Thread: Major sound difference between SACD 5.1 through Sony BDP-S370 vs 88hz Converted file via Media Player.

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Post by Pianist718 March 19, 2015 (21 of 29)
Iain said:

Been there, done that with my previous player which decimated the DSD bitstream to 24/88.2 PCM.

In late 2010, I purchased my first BDP which is a Sony BDP-S770. That machine decimates the DSD bitstream to 24/176.4 PCM. My previous Denon AVR-3310 would not process DSD bitstream. PCM only for that. : (

In comparing the two machines, the Sony obviously is superior in the time domain. The doubling of the PCM sample rate results in significantly enhanced vocal/instrumental sound-stage localisation and timbrel accuracy.

This is what you're hearing when comparing your BDP with the other bit of kit.

So, bottom line is .... once you touch that SACD iso and try to extract tracks, converting it to lower HZ and then playing it on anything that's not a SACD player ... quality (bass, soundstage, rear channels, etc) will become poor compared to original method.

Post by Deribas March 19, 2015 (22 of 29)
Pianist718 said:

So, bottom line is .... once you touch that SACD iso and try to extract tracks, converting it to lower HZ and then playing it on anything that's not a SACD player ... quality (bass, soundstage, rear channels, etc) will become poor compared to original method.

Or, quite possibly, that WD live is just not a very good audio player. Anything that you send to the receiver (DSD, 176 KHz PCM, 88 KHz PCM, whatever) will get converted to 48 KHz PCM whenever you have Audyssey ON.

Post by Pianist718 March 19, 2015 (23 of 29)
Deribas said:

Or, quite possibly, that WD live is just not a very good audio player. Anything that you send to the receiver (DSD, 176 KHz PCM, 88 KHz PCM, whatever) will get converted to 48 KHz PCM whenever you have Audyssey ON.

oooo, wow, hold on ... are you sure??? Even if my receiver shows 176hz on display?

So should I turn Audyssey off? That way my receiver will still do the bass management and keep the signal at full ?

Post by Deribas March 19, 2015 (24 of 29)
1. Please read Kal Rubinson's stereophile review of Marantz av8801 for info on downsampling by audyssey. Btw, it's a great unit; much better than most receivers. I bought it and use it with Audyssey with full understanding of what Kal wrote. Only you can decide if turning off audyssey improves your listening experience. I suspect not.

2. I don't fully understand what you wrote earlier about setting sub crossovers. If you are using audyssey, it's done for you there.

Post by Iain March 19, 2015 (25 of 29)
Deribas said:

Or, quite possibly, that WD live is just not a very good audio player. Anything that you send to the receiver (DSD, 176 KHz PCM, 88 KHz PCM, whatever) will get converted to 48 KHz PCM whenever you have Audyssey ON.

Indeed.

That "feature" is permanently OFF in my system.

If you require room correction, have a go of Dirac Live:
http://www.dirac.se/en/start.aspx

I'm seriously considering it for future use.

Post by Deribas March 19, 2015 (26 of 29)
I tried Dirac full version with Exasound e28 and prefer Marantz Av8801+ audyssey to it. Otoh, exchange rate has made it $100 cheaper in the US than it used to be. Still pricey.

Post by Fitzcaraldo215 March 20, 2015 (27 of 29)
Deribas said:

I tried Dirac full version with Exasound e28 and prefer Marantz Av8801+ audyssey to it. Otoh, exchange rate has made it $100 cheaper in the US than it used to be. Still pricey.

As always, personal preferences differ. My listening panel and I preferred Dirac Live into my Integra 80.2 prepro. One member of that group also purchased Dirac Live, as he prefers it with his Marantz 8801. YMMV.

Post by Deribas March 20, 2015 (28 of 29)
Fitzcaraldo215 said:

As always, personal preferences differ. My listening panel and I preferred Dirac Live into my Integra 80.2 prepro. One member of that group also purchased Dirac Live, as he prefers it with his Marantz 8801. YMMV.

Of course, Carl, there is room for divergent perceptions in sound quality, and, as we, discussed in other threads, part of my preference is based on the ease of use (or lack thereof) in a Mac-based playback system. The interface between JRiver, Dirac LIve and USB output to an Exasound DAC in a Mac is simply too glitchy for my tastes. For example, after a few days of trying, I became frustrated as Dirac curves for my listening room always produced sound levels that were laughably low, even when maxed out.

Back to the original poster, I doubt that any of his perceived differences in quality between SACD and file playback will boil down to the 88.2 KHz vs 176.4 KHZ sampling frequency, would you agree?

Post by Fitzcaraldo215 March 21, 2015 (29 of 29)
Deribas said:

...

Back to the original poster, I doubt that any of his perceived differences in quality between SACD and file playback will boil down to the 88.2 KHz vs 176.4 KHZ sampling frequency, would you agree?

Max, I do agree. I do find 88k to sound just a bit more relaxed than 176K on my system, but others may disagree. But, I have heard no night/day difference.

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