Denon AVR-3808ci - which decoder to use?

[jimgoings]

I have a Denon AVR-3808ci (what a difference from the 3805!) and a Sony BDP-S350 Blu-Ray player.

I originally had the BDP handling the decoding of the Dolby TrueHD and DD signals. For giggles, I turned it off processing on the BDP and am now having the receiver handle it.

All is working, except that I notice that when the receiver is handling it, the volume seems lower than when the BDP is handling it?

Any opinions? Is one better than the other? I'd like to think that the Denon has a better decoder, but I don't know enough to say.

Thanks!

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I originally had the BDP handling the decoding of the Dolby TrueHD and DD signals.

The Sony 350 BD does not Internally Decode TrueHD & DTS-MA. It only internally decodes DD & DTS.

So I would definitely let the Denon 3808CI do all the decoding.

Volume Level Variation is a HUGE issue EVERYWHERE.

I did a simple experiment comparing TrueHD, DTS-MA, and PCM on the same exact disc. ALL THREE had Different Volumes!!! On the SAME disc!

Sometimes DD is Louder. Sometimes TrueHD is Louder. Volume Levels can vary greatly.

It has NOTHING to do with Sound Quality.

 

[jimgoings]

Interesting. Makes sense. In general, I've found DD to be quieter than stereo (in 2 speaker mode). However, TrueHD volume is lower, but not problematic. I typically watch moves on -15Db or so.

 

[PENG]

If you stick to DD+ and Dolby True HD, then either one is good and it will be hard to tell the difference aside from the output level. For DTS HD/MA you have to use the Denon because the S350's internal decoder cannot do it.