Does PCM Sound Better Than Dolby THD On Your Setup?

[dobyblue]

The TrueHD track on Spider-man 3 will sound better than the PCM track.


24/48 TrueHD vs. 16/48 PCM = TrueHD winner every time.

[Rup_Muk]

As of now, with the optical digital output, I have to say that uncompressed PCM sounds better on my setup. I guess I will have to upgrade to HDMI 1.3 in the near future.

Rup.

[Danno]

Originally Posted by dobyblue

The TrueHD track on Spider-man 3 will sound better than the PCM track.


24/48 TrueHD vs. 16/48 PCM = TrueHD winner every time.

Not necesarily. If the source audio was only 16/48 PCM (which it probably is, as that was the standard up until recently, then the added headroom with 24/96 won't make much of a difference. It'll just add more depth to the noise floor of the track, and add in all the little imperfections of the disc mastering process.

[dobyblue]

Originally Posted by Danno

Not necesarily. If the source audio was only 16/48 PCM (which it probably is, as that was the standard up until recently, then the added headroom with 24/96 won't make much of a difference. It'll just add more depth to the noise floor of the track, and add in all the little imperfections of the disc mastering process.

The source on Spider-man 2 and 3 is 24/48, which is why I made my comment.

The source for Spider-man 1 is 16/48.

24/48 has been the standard for a few years now.

[WickyWoo]

Unless you got expensive speakers, decent amp, good cable AND a good room for listening, you won't notice anything beyond "normal" compressed DD 5.1 ...

I had just watched the DVD, on a cheap-ass pair of headphones so I don't disturb people late at night right before I got Hellboy on Blu

The difference between the 2 was NIGHT AND DAY, and that was with a stereo downconvert on both, on a $10 pair of headphones

[Uxi]

Yeah and it's hard to pin down. At first it sounded like a simple level issue, but when I tried to compensate to match it still sounded... different.

Dialog Norm, maybe?

HDMI from PS3 to Denon AVR-4306.

[Sir Terrence]

This is pretty interesting topic. It is my understanding that DTHD is just a compression zipper for PCM audio, so the two should sound the same. But they don't. After listening to The Fifth Element over and over again comparing the PCM to DTHD at equal levels for each, I finally discovered what the difference is. While DTHD can create an identical overall soundfield to PCM, when objects move from channel to channel, especially front to back, DTHD doesn't "get out in the room" like PCM does. When a pan moves from left front to right rear, you can almost take a pencil and track the movement through the air with PCM. With DTHD it is sort of here, then there with no ability to track the pan. I really heard no audible benefit of encoding the DTHD at 24bit over PCM 16bit. However to these ears, there is an audible difference between 24bit PCM and 16bit.

[ClaytonMG]

With me it actually depends on the studio. With Ghost Rider and Fifth Element, it was harder to tell if PCM sounded better (or if TrueHD sounded better). But on WB titles, I have noticed quite the difference between TrueHD and PCM. I think PCM sounds more solid and powerful. Also I've noticed better bass response.

[MatrixS2000]

Originally Posted by Sir Terrence

This is pretty interesting topic. It is my understanding that DTHD is just a compression zipper for PCM audio, so the two should sound the same. But they don't. After listening to The Fifth Element over and over again comparing the PCM to DTHD at equal levels for each, I finally discovered what the difference is. While DTHD can create an identical overall soundfield to PCM, when objects move from channel to channel, especially front to back, DTHD doesn't "get out in the room" like PCM does. When a pan moves from left front to right rear, you can almost take a pencil and track the movement through the air with PCM. With DTHD it is sort of here, then there with no ability to track the pan. I really heard no audible benefit of encoding the DTHD at 24bit over PCM 16bit. However to these ears, there is an audible difference between 24bit PCM and 16bit.

Interesting post. One of the main reasons I went with my Lexicon pre/pro was because of the steering. I am going to pay particular attention to this next time I compare. Thanks for the tip.

[Farout777]

Originally Posted by Sir Terrence

This is pretty interesting topic. It is my understanding that DTHD is just a compression zipper for PCM audio, so the two should sound the same. But they don't. After listening to The Fifth Element over and over again comparing the PCM to DTHD at equal levels for each, I finally discovered what the difference is. While DTHD can create an identical overall soundfield to PCM, when objects move from channel to channel, especially front to back, DTHD doesn't "get out in the room" like PCM does. When a pan moves from left front to right rear, you can almost take a pencil and track the movement through the air with PCM. With DTHD it is sort of here, then there with no ability to track the pan. I really heard no audible benefit of encoding the DTHD at 24bit over PCM 16bit. However to these ears, there is an audible difference between 24bit PCM and 16bit.

That's one of the best explainations I've heard on this subject.