[EdipisReks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by 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:

all that means is that the SA-CD and DVD-A sections use a separate DAC. it doesn't mean that SA-CD is output as pure DSD. personally, i don't understand why it matters so much to you at this price point. while the Yamaha and other players in this range soud pretty good, i don't think any of them have a good enough analog stage for it to really matter all that much if they output pure DSD or not.

 

[EdipisReks]

actually, looking at the manual again, i might be wrong about the Yamaha converting DSD->PCM for SA-CD. i remember reading that, but i might have misread. regardless, SA-CD sounds pretty good on the Yamaha. the Yamaha is definitely pretty dang close to the Denon 2910 in every format, though it does have a bit of glare.

 

[Girlsound]

I've narrowed it down to the Samsung or the Yamaha. It looks like most of the players I mentioned use the Burr Brown DSD-1791 chip. So it would seem that it doesn't really matter which one I get. Analog stages are easly modified, so that's less of a concern for me.

It's just that I have my little therories concerning the D/A conversion.

 

[EdipisReks]

the full schematics for the yamaha player are available here, btw.

 

[Welly Wu]

Based on my knowledge and research, both have approximately the same build quality, but the Samsung HD-950 has HDMI 1.0 and an internal video upscaler to 720p and 1080i while the Yamaha DVD-S1500 has better quality sound and video performance. I have used the Samsung HD-841 and HD-950 respectively and I can not recommend them over the Yamaha DVD-S1500 because there is a ton wrong with the Samsung models: video upscaling produces a lot of macroblocking, BTB crush, artifacting, and the much dreaded chroma upsampling error. The Yamaha DVD-S1500 does not offer these features, rightly so at the price point, and it does not suffer from such malaise video performance. It is a close pick, but I would rather take a compromise in features over audio or video performance unless you can come up with extra cash for a different league of universal DVD players. If you can not do so, then I would recommend the Yamaha DVD-S1500 because it is smooth in operation and glitch free as well. I think that you will be especially pleased with both its audio and video quality along with the peace of mind in knowing that It Just Works (TM).

 

[Girlsound]

dub

 

[Girlsound]

Thanks. It looks like I'll be going for the Yamaha. Ouch, that's a bit more money. It uses the CS4398 chip instead which has a direct DSD path. I really don't care as much about the video specs. I've already got two DVD players, one with Faroudja's DCDi. I just want a universal DVD-A/SACD player for audio only.

 

[Welly Wu]

The Sensible Sound recently gave the Yamaha DVD-S1500 an excellent review and it made the cover of the magazine several months ago this year. You might want to go to http://www.ecoustics.com or http://www.sensiblesound.com and do a search for the Yamaha DVD-S1500. I did a price check of the unit on both http://www.shopzilla.com and http://www.froogle.com . I saw one for sale for $145 USD excluding shipping and handling fees to your destination. Expect those prices to hold constant up until the week of Christmas and the week of New Years. Then, it's open season on electronics!

 

[Glassman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by EdipisReks the full schematics for the yamaha player are available here, btw.

thanks for providing the link!

can anyone test Yamaha's S/PDIF output by the means of playing DTS CD to a receiver or even recording using soundcard? that would be extremely helpful..

 

[EdipisReks]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Glassman thanks for providing the link! can anyone test Yamaha's S/PDIF output by the means of playing DTS CD to a receiver or even recording using soundcard? that would be extremely helpful..

sure. can i borrow a DTS CD and a Digital Receiver?

 

[EdipisReks]

just to chime in a little more, i've been comparing my Yamaha DV-S5770 to the DAC in the Grace 901 for the past 10 hours or so. using Senn HD600+Cardas and Cardas Neutral Reference and Kimber Hero ICs i'm very confident in saying that the Yamaha (with oversampling turned off) and the Grace's DAC sound virtually indistinguishable once volume matched as closely as possible given my setup (the Grace's DAC is just slightly more than one "click" on the stepped attenuator louder than the Yamaha) on Redbook. while the Grace 901 is generally known for having a fairly mediocre DAC as far as HIFI sources go, i think it speaks pretty well for the DV-S5770.

 

[zombietycho]

Good luck with the uni player, I have the Samsung 4960 and I can't figure out how to make it play DVD-A Hi-rez stereo

 

[Oliver :)]

Quote:

Originally Posted by zombietycho Good luck with the uni player, I have the Samsung 4960 and I can't figure out how to make it play DVD-A Hi-rez stereo

Hook up a display and select the option from the disc's menu

Yes, that's why I don't buy DVD-A.

 

[zombietycho]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oliver Hook up a display and select the option from the disc's menu Yes, that's why I don't buy DVD-A.

I've looked high and low on all 3 of my discs, nowhere to be found

 

[tkam]

There should be an option in the 4960's menu to choose between multi-channel or 2 channel (stereo) modes. Choosing 2 channel should do the trick.