[rich m]

Hi everyone

Sorry if this is a silly question.

I've had a 5.1 setup for around 2 years, and recently upgraded some of my speakers. The setup is used 100% for DVDs and television, as i have a dedicated stereo system for CDs and radio. All dvds that i watch are sourced through a Lite-on DVD recorder. This acts as my recorder and player to save space. I was recently wondering whether a dedicated DVD player would produce a markedly better performance in terms of picture and especially sound?

Many thanks

Rich

[spooney]

I'd say this predominantly depends on how much money you want to spent and IMHO you should consider your whole chain: DVD -AVR - speakers and display.
Generally spoken in the budget player range there are huge differences, the higher you go up the more equally the players produce picture and sound until there is no difference in practice.
Of course if you would belong to the people being busy all day long to look for flaws instead of enjoying picture and sound you always will find something you do not like

[rich m]

Its two things really. First off, sometimes watching dvds through the lite-on, the top couple of mills of the picture go slightly skewed. That made me wonder whether i would get a better picture with a dedicated dvd player. That in turn got me wondering whether the lite-on would be making the most of the speaker setup that i have in terms of sound.

[spooney]

Originally Posted by rich m

Its two things really. First off, sometimes watching dvds through the lite-on, the top couple of mills of the picture go slightly skewed. That made me wonder whether i would get a better picture with a dedicated dvd player.
.

If it is a well mastered DVD the answer is a solid, yes, a decent dedicated player will give a crisp and clean picture

Originally Posted by rich m

That in turn got me wondering whether the lite-on would be making the most of the speaker setup that i have in terms of sound.

Your recoder drives the speakers? No amp? Or are you taling about sound decoding of the DVD player and input direct into the amps external ins? Usually you will use a coax cable or some people prefer optical for DVD sound into an AVR. Please explain.

[CHFels]

Spooney's right, tell us a bit more about your 5.1 setup, esp. the amp.

In general I'd say that if you are using coax or optical out of the LiteOn into the amp, changing DVD player is not likely to affect the sound much unless your amp/speakers are super hi-fi (in the thousands of pounds range). But it will almost certainly improve your video signal and make DVDs look better, as long as you go with a major brand and don't get their absolute-cheapest model.

If you are running RCA stereo or 5.1 outputs from the LiteOn, then (a) you'll probably hear a significant improvement if you upgrade the DVD player, and (b) budgeting a bit more to go with a good-sound brand like Marantz, Oppo or Denon may make sense. Again, depends a lot on your amp/speaker setup, so tell us more.

CHFels

[rich m]

Hi guys

Thanks for the responses and sorry for the confusion.

The dvd recorder is connected to a JVC RX-E5S Amp. I think this amp is slightly unusual as it connects up to the components by scart lead, but this works well for me. I've had it for 2 years. My speakers are; fronts Kef Cresta 10, centre Eltax Symphony, rears Eltax Sovereign, sub Eltax Atomic 6.2. My room is only about 13 foot squared so the setup seems more than powerful enough.

Its not that i am disappointed with the sound. Its more that a slight flaw in the picture quality when playing dvds led me to question whether a dedicated player could improve both picture quality and sound decoding?

Hope that makes more sense.

Rich

[Phill1978]

Originally Posted by rich m

Hi guys

Thanks for the responses and sorry for the confusion.

The dvd recorder is connected to a JVC RX-E5S Amp. I think this amp is slightly unusual as it connects up to the components by scart lead, but this works well for me. I've had it for 2 years. My speakers are; fronts Kef Cresta 10, centre Eltax Symphony, rears Eltax Sovereign, sub Eltax Atomic 6.2. My room is only about 13 foot squared so the setup seems more than powerful enough.

Its not that i am disappointed with the sound. Its more that a slight flaw in the picture quality when playing dvds led me to question whether a dedicated player could improve both picture quality and sound decoding?

Hope that makes more sense.

Rich

odd setup, different speaker makes for sourround. iam sure there are many improvements to be had from a specialist dvd player but only upto a certain point then it may just come down to viewer preference.

[rich m]

Originally Posted by Sinelanguage

odd setup, different speaker makes for sourround.

I'm in a transitional period. I incorporated my Kef Crestas into what was previously an all eltax setup, i will be getting a matching centre to normalise the front 3 speakers. From what i have read, the fronts do not have to be the same make as the rears or sub.

[spooney]

Originally Posted by rich m

From what i have read, the fronts do not have to be the same make as the rears or sub.

This is correct as long as they are in a similar price range and fit together sound-wise. But as I alwys say: If you do not know better you will be happy in any case. No need to worry about this.

Back to your question:
Your AVR has the typical budget connectors with spring-clips but as long as it works for you it will do a good job.
Sound-wise you will hardly hear any improvement but from the picture you can very well expect improvements putting CHFels' input in considerations.

[rich m]

Many thanks for all the advice, makes a lot of sense. I don't have a huge amount to spend on my gear, but i've always managed to get something together which gives me a lot of pleasure. I will look out for good deals on dedicated dvd players.