Mighty Favog Posted November 29, 2001 Share Posted November 29, 2001 O.k. Here's the situation. I am running a strictly two-channel set up with absolutely no plans for X.1 HT. As you can see below I now have a McIntosh MVP-841 CD/DVD unit. This thing can play DVD-Audio disks and most of them I see (at Best Buy anyway) are in 5.1. My question is, are the differences between DVD-Audio and other cd's (engineering being equal) is the three additional tracks encoded on the disk? Thusly, would it be a waste of money on a two channel system? Or!! Is there really a sonic improvement in DVD-A? ------------------ Tom KLF-20 Mahogany (Cornell Hotwired) McIntosh C33 Preamp McIntosh MVP-841 CD/DVD Rotel RB-1080 Amp Yamaha PF-800 Turntable/ Sure V15 Type V Cartridge Ortofon VMS-30 mkII Cartridge Stanton 999SS Cartridge Yamaha K-1020 Cassette dbx 1231 EQ H.H. Scott 830z Analyzer Monster Interlink 400mk II Monster Interlink 300mk II Monster Video 2 (DVD to TV) Studio Tech U-48RW Cabinet Monster Power HTS-5000 Power Conditioner/Surge Protector MIT Terminator 2 Bi-Wire Speaker cables (and I do mean CABLES) Enough empty boxes for a fire hazard! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Cornell Posted November 29, 2001 Share Posted November 29, 2001 Tom I love the mcintosh you own, why did you get the DVD player without plans for H/T? I was on 2 channel, for 2 years after having pro logic, i like the digital so much more, i just bought a Harman Kardon brand new, for H/T! 5 channel is awesome, and by the way, how is your hotwire sounding these days LOL! I had a mcintosh MC 2120 and a C-26 pre amp, they got so old the amp was loosing the umph, and the c-26 loosing volume! So i sold them! My pioneer SX 950 sounds the exact same as the Mcintosh did, to this day i caint believe the sound from that unit, thats why its still with me! And thats where it will stay! Regards Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted November 30, 2001 Author Share Posted November 30, 2001 Jim, Thanks for the envy. The 841 having DVD was actually an add on to what I originally wanted, a darn nice CD player. Sorry to say the room that the system is in (and the only one in our house that can hold it..) gets the furniture rearranged every six months. Yea, the girlfriend's idea of change. The hot-wire is working out great!! No ill-effects no unexpected problems..nothin'! I did add something to it though. One day at work I was poking around Audio Advisor's website and found some MIT speaker cables. Looked at it again....Holy Cow!! Half off MSRP! This stuff's not even in there catalog. Now....as of this past Wednesday, sits on the floor a pair of MIT Terminator 2 Bi-Wire 12' cables. Was kinda hard trying to hide those passive network boxes behind the 20's and not let the girfriend notice . Is there a difference? Oh, yea. To say the least. I'm not sure if it's because of the (now) bi-wired setup or just better cable but it is definitley louder at all frequencies. Even MIT is going with the 'Cable break-in' theory. They say it takes 48 hours to break them in to 75% peak condition and two weeks for the other 25%. I guess thats with constant playing. I thought about getting a burn-in cd but I could just see my cat with a packed & folded hankerchief tied on to a stick walking out the door when I get home saying "I'm outta here pr*ck". So I decided to just watch broadcast TV through the system for a while. A small let down, I picked up Fleetwood Mac's 'The Dance' DVD. I dunno who did the audio mixing for that but there was so much drop out from John McVie's bass and no high end from Lindsey Buckingham's guitar that I almost too it back. I do have a reference for this concert though.....I WAS THERE!! Well...when they came to Cincinnati anyway.... ------------------ Tom KLF-20 Mahogany (Cornell Hotwired) McIntosh C33 Preamp McIntosh MVP-841 CD/DVD Rotel RB-1080 Amp Yamaha PF-800 Turntable/ Sure V15 Type V Cartridge Ortofon VMS-30 mkII Cartridge Stanton 999SS Cartridge Yamaha K-1020 Cassette dbx 1231 EQ H.H. Scott 830z Analyzer Monster Interlink 400mk II Monster Interlink 300mk II Monster Video 2 (DVD to TV) Studio Tech U-48RW Cabinet Monster Power HTS-5000 Power Conditioner/Surge Protector MIT Terminator 2 Bi-Wire Speaker cables (and I do mean CABLES) Enough empty boxes for a fire hazard! This message has been edited by tblasing on 12-01-2001 at 04:56 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted November 30, 2001 Author Share Posted November 30, 2001 Hey deang- Maybe you could ask the guys over at Carlin on East Dorothy... