i have just started enjoying the 5.1 surround sound off of sacds on my ps3 but the music selection is limited.Will i enjoy dualdiscs just as much?

No.

If you play DuDs on the PS3, you can only access the DD 5.1 audio, not MLP if it is actually on the disc...

Mark

Even if you only play the DolbyDigital 5.1 off of the DualDiscs, you'll still enjoy it, only it won't sound as good as the SACD or as good as a DualDisc / DVD-Audio sounds on a DVD-A player. My receiver doesn't have a 5.1 input so even though I have a DVD-A/SACD player, the only way I'm able to enjoy multi-channel sound now is the DolbyDigital and DTS tracks on DVD-Audio and DualDisc releases.

To be honest, I know I'm not getting the best sound possible but it's still way cool to hear my favorite music in surround sound. And when I do get a new receiver down the road, I'll be able to rediscover this music.

Why deny yourself the Beatles, the Eagles, Queen, NIN, Flaming Lips, Beck, Pink Floyd, Crystal Method, Depeche Mode, etc all because you don't have the "proper" setup? The releases are still good investments because you can listen to the DD or DTS now and then listen to the true DVD-A section when you use something other than a PS3 later on.

i have just started enjoying the 5.1 surround sound off of sacds on my ps3 but the music selection is limited.Will i enjoy dualdiscs just as much?
If you've started to enjoy surround sound then my guess is that your appetite is only going to increase. You might want to consider getting a cheap universal dvd player and let yourself hear some dvd-audio as well.

The Talking Heads Dualdiscs are in real 96/24 5.1 MLP and sound quite impressive.

I have not bought any with DD 5.1 or enhanced stereo. It seems like PCM stereo using Neo 6 or PLII should sound better, so what's the point?

What is enhanced stereo anyway?

The Talking Heads Dualdiscs are in real 96/24 5.1 MLP and sound quite impressive.

I have not bought any with DD 5.1 or enhanced stereo. It seems like PCM stereo using Neo 6 or PLII should sound better, so what's the point?

What is enhanced stereo anyway?

Huh? Yes, you are right: the Talking Heads DD side features 96/24 surround and stereo tracks.

Now: Do you have that disc? Because you say that you have not bought any 5.1 DD...??? And surround sound is ALWAYS better that matrixed stereo sound. ALWAYS.

If you play DuDs on the PS3, you can only access the DD 5.1 audio, not MLP if it is actually on the disc...

Mark

Well, that's not a big surprise given that Sony refuse to even accept DVD-A exists! Seriously - if you get into High Rez, buy a sensible player for it & don't use a games console.

My biggest gripes with DualDisc are essentially:
1 - the DVD side is limited to single layer.
2 - Sony never use DVD-A, and more often than not use 16/48 stereo & try to claim they are doing you a favour when a rip into a spectrum plot shows it is the red book upsampled to 48KHz.
3 - Expense - it is cheaper to replicate CD/DVD double packs
4 - The Red Book side actually isn't Red Book.

Apart from that, they are fine.....

Well, that's not a big surprise given that Sony refuse to even accept DVD-A exists! Seriously - if you get into High Rez, buy a sensible player for it & don't use a games console.

My biggest gripes with DualDisc are essentially:
1 - the DVD side is limited to single layer.
2 - Sony never use DVD-A, and more often than not use 16/48 stereo & try to claim they are doing you a favour when a rip into a spectrum plot shows it is the red book upsampled to 48KHz.
3 - Expense - it is cheaper to replicate CD/DVD double packs
4 - The Red Book side actually isn't Red Book.

Apart from that, they are fine.....

Thanks Neil for expanding on my earlier, brief "no" answer. I also think the majority of "dual discs" sound no better than most regular red book compact discs.

Thanks Neil for expanding on my earlier, brief "no" answer. I also think the majority of "dual discs" sound no better than most regular red book compact discs.

Although many sound no better in my opinion, it is nowhere near the majority.

Chris

Yes I believe you will enjoy the dual discs. I have DVD-A, SACD, DTS music discs and Dual Disc. All have their great titles and some few bad ones. Note that DTS music discs have playback issues on the PS3. Also there are the DTS 96/24 video discs mixed in 5.1 that are bundled with standard CD releases like Queen night at opera and Genesis remasters.

Although many sound no better in my opinion, it is nowhere near the majority.

Chris

The only real audio quality improvement that I have noticed recently would be the SACD format. I have not heard any DVD-Audio, so I cannot comment on that. Also, since I do not have a pre-amp with HDMI inputs, I cannot speak to the PS3 redbook upsampling.
I have never heard a dual disc that sounded better than a regular audio compact disc, and being in the music business, I have heard quite a few. My feeling was that this Dual Disc format was more of a marketing move by the record companies, than anything else. It appears to me that the mastering of any playback medium seems to make a real difference in the sound quality.

