As an old-school Seal fan, I'm tempted to buy his first two albums when they are re-released on DVD Audio in a few weeks (June 6, I think...). Having never purchased a DVD Audio release before, though, and owning a cheap DVD player with a decent (but not top-of-the-range by any means) sound system, I'm wondering if this will be a worthwhile purchase, and whether I'll notice any difference in sound quality. Can someone give me a little advice on this?

booyah said:

If you don't have an entertainment system with surround sound, then don't bother buying DVD audio I say.

sextonseven said:

But... If you do....they are definitely worth it.If your system has 5.1 surround sound , it will sound like Seal is in your living room.
[Edited 5/26/05 19:31pm]

booyah said:

I think that even when you have 5.1 you still have some compression. You need the DVD Audio player to get the full benefit. But you still get all the visual extras (slide shows etc...) as well as interactivity. Will the Seal DVD have these features?

Anyway this technology is interesting. It's copy protection is much better.
Wondering if this will actually encourage people to BUY again. Especially when they're now used to mp3 compression. Perhaps the difference will be so noticable that they will.

I like dualdiscs--CD on one side, DVD on the other. I listened to Nellie McKay's dualdisc in my DVD player and it was incredible.

DVD-Audio and SACD seem to be dying a slow death > The average person was confused by the two formats, and Universal players, that could play both formats, were late coming. Most people aren't that interested in "better" sound anyway, they;d rather have convenience, which is why downloading and MP3s and Ipods are so popular .
And it didn't help that the labels hardly put out enough music on those formats to attract consumers

Nope.

jjhunsecker said:

That's why I didn't get into it (at least so far). Reminds me of the 80s when alot of titles weren't on CD.

jjhunsecker said:

I agree with you. Everyday there's a new standard...or an attempt at one. Convenience will win out. And even if the standard were enforced nothing is beyond piracy. Perhaps it's my wishful thinking as I watch the ship sink. And then it's probably not even sinking it's just becoming another vehicle altogether, I just don't fully see it yet.

These formats have only found a home with analog audiophiles who heretofore wanted nothing whatsoever to do with digital audio...CDs specifically.

As for the average guy/girl, as has been stated, it's format confusion all over again.
The "universal players" haven't caught on with them either.

Not to mention the next battlefield, Blu-Ray vs HD-DVD.

With mass acceptance of MP3 audio, especially by the youth market, these hi-resolution digital audio formats have their work cut out for them.

tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...rmusic.htm

Cheeses!

Just how many formats are we discussing here?

CinisterCee said:

What's currently available in the high-resolution digital audio arena is SACD & DVD-Audio.


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...rmusic.htm

theAudience said:

Speaking for myself, Ive been very happy with the current state of digital mastering on regular CDs .Sure,in the early days of that format, the quality wasnt very good.But since the early 90s,or maybe even earlier, remastered CDs get the job done.

Having said that, DVD Audio discs blew me away when I first heard them. I cant think why that format wasnt a success , since most people already have DVD players . But I guess you are right.Most people arent audiophiles.

MrTation said:

Aye, there's the rub matey.

The fact that so many folks go merrily along, quite satisfied with MP3 level audio because of the convenience of being able to stuff a gajillion tunes on a disc (or ipod) pretty much nails the coffin shut on that story. Quantity over quality. Or as some will argue, convenience over less convenient.

I remember my 1st CD player. Got it all hooked up and loaded that initial CD.
So accustomed to analog playback (vinyl/tape), I was waiting for some form of scratch/pop/hiss that always preceded the audio. Not hearing anything, I jacked up the volume and then...WHAM! Nothing but clear/clean audio suddenly blasted out of the speakers.

Scared the bejeezus out of me.

After listening to a few CDs, my feeling was that they sounded edgey and bottom-light.
Over time, as you indicated, better mastering eliminated most of that. The advent of SACD & DVD-Audio with their increased digital resolution (24 bit/96kHz vs. 16 bit/44.1kHz) improved the sound even further.

I enjoy the sound of the discs also. Some are a bit disorienting when revisited in 5.1 surround.
The beginning of Money by Pink Floyd for example.


tA

Tribal Disorder

http://www.soundclick.com...rmusic.htm

theAudience said:

On many of these DVD-As , the music is remixed quite differently than on the original LPs.Often ,different instrument and vocal tracks will be used and/or made more or less prominant in the mix.It's fascinating & weird at the same time.
[Edited 5/27/05 19:12pm]

MrTation said:

You would have to have a DVD player that SPECIFICALLY plays DVD-Audio discs, to fully get uncompressed High Resolution DVD-Audio sound. However (and this is where it get's confusing !) DVD Audio discs also contain a seperate Dolby Digital version of the album as well, which can be played in any DVD player. So anyone with a DVD player could listen to a DVD Audio disc, but unless your player has the capacity to play DVD Audio, you wont get the highest quality .

Whew ... no wonder it didn't catch on !!!! To fully appreciate DVD Audio and SACD as well, you have to have the plyback equipment, including a reciever that can handle it, as well as the player . PLUS, as they said in a audio magazine I read recently, "You'll have to sit in one specific spot like a deer caught in headlights" to get the complete impact of the surround sound, and most people simply don't sit and listen to music these days