Low-Def/High-Def Audio AB test

[D.R. Payne]

I'm wondering how many out there have taken the time to A/B low def and high def audio for themselves, and what their thoughts were. I have a test with four ginea pigs tomorrow with 5 DVD vs. Blu-Ray to see if they can pick the high bitrate audio out.

I'm wondering if anyone else has done something similar, or knows of a similar study?

 

[j_garcia]

I haven't actually sat and compared two films, but I can tell you for certain that the new formats sound better to me. One that I noticed it on right away was Sleepy Hollow - the new 1509k DTS track is more involving than the previous half bitrate version. Same with Kingdom of Heaven - the DTS HD track immediately sounded better than the SD (DC) version I have.

 

[darien87]

I A/B'd a few discs when I first got my Yamaha 661. The uncompressed audio tracks are always better. But sometimes the difference isn't that great. Blackhawk Down, the difference was HUGE. But with Underworld Evolution and Casino Royale, the difference wasn't that great.

I think audio mastering is just like video mastering, some discs look/sound better than others.

 

[mtrycrafts]

I'm wondering how many out there have taken the time to A/B low def and high def audio for themselves, and what their thoughts were. I have a test with four ginea pigs tomorrow with 5 DVD vs. Blu-Ray to see if they can pick the high bitrate audio out.

I'm wondering if anyone else has done something similar, or knows of a similar study?

I haven't but be careful how you set up your test if you want to get useful data.
Level matching the two setups is critical. You need a test disc, and an analog spl meter at the minimum for this, not music/film material that is constantly changing.
Then, you need to hide the identity, introduce random changes and sufficient number of trials, at least 10 attempts but 15 or 20 would be better. Keep scores on both end, listeners and the operator.

 

[D.R. Payne]

I've considered all of these things, except for having someone dedicated to drive, so it's only a single blind test.

 

[mtrycrafts]

I've considered all of these things, except for having someone dedicated to drive, so it's only a single blind test.

Good. Then you should have lots of fun. Be sure to let us know what happened, etc.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Yeah, I've compared Superman Returns, Underworld 1 & 2, 300, Batman Begins, Kung Fu Hustle, Blackhawk Down.

When the volume differs (like when HD audio is louder than SD audio), I can easily tell the difference. But when the volume is the same, I can't tell the difference.

For example, Day After Tomorrow & Die Hard 4 are in DTS-MA. However, I can only get DTS-core 1.5 Mbps SD audio right now. They sound so good that there is no way I can tell the difference.

The real question is, has anyone volume level MATCHED both SD and HD audio and hear the difference?

 

[darien87]

The real question is, has anyone volume level MATCHED both SD and HD audio and hear the difference?

Sure have.

 

[Alamar]

Something that you should watch out for is the fact that some audio track mixes can be done differently even if they appear on the same DVD / BluRay / etc.

I'd be willing to bet that the sources and target levels on widely different releases will be different.

To test how much a lossless track buys you vs. an otherwise equivalent DD5.1 track you'd almost have to make them at the same time from the same sources with the same channel mixes, etc. ....

I strongly suspect that with my craptastic system [to be upgraded soon I hope] that I wouldn't notice too much of a difference.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Sure have.

I'm glad somebody did because I'm way too lazy to do that. Like everyone says, it really depends on the movie and the original source. You can't expect a 10 or 20 year old movie to sound as good as a 2007 high budget movie no matter which format you listen to...well, except for Transformers HD DVD, which kind of sucked.
Then again, Transformers was only in DD+, not TrueHD, PCM, or DTS-MA! Those Paramount bastards!

 

[mtrycrafts]

Sure have.

How did you even check it, let alone level match it?

 

[mtrycrafts]

Something that you should watch out for is the fact that some audio track mixes can be done differently even if they appear on the same DVD / BluRay / etc.
.

You'd about have to do what the testers did that compared the hi-res audio formats, SACD&DVD-A, to Red Book quality.

 

[tmanasa]

... sound as good as a 2007 high budget movie no matter which format you listen to...well, except for Transformers HD DVD, which kind of sucked.
Then again, Transformers was only in DD+, not TrueHD, PCM, or DTS-MA! Those Paramount bastards!

I also had a funny experience with Transformers. When I watched it in the theater, the audio was _terrible_! It sounded squashed like a local pop radio station. However, I decided to give it a second chance at home on regular DVD and the sound was great! Certainly it was not mixed with quality in mind, but it was a whole lot of fun with the volume turned up. This fun factor helped put it at #3 on my top 5 sound movies list. (Yeah, I know. But it was fun!)

Did anyone else have a similar or contrary experience with this movie?

 

[mouettus]

I haven't actually sat and compared two films, but I can tell you for certain that the new formats sound better to me. One that I noticed it on right away was Sleepy Hollow - the new 1509k DTS track is more involving than the previous half bitrate version. Same with Kingdom of Heaven - the DTS HD track immediately sounded better than the SD (DC) version I have.

How can you compare a DTS-HD track if the playstation is only able to output the core DTS from the track?!