I've always thought music was something that should be strictly two-channel and have listened to it that way for many years.

However, today I was listening to an Opeth CD and I accidentally hit the button for one of the surround modes and WOW!!!! I was overcome with how enveloping and dynamic it sounded.

I don't know anything about DVD-A or SACD but listening to this makes me want to run out and pick up a few. Any recommendations? I listen to a wide variety of music, from electronica to jazz to country to death metal, so just about any suggestion would be welcome.

I don't know anything about DVD-A or SACD but listening to this makes me want to run out and pick up a few.Although you can enjoy the lossy DD/DTS soundtracks present on most DVD-A discs with any standard DVD player, you'll need a hirez capable player to enjoy the hirez DVD-A tracks and/or any SACD tracks.

Although you can enjoy the lossless DD/DTS soundtracks present on most DVD-A discs with any standard DVD player, you'll need a hirez capable player to enjoy the hirez DVD-A tracks and/or any SACD tracks.

My DVD player (Pioneer DV-563) has multi-channel analog outputs. I assume this would be what you mean by hi-rez capable?

You meant "lossy", didn't you?

FWIW, I started buying DVD-As long before I had a DVD-A player in my set up and I enjoyed the DD/DTS mixes. So if any DVD-As appeal to the OP, they should be a good intro to the possibilities. If he goes SACD, though, his love of jazz will be his main venue, I should think.

You meant "lossy", didn't you?Ooops, thx, edited.

My DVD player (Pioneer DV-563) has multi-channel analog outputs. I assume this would be what you mean by hi-rez capable?Yes. Your player is capable of playing both DVD-A and SACD. Provided your receiver has multichannel analog inputs, you CAN enjoy the hirez multichannel tracks of both DVD-As and SACDs. If your receiver doesn't have the proper inputs, you can't. But you can still enjoy the hirez stereo tracks (not that that seems to interest you, though).

Be aware before you start purchasing that some SACDs do not contain multichannel tracks, only 2-channel tracks, so these may not make you happy. Most all DVD-As have multichannel hirez (and lossy, too) tracks.

My DVD player (Pioneer DV-563) has multi-channel analog outputs. I assume this would be what you mean by hi-rez capable?

Multi-channel outputs are simply that. A DVD player must have SACD and/or DVD-A capability to be truly high-res capable, which your Pioneer 563 does. There are some high-res capable units that do not have multi-channel outputs and only output a high-res stereo signal.

Well, since you listen to Opeth, there is one Opeth CD/DVD available in multichannel surround, but frankly the surround mix is fairly tame, and it is only DVD-V, IIRC.

But a band that is near and dear to my heart, and is also tightly related to Opeth, is Porcupine Tree (Steven Wilson, the man behind the band, has worked with Opeth, they've inspired each other, and PT and Opeth have toured together). This band has several DVD-A releases, including In Absentia, Deadwing, and their latest, Fear of a Blank Planet. Make sure you get the DVD-A to maximize your listening pleasure, since DVD-V releases have also been done for Deadwing and FoaBP. The DVD-As of In Absentia and Deadwing are available from Amazon, but you'll have to go to the band-associated website burningshed.com to get your hands on the FoaBP DVD-A.

There are a large number of SACD and DVD-A multichannel titles available - not as many as we'd all like, but still a lot to choose from. However, some titles are long out of print and hard to find. Browse the two websites (both spawned by AVS users, I believe) that try to catalog all the releases and see if anything sparks an interest, then see if Amazon carries it.

http://www.sa-cd.net
http://dvd-a.info/

Good luck, and watch your wallet!

shinksma

Yes, I love Porcupine Tree. Been listening to them since around the time 'Stupid Dream' came out.

As a matter of fact I just picked up 'Deadwing' at Circuit City along with a few others -- Queensryche 'Empire', UFO Live in Tokyo, Crystal Method's Legion of Boom and Sarah McLaughlin 'Touch'. The latter which is almost guaranteed to get me some action with the missus. :D

Add another vote for all of the Porcupine Tree DVD-A's. Stupid Dream is also avaialble in DVD-A and I understand that Lightbulb Sun is soon to be released on DVD-A. Linkin Park has a DVD-A that is fun to listen to every now and then.

Listening to Crystal Method on my crusty, trusty Panasonic dvd-s55 in 5.1 multi-channel mode here in the office. It kicks. Ditto with PTree Stupid Dream. That's one of the reasons I picked up a Tosh hd-xa2 for the living room as an upgrade for the s55 - for the analog audio capabilities.

Not to pee on your discovery, but you are at the end of this high rez format, both are pretty much dead. I wish it were not the case, but people like us are few and far between....

Not to pee on your discovery, but you are at the end of this high rez format, both are pretty much dead. I wish it were not the case, but people like us are few and far between....

Yeah, well vinyl is dead but that doesn't mean I don't still enjoy my turntable every now and then.

I was just listening to the UFO disc and it's REALLY cool. I almost expect to open my eyes and see Pete Way standing right there in the room chugging away on his bass. Awesome. :)

Not to pee on your discovery, but you are at the end of this high rez format, both are pretty much dead. I wish it were not the case, but people like us are few and far between....

He may be at the end but he's just starting. there's more than enough SACD's and some DVD'a to keep him busy for a long while...enjoy the surround music! give some concert DVD's a go too if you haven't already some of them has some great surround going on.

