Bluray Audio

[iMark]

I recently got George Harrison's All Things Must Pass including the blu-ray edition for my birthday. No complaints about the sound of the stereo PCM 192/24 track from the analogue out of our Sony UHP-H1. But compared to a hybrid SACD the blu-ray is incredibly cumbersome. It takes about a minute to load and you have to switch the TV on in order to go through a setup menu before you finally get your music to play. With an SACD I only have to put in the disc in order to play music.

The major record labels got it completely wrong when they decided to move away from the hybrid SACD. I suppose the only advantage of blu-ray is that you can add a Dolby Atmos track. Not that we need that because we only listen in stereo.

 

[Deleted member 197450]

I recently got George Harrison's All Things Must Pass including the blu-ray edition for my birthday. No complaints about the sound of the stereo PCM 192/24 track from the analogue out of our Sony UHP-H1. But compared to a hybrid SACD the blu-ray is incredibly cumbersome. It takes about a minute to load and you have to switch the TV on in order to go through a setup menu before you finally get your music to play. With an SACD I only have to put in the disc in order to play music.

The major record labels got it completely wrong when they decided to move away from the hybrid SACD. I suppose the only advantage of blu-ray is that you can add a Dolby Atmos track. Not that we need that because we only listen in stereo.

Is this what you’ve got?

All Things Must Pass - Super Deluxe Edition - 5CD & Blu-ray Audio | CD/Blu-ray Album | Free shipping over £20 | HMV Store

George Harrison (Artist) All Things Must Pass - Super Deluxe Edition - 5CD & Blu-ray Audio CD/Blu-ray Album Free shipping over £20

store.hmv.com

 

[nads]

Same drawbacks as DVD A

 

[michael hoy]

Agree it is a pain requiring a monitor of some kind to access the menu.
Not sure what the setup is apart from choosing which format to use, i have quite a few BR Audio discs.

 

[iMark]

That's indeed the set. The blu-ray starts like it's a movie! It's not a movie, it's a music disc. With this blu-ray it's even worse than with some of the DVD-As we have.

In the setup there are 4 choices: Dolby Atmos, DTS 5.1, stereo PCM 48/24 and stereo PCM 192/24.

This is not a very convenient format.

 

[GSV Ethics Gradient]

Only ever bought one - sold it on eBay.

 

[michael hoy]

Just done a test with my OPPO and you can change the audio using the Audio Button.
This negates the need for the TV to be on. And tracks are selectable as a "normal" CD.

 

[Tinman1952]

I bought a couple in my excitement when they first came out...but ended up listening to the enclosed SACD!
If I remember correctly you can select the different audio tracks using the coloured buttons on your remote....?

 

[manicm]

Hold your horses. Just remember true SACD players are few and far between, and expensive. And from my limited knowledge DSD decoding AV receivers are less likely to be found than hen's teeth.

In many ways you should be grateful for Blu-ray audio. Yes it's a bit schleppy but any decent Blu-ray player can have a button to switch off the video.

I bought the Yes Tales From Topographic Oceans remix by Steven Wilson, and the 24/194 Blu-ray was really great sounding.

Really, don't look a gift horse in the mouth.

 

[iMark]

If the major record companies had continued with SACD most blu-ray players would play SACD. We've got 2 Sony blu-ray players in the house that both play SACD. The UHP-H1 even plays DVD-A!.

Of course I can switch off the TV. But then I can't see the menu for navigating the disc. It would make it impossible to play my 6 XTC blu-ray audio discs. (I do agree about the advantage that the Blu-ray Disc can contain much more music than an SACD. XTC proves that on the CD/BR discs.)

 

[michael hoy]

If the major record companies had continued with SACD most blu-ray players would play SACD. We've got 2 Sony blu-ray players in the house that both play SACD. The UHP-H1 even plays DVD-A!.

Of course I can switch off the TV. But then I can't see the menu for navigating the disc. It would make it impossible to play my 6 XTC blu-ray audio discs. (I do agree about the advantage that the Blu-ray Disc can contain much more music than an SACD. XTC proves that on the CD/BR discs.)

What do you need to navigate on the disc, the audio can be changed from the remote and the tracks are listed on the case.
I did this the other day with one of my BD Audio discs.

