Lexicon Sound System Review 2012 V8 Genesis

[DeeVa]

Disappointed in the 2012 stereo. In the 2010 model when you had a DVD -A disk playing you could chose 5.1 stereo sound now the only choice is surround sound and it sounds not quite as good. In my opinion.

Try playing the disc with surround unchecked.

 

[Ruissimo]

Elshagon... PM incoming, bud. NICE REVIEW!

 

[DeeVa]

I agree with this guy.

"BTW it's a real struggle over at the Genesis forums as most people there don't know what dvd-audio is. They think it's a dvd with a bunch of mp3 music on it, even after reading the review. I'm perplexed that people can buy a ride with such a good surround system in it and the only concern is mp3 playback from a thumb drive or their iphone."

 

[Nabber]

I may have missed it but here is a helpfull link...

[ame="http://www.amazon.com/s/qid=1233258578/ref=sr_nr_p_n_binding_browse-b_4?ie=UTF8&rs=5174&keywords=dvd-audio%20music&bbn=5174&rnid=387643011&rh=n%3A5174%2Ck%3Advd-audio%20music%2Cp%5Fn%5Fbinding%5Fbrowse-bin%3A387646011"]DVD AUDIO @ Amazon[/ame]

 

[elshagon]

I may have missed it but here is a helpfull link...

DVD AUDIO @ Amazon

be careful, some are dvd-audio discs and some are not when you do the search on Amazon.

 

[waveman]

I agree with this guy.

"BTW it's a real struggle over at the Genesis forums as most people there don't know what dvd-audio is. They think it's a dvd with a bunch of mp3 music on it, even after reading the review. I'm perplexed that people can buy a ride with such a good surround system in it and the only concern is mp3 playback from a thumb drive or their iphone."

I think that it's a matter of choosing between audio quality/high cost and convenience/lower cost. I bought several DVD-audio disks and agree that the sound is nothing short of amazing. But it's far more convenient and less expensive for me to use my iPod, which lets me access many hundreds of songs without changing disks.

 

[robcar]

I agree with this guy.

"BTW it's a real struggle over at the Genesis forums as most people there don't know what dvd-audio is. They think it's a dvd with a bunch of mp3 music on it, even after reading the review. I'm perplexed that people can buy a ride with such a good surround system in it and the only concern is mp3 playback from a thumb drive or their iphone."

One reason people don't understand dvd-audio, I believe, is because the name is confusing. They should have given it a different name, leaving out the "dvd" part. Many people buy these thinking they include video. Many dvd-audio discs on amazon.com get bad reviews because people say "the music sounds great" but "there are no pictures."

To be clear: dvd-audio discs are music only, with no video. And because the music is uncompressed it has a richer, fuller, more realistic sound. Also, most dvd-audio disc are mastered in 5.1 surround sound. The quality of dvd-audio is much superior to cd's or mp3 music or xm radio, all of which are compressed. Moving up to dvd-audio is like moving up from analog tv to hdtv.

 

[DeeVa]

Yes, I had never heard of DVD Audio when I bought a Genesis. I still like listening to 50 year old LPs.

 

[elshagon]

The ability of large playlists you get with mp3 players is nice. I enjoy shuffling the playlists on my phone or streaming online radio stations using the Tunein Radio app. I think both the convenience of mp3's and the quality of dvd-audio have their place. I think if I didn't have a large collection of dvd-audio, sacd and bluray music (all high resolution and can be converted to dvd-audio for playback in the Genesis) then I'd be less interested in it. For me, I enjoy making my own dvd-audio discs with a mix of artists. I can fit around 4 hours of music on a dual layer dvd in high resolution surround. Not as much variety and files as you can get with thumb drive full of mp3's, but not bad. It's too bad the studios have decided to go the convenience route and are putting out next to nothing in high resolution. I guess it's the world we live in. Maybe it will change someday. I wish they'd at least re-release the dvd-audio that have since sold out everywhere so the only choice is to pay $100 or more on ebay or download the music.

 

[Ruissimo]

It's too bad the studios have decided to go the convenience route and are putting out next to nothing in high resolution. I guess it's the world we live in. Maybe it will change someday. I wish they'd at least re-release the dvd-audio that have since sold out everywhere so the only choice is to pay $100 or more on ebay or download the music.

EXACTLY.

I would love to own every piece of say, Porcupine Tree or Dire Straits on DVD-A. But the Amazon and Ebay sharks are asking $119 - $300 for a copy that was originally $15 - $30 not even six months ago!

