DVD-A Player Wiring Configuration

[bound4h]

Hope someone can point me in the right direction:

Right now, I have my DVD Player (which plays DVD-A and SACD) hooked up to my Denon Receiver(AVR-4802) using just the analog audio outputs (one pair, red and white). I also have the option on the DVD Player to hook up 6 channel, as well as Coax/Optical Digital.

Now my question:

I understand that DVD-A can be formatted for 5.1 surround, which makes it so great, but at the moment I just have two main speakers (B&W DM601 S3) hooked up. On the DVD-A disc that I play, one side is for 2channel stereo, and the other side is for 5.1 surround.

With my current setup (just using the red and white analog RCA cables for the audio output), am I utilizing the DVD-A capabilities? Or can you only get the effect if you plug 6 sperate coax cables to the 6 different speaker outputs on the back of the DVD Player?

Any help is greatly appreciated.

Thanks

 

[brian32672]

I beleive the answer is no.
I am on the understanding that you would need a 5.1 analog out on the back of your dvd player.
And the 2 analog out obviously won't cut it.

I'm not much into DVD-A so someone else will be around to clean up my understandings.....

 

[brian32672]

But on another note: My DVD player does have the 5.1 out

 

[bound4h]

Thanks for your response, 3 times

My DVD Player also has the 5.1 outputs, I just dont have 6 speakers. Should I just hook up 2 of the 6?

Thanks

 

[brian32672]

Thanks for your response, 3 times

My DVD Player also has the 5.1 outputs, I just dont have 6 speakers. Should I just hook up 2 of the 6?

Thanks

You could, but that would be defeating the purpose. Obviously it will play sound, but only out of the 2 speakers hooked up.

For a small budget, I would highly recommend getting all 6 speakers hooked up.

You already have the 2 fronts I am assuming. So all you would need is a center, 2 surround bookshelfs, and a sub.

Granted your receiver will accept the dvd 5.1 input.

 

[bound4h]

Thanks again for your reply.

The receiver is a monster (click) that costed me about $2,000. It does have the connections you speak of. The speaker mains that I have, B&W DM601 S3 (click) costs me a pretty penny as well, so I am trying not throw in other surround speakers "just to have them", if that makes any sense.

What I am going for here is sound quality, not necessarily the ability to have 5.1 channels. So I wanted to make sure I was getting that extra-added quality that DVD-A has to offer with just using the regular RCA Analog outputs.

Thanks again for your help, and any other information is helpful. I have been searching the net, but I cannot find a definitive answer as to whether the 2channel setup I have gives me the extra quality that DVD-A offers.

 

[brian32672]

Well this being the case, I would have to say-Yes.
The uncompressed DVD-A format would allow for better clarity over a CD.
But once again, there are much more qualified answers here at AH, so just check back by tomorrow, and you will have a 100% definite answer.... (Buckeye, BMXTrix, jaxvon would probably, be able to elaborate more on this)

 

[dponeill]

The best thing to do would be to hook up only the front channel 5.1 outs from the DVD to the front 5.1 ins on the receiver. This will give you the cleanest signal path. You will also need to make sure that you select the 2 channel output option in the DVD players SACD/DVD-A setup menu.

Dennis

 

[j_garcia]

I don't think the 4802 had Denon link did it? If not, and/or you do not have a player that also has this, you CANNOT get DVD-A or SACD via digital, they are both passed via analog only, unless you have gear with compatible digital connections that support these formats (firewire, Denon-link, etc...). Optical and coaxial digital will not work for hires formats.

You should have no problem playing and hearing a stereo DVD-A or SACD track with just the right and left stereo analog connections. The difference in quality of what you hear will vary depending on the recording, but in general, there is still a fairly noticable improvement with SACD and DVD-A over redbook CD.

You won't be able to hear the 5.1 tracks without the additional speakers though. All you will hear is the front R&L channels, and the rest of the information from the other speakers will be missing.

For stereo only playback, it usually doesn't matter if you use the stereo analog out or the R&L of the multichannel outputs from the player. Since it is analog also, your receiver doesn't care which input it is sent to.

Most DVD-A players I've seen do not have a setup for 2ch or multichannel, that is selected on the disc, which means you will have to select the stereo DVD-A track once you start playing the disc. With some SACD players, you can choose the default of CD layer, 2ch or M/C SACD.

 

[AVRat]

Help!!!

The immediate answer is no. All you'll get is 2-channel stereo by using just the analog DVD L/R. However, this signal is digitized for processing then decoded and sent back out as analog.

By using a single digital connection (coax/optical), the full 6 or 7 channels of information is sent to the receiver digitally. There is no analog to digital conversion.

