Uncomplicated DVD/Blu Ray/CD player advice?

[GaryL]

YUP! I am pretty impressed here so far because not a single response has been "Go read the manual" YET! I was actually a bit reluctant about posting my questions figuring I would just get flamed for being the dummy by some snooty audiophile who has never been left behind and lives and breaths this stuff. Both you and lovinthehd have been super helpful and greatly appreciated by this old koot.

 

[lovinthehd]

We usually prefer the RTFM! over a plain old RTM! anyways Just depends how much you want the latest/greatest in audio/video processing to keep up with the Joneses (or how much an "upgrade" jones you have).

 

[GaryL]

YUP! Once I get this all figured out and working I will probably have to buy all new cables that have shields that won't cross talk to each other. I chased the cleanest and most perfect sound quality all my life and at this age a bose wave radio is about as good as my ears can hear.

 

[lovinthehd]

YUP! Once I get this all figured out and working I will probably have to buy all new cables that have shields that won't cross talk to each other. I chased the cleanest and most perfect sound quality all my life and at this age a bose wave radio is about as good as my ears can hear.

Glad to see you have a sense of humor on the cable thing. OTOH hearing decline in our old age is somewhat inevitable and so many of us helped further it along the ways... Tho I think I'll still keep away from Bose, thanks.

 

[GaryL]

I think that life and the environments you lived it in have a lot to do with hearing loss. I still enjoy spinning my vinyl and maintain 2 nice TTs. One is a Luxman with a SME arm and the full Denon MC setup and the other is a Technics SL1200-2 with a decent MM cartridge. I can still hear a difference but I just can't be sure which table sounds better these days. I do love reading the threads from guys who claim they can in fact hear a difference on such upgrades as cables but then I must wonder if they have listening rooms that actually compliment the audio perfection they seek. In my world and with all of my gear the thing that is most lacking is the room configuration and I just can't rebuild my home to fix that. Buying the latest and greatest new gear would simply be chasing ghosts if I fire it up in the same room. Then we must consider another reality. My wife, women in general, hear differently than most men. What sounds best to her is not what sounds best to me and never has been. All are discussions for another day I suppose.

 

[lovinthehd]

I rarely use my well maintained Technics SL1200mk2 with good mm cartridge, mostly about nostalgia these days. The cable idiocy out there is mind boggling, tho...

 

[GaryL]

I rarely use my well maintained Technics SL1200mk2 with good mm cartridge, mostly about nostalgia these days. The cable idiocy out there is mind boggling, tho...

Funny how the Rice Crispy snap crackle and pops tend to go unnoticed when I spin some older albums but there just seems to be a warmth in the sound I don't hear on other sources. Those with the Golden ears would never stand for such noise.

 

[sterling shoote]

Funny how the Rice Crispy snap crackle and pops tend to go unnoticed when I spin some older albums but there just seems to be a warmth in the sound I don't hear on other sources. Those with the Golden ears would never stand for such noise.

I put on some old audiophile LPs the other day: Blonde and Human League. No snap, crackle, or pop, NONE. Makes me wonder why my recent LPs purchased at Barnes & Noble are scattered with pop producing defects.

 

[lovinthehd]

I put on some old audiophile LPs the other day: Blondie and Human League. No snap, crackle, or pop, NONE. Makes me wonder why my recent LPs purchased at Barnes & Noble are scattered with pop producing defects.

Vinyl formulations and pressing quality varies....or getting the hole centered, or lack of warp, etc. Part of the "fun", right? I have some vinyl that's pretty noisy, others that are fairly quiet but still seems to make itself obvious in quiet passages too often.

 

[sterling shoote]

Vinyl formulations and pressing quality varies....or getting the hole centered, or lack of warp, etc. Part of the "fun", right? I have some vinyl that's pretty noisy, others that are fairly quiet but still seems to make itself obvious in quiet passages too often.

I am thinking if 40 years ago defect free LPs could be produced, why not today? Being curious, I still buy new LPs; but, I think i must be seen as a sucker for doing it. Only reason I am still forging ahead is I do sense that sometimes LPs do sound better in some manner than other media hosting same music content.

 

[lovinthehd]

I am thinking if 40 years ago defect free LPs could be produced, why not today? Being curious, I still buy new LPs; but, I think i must be seen as a sucker for doing it. Only reason I am still forging ahead is I do sense that sometimes LPs do sound better in some manner than other media hosting same music content.

It was the main format for media back then and all that production gear was new and/or relatively well maintained. That seems to be somewhat a problem in this "revivial" of the format that's been going on the last few years using the old gear. Might have to do with the experience/qualifications of the users these days as well as the vinyl formulations available to them? Not sure, don't pay any attention and haven't bought vinyl in over 25 years now....I did get a "free" 180g special pressing of a Van Morrison album maybe 10 years back, and it was somewhat noisy fwiw. While some vinyl is well done, I'll take the better digital formats/recordings and not worry about it.

 

[sterling shoote]

It was the main format for media back then and all that production gear was new and/or relatively well maintained. That seems to be somewhat a problem in this "revivial" of the format that's been going on the last few years using the old gear. Might have to do with the experience/qualifications of the users these days as well as the vinyl formulations available to them? Not sure, don't pay any attention and haven't bought vinyl in over 25 years now....I did get a "free" 180g special pressing of a Van Morrison album maybe 10 years back, and it was somewhat noisy fwiw. While some vinyl is well done, I'll take the better digital formats/recordings and not worry about it.

What I mostly buy these days is 5.1 SACDs; yet, as soon as I can afford an Apple TV, I want to explore Dolby ATMOS Music, since the best music I have ever heard so far are the sound tracks from BDs and UBDs I've bought over the last few years.

 

[lovinthehd]

What I mostly buy these days is 5.1 SACDs; yet, as soon as I can afford an Apple TV, I want to explore Dolby ATMOS Music, since the best music I have ever heard so far are the sound tracks from BDs and UBDs I've bought over the last few years.

I think that sort of Atmos music streaming is largely an algorithm-derived multich upmix from 2.0 sources rather than bluray soundtracks....but hopefully they are including some of those that are available. Is there a catalog/listing of the Atmos streaming choices ?

 

[sterling shoote]

I think that sort of Atmos music streaming is largely an algorithm-derived multich upmix from 2.0 sources rather than bluray soundtracks....but hopefully they are including some of those that are available. Is there a catalog/listing of the Atmos streaming choices ?

The Dolby ATMOS catalog in Apple Music browser is in a word gigantic; and, the music is not derived from 2.0. It’s an object based 360 experience. I won’t get the full experience from my system but I am still excited about it all.

 

[lovinthehd]

The Dolby ATMOS catalog in Apple Music browser is in a word gigantic; and, the music is not derived from 2.0. It’s an object based 360 experience. I won’t get the full experience from my system but I am still excited about it all.

So if it isn't derived from 2 ch you think they went into a mixing studio and created 5ch mixes? Sure was super fast if they did.....lol.

 

[Trebdp83]

You sound skeptical.

 

[lovinthehd]

You sound skeptical.

Lol some reason I should be otherwise?

 

[Trebdp83]

Nope.