I suppose I could accept the whole "you snooze you lose" concept, but that kind of price-gouging is ridiculous. And so, I live on knowing some day, these greedy jerks will eventually have to unload their inventory on Ebay 'cause their mommy kicked them out of her basement and their plan backfired. And I will be there to pick them up for $15.00 a pop again.

As for your comment on the studios... is it the studios, or the artists themselves?

On a little side note... today, I successfully made copies of two of my DVD-A's. They are brand new, and will remain that way for a long time - the copy was successful, and plays perfectly on my home surround system. Same sound, no skips, perfect. If only I had a Lexicon to see if these Memorex DVD+R's are compatible...

FYI -- and I learned it on here somewhere -- all I did was copy the the AUDIO_TS and VIDEO_TS folders to my hard drive, put in an 8.5GB Memorex DVD+R, and used the program IMGBURN to burn an image to the disc. The second album was pretty cool - I put in the 8.5GB disc, and IMGBURN told me I "didn't need one, why not use a 4.7GB single layer disc instead?"

Thanks IMGBURN! I will do that!

And I did. And they both sound AMAZING.

Thanks also to the faceless, nameless individual on this great forum who showed me the way.

PS --> Elshagon, some day, I too will make my own DVD-A mixes. Some day.

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[stuofsci02]

The ability of large playlists you get with mp3 players is nice. I enjoy shuffling the playlists on my phone or streaming online radio stations using the Tunein Radio app. I think both the convenience of mp3's and the quality of dvd-audio have their place. I think if I didn't have a large collection of dvd-audio, sacd and bluray music (all high resolution and can be converted to dvd-audio for playback in the Genesis) then I'd be less interested in it. For me, I enjoy making my own dvd-audio discs with a mix of artists. I can fit around 4 hours of music on a dual layer dvd in high resolution surround. Not as much variety and files as you can get with thumb drive full of mp3's, but not bad. It's too bad the studios have decided to go the convenience route and are putting out next to nothing in high resolution. I guess it's the world we live in. Maybe it will change someday. I wish they'd at least re-release the dvd-audio that have since sold out everywhere so the only choice is to pay $100 or more on ebay or download the music.

What are you using to convert Blu-Ray concerts to DVD-A. I have several concerts I would love to be able to have in DVD-A, such at Chris Botti (Live in Boston), Roy Orbison and Friend (A black and White Concert)...

 

[PMCErnie]

I agree with this guy.

"BTW it's a real struggle over at the Genesis forums as most people there don't know what dvd-audio is. They think it's a dvd with a bunch of mp3 music on it, even after reading the review. I'm perplexed that people can buy a ride with such a good surround system in it and the only concern is mp3 playback from a thumb drive or their iphone."

What dolt wrote that? It's obvious that he/she didn't read the flow of this thread.

 

[BacktoHyundaibychoice]

What dolt wrote that? It's obvious that he/she didn't read the flow of this thread.

Um. I think it was written BECAUSE he/she read the flow of this thread and found it amazing!

 

[elshagon]

I'm perplexed that people can buy a ride with such a good surround system in it and the only concern is mp3 playback from a thumb drive or their iphone."

What computer software are you using to create the DVD audio discs? I just have all mine jammed onto a 64gb flash drive. Works fine, even with the random, but I might enjoy the DVD-audio discs where I can subdivide songs onto discs by type.

What dolt wrote that? It's obvious that he/she didn't read the flow of this thread.

Care to read the thread again before you dish out the insults? I understand that dvd-audio is confusing due to its name and is often thought of as a regular dvd with a bunch of audio files. This is not the case. Dvd-audio is much higher quality and uses .mlp compression which is similar to what is found on bluray discs in the form of Dolby TrueHD.
It was obvious the above poster didn't understand what dvd-audio was, and here was your response to him:

I've used IMTOO software to rip audio from DVDs. Simple enough.
I have not, however, created a custom DVD filled only with audio files. Is it as simple as dragging mp3 files onto a DVD?

So your response to his confusion as to what dvd-audio is and how to create the discs was to suggest a program which can't even handle dvd-audio or rip the tracks off of them. So, who's the dolt?

 

[elshagon]

What are you using to convert Blu-Ray concerts to DVD-A. I have several concerts I would love to be able to have in DVD-A, such at Chris Botti (Live in Boston), Roy Orbison and Friend (A black and White Concert)...