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eq_shadimar Posted November 30, 2001 Share Posted November 30, 2001 quote: Originally posted by tblasing: ....My question is, are the differences between DVD-Audio and other cd's (engineering being equal) is the three additional tracks encoded on the disk? Thusly, would it be a waste of money on a two channel system? Or!! Is there really a sonic improvement in DVD-A? DVD-A's (Digital Versatile Disc-Audio) have the potential to be recorded at much higher bit-rates and with a greater frequency range than CD's. Think SACD's it is the same principle (which is why the format war is going on). Of course the mastering (or re-mastering) process will determine if these sonic enhancements are realized. If you have hooked up the DVD-A capable player (note all DVD-V players will play DVD-A's but without the extended sonic benefits) with the analog outputs (due to copyright restrictions you will not get the extended sonic benefits using the digital connection) to your receiver using all six connections I would think that the receiver would handle all of the "re-mixing" of the sound into 2 channel. At this point you should still get the extended sonic benefits. I think that even if you do not have a DVD-A player that DVD-A's are still worth the money. I jsut have a normal DVD-V player and the DVD-A's that I have purchased (Doors, Grateful Dead, assorted Classical) have all sounded much mcuh better then their CD counterparts. Hope this helps, ------------------ ...wake up to find out that you are the eyes of the world... My Home Theater Page Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RossVTaylor Posted December 1, 2001 Share Posted December 1, 2001 Tom, I'm not familiar with your equipment, so I can't tell if you've got the 6 analog inputs to use the analog outs from the DVD player. If your preamp does, then I'd suppose that eq's right about the preamp re-mixing to 2 channel. If you don't have the analog inputs, then you can use a digital output and most DVD-A players will downconvert to various digital options (either 2-channel, DD5.1 or maybe DTS) depending on the disc and the player. Also, like eq, I really like the discs I've tried - especially, the Big Phat Band! Awesome! Ross Added question: So, is that preamp strictly a two-channel pre, or is it a multi-channel/HT preamp on which you're only using two channels? Sorry, not familiar with Mac stuff... ------------------ My System's Stuff This message has been edited by RossVTaylor on 12-01-2001 at 12:28 AM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Cornell Posted December 1, 2001 Share Posted December 1, 2001 Tom, ill keep my eye out for the parts, in the change! You have one hell of a system there, very nice! Regards Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted December 1, 2001 Author Share Posted December 1, 2001 Ross- The Mac C33 is quite old (about 20 years) so it's strickly two channel. It does, however, have three sets of outputs to more than one amp. I suppose the most one could use with this is six mono-block amps. Here's the specs on it: http://www.sundial.net/~rogerr/preamps.htm#c33 I still can't believe my ears when this thing is playing. Being this old but sounding this good. I got it in mint shape from Audio Classics in New York. The salesman I deal with is Fank Gow, son of the famous Gordon Gow, who designed a lot of the McIntosh amps for years. Bet they had some neat stuff hangin' around THEIR house! Thanks guys for the praise, I'm still blushing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mighty Favog Posted December 1, 2001 Author Share Posted December 1, 2001 quote: Originally posted by deang: tblasing - Is that what you do when you have a quesiton - Run down to your local Hi-Fi store? It was an honest suggestion and not a slam so for now I'll let that one slide. This message has been edited by tblasing on 12-01-2001 at 07:31 PM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcelov Posted December 4, 2001 Share Posted December 4, 2001 DVD-A discs have a choice menu of 5.1 or 2 channel stereo playback Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erdric Posted December 5, 2001 Share Posted December 5, 2001 Does anyone know of an online FAQ to learn more about DVD-A? ------------------ Primary System: Main KG-4 Center KV-3 Rear RS-3 Yamaha HTR-5250 Sony DVP-S560D Panasonic PV-9664 Sony DBS system Studio: Main KG-3 Sony STR-AV920 Pioneer PD-4351 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T2K Posted December 6, 2001 Share Posted December 6, 2001 http://www.digitalaudioguide.com/default.htm Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erdric Posted December 6, 2001 Share Posted December 6, 2001 Thanks TTK! ------------------ Primary System: Main KG-4 Center KV-3 Rear RS-3 Yamaha HTR-5250 Sony DVP-S560D Panasonic PV-9664 Sony DBS system Studio: Main KG-3 Sony STR-AV920 Pioneer PD-4351 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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