CA 651 vs 751, DEMO TOMORROW AT RICHER SOUNDS ANY SUGGESTIONS OR ADVICE

[surroundman]

Hi guys,

tomorrow I have chance to see and listen to CA

Anyone can compare these 2 players ?

Many thanks.

 

[BenLaw]

What sort of advice?

 

[surroundman]

good question,

what is the best way to do demo and recognize quality of both CA ?

thank you

 

[surroundman]

If I send PCM via HDMI to a receiver, then the digital to analogue conversion will be done by the DACs in a receiver.

Ok, if I got Yamaha RX A 2010 and player is CA 651 or 751 I suppose that set the bitstream on player will be sound better and then the digital to analogue conversion will be done by the DACs in player.

In what cases should player be set as PCM ??

Thanks

 

[BenLaw]

Test upscaling by: comparing a few DVDs with which you are very familiar.

Test HD material with a few blu rays. IMO these should look identical.

You could test audio decoding by setting both to PCM via HDMI. However, it may be easier / more important to use the analogue outs on the blu ray players as that will test the DACs and analogue outputs.

 

[surroundman]

Thank you Ben

I have seen your photos of your home cinema.

May I ask you about location of your receiver, it looks like there is no too much space for ventilation.

I just wonder because usually in manual they say ,, allow xx cm above and etc.

anyway my Yamaha they say should have above 30 cm above and 20 from side, but it is difficult to find proper self or rack fot that.

 

[RobinKidderminster]

I use a small fan from Quietpc. Can be virtually silent and keeps things very cool

 

[BenLaw]

Thank you Ben

I have seen your photos of your home cinema.

May I ask you about location of your receiver, it looks like there is no too much space for ventilation.

I just wonder because usually in manual they say ,, allow xx cm above and etc.

anyway my Yamaha they say should have above 30 cm above and 20 from side, but it is difficult to find proper self or rack fot that.

The 'receiver' is a pre/pro so doesn't have any amplification inside it. The primare is the power amp and runs pretty cool. Having said that, the onkyo does run quite hot. I have adjustable shelves and after a spring clean a while ago I moved the shelf with the bdp on it up and there is now plenty of room for air circulation. The unit is open at the front and back.

Let is know how you get on with your demo, I'm sure people will be interested to hear.

 

[strapped for cash]

You could test audio decoding by setting both to PCM via HDMI. However, it may be easier / more important to use the analogue outs on the blu ray players as that will test the DACs and analogue outputs.

I couldn't agree more. In fact, I'd push analogue stereo testing to the top of your list of priorities, assuming you don't have a dedicated stereo system.

I have a Yamaha Aventage receiver and I've found it highly advantageous to decode stereo externally of the receiver (multichannel is a different matter since, in my opinion, Aventage receivers are exemplary performers when it comes to multichannel decoding and surround steering).

There are arguably two reasons for buying a higher end BDP such as the Cambridge players you're looking at. First, DVD upscaling may be better than budget level models, though I've struggled to see much difference between a high end Denon BDP and the sub-£100 Panasonic 120 Blu-ray player when testing back to back at home.

More importantly, CA (along with Oppo) BDPs are sold on their analogue performance. I think the CAs you're auditioning will have superior DACs to your Yamaha when it comes to stereo. If you can't notice much difference, I'd start to question the value of spending that much on a BDP.

 

[surroundman]

Thank you very much guys for advices,

I have already been at Richer sounds.

There were: Onkyo 818, CA 751, M A speakers-Bronz

1.We tried analog, pure direct mode, CD Robie W.

It sounds overbassed,

2.After we tried digital, it sounds overbassed, but better more live than analog.

DVD Terminator Salvation sounds very good nearly as Blu ray disc( which I did watched before on my older Yamaha 1065)

DVD Coldplay it sounds better than on my PS3 slim

Now, is it any good way how to adjust bass on CA or it will always be lit bit more.

They said I can buy 651, if I plan to have only digital HDMI connection which I will do.

But we did not try CA 651 because they have last sealed piece

So I can borrow open box CA 751 and tried at my home with my Yamaha RX A 2010 and MEzo 6 and MEzzo 1, B&W HTM62-centre, KEF 1000.2 sub

and try to do something with bass.

WHat do you think ??

 

[duaplex]

The 751 has just dropped to £549. They are now being discontinued and that to me is a bargain.

 

[surroundman]

yes that is true, I was thinking also about Panasonic dmp-bdt500 but according one review it sounds same as 220 or 320, and very similar as 120

which I got at home that is why is not point to demo Panasonic dmp-bdt500. It will be not improvement compare to my PS3 as well.

So I can see it probably on CA

 

[abacus]

If you like listening to music then definitely have a listen to the Panasonic 500, as when I compared it to the cheaper models from Panasonic and other manufactures, I found it to be way better. (Make sure you set the Panasonic 500 to do the conversion to analogue from digital, as if you use bit stream the sound will be determined by your AV amplifier, thus no matter what player you plug in they will all sound the same)

Hope this helps

Bill

 

[bigboss]

Make sure you check audio via analogue connection when you demo at home. If you can't hear any appreciable difference, you can save a lot by going for a budget player.

 

[surroundman]

Ok if I set up player for PCM, then receiver will show me only PCM format not DTS or DTS HD, not even Dolby digital ???

Then what is the point ? If I have PCM, it is the same as I listen and watch freeview broadcast.

 

[duaplex]

Ok if I set up player for PCM, then receiver will show me only PCM format not DTS or DTS HD, not even Dolby digital ???

Then what is the point ? If I have PCM, it is the same as I listen and watch freeview broadcast.

It is the same, PCM is lossless audio so it will sound just as good.

 

[duaplex]

yes that is true, I was thinking also about Panasonic dmp-bdt500 but according one review it sounds same as 220 or 320, and very similar as 120

which I got at home that is why is not point to demo Panasonic dmp-bdt500. It will be not improvement compare to my PS3 as well.

So I can see it probably on CA

Not entirely so, the BDT500 Is a great player and came second to the CA during my demo for bluray playback. Out of all budget decks this is the one I would consider a compromise to buying the CA.

The PS3 is good, but the new players are overtaking it. It's also noisy.

Interestingly enough I also had a demo of the S790 and that didn't look as crisp with detail.

 

[bigboss]

Check this regarding audio formats:

http://www.dvdactive.com/editorial/articles/a-quick-guide-to-hd-audio.html?post_id=172438&action=report

"Linear PCM

PCM is the other main format in use on Blu-ray and is seen by some as the ‘holy grail’ of audio. Because it is uncompressed and identical to the studio master it occupies far more disc space than the compressed Dolby and DTS formats, and as such it is used less frequently. For example, many early releases from Sony featured PCM tracks, but they have now largely switched to TrueHD (and to a lesser extent Master Audio)."

 

[surroundman]

Thank you guys.

I am going to do some test now with analog and digital connection and of course I try to set up player for PCM and hear the difference.

 

[surroundman]

Ok I set up player panasonic dmp-bdt120 digital audio output in every format ( dolby d.....DTS) to PCM and PCM down conversion( which convert 96 khz to 48) put it OFF,so it will be 96 khz.

Compare to CA 751,

CD it sounds more balance, no overbassed, DVD Terminator Salvation it is no so good as CA,

I did not hear any difference between analog and digital ( HDMI) and also no difference between PCM and bitstream at all.

I assume that the same result will be with PS3 - PCM and bitstream.