Music Audio Format for surround sound

[Driv200]

A true home theater buff, I am an expert in all the surround formats for my home viewing. Music on the other hand is where I am not an expert, but have a high interest in. Read in manual where the 4.6 tech pack can handle just about any surround format....which is great. Not sure about SACD, but DVD and DVD audio.

Without going critical on info overload, it's my understanding DVD Audio is the best encoded surround format. Trying to find DVD Audio is another story. Ofcourse, I am not talking about DVD music videos or DVD discs with concert music on them. DVD Audio is music only....is this right?

Where can one find such material? Thanks.

Is there a top 10 list of DVD Audio discs anywhere? Ideas?

 

[BacktoHyundaibychoice]

You likely know that DVD-A is mostly unsupported as a format but for a handful of new releases per year. Here's a great listing (ranked) of DVD-A's through the years and includes the new ones too:

http://www.quadraphonicquad.com/QQHiRezPoll2004.htm

SACD is not supported by the Lexicion, but you're right about the superior quality of DVD-A as is dicussed in this thread:

http://genesisowners.com/hyundai-genesis-forum/showthread.php?t=1300&highlight=music+lexicon

Finally, my preference for playing a DVD-A in the Genesis is to engage "surround" (which kicks a 5.1 recording to 7.1 I believe) and adjust the fade 3 clicks to the rears.

Enjoy!

 

[Platgen]

The site www.acousticsounds.com has a section of dvd-audio. Scroll down the left side of the front page and select dvd. There is then another menu for dvd audio to select.

 

[Driv200]

Fantastic help. Headed to all these sites now.

 

[GypsyDRB]

what are my other options outside of DVD-A for 5 channel sound? choices, as others have posted above, are very limited.

Should I search for dolby digital cds or dts encoded cds?

 

[OBCT]

nevermind.

 

[DesertGen]

Genesis tech WILL play DTS encoded discs. Many dvd videos are encoded this way. While not quite up to the quality of dvd-a discs, some music/concert videos in DTS make for good listening.

 

[BacktoHyundaibychoice]

The Lex handles DTS and Dolby just fine, with DTS being my preference over Dolby most of the time, especially on DVD movies/soundtracks/concerts.

From the website:

To further enhance your listening experience, the Lexicon system is compatible with a wide variety of media, including CD, DVD-Audio, DVD-Video, MP3, Video CD and compatible formats, including PCM, Dolby® Digital, and DTS®.

 

[BacktoHyundaibychoice]

Genesis tech WILL play DTS encoded discs. Many dvd videos are encoded this way. While not quite up to the quality of dvd-a discs, some music/concert videos in DTS make for good listening.

Beat me to it!

 

[OBCT]

Thanks for correcting me, guys. I couldn't have been wronger!!

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[Driv200]

Bump: Anyone have a favorite DVD-A they love listening to in their 4.6?

 

[robcar]

I have gotten quite a few DVD-A discs (audio only, no video) from Amazon.com. Just type in "DVD-A" under their music category (and check the "DVD-A" box on the left hand side) and hundreds of choices come up. They all have much better sound quality than ordinary CD's, and they sound especially amazing on the 17-speaker Lexicon sound system. A good one to start with is the Beatles "Love" DVD-A.

Some other good DVD-Audio discs are: "Gaucho" by Steely Dan; "Pet Sounds" by the Beach Boys, "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" by Elton John; "Black & White Night" by Roy Orbison; and the Marvin Gaye Collection.

You can find many more DVD-A recommendations on the "Music for the Lexicon" thread.

 

[DeeVa]

I wonder if this is the route we'll need to go?

[from Audio/Video Revolution forum]

Well, it's been 4 years since I kicked off this thread, in the intervening time I bought a Pioneer DVD player that also plays DVD-Audio and SACD, bought a bunch of SACDs and enjoyed the superior sound, then bought an Oppo BDP-83 and retired the Pioneer, (my shortest-lived piece of AV gear ever) bought some blu-ray audio discs which also sounded good, and now have just downloaded my first high-rez album from HDTracks in FLAC format (Buena Vista Social Club). I burned a DVD-Audio copy of the FLAC files with Cirlinca DVD-Audio Solo software, chucked it in the Oppo, and am happily listening to high quality 96KHz / 24 bit sound which I painlessly and legally obtained over the internet. I'm now probably done buying audio discs of any flavour, unless it's the only way to obtain a paticular recording. I'm considering getting a Squeezebox Touch, ripping my CD's to FLAC, and sticking my whole collection on a NAS. I may however, hold out for a playback chain that can handle multichannel FLAC files. (Anybody know if the Oppo BDP-93/95 can do this?) I think the writing is on the wall and the future of audio will not include spinning discs. The good news is that hi-rez audio is alive and well in the form of FLAC and other lossless compression formats, and will probably become easier find and purchase in the form of downloadable files on retail websites.

