A quickie about DVD Dacs...

[plastic penguin]

This perhaps needs to be placed elsewhere, so apologies.

This may seem like a schoolboy question but... I have my TV rigged through the DVD player and the DVD is connected to the Leema (don't ask oke and when comparing the Freeview radio stations to the Sky box (both have separate interconnects), the TV/DVD combo has a broader soundstage and more holographic sound. Is this because the dac in the DVD player is higher quality than the Sky box? Or is this over simplifying the subject? Also noticed with Sky box some sibilance that's not on the DVD/TV combo.

 

[John Duncan]

It is oversimplifying the subject a little bit. It's more likely that the implementation of the analogue out signal is of poorer quality, rather than the DAC chip itself, which ought to have a less profound effect.

 

[drummerman]

What is the 'secret shiney box'?

You can tell Auntie DM, no one else will know.

regards

 

[chebby]

Dunno.

Can't even understand why you configure it all the way you do.

I connect the Humax and the Blu-ray player to the TV with HDMI cables. Then I only need the one optical digital (audio) cable from the TV to the DAC (in my Marantz).

That means the audio from any of the three sources (TV, Humax, Blu-ray player) is kept completely digital - with no conversion - until it gets to the DAC in the hi-fi.

It sounds excellent. (No sibilance at all from any 'source'.) The analogue audio outputs from any of these would not only be inferior but would involve too many cables.

It really would pay you to get a decent little optical DAC to connect your TV, Sky Box and DVD player.

 

[plastic penguin]

Dunno.

Can't even understand why you configure it all the way you do.

I connect the Humax and the Blu-ray player to the TV with HDMI cables. Then I only need the one optical digital (audio) cable from the TV to the DAC (in my Marantz).

That means the audio from any of the three sources (TV, Humax, Blu-ray player) is kept completely digital - with no conversion - until it gets to the DAC in the hi-fi.

It sounds excellent. (No sibilance at all from any 'source'.) The analogue audio outputs from any of these would not only be inferior but would involve too many cables.

It really would pay you to get a decent little optical DAC to connect your TV, Sky Box and DVD player.

Cause the DVD-R is so old it's rather limited on connections. I've tried running the interconnects direct from the TV and it doesn't work. No sound. No idea.

What optical dac are you thinking of?

 

[chebby]

... I have my TV rigged through the DVD player ...

Cause the DVD-R is so old it's rather limited on connections

Please tell me you are not using the Freeview tuner in the old DVD-R and bypassing the HD Freeview tuner in your telly!

 

[plastic penguin]

... I have my TV rigged through the DVD player ...

Cause the DVD-R is so old it's rather limited on connections

Please tell me you are not using the Freeview tuner in the old DVD-R and bypassing the HD Freeview tuner in your telly!

Erm... yes. The Sound quality is fantastic though.

 

[Overdose]

Are you talking about the same channels on the two sources, or just general differences between Freeview and Sky?

It's possible the Sky broadcasts are more compressed.

 

[chebby]

I dare say there is some 'interesting history' to this lash-up but I can't really help without suggesting...

1) A telly with a working optical digital output.

2) Replace the DVD-R for a decent Blu-ray player.

3) A DAC.

This all involves more expenditure than I suspect you are prepared to make.

Long before I 'downsized' to the Marantz, I spent ages ensuring that the new hi-fi, new TV and a new Blu-ray and PVR would all 'mesh' with the least possible/shortest possible cables (and the simplest operation) with no need for seperate boxes.

(And that extended to other things like AirPlay compatibility and having iPlayer on at least two different TV connected platforms in case one went down like the Bravia platform frequently did at one time.)

I didn't want to end up in something like your situation.

.

 

[plastic penguin]

I dare say there is some 'interesting history' to this lash-up but I can't really help without suggesting...

1) A telly with a working optical digital output.

2) Replace the DVD-R for a decent Blu-ray player.

3) A DAC.

This all involves more expenditure than I suspect you are prepared to make.

Long before I 'downsized' to the Marantz, I spent ages ensuring that the new hi-fi, new TV and a new Blu-ray and PVR would all 'mesh' with the least possible/shortest possible cables (and the simplest operation) with no need for seperate boxes.

(And that extended to other things like AirPlay compatibility and having iPlayer on at least two different TV connected platforms in case one went down like the Bravia platform frequently did at one time.)

