVD player he was interested in that I have found to perform very well for my purposes while knowing there may be a potential problem lurking with this player which he may experience when trying to use it for the specific reasons HE wants it for in his system. So Brian, with this set up how does the bass sound in the 6 channel analog mode when playing DVD-A titles? Does it lack in any way? On another note but within the same subject Im still wondering how the Pioneer 45-A sounds with SACD titles as far as the bass response when utilizing whatever it is they call their bass management.Fini here are some more potatoes on the HTF where they are talking about set ups, bass management and time alignment while playing SACD discs with this unit :

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htforum/showthread.php?s=1933a6fda0638479e390d79f88c5bb5d&threadid=100035&highlight=Pioneer+dv45A+SACD+bass+management .

Sorry I can't figure out the "GO here" nonsense as far as inserting an http address.

Im not quite sure what is going on with this but I know you are looking for the best of both worlds with the audio concerning this player. Hmmmmm. I would keep my ears open because as they used to say in my old stomping grounds something aint jivin , even with a Bo Diddley turn around LOL

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i don't mean to be a spoil sport 9.gif but i'm not getting a combo sacd/dvd-audio/hdcd player until the industry gets the digital connection standard straight & my b&k gets my ref 30 upgraded to use the ieee port/firewire if that's what they finally go with. i'm not getting anymore interconnects unless one breaks or i have to add another channel. 16.gif

so when are they all going to get a digital standard set? or will there ever be a digital standard for all these formats? 14.gif

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Boa,

I am with you on this issue. Patience is the best strategy until it all gets sorted out, IMHO. I do not want to shell out a grand to just have standards change and much better machines become avaiable.

Notice that when Pioneer put the firewire port on the 47Ai, they did not offer to upgrade the DV-47A. (And I am still a died in the wool Pioneer fan, but I do not like to give my money away either.)

Bill

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Bill, Boa Im with you. Its going to get he point where we go into a store to buy a disc and the sales person will ask Would you like a DVD player to go with that ? No thanks . Ill get mine at the stadium. Programs ! Programs! Get your programs here ! You cant tell the players without a program!

When will it end? 6.gif

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I'm starting to feel like Australopithecus africanus checking out a monolith...

BBB,

Thanks for those links. I was sort of able to follow them, getting the gist of the problem. The only guy I could really understand was that Bryan guy...In addition to the issue of passing the DVD-A/SACD signals digitally to the receiver, my hope would be someone would come out with a sound level meter that somehow hooks into the receiver, or player, or something, automatically setting levels and time delays. Or, how about a device (hat, headband, thong, glasses) you wear that sends a signal to your equipment telling it where you are in the room (house), and adusting the adustable adjusters accordingly? In-home GPS. So...I may end up waiting this one out for a while, too.

FWIW, I want something that will work with my Denon 3300, KSP-400's, KSP-C6, and KSF-S5's (possibly adding 2 KSP-C6's as "B" surrounds), as well as, maybe, some remote speakers (Cornwalls) in another room (although this seems to really complicate the picture).

Thanks, also, Bill, Doug, Boa, Eric, and others. Seems we're all in a similar boat, here. I wish the manufacturers could get it together...

fini

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This may or may not be a possible solution to the DVD-A/SACD switching problem, depending on the individual situation, but it is ONE option: All, or at least most of the Sony ES receivers have two sets of analog multi-channel inputs; a 5.1 or 6.1 set, plus a 6.1 or 7.1 set. So that would take care of the DVD-A/SACD hook-up. IF you don't like Sony ES amps, you could get one of the cheaper receivers and just use it's pre-amp section with the power amps of your choice. These receivers also have built-in analog domain bass management, but I'm not sure how flexible it is. I think you can choose large or small speakers, sub or no sub, center or no center, etc. I'm sure there is not a selection of crossover frequencies.

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And another thing...regarding a digital transmission standard, things may be falling in place (for better or worse). It seems, according to the Stereophile website, that there is a new watermarking chip, or technology from Verance Corp. that may clear the way for the industry to settle on a standard for outputting a digital, hi rez, multi-channel signal from a DVD-A machine, in some kind of supposedly "safe" form. Of course, it may screw up the sound, but that is the last concern of the MUSIC industry! So much for the brave, new digital world.15.gif

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Hey James,

There is a Synergy Premier set (400's, C6, S6's) for sale on Ebay right now in MO. I think YOU should buy them (You're in MO, right?)! You'd love 'em. At least keep an eye on them. I'll bet they go (relatively) cheap.

BTW, my Grandmother was born in Joplin.

Cousin fini

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