[spasiba]

Hi there,

I am considering buying a Denon 3930 to play all my SD content and my collection of SACDs and DVD-Audio's but just saw the new XA2, so now im doubting my decision i just wanted to clarify that the XA2 does not play either of these formats, right?


If it does play any of these what DACs does it have? are they any better DAC's than the 3930?


My other question is whether the XA2 sold in the USA can do both PAL and NTSC i remember what stopped me from buying a XA1 is that i would not be able to play HD-DVD discs released in PAL countries such as where i am now (Australia)


And my last question is whethet the HQV chip in the XA2 is putting out similar quality picture as the Denon's HQV chip, i know they are the same chips but there might be a difference in PQ, maybe someone here has had the oportunity to play with both and has maybe noticed some differences between the 2.


Many thanks to your responses!

Fabs

 

[Josh Z]

The XA2 will not play SACD or DVD-Audio.


For standard DVD, the player is limited to Region 1 NTSC playback. It is not region-free and cannot play PAL DVDs regardless of region coding. HD DVDs however are not region coded and have no PAL/NTSC distinction. HD DVDs from Europe and Japan (and I'd assume Australia as well) are confirmed to function on any HD DVD player.

 

[isn4i]

Is the noise reduction on XA2 only for SD or it's applicable to HD materials as well? Thanks.

 

[spasiba]

Thanks for the clarification!

 

[calikarim]

Spasiba , i have teh 2900 series Denon, same video quality processor, this unit XA-2 blows it away. Standard dvd's look like hd, very realistic, excellent sharpness, resolutuness, they have a 3d quality on many top end dvd's that my unit upscales.


The denon player is twice the price, the XA-2 will do better with standard dvd, and of course wil play hd dvd's which are the future.



I have freed up my denon hdmi connection, and will NEVER USE THIS UNIT EVER. Denon is in big trouble, i will never buy a denon upconverting player again. Toshiba is the new king of unconversion, get this unit you will never look back, and ever buy a denon again.


This unit upconverts to 1080p like the top denon, but has better pic quality than my denon ( my denon only does 10801)

 

[mijon61]



The XA2 will not play SACD or DVD-Audio.


QUOTE]


I just played a DVD Audio disc last night, so it does. It will not play SACD.

 

[aaronwt]

Will it pass the DVD-A signal over HDMI like the PS3 does with SACD?

If it does I might need to sell my A2 and get an XA2 then I can get rid of my Denon 2200. That is my only component that I need to use the analog audio outputs. It would be nice to get rid of it.

 

[bobgpsr]



Quote:
Originally Posted by mijon61 /forum/post/0


I just played a DVD Audio disc last night, so it does.

Does what? Play the lossless MLP audio in the DVD-A or the lossy AC3 DD or a lossy dts track. All the DVD-A's that I have have, include a lossy sound track along with the lossless track. When I stick a DVD-A into my XA1 or XA2 I do not get the normal menu choice to choose which one I want. Instead I only see the lossy sound track choice. Are you saying you get to choose the High Resolution (lossless) track?

 

[sharkshark]

ah, confusion from the -last- format war... it still pisses me off that MLP playback is clearly -capable- in these units, yet they're not bothering to throw us poor wretches with titles a bone... sigh.


yeah, I've asked this before (without answer), but will the G2 units play DualDiscs at all? The A1 barfs, even on the DVD side. Plus, if anybody can find an a/b post on fan noise (ie., someone that still owns G1 and G2 units) I'd be happy - my searches only come up with my questions about the noise...

 

[LarryChanin]



Quote:
Originally Posted by isn4i /forum/post/0


Is the noise reduction on XA2 only for SD or it's applicable to HD materials as well? Thanks.

Hi,


Yes, on page 37 of the manual it states that the three Noise Reduction processes are "not effective in HD DVD disc playback".


Larry

 

[mijon61]



Quote:
Originally Posted by aaronwt /forum/post/0


Will it pass the DVD-A signal over HDMI like the PS3 does with SACD?

If it does I might need to sell my A2 and get an XA2 then I can get rid of my Denon 2200. That is my only component that I need to use the analog audio outputs. It would be nice to get rid of it.

It plays over digital coax, digital optical, and 5.1 analog which of course sounds weak. My receiver (Sony DA333ES) does not accept HDMI as it is 5+ years old. I could try the TV but I would have no way of knowing the quality of signal sent ie 2 ch or 5.1.

 

[mijon61]

Bobgpsr


My particular DVD Audio of which I only have 1 is Elvis 30 greatest hits, and is recorded in 5.1 Dolby Digital so it plays in that. It is from the original master tapes and you can actually hear him licking his lips and breathing sometimes. It also sounds the same on the XA2 as it does on my Denon 5900 which it is replacing since the XA2 does everthing I want at this point. If you're not an Elvis fan you're probably going eewww! Of course none of this really answers your question because I don't know how to tell the difference between lossy and lossless DD. On my receiver (old Sony DA333ES) the Dolby Digital lights up but the AC3 light does not. Does that help?

 

[mijon61]

On a lark I enabled the speakers on my TV which is fed by HDMI and the DVD-A sound is heard, but obviously I don't know the quality of the sound.

 

[sharkshark]

(oy...)


once upon a time, the DVD-A format was a high resolution format that was going to take over the world!


Well, not really...


Short version - as stated above, these discs have two "layers" (actually folders) - one DVD-V, one DVD-A (ever wondered why AUDIO_TS is often empty when you master a DVD?). Some players can play the good (read: "high definition") stuff, most can't. If you're doing the AC3 thing, you're doing what amounts to "SD" sound (yeah, I'm dumbing this down, but it's analogous, honest). You will, on most discs, get 5.1. You will hear Elvis smack lips. You are missing, however, the lossless/high rez sound, where you can hear things like the shimmer of the cymbals, the ambience of the room, and other glorious bits that audio nerds have craved for years.


So, for the record, DVD-A discs =play=, but not as DVD-A discs (with me?) but as DVD-V discs. You get sound. You hear stuff, but not as good as the good stuff hidden in that folder on the disc that your player won't/can't access.


The annoyance, as above, is that the chips inside the G2 players, esp. those with analogue outs, are sitting there waiting for some FW to enable =actual= DVD-A, MLP soundtracks to be played back. It's a big deal for those that haven't heard it (almost as big a deal as DVD to HD-DVD)


There, I answered some questions... anybody want to tackle mine above?

 

[AmigoHD]

yes, noise reduction is on SD only. But with HD DVD you should not get noise anymore. Much, much less than SD.

 

[mijon61]

Thank you for the explanation tailored for an audiophile noob like me sharkshark

 

[PooperScooper]



Quote:
Originally Posted by AmigoHD /forum/post/0


yes, noise reduction is on SD only. But with HD DVD you should not get noise anymore. Much, much less than SD.

That was about what I was going to say. If we need noise reduction on HD then what's the point of HD?

Well, there are the superficial folks that are bothered by film grain. Also, filtering HD is bound to remove more real info than with SD.


larry