DVD audio player

[rdt123]

Hi all,

I'm confused at the moment.

I understand that opt/coax digital leads cannot carry the dvd-a signal and therefore you need 6ch inputs etc, unless of course you set up an ilink network.

I just bought a dvd-a album and put it in my arcam DV88+. Connected to my AX10i with coaxial connection i get a multichannel DD signal to the amp and music from all the speakers including the sub. I also get the menu screen on the plasma to scroll through, watch documentaries etc. So...

What exactly am i missing that i would need a dvd-a player eg DV89 to access.

cheers

Rob

 

[John Dawson]

What you are hearing is, as you say, the Dolby Digital track which is pretty heavily data compressed, but is included on all DVD-As to ensure compatibility with all DVD players. The sound quality in hi fi terms is OK but nothing special.

If you had a DVD-Audio player then you would get significantly better sound quality from the same music - what the trade calls High Resolution Audio. You would get this via 6 analogue (phono) cables connected to the multichannel input of your Denon amplifier. A DV89 has bass management, delay and speaker level control so you lose nothing here.

At its best DVD-A is stunning!

We can convert your DV88Plus to DV89 spec for IIRC £350 - just £50 more than the difference in retail price between the two models.

HTH.

John Dawson (Arcam)