Does the AV Receiver changes sound quality?

[ChrisColtCannon]

Obviously, i know new receivers can decode HD Lossless Audio Multichannel things like Dolby TrueHD & DTS HD Master Audio.

But does it change the Audio Quality itself. Im sure Lossless sound good, but will i even see a difference for normal Dolby Digital 5.1 Audio? (For upconverting DVDs for exemple)

I have an old Technics Audio Receiver bought in the Dawn of the DVD-era.
And old Front, Back-Left, Back-Right speakers bought from the same era.


Will the difference be obvious (excluding the lossless thing) ?

I have The Matrix Trilogy in Blu-Ray but it dosent sound that good, i mean its allright but im not really satisfied. But watching the review the audio had a 5/5 stars rating.

[callas01]

well technology has gotten better so that should affect sound, also what DACs are used, like Wolfsons or Burr-Brown, etc, and then each receiver has it own sound, so yes an AVR will have a different sound. I suggest you go listen to several and decide for yourself.

[SlmShdy1]

If the sound is just alright, then you're probably only hearing Dolby Digital, not TrueHD. Does your receiver have analog multi-channel inputs? Does your Blu-ray player have analog multi-channel outputs? If so, it's possible to have it set up for lossless codecs. The difference between lossy and lossless should be quite noticeable on a nice system.

[ChrisColtCannon]

I am only listening to normal audio. But even there i mean, will a new Receiver make the normal audio better.

I have no doubt lossless audio is better. But will buying a new receiver is just about 7.1 and lossless, are an improvement in the Receiver audio quality itself.

If im listening to my Mission Impossible movie which only support DD 5.1, will it sound better with a new Receiver?

Or is it more a matter of speakers?

If not then whats the point of all the «Onkyo VS Sony» receiver kind of thing.

I dont want it to sound different, i want it to sound AMAZING, to make each viewing a fantastic experience.

[callas01]

Originally Posted by ChrisColtCannon

I am only listening to normal audio. But even there i mean, will a new Receiver make the normal audio better.

I have no doubt lossless audio is better. But will buying a new receiver is just about 7.1 and lossless, are an improvement in the Receiver audio quality itself.

If im listening to my Mission Impossible movie which only support DD 5.1, will it sound better with a new Receiver?

Or is it more a matter of speakers?

If not then whats the point of all the «Onkyo VS Sony» receiver kind of thing.

I dont want it to sound different, i want it to sound AMAZING, to make each viewing a fantastic experience.

Understand that some receivers will open up the sound better and then yes, just switching the receiver will make anything sound better. Speaker combinations will help in that a lot too.

What you should do is go to a high end audio store and listen to some great speakers and recievers. I suggest listening to Marantz, Denon, Pioneer and Yamaha receivers and as many speakers as you can.... DON'T go to BB and listen to polks or Klipsch. Go somewhere and listen to Paradigm, B&W, PSB, Monitor Audio, Energy, Def Tech, Martin Logan, Mirage, KEF, Dynaudio, just to name a few.

[ChrisColtCannon]

Thanks a lot guys! Expecially Callas!

[stevejason]

Originally Posted by callas01

Understand that some receivers will open up the sound better and then yes, just switching the receiver will make anything sound better. Speaker combinations will help in that a lot too.

What you should do is go to a high end audio store and listen to some great speakers and recievers. I suggest listening to Marantz, Denon, Pioneer and Yamaha receivers and as many speakers as you can.... DON'T go to BB and listen to polks or Klipsch. Go somewhere and listen to Paradigm, B&W, PSB, Monitor Audio, Energy, Def Tech, Martin Logan, Mirage, KEF, Dynaudio, just to name a few.

The BB Magnolias have Martin Logan, Mirage, & Def Tech speakers along with some of the receivers you mentioned. He might not be near a high end dealership.

[Beta Man]

it's been covered, but "Yes" regardless of the audio output, different receivers have better "guts" and will sound better than others when connected to the same set of speakers...... also, some receivers are simply a better "mate" for some speakers.

[RC-Bruin]

Originally Posted by ChrisColtCannon

Obviously, i know new receivers can decode HD Lossless Audio Multichannel things like Dolby TrueHD & DTS HD Master Audio.

But does it change the Audio Quality itself. Im sure Lossless sound good, but will i even see a difference for normal Dolby Digital 5.1 Audio? (For upconverting DVDs for exemple)

I have an old Technics Audio Receiver bought in the Dawn of the DVD-era.
And old Front, Back-Left, Back-Right speakers bought from the same era.


Will the difference be obvious (excluding the lossless thing) ?

I have The Matrix Trilogy in Blu-Ray but it dosent sound that good, i mean its allright but im not really satisfied. But watching the review the audio had a 5/5 stars rating.

I have The Matrix 10th Anniversary edition with Dolby TruHD and it doesn't sound that great. I noticed DTS-HD Master Audio sounds a lot better on my receiver.

[ijokr]

Originally Posted by RC-Bruin

I have The Matrix 10th Anniversary edition with Dolby TruHD and it doesn't sound that great. I noticed DTS-HD Master Audio sounds a lot better on my receiver.

