[Girlsound]

I need a new player and have been wanting to go universal for a while now that the prices have dropped. I see that there are plenty of choices out there. I looked at the Pioneer DV-563A, the Samsung DVD HD950, and the Denon 1920. Admitedly, these aren't the creme de la creme, but the Denon is at the absolute limit of my budget. I read that the Pioneer routed the DSD signal through the PCM DAC...well, that tossed it out. The whole point of DSD is, well, DSD. Does anyone know if the others I mentioned (or any other models for that matter) use dedicated DSD paths? I know that the higher end Denon models do.

Thanks

 

[tkam]

Not that familiar with any of the players you listed but most if not all the players in that range will convert dsd to pcm.

 

[Girlsound]

Bummer.

How much higher do I have to go to get proper DSD?

 

[soundboy]

I've heard that the Samsung 841 and the Toshiba 4960 do not do a DSD >> PCM conversion....at least not in 2 channel operation. Same with the Sony SACD players, although they are not universal players.

 

[PsychoZX]

I am pretty sure that the denon does not convert dsd to pcm.

 

[Glassman]

Samsung HD841 has 6ch DSD, just like Toshiba 4960 (which is the same thing), Pioneer DV-565A also (DV-563A is it's US version), the Denon also does DSD..

Samsung and presumably Toshiba also has some strange peak limiter employed all the time no matter you set in the menu.. Pioneer has permanent digital attnuation by some fraction of a dB, thus none of these is bitperfect in PCM mode.. I believe that the DSD is fine though, although I did not verify this yet.. I'm interested in the Denon personally, I'd be more than happy to see if it works ok with DTS CDs for example or better yet if someone can record it's digital output using digital input on computer's soundcard..

I'm desperately looking for some bitperfect universal player with DSD capable DACs inside.. anyone?

 

[Oliver :)]

Girlsound, depending on where you are it might be a good idea to check for higher end units in the used/refurbished markets. Denon's universals for example come and go all the time & loose value rapidly. I bit myself repeatedly for buying my 2900 at almost full retail.

 

[JaZZ]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glassman I'm desperately looking for some bitperfect universal player with DSD capable DACs inside.. anyone?

I'm pretty sure that my McCormack UDP-1 fulfills these criteria.

In any event I'm more than happy with its sonic qualities, also and especially with the redbook CD format, which still has my main interest considering the actual music catalog.

A few reviews:
http://stereophile.com/digitalsource...ack/index.html
http://onsoundandmusic.com/index.htm...8-UDP-1.html&2
http://www.iar-80.com/page102.html

.

 

[Girlsound]

From what I've read, the Pioneer players do convert. I'm not sure yet about the Toshiba. The Denon players are really out of my price range.

I'm now looking at the Yamaha DVD-S1500. It has seperate paths for DSD and DVD-A.

 

[EdipisReks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Girlsound From what I've read, the Pioneer players do convert. I'm not sure yet about the Toshiba. The Denon players are really out of my price range. I'm now looking at the Yamaha DVD-S1500. It has seperate paths for DSD and DVD-A.

i have the DV-S5770, which is the same as the S1500 (except with a newer firmware, silver casing and a slightly better transport), and the player converts DSD to PCM. personally, at these price levels, i don't see it as a particular limitation. hell, i think that DVD-A sounds better than SA-CD, and DVD-A is PCM.

 

[JaZZ]

An indication for DSD-to-PCM conversion is the bass-management feature. If it works with SACDs, the signal is converted to PCM. If SACD playback doesn't allow bass management, chances are good that the signal isn't converted.
.

 

[Glassman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Girlsound From what I've read, the Pioneer players do convert. I'm not sure yet about the Toshiba. The Denon players are really out of my price range. I'm now looking at the Yamaha DVD-S1500. It has seperate paths for DSD and DVD-A.

it depends on particular model(s) - 563/565 do not convert, 575/578 and possibely all the later do..

JaZZ, I just realised I forgot to add words like "cheap", "cheaper" and possibely "cheapest"

 

[n_maher]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Girlsound From what I've read, the Pioneer players do convert. I'm not sure yet about the Toshiba. The Denon players are really out of my price range. I'm now looking at the Yamaha DVD-S1500. It has seperate paths for DSD and DVD-A.

If you get back to considering the Pioneers there's a 563 (I think) for sale in the FS forums right now pretty dang cheap. I've almost bought it a couple of times already.

Best of luck,

Nate

 

[Girlsound]

Ack! Now I'm even more confused than before. There is just so much conflicting info out there. Some places state that DSD is always left alome unless processing (base management, etc.) is used in multi-channel. Yamaha's site distinctly states that the PCM and DSD routes are seperate.

" The Super Audio CD and DVD-Audio circuits are completely independent and optimized for each format (the Super Audio CD circuit is extremely simple and straight). "

http://www.yamaha.com/yec/products/DVD_CD/DVDS1500.htm

:rant:Why is this so complicated? (Don't really answer that...I know all about the marketing and other deciding factors behind this.) All I want is a player for DVD-A and SACD. Stupid closed minded mega companies.

:/rant:

 

[JaZZ]

Maybe you shouldn't overemphasize the DSD purity and go for the best sound quality instead. I don't see any real advantage of DSD over high-rez PCM anyway, so the only annoyance is the superfluous format conversion which may have a slight adverse effect -- theoretically. But then again, how many SACDs are «pure DSD» productions! 95% of them may be polluted by PCM in one way or the other -- and as long as it's not low-rez PCM, they may still sound better than CDs and offer the main advantage of the higher resolution.
.