Huh? Yes, you are right: the Talking Heads DD side features 96/24 surround and stereo tracks.

Now: Do you have that disc? Because you say that you have not bought any 5.1 DD...??? And surround sound is ALWAYS better that matrixed stereo sound. ALWAYS.

I have "Little Creatures" and "Remain in Light" both of whichare highly recommended.

.......It appears to me that the mastering of any playback medium seems to make a real difference in the sound quality.

And often not for the good, either.

And often not for the good, either.

Explain, please?
Are you referring to present day stereo discs where the dynamic range is often compressed to the point of rendering the music to (the quality of) MP3 crap?

I know folks in the industry have to follow the paycheck, as we all, but this loudness war is destroying my will to buy recent stereo cd's.

I sometimes wonder if most of the record companies have speedball freaks for executives. If it's good, screw it up. If it's great, screw it up more.

The only real audio quality improvement that I have noticed recently would be the SACD format. I have not heard any DVD-Audio, so I cannot comment on that. Also, since I do not have a pre-amp with HDMI inputs, I cannot speak to the PS3 redbook upsampling.
I have never heard a dual disc that sounded better than a regular audio compact disc, and being in the music business, I have heard quite a few. My feeling was that this Dual Disc format was more of a marketing move by the record companies, than anything else. It appears to me that the mastering of any playback medium seems to make a real difference in the sound quality.


The DualDiscs with DVD-A sound better than CD to me and the DualDiscs with 96kHz/24-bit DTS sound better than CD to me. Most DualDiscs with Dolby Digital or DTS 5.1 sound better than CD to me. The DualDiscs with 48kHz/16-bit PCM stereo are often no better, but I do believe I prefer a few of them. I have a bunch of DualDiscs and like them a lot. DualDisc was an attempt to increase music sales and like DVD-A and SACD didn't sell well. I have well over 400 DVD-A/SACD/DualDiscs combined and I am delighted with the collection. I have less than 10 DualDiscs with 48kHz/16-bit PCM stereo and no plans to buy more.

Chris

Explain, please?
Are you referring to present day stereo discs where the dynamic range is often compressed to the point of rendering the music to (the quality of) MP3 crap?

I know folks in the industry have to follow the paycheck, as we all, but this loudness war is destroying my will to buy recent stereo cd's.

I sometimes wonder if most of the record companies have speedball freaks for executives. If it's good, screw it up. If it's great, screw it up more.

I could not agree more.
The brutal overcompression (actually not quite correct - it's the excessive brickwall limiting that raises the RMS levels to the insane point we have today. A compressor will pass audio over the threshold, where a limiter will not) is appalling.
I've been banging on about this for years now - fortunately the industry is beginning to take note. Trouble is, there will always be thosewho pput their bottom line against what is best for the music. Far too many records have been completely screwed up by bad so-called 'mastering'.
It has reached the point where it is often not possible to pick PCM over MP3 as they both now sound hammered into the floor with zero dynamic range equivalent to an audio lightbulb - on or off, no grey areas, no light & shade.
See http://spectrum.ieee.org/aug07/5480

One caveat on this clip above.
The writer seems to blame it all on CD, and claims that downloads will not be like this if CD ceases to exist. I disagree, as the problem will still occur for exactly the same pisspoor reasons.
The only way this will stop is when people stop using crap like Waves L1/L2 as a matter of course. Sorry for the diatribe - I could rant on about this for pages & pages.

The DualDiscs with DVD-A sound better than CD to me and the DualDiscs with 96kHz/24-bit DTS sound better than CD to me. Most DualDiscs with Dolby Digital or DTS 5.1 sound better than CD to me. The DualDiscs with 48kHz/16-bit PCM stereo are often no better, but I do believe I prefer a few of them. I have a bunch of DualDiscs and like them a lot. DualDisc was an attempt to increase music sales and like DVD-A and SACD didn't sell well. I have well over 400 DVD-A/SACD/DualDiscs combined and I am delighted with the collection. I have less than 10 DualDiscs with 48kHz/16-bit PCM stereo and no plans to buy more.

Chris

Thanks for the information. Perhaps the Dual Discs I have heard were of the 48kHz/16-bit PCM stereo variety. That would explaiin why I heard no difference between them and the standard redbook editions.

I'll always notice if sound is coming from 5 of my speakers instead of 2! ;)

I'll always notice if sound is coming from 5 of my speakers instead of 2! ;)

If I still have a DPL II switched in, or Neo-DTS - then I often miss it.
(I often leave the amp in DPL II mode for certain films/Dramas that are all broadcast in DPL II)