DBJ listens at Dolby Labs.
(Credit: Home Entertainment)You bought an audio-video receiver a couple of years ago, and now you're wondering whether it's time to trade up and get a model that features Dolby and DTS' new lossless codecs, TrueHD and Master Audio, respectively.
Judging by the numbers they should sound markedly better than standard Dolby and DTS, but according to a recent article in Home Entertainment magazine, the sonic differences were small to negligible. You can read the full article here.
David Birch-Jones and HE's editor-in-chief, Geoff Morrison, visited Dolby Laboratories and DTS' headquarters to listen to the new formats under ideal conditions, comparing them to standard Dolby and DTS. Birch-Jones and Morrison were hard-pressed to hear significant differences.
I have limited experience listening to the two contenders, and I never managed to do speedy A-B comparisons. That said, from what I've heard, I thought that TrueHD and DTS Master Audio were better than the older formats, especially in the areas of imaging, spaciousness, top-end detail, and "air."
... Read moreAs an audio guy I'm super curious about HD DVD and Blu-ray's high-resolution audio formats, Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD-Master Audio. Yes, they've been around for awhile now, but listening to the super duper formats hasn't been easy. I haven't yet heard them at home, and show demos haven't been of much help in determining the sonic advantages of the lossless formats. The potential for much better than standard Dolby and DTS sound is there, but getting there, well, I'm still waiting.
Thomas J. Norton's recent Ultimate AV column described in detail just how tricky the road to high-rez sound can be, even for someone as tech savvy as Norton. Yes, you need a HDMI 1.3 HD player hooked up to a HDMI 1.3 A/V receiver like Onkyo's TX-SR875, along with discs encoded in either of the lossless formats, but even then, there's no guaranty you're gong to hear high-rez sound. Norton concludes that the first generation HDMI 1.3 Blu-ray and HD DVD players cannot pass Dolby TrueHD or DTS-HD Master Audio at FULL resolution. True, there may be new or modified chips that can, but Norton's unaware of any currently available players equipped with the new chip. What can I say, other than buyer beware?
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