 

[Deleted member 197450]

Have you tried the DTS soundtrack? That’s the one I would use.

 

[manicm]

If the major record companies had continued with SACD most blu-ray players would play SACD. We've got 2 Sony blu-ray players in the house that both play SACD. The UHP-H1 even plays DVD-A!.

Of course I can switch off the TV. But then I can't see the menu for navigating the disc. It would make it impossible to play my 6 XTC blu-ray audio discs. (I do agree about the advantage that the Blu-ray Disc can contain much more music than an SACD. XTC proves that on the CD/BR discs.)

SACD came too late - one the major failings of Sony/Philips - arriving dead in the explosion of MP3s. And they were expensive. And can you think of a single top 20 release that was launched as SACD? Me neither.

There were millions of universal DVD and Blu-ray players that could play SACDs, so what? Because they were converting to good ole PCM.

How many truly decoding SACD players were there? I don't think NAD made a single one for example.

From the hardware proliferation side in actually decoding SACD, the format was a complete failure.

For it to have had the remotest chance of success it should have been launched at least a decade earlier.

 

[Sixtyten]

SACD came too late - one the major failings of Sony/Philips - arriving dead in the explosion of MP3s. And they were expensive. And can you think of a single top 20 release that was launched as SACD? Me neither.

There were millions of universal DVD and Blu-ray players that could play SACDs, so what? Because they were converting to good ole PCM.

How many truly decoding SACD players were there? I don't think NAD made a single one for example.

From the hardware proliferation side in actually decoding SACD, the format was a complete failure.

For it to have had the remotest chance of success it should have been launched at least a decade earlier.

Pioneer / Sony / Marantz / Yamaha / Denon / Oppo all made players which decode DSD natively.

 

[manicm]

Pioneer / Sony / Marantz / Yamaha / Denon / Oppo all made players which decode DSD natively.

True, but no others really. Those were really few

In most of the DVD and/or BluRay players you had to get it out of HDMI into a decoding AV amp. There were very few universal players that had built-in decoders.

 

[Deleted member 197450]

Cambridge Audio and the Reavon 200.

 

[Sixtyten]

True, but no others really. Those were really few

In most of the DVD and/or BluRay players you had to get it out of HDMI into a decoding AV amp. There were very few universal players that had built-in decoders.

Apart from the universal DVD-V / SACD / DVD-A players produced before HDMI was conceived, who had onboard DSD decoding and 6 channel audio outputs (Pioneer 565 / 575 - Marantz DV7001) and the Marantz / Denon family of Blu Ray players such as the DBP2012 which had built in DSD decoding, HDMI and analogue multichannel outputs.

(The Pioneer 565 / Marantz DV7001 and DBP2012 I've either owned or still own)

 

[Al ears]

Pioneer / Sony / Marantz / Yamaha / Denon / Oppo all made players which decode DSD natively.

There's a few more that that..... But you have a point. At least six major manufacturers.

 

[Al ears]

Cambridge Audio and the Reavon 200.

And Oppo, etc, etc

 

[Al ears]

True, but no others really. Those were really few

In most of the DVD and/or BluRay players you had to get it out of HDMI into a decoding AV amp. There were very few universal players that had built-in decoders.

I think we are losing the point really where SACD is concerned, the thread is about Bluray audio

 

[manicm]

And Oppo, etc, etc

I have the Cambridge Audio, it doesn't natively decode SACD , it will send the dsd stream out from HDMI, otherwise it converts to PCM.

 

[manicm]

There's a few more that that..... But you have a point. At least six major manufacturers.

Not all universal players decoded DSD internally.

 

[iMark]

My original point was and is: SACD is much more convenient as an audio source than Bluray audio. The same issues DVD-Audio had were transported to Bluray audio: you need a screen to navigate the disc.

 

[Al ears]

My original point was and is: SACD is much more convenient as an audio source than Bluray audio. The same issues DVD-Audio had were transported to Bluray audio: you need a screen to navigate the disc.

understood, and as some have pointed out, with the appropriate equipment, you don't.

 

[iMark]

You will always need a screen for the initial setup of a bluray player.