I've discovered that a lot of the European bands in the Progressive Rock/Metal/Goth have embraced multi channel recordings. I just ordered a disc from Within Temptation that is a dual disc and the MCH side is DVD A. I discovered them as with many because of Porcupine Tree. They are headlining a big festival that PT is also at. If you like Evenesense then you will like these guys, but they are much much better. Here is a link and also you can find them on Myspace with music and videos. Also Check out Stream of Passion. Both excellent bands and both with MCH recordings

http://www.streamofpassion.com

http://www.within-temptation.com

Read thru the various "favorite disc" threads on here to get an idea of some well mixed albums. What's nice about the Porcupine Tree dvd-audio discs is they're still widely available at a reasonable price: Stupid Dream, Deadwing, In Absentia, FOABP and the upcoming Lightbulb Sun. Look on Amazon and Circuit City and you may find them for cheap.

second all the Porcupine Tree discs (you should preorder the latest reissue Lightbulb Sun at burningshed.com it comes with a free limited edition CD). In fact, SW's other project no-man has a DVD-A Schoolyard Ghosts announced for May release in addition to their previous Together We're Stranger DVD-A

Empire is nice, and the best way to listen to Bohemian Rhapsody is in 5.1. Queen's The Game DVD-A is better sounding of the two though.

I'll also add all the Steely Dan and Donald Fagen DVD-Audios to the recommendations

If you like your mixes wild, you can try The Flaming Lips three surround releases :) (Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots, At War With the Mystics on DVD-A and U.F.O's At The Zoo live album on MVI format)

An oldie but goodie - Blue Man Group Audio will give your subwoofer a workout

Not to pee on your discovery, but you are at the end of this high rez format, both are pretty much dead. I wish it were not the case, but people like us are few and far between....

Gimmie a break. There are plenty of discs still available to create a decent collection that will last for many years to come. Why rain on the parade?

Of what advantage is it for people to go around to thread after thread and proudly proclaim the formats are dead? How in the world can people proclaim something is dead if new releases, no matter how few, continue to come out? It looks like the Ringo DVD-A is a hit, selling more copies than Koch originally believed it would, Porcupine Tree continues to support DVD-A and folks have been excited about Lightbulb Sun for many months now, reliable rumors indicate King Crimson is trying to go surround, No-Man has a new DVD-A coming. . .come on, jump on board!

I wish folks would spend their energy supporting these formats in any way possible instead of being cynics. Every new discoverer is a new customer of this niche set of formats. We should be excited about these new friends and happy for them. I still remember what it was like when I first discovered hi-resolution audio and the format was "dead" then too. 100+ discs later, I think I have a collection that will keep me WOWed for many years to come. How funny, it's still growing too, even when the SACD and DVD-A are dead!? Amazing!

However, today I was listening to an Opeth CD and I accidentally hit the button for one of the surround modes and WOW!!!! I was overcome with how enveloping and dynamic it sounded.

I don't know anything about DVD-A or SACD but listening to this makes me want to run out and pick up a few. Any recommendations? I listen to a wide variety of music, from electronica to jazz to country to death metal, so just about any suggestion would be welcome.

Welcome and congratulations!

My suggestion is to build a wishlist/shopping list as you do your research on what's available. Sort your shopping list based on discs that appear to be out-of-print and not in stock at retailers, discs that are out-of-print but still in limited stock at some Internet stores, discs that are still in print but could be discontinued very soon, and the smaller list of discs that likely will remain in print for at least several months more. Within those categories, determine which discs mean the most to you based on your musical preferences and start shopping based on your resultant priorities! For me personally, I've found keeping organized helps me prioritize and it's saved me several times from grabbing one of the last discs at certain retailers and saving a LOT of $$$ down the road when the prices skyrocket at eBay. Some will undoubtedly say EVERYTHING is going to go OOP, which may be true, but for those on a budget, you may have to prioritize.

My favorite sites for discs:

Amazon.com/Amazon.co.uk
CircuitCity.com
HMV.co.jp
Half.com
Tower.com/Caiman.com
ElusiveDisc.com
AcousticSounds.com

THE place to go for surround sound discussion AND user reviews:

QuadraphonicQuad.com

Good luck and have fun!
Josh

I was listening to an Opeth CD and I accidentally hit the button for one of the surround modes and WOW!!!!Have you accidentally hit the surround button when listening to any other CDs since then?

Sanjay

Yeah, well vinyl is dead but that doesn't mean I don't still enjoy my turntable every now and then.

I was just listening to the UFO disc and it's REALLY cool. I almost expect to open my eyes and see Pete Way standing right there in the room chugging away on his bass. Awesome. :)

You will find quite a number of SACD's and DVD-A's at sites like musicdirect.com and acousticsounds.com...

Oh, and vinyl is certainly not dead...just look at the selection on musicdirect:D

My DVD player (Pioneer DV-563) has multi-channel analog outputs. I assume this would be what you mean by hi-rez capable?

The 563A is still a fine "universal" DVD-A & SACD player. I still use mine for hi-rez music, even though I'm playing video DVDs on an upconverting player nowadays.

Early samples may need a firmware update for compatibility with some DVD-A titlers. This post was the link I followed to download the update on an ISO file; the entire thread is worth skimming for info on your player.

http://www.quadraphonicquad.com/forums/showpost.php?p=42966&postcount=272