I didn't want to end up in something like your situation.

.

Wouldn't say "lash up". When the TV (not Sky box) is playing on its own steam, or thru its own speakers the picture quality and sound is as expected of a cheapish LCD TV - very good if a little thin sounding.

Cast your mind back to when I first purchased the TV, I couldn't connect it from the TV 'Audio out' direct to the Leema. Someone, can't remeber who, suggested I purchase a lead to run from the headphone socket of the TV. This I did but the SQ was dreadful, and I had to use dual volume controls on the TV and Leema, which was a faff.

The Sky box has a HDMI, while the DVD-R just has a scart. You're right I am reluctant to spend on a Blu-ray player.

Like you I couldn't live without the radio, whether digital or FM, hence the probe for a way of equalising the Sky box.

 

[SpursGator]

It is oversimplifying the subject a little bit. It's more likely that the implementation of the analogue out signal is of poorer quality, rather than the DAC chip itself, which ought to have a less profound effect.

Exactly. Sky boxes have noisy analogue outs. A DAC will solve all your problems, assuming you can string everything together digitally. It took some gymnastic cabling for my signal to be all-digital. I have a Mac Mini feeding a DAC as my primary music source. For the other stuff (disc player, Sky, PS3), they feed their audio to the TV via HDMI, and the TV's optical audio output goes to the audio IN on my Mac. I installed a little app that enables playthrough on the Mac, so that any optical signal coming in is passed cleanly to the optical output and thus the DAC. I also connected the disc player directly to the DAC via coax, so I can listen to it directly for hi-res discs. But switching back and forth reveals little difference.

As far as DACs, it doesn't need to be high end for you to see a benefit. My Cambridge DACMagic would be nice for your setup because it has several inputs to switch between, thus eliminating a cable puzzle like I had. But it's not cheap and there is no remote to swtich inputs.

If you can connect everything digitally and have one DAC as your source you'll be much happier.

 

[plastic penguin]

It is oversimplifying the subject a little bit. It's more likely that the implementation of the analogue out signal is of poorer quality, rather than the DAC chip itself, which ought to have a less profound effect.

As far as DACs, it doesn't need to be high end for you to see a benefit. My Cambridge DACMagic would be nice for your setup because it has several inputs to switch between, thus eliminating a cable puzzle like I had. But it's not cheap and there is no remote to swtich inputs.

If you can connect everything digitally and have one DAC as your source you'll be much happier.

Thanks for the suggestion. Owned the DacMagic for a while and didn't really like it - too mechanical sounding.

 

[SpursGator]

Thanks for the suggestion. Owned the DacMagic for a while and didn't really like it - too mechanical sounding.

Yeah, wasn't really meant as an out-and-out recommendation. But if the OP gets everything hooked up digitally then the thread is, Which DAC?, and here's my budget. I have not listened to DACs in some time. I really love my Benchmark and although I wouldn't use the word mechanical to describe the DACMagic, it's nowhere near as good (I find it a trifle bright, and the imaging is a bit flatter). But it was a rather stunning upgrade to my second system nonetheless.

But for the OP's system, most any DAC would be a big upgrade, even DACs far downmarket of the DACMagic. Plenty of perfectly good Chinese DACs for sale, real cheap. Not just on eBay, but on Amazon.co.uk. Any would solve the problem and fix the situation (assuming it's at least as good as the DAC and outputs on his DVD player, which hopefully it would be). Then next year we can have the thread of, can I do better than this little no-name DAC I bought? Yes you can...

 

[SpursGator]

For example, for 15 quid:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/High-Grade-DAC-Analogue-Converter/dp/B005HFTUO0/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1370335659&sr=8-3&keywords=DAC

This won't win any SQ awards but is a good practical solution (and read the reviews - plenty of blokes using this with real amps and speakers who are happy). Then take your time: keep an eye on the DAC market, save a little cash, do some listening, and then at some point buy an audiophile DAC that really sounds great on your system (thus upgrading the sound of every component, since in an all-digital system, the DAC is your source).

Only if you want a big SQ upgrade should you throw money at the problem. Better to get 100% from what you've got first, then examine your upgrade path, or whether you even need one.

 

[plastic penguin]

Looks interesting. No just looking for something that'll give some parity to both Sky box and TV Freeview.

Thanks, PP