[Whoops - no multi-channel from HDTracks.]

 

[Capt Steve]

Some information about DVD-A and FLAC.

FLAC is a lossless compression. Just like ACC and WMA. This means that whatever the source was recorded in, there has been no compression or loss of data. However, if the source was recorded in 16bit 44.1khz stereo, that is the best you can get. The best a CDs can be recorded in is 16bit 44.1khz. Therefore, ripping a CD to FLAC or ACC lossless is still CD quality.

DVD-A can support different formats, including stereo, 5.1 surround, and quad. Again, if you have a 16bit 44.1khz stereo source, putting the information on a DVD-A does not give you 24bit 96khz 5.1 surround.

Therefore, just taking a FLAC file which is recorded in stereo and putting it on a DVD-A, does not get you true surround sound. Plus, if the source was recorded in CD format, just ripping it to FLAC will not give you better sound, the best it can do is give you the same quality as the source.

Bottom line is that the best quality sound you can get is limited by the source. You can not make a recording sound better then the source you are using.

Now the case against 5.1 surround for music. Most music is available in stereo, unless you have the multi-track master or it was remixed for 5.1 or a higher bit rate which is rare. Even the commercial DVD-A discs are mostly stereo. The advantage of DVD-A is that you can store more music on the disc.

In real life, if you are sitting listening to a concert, the sound you hear is mostly stereo. This is because band is in front of you and you only have two ears. That is why true audiophiles only listen in stereo. It is the truest representation of the music.

Having said that, I like the sound of simulated 5.1 music, only because it is fuller, but that is a personal preference. That is a nice thing about the lexicon system is that it will simulate 5.1 from a stereo source.

 

[BacktoHyundaibychoice]

Some information about DVD-A and FLAC.

FLAC is a lossless compression. Just like ACC and WMA. This means that whatever the source was recorded in, there has been no compression or loss of data. However, if the source was recorded in 16bit 44.1khz stereo, that is the best you can get. The best a CDs can be recorded in is 16bit 44.1khz. Therefore, ripping a CD to FLAC or ACC lossless is still CD quality.

DVD-A can support different formats, including stereo, 5.1 surround, and quad. Again, if you have a 16bit 44.1khz stereo source, putting the information on a DVD-A does not give you 24bit 96khz 5.1 surround.

Therefore, just taking a FLAC file which is recorded in stereo and putting it on a DVD-A, does not get you true surround sound. Plus, if the source was recorded in CD format, just ripping it to FLAC will not give you better sound, the best it can do is give you the same quality as the source.

Bottom line is that the best quality sound you can get is limited by the source. You can not make a recording sound better then the source you are using.

Now the case against 5.1 surround for music. Most music is available in stereo, unless you have the multi-track master or it was remixed for 5.1 or a higher bit rate which is rare. Even the commercial DVD-A discs are mostly stereo. The advantage of DVD-A is that you can store more music on the disc.

In real life, if you are sitting listening to a concert, the sound you hear is mostly stereo. This is because band is in front of you and you only have two ears. That is why true audiophiles only listen in stereo. It is the truest representation of the music.

Having said that, I like the sound of simulated 5.1 music, only because it is fuller, but that is a personal preference. That is a nice thing about the lexicon system is that it will simulate 5.1 from a stereo source.

Yes to most of this, but a true 5.1 mix on DVD-A sounds so superior to stereo that the "true audiophiles" can bite me. Nothing "simulated" about it, recorded exactly how Steven Wilson or Elliot Scheiner heard it in their minds.
The "nice" thing about the Lexicon isn't what it simulates, it's what it plays back faithfully.
To each his own I guess...

 

[DeeVa]

The nice thing about HDTracks (from person that created Chesky records) is that many of the albums are 24bit 96khz (and some 24bit 172?khz). So for $17 I can download a high quality version of the Eagles Hotel California and burn it to a DVD. But unfortunately they have decided that the market for multichannel FLAC is too small.