[Jayman]

The question at hand here stems from the fact that I need to buy a new receiver (current one has died).
I have a choice between an integrated amp with no digital processing built in, and one that has digital processing built in. Naturally the one with the processing in a few hundred bucks more expensive.

Up to now I have always just connected the 5.1 analog outputs from my DVD player direct as my current receiver has no processing built in.
As I now have a choice to add an amp with processing, I am wondering if there is any significant advantage to the processing built into a decent receiver versus the processing that is built into many decent DVD players?

I understand there is a theoretical difference as the receiver should have a better DAC, but I am looking to find out if there is any significant real world difference here. The point of my post is to inquire about two types of setups and their corresponding HT sound quality.

Can anyone comment on this?

Thanks!

[Jayman]

Interesting that there are no replies to this one so far...

To add more info to the mix. The integrated amplifier I am leaning toward is the Dussun D9. the product link is here: http://www.dussun.com/english/d9.html
If you do a search online you can find some excellent info on Dussun, their amplifiers, and their status as OEM for Mark Levinson's Red Rose amplifiers.
This amplifier has no digital processing onboard so I would be relying on the DVD player's analog outputs.
I live in Beijing so I am getting this product very cheap from Shanghai, around USD 700 including 110/220 voltage switching which they are adding at the factory for me.

The other integrated amp I am looking at is a Shengya AV610. This company OEM's for the Vincent brand in Europe. This amp has the digital processing onboard so I would be able to run the digital out from the DVD player to the amp and utilize its processing. It has lower power rating than the Dussun (130 vs. 85 @ 8 ohms) but is cheaper at about USD 450.

I haven't decided on a DVD player yet, but it will be somewhere in the USD 150-200 dollar range with the 720p upscaling as I have a 50" plasma Panasonic. Probably a Chinese brand as they play the pirated DVD's the best and are region unlocked.

Hope to hear from some of you out there who can help me make up my mind here.

Thanks!

[drcruz]

I have an older Pioneer VSX-711 Receiver and an older Tosiba SD-6200 DVD Player. Everytime I read a Universal DVD Player review I noticed that the reviewer always used the players analog outs. SO one day simply for sh*ts and grins I experimented the Toshiba's analog outs to the Pioneer's analog ins and I liked the sound much  better. The sound of the Toshiba doing the processesing seemed smoother and less harsh. I liked the sound so much I can't see ever going back to a receiver doing the processing (but this is just me). In fact my next preamp upgrade (if I can ever payoff my credit card) will be either a 6-channel passive or active (Mccormack MAP-1 or Copland CVA-306) pre-amp.

[drcruz]

One more thing. Denon seems to have a good reputation for it's internal DAC for audio processing.

[Speedskater]

I suspect that 5.1 channel (or more) receivers and DVD players with DSP chips, have a mind of their own when it comes to signal processing. Each mode has the possibility of doing something strange to the audio.

[slbenz]

Jayman,

It is difficult to answer since we are not sure which DVD player you will be purchasing and the DACs used in the component you chose.  Couldn't find it on their site or a Google search.  Here is my take on it.  When I had an Oppo DV-970HD player, the DACs used sounded better than the DACs used in my old Parasound AVC-1800 HT processor.  When I sold the Parasound and went with an Outlaw Audio Model 990, the DACs in the 990 sounded better than the Oppo.  Especially when I used the upsampling feature in the 990 in the digital domain vs. the analog outputs.  Now I have upgraded the Oppo to a Marantz DV-9600 and even the DACs of the Outlaw in upsampling mode still sound better than the top-line Cirrus Logic chipset in the Marantz.  To my ears, even when I use the bypass mode of the Outlaw to only use the Marantz DACs, the Outlaw still sounds slightly better in 2-channel or DVD-Videos in the upsample mode of the Outlaw.  I suspect that the DACs in a $150-$200 DVD player will not sound as good as the integrated amp you chose.  All the DACs used in the DVD players in your price range will be entry-level according from the manufacturer while at a  minimum for the integrated amp should be mid to higher end.  So I would think your integrated amp will do a better job than the DVD player.


Slbenz     

[oscar]

It all depends on the quality of the DACs and audio processing in both  the Receiver and the DVD player.  You also might want to consider the preamp stage in the Receiver.

When I incorporated  multichannel SACD into my system, I opted to go with a "pure" Analog multichannel preamp.  I auditioned two of them (a Meitner  Switchman and the McCormack) and both were clearly better as preamps than my Preamp/Processor.  Nowadays, when I'm shopping for source players, I'm looking for quality DACs and audio processing within the player itself.  With a suitable player, I hope to avoid the "urge" to upgrade away from my HDMI-challenged pre/pro which I still use for DD/DTS decoding.

[Lyndon]

It all depends on the quality of the DACs and audio processing in both  the Receiver and the DVD player.  You also might want to consider the preamp stage in the Receiver.

This is a good thread.  Please forgive my rambling on and around the topic.  A friend of mine bought the base level Toshiba HD-A2, originally for movies with his home theater system.  But he quickly moved it to his HiFi system, claiming that the sound was far superior to his Pioneer Elite player.  I wonder what DAC's Toshiba used in that model?  The Pioneer were Burr-Brown.
Let's see, I have a plethora of lower level dvd players: Pioneer 56? (universal model), Philips 59?? (with the USB, LOVE that!), and the Toshiba HD-A2.  Hooked up to my home theater system, I still think one of my oldest players, a Sherwood Carousel CD (only) has the sweetest playback for CD.  On all of these, I have listened to the dac's on both using the player dac and the one in the receiver.  On the dvd players, only the Toshiba sounded better than the receiver's dacs.
Back to the original point, after buying the Toshiba, my friend got me excited about the Dolby HD, and the DTS-MA.
Both codecs with "lossless presentation".  However to listen to those formats, one had to go through the HDMI connections.  My A/V receiver didn't have it.  So then it was off to the AVS Forums to find a receiver that handled it correctly.  So far, I believe, the Onkyo 605, was the "cheapest" receiver that did it.  Panasonic, is going to come out with their newest XR-line receivers in February, and it also promises to handle these codecs correctly.
Well, with Toshiba HD discs on the ropes, thanks to Warner, I'm a little hesitant to jump on board.  In the near future, it would appear that only the BluRay will be around to offer these sound presentations.  Reminds me of SACD, Mini-disc, LaserDisc, Quad Records, etc.  Sounds like I would be paying a premium, for just a few movies I would be watching a year.  Though I am kind of sure it would have the best sound.  Sorry for going off topic.  But Oscar's general statement really hits it on the head.  I was surprised that the new Cirrus chip didn't do better than that Outlaw processing.  Could this be a case of to each his own?  Some people like a dac that has a pristine, etched sound, and others like a warm, soft sound.

With a suitable player, I hope to avoid the "urge" to upgrade away from my HDMI-challenged pre/pro which I still use for DD/DTS decoding.

Yup!

[oscar]

The Toshiba HD-A2 only supports 2 channel analog audio output. Any 5.1 sound will come via digital audio (HDMI or optical) to the Receiver.  If the Receiver can decode lossless TrueHD over HDMI, the sound will almost definitely be better than any lossy DD/DTS soundtrack.   it's also possible to listen to 2-channel TrueHD over the Toshiba's analog outputs which should also sound very good.

If you are integrating Blu-ray/HD DVD into your HT system, it's well worth the effort to consider how you will implement lossless TrueHD or DTS HD MA or uncompressed PCM 5.1 audio tracks.  Once you've heard a decent set of lossless/uncompressed movie sound tracks, you may become unsatisfied with lossy audio codecs.