The anolog multiple channel inputs (Ext-in) pass straight through the receiver, no processing allowed, only to be amplified. Since you only have two speakers, all that is required are the L/R connections. Add the connection as you add the speaker.

To get the most flexibility out of your current system, you should at least add the digital connection. This will allow the receiver to process all channel info to give you the best sound and imaging it can out of just your two speakers.

 

[brian32672]

To get the most flexibility out of your current system, you should at least add the digital connection. This will allow the receiver to process all channel info to give you the best sound and imaging it can out of just your two speakers.

He is talking about using it for DVD-A Not for regular DVD's. DVD-A requires the 5.1 outputs. And I was on the undestanding DVD-A will not work through a digital output. Considering each channel on a DVD-A is seperated for analog output. Its not mixed digitally like a normal DD or DTS 5.1 or 6.1

 

[MDS]

The original poster must be totally confused by now.

1. The data on the DVD-A is digital. The high-resolution tracks are PCM, just like a CD; however, they have a much higher sampling rate and are compressed using MLP (Meridian Lossless Packing) which is why we refer to them as 'hi-res'.
2. You cannot pass the hi-res tracks digitally over either coax or toslink digital connections; only Denon Link. You should have a digital connection though for playing redbook CDs in the player or for playing the standard 2 channel PCM track on a DVD-A (if it has one). If the DVD-A also has a DD 5.1 track, that can be sent digitally.
3. When you use the 5.1 analog outs, the player decompresses the MLP, performs D/A conversion, and sends the resulting analog signal for each channel out the 5.1 analog outs. The receiver just amplifies each channel.
4. You can use just the left and right analog connections of the ext in to play the normal res 2 channel track. The player will do the D/A and send the analog signal. You could also play the 5.1 hi-res track using that connection, but as has been said above, you will only hear the left and right channels because there are no cables connected to the receiver for the other channels.

- If you have a compatable Denon player, using Denon Link to play the hi-res tracks digitally.
- If not, buy 5.1 analog cables and hook it up that way; otherwise you can only play the standard res 2 channel tracks.

 

[brian32672]

The original poster must be totally confused by now.

1. The data on the DVD-A is digital. The high-resolution tracks are PCM, just like a CD; however, they have a much higher sampling rate and are compressed using MLP (Meridian Lossless Packing) which is why we refer to them as 'hi-res'.
2. You cannot pass the hi-res tracks digitally over either coax or toslink digital connections; only Denon Link. You should have a digital connection though for playing redbook CDs in the player or for playing the standard 2 channel PCM track on a DVD-A (if it has one). If the DVD-A also has a DD 5.1 track, that can be sent digitally.
3. When you use the 5.1 analog outs, the player decompresses the MLP, performs D/A conversion, and sends the resulting analog signal for each channel out the 5.1 analog outs. The receiver just amplifies each channel.
4. You can use just the left and right analog connections of the ext in to play the normal res 2 channel track. The player will do the D/A and send the analog signal. You could also play the 5.1 hi-res track using that connection, but as has been said above, you will only hear the left and right channels because there are no cables connected to the receiver for the other channels.

- If you have a compatable Denon player, using Denon Link to play the hi-res tracks digitally.
- If not, buy 5.1 analog cables and hook it up that way; otherwise you can only play the standard res 2 channel tracks.

So for the most part I was right? By saying that they will not work with the digital outputs? And would only work with the 5.1 analog outs. However it was still recorded digitally, (oops my bad, was not thinking well-Even CD's are digital-Duh)

 

[bound4h]

Thanks for the replies, guys.

On the back of the DVD-A player, there are two outlined output areas. The two Analog L/R are outlined black and say "2ch". Then there is a set of analog outputs that are outlined in black and say "5.1Multi". Then there is the normal digital outputs.

So, I have a 2ch, 5.1Multi, and digital. The DVD-A I have has two sides: 2ch stereo and 5.1multi. I have it on the 2ch stereo side, with L/R Analogs plugged into the 2ch L/R output on the DVD-A player.

I am almost positive I am getting the increased resolution because the layout on the back of DVD-A player seems so self-explanitory.

I am going for clarity, not 6 channels. So two is fine.

Thanks guys.

 

[Bevan]

the analogue rca hookup you use will very definitely give you the full high resolution benefit of dvd-a or sacd, just not the surround benefit. provided the disk contains 24 bit stereo. always check the disk and get to know exactly what youre buying.

i only listen to high res in stereo(prefer to spend all my budget on the front two speakers). even if there is only a 5.1 channel mix, if i set my denon universal to 'no centre', 'no surrounds' and 'no sub' i get good 2.0.

b