Pretty innacurate statement, I suggest you read some of the stickies to better understand lossless and uncompressed sound.

[ijokr]

Originally Posted by SlmShdy1

If the sound is just alright, then you're probably only hearing Dolby Digital, not TrueHD. Does your receiver have analog multi-channel inputs? Does your Blu-ray player have analog multi-channel outputs? If so, it's possible to have it set up for lossless codecs. The difference between lossy and lossless should be quite noticeable on a nice system.

Although we all know lossless sounds better, I don't think this is the reason why it doesn't sound great on his system, before that I would say the reason is the years on the receiver/speakers, the calibration on the receiver, etc. There are many movies that sound great and aren't lossless.

[BIslander]

Originally Posted by ijokr

Although we all know lossless sounds better...

We do? There haven't been any rigorous studies published on the subject, unfortunately. But, this article is an interesting read suggesting that lossless may not be better:

http://www.hemagazine.com/node/Dolby...compressed_PCM

The legacy lossy tracks on Blu-ray are encoded at higher bitrates than DVD. I personally find that the DTS core at 1509 kbps and DD 5.1 at 640 kbps sound about as good as lossless most of the time on my equipment, in my room.

[-DLS-]

I actually just finished watching Resident Evil: Apocalypse and just until I was about to eject the disc, I noticed I watched the whole movie in DD 5.1(I guess that was the default). I thought I was watching uncompressed PCM the whole time - I couldn't tell a difference after rewinding it a couple of scenes to see what I was missing.

[ijokr]

Originally Posted by BIslander

We do? There haven't been any rigorous studies published on the subject, unfortunately. But, this article is an interesting read suggesting that lossless may not be better:

http://www.hemagazine.com/node/Dolby...compressed_PCM

The legacy lossy tracks on Blu-ray are encoded at higher bitrates than DVD. I personally find that the DTS core at 1509 kbps and DD 5.1 at 640 kbps sound about as good as lossless most of the time on my equipment, in my room.

Nice post, I was actually not trying to start a hate thread by saying that lossless is not that better. I do believe that the advantage of lossless over lossy is that it always sounds good. While lossy needs a good dvd. If it's a good dvd then I don't think there's a big difference, but lower quality movies are the ones with the bigger advantage. I think most of the people saying that lossless is way way better and that you'll never want to go back again are full of it, without offense

[Blu Titan]

Originally Posted by ijokr

Nice post, I was actually not trying to start a hate thread by saying that lossless is not that better. I do believe that the advantage of lossless over lossy is that it always sounds good. While lossy needs a good dvd. If it's a good dvd then I don't think there's a big difference, but lower quality movies are the ones with the bigger advantage. I think most of the people saying that lossless is way way better and that you'll never want to go back again are full of it, without offense

Just incredible! According to you lossy is as good as lossless? Not in a dream. Just watched & heard Gladiator in DVD and Blu-ray. The noticeable difference in audio quality is immense. In the first battle scene, differences between lossy and lossless audio in the instances where the arrows flying and cannon balls are exploding could be "heard" by any person with normal hearing and decent audio equipment. And, yes...lossless is way better.

[BIslander]

Originally Posted by Blu Titan

Just watched & heard Gladiator in DVD and Blu-ray. The noticeable difference in audio quality is immense.

Wrong comparison. Lossy on BD also sounds much better than DVD.

[lojack1976]

Sometimes lossy can sound near lossless quality just because it was mastered well using a higher bit rate. Sometimes a lossless soundtrack can sound mediocre because there wasn't much care in the mastering process. As others have stated your receiver can have an impact on the resulting sound. Every brand has its own characteristics which is why you should use the same receiver that you own or will buy...or at least the same brand of receiver...to audition speakers so you will know what to expect at home.

[ijokr]

Originally Posted by BIslander

Wrong comparison. Lossy on BD also sounds much better than DVD.

+1 Very important to compare from the blu-ray, not the DVD.

[progers13]

Originally Posted by BIslander

Wrong comparison. Lossy on BD also sounds much better than DVD.

I don't have the DVD to compare, but a good BD example is Cars, which includes separate tracks for PCM and DD 5.1
You can toggle between the 2 tracks on the fly, and the difference is literally night and day. That's not to say the lossy 5.1 sounds terrible (it actually sounds good), but the PCM is simply that much better.

[BIslander]

Originally Posted by progers13

I don't have the DVD to compare, but a good BD example is Cars, which includes separate tracks for PCM and DD 5.1
You can toggle between the 2 tracks on the fly, and the difference is literally night and day. That's not to say the lossy 5.1 sounds terrible (it actually sounds good), but the PCM is simply that much better.

You need to know whether the PCM and DD 5.1 tracks came from the same master and whether the DD 5.1 track is encoded at 640 kbps or at the lower rates used on DVD. That being said, I find similar differences on Black Hawk Down. To me, the PCM track is audibly better than the DD 5.1 track, which is a 640 kbps encode.

Please bear in mind that I never said lossy on Blu-ray is always as good as lossless. I find that is often the case, especially with DTS, where the 1509 mbps core track is about as good as it gets. But, there are definitely exceptions.