The Roy Orbison one was released on Dvd-Audio in addition to the blu-ray. To convert the bluray to dvd-audio you must rip the audio you want off the bluray, there's a number of programs which can do this, but its a bit of a pain. Then you must convert that audio to .mlp which is what is used on dvd-audio discs. I use SurCode MLP Encoder for this which takes the .wav files and encodes them to .mlp. After that I use another program to make the dvd-audio using the .mlp tracks. A lengthy process involving multiple programs, but it can be done. I have several movie sountracks in surround that were included as extras on blurays, plus several artists have released studio albums on bluray now such as Steven Wilson and Tom Petty.

 

[stuofsci02]

The Roy Orbison one was released on Dvd-Audio in addition to the blu-ray. To convert the bluray to dvd-audio you must rip the audio you want off the bluray, there's a number of programs which can do this, but its a bit of a pain. Then you must convert that audio to .mlp which is what is used on dvd-audio discs. I use SurCode MLP Encoder for this which takes the .wav files and encodes them to .mlp. After that I use another program to make the dvd-audio using the .mlp tracks. A lengthy process involving multiple programs, but it can be done. I have several movie sountracks in surround that were included as extras on blurays, plus several artists have released studio albums on bluray now such as Steven Wilson and Tom Petty.

Cool.. I will need to try this..

I assume since you are into audio big time like me you are running a stereo setup at home. I would be curious as to what you have.

I am running: B&W 804s speakers, Chord Electronics SPM-650 Amp, Emotiva USP-1 Preamp (to be replaced), Oppo 83SE CD, SACD, DVD-A, Blueray Player, Grant Fidelity DAC-09 Tube DAC (with upgraded GE 5670 redstar tubes). All in a dedicated accoustically treated room.

 

[elshagon]

Nice setup you have there. One of these days I'd like to have a dedicated home theater room. Here's an old picture of my living room. I've since upgraded my tv, a Onkyo TX-NR 3008 Receiver, and a Harmony One remote control. The speakers are Swan Divas and I also use two SVS subwoofers. I also have an Oppo player along with various other players. I have several HTPC's throughout the house and can stream any and all audio/video types to my receiver. I use Foobar on the pc to play all my high resolution surround files which I've converted to FLAC. This way I can create giant playlists of multichannel FLAC'S sourced from dvd-audio and listen to them in the living room, computer room or bedroom. Since I switched to my HTPC setup I haven't even used my Oppo. Everything goes thru the pc: dvd-audio, flac, bluray, tv, movie trailers, online radio stations, etc. The Harmony One remote can control everything. Turn all on/off, radio, tv, movies, subtitles, etc all using the remote. Life is good!

 

[LouKango]

Cool.. I will need to try this..

I assume since you are into audio big time like me you are running a stereo setup at home. I would be curious as to what you have.

I am running: B&W 804s speakers, Chord Electronics SPM-650 Amp, Emotiva USP-1 Preamp (to be replaced), Oppo 83SE CD, SACD, DVD-A, Blueray Player, Grant Fidelity DAC-09 Tube DAC (with upgraded GE 5670 redstar tubes). All in a dedicated accoustically treated room.

That.... is.... beautiful!

 

[stuofsci02]

Nice setup you have there. One of these days I'd like to have a dedicated home theater room. Here's an old picture of my living room. I've since upgraded my tv, a Onkyo TX-NR 3008 Receiver, and a Harmony One remote control. The speakers are Swan Divas and I also use two SVS subwoofers. I also have an Oppo player along with various other players. I have several HTPC's throughout the house and can stream any and all audio/video types to my receiver. I use Foobar on the pc to play all my high resolution surround files which I've converted to FLAC. This way I can create giant playlists of multichannel FLAC'S sourced from dvd-audio and listen to them in the living room, computer room or bedroom. Since I switched to my HTPC setup I haven't even used my Oppo. Everything goes thru the pc: dvd-audio, flac, bluray, tv, movie trailers, online radio stations, etc. The Harmony One remote can control everything. Turn all on/off, radio, tv, movies, subtitles, etc all using the remote. Life is good!

Very Nice!.. I have heard good things about Swan, but have not heard them myself.

I also do a lot of streaming of my computer using a Squeezebox Touch on my main system, which then runs into the GF DAC-09. This lets me run Hi Rez Flac right off my servers. I use an Ipad and Iphone as a controller to make playlists etc. I also have the Harmony One. It is great!

 

[stuofsci02]

That.... is.... beautiful!

Thanks... It is in my Basement.. Was a lot of work as I finished the basement myself.. Worth it though...!