SACD player question

I was interested in the Pioneer all-in-one players, I was set to get the new Pioneer DV-578A-S. Then I read (on here) that the 578 downsamples DSD to 88.2kHz while the 563 leaves it alone. If I get a Pioneer, would you suggest the 563a or the the DV-45A as suggested by bresna? If, I go only SACD, would the Sony or Yamaha sound better?

Thanks

 

Yes, I had problems even when I turned off the component with the digital output connected. It seemed like a strange problem to me, too. I began to suspect that it was my digital cable box causing the problem when I discovered that with it turned on but my pre/pro set to playback the analog inputs coming from the Sony, if I changed the channel on the cable box I could cause the audio to drop out. When I muted the cable box and changed channels, the audio would not drop out when listening to the Sony. Still, when the cable box's output was muted I would still get the intermittent drop outs when listening to the SACD player. It still doesn't make sense to me that the cable box was the culprit when it was turned off, but I figured that something must have been going on between the cable box and my pre/pro to make my pre/pro periodically get confused and mute it's output.

Also odd was that the first Sony player I got seemed to have more difficulty with the hook-up I was initially using; I was never able to listen to it for more than a few minutes without the audio dropping out. The second sample worked fine hooked up the same way for hours, then suddenly it started exhibiting the same problems as the first one but on a less frequent basis.

I don't have enough technical knowledge to explain why these components interacted the way they did, but unless my many hours of trouble free listening over the past few weeks have simply been luck I think that the problems all along were not indicative of a defect in the Sony SACD player.

 

Also, with my rather low-end system, would I even notice the downsampling on Pioneer 578a? I think I can get my feet wet with DVD-A and SACD. Then, if I really like or aquire enough discs, I can upgrade. I have a few DVD-A's, I can can get some SACDs. I'd like all formats so I can see if this is the next-step in audio for me.

 

i just came to a similar conclusion but bought a Sony DVP-NS755V. i figure i'll miss out on dvd-a but will have dvd and sacd decoding to add to my two channel music only system. can't wait to compare to my ah! njoe tjoeb. ww

 

That is odd. Glad to hear that you figured it out and that it does not appear to be a problem inherent to the 'CE595.

 

They had some stories out about the 563a as well, saying it wasn't "true DSD", but I saw a letter from a Pioneer rep that said it was untrue. I don't know for sure about the 578a DSD stuff, but I can tell you I have heard it on both SACD and DVD-Audio and it is wonderful!
For the price ($129 at Audio Advisor), you can't go wrong. (If you like jazz, get Mingus Ah Um on SACD...it is just flat out amazing!!!) It gives you both hi rez formats, fair redbook playback, cd recordable playback etc. If you go with Sony, in practical terms, then you have to get another deck for DVD audio playback as well.

As I mentioned earlier, I have not heard the 47a, but one of the other posters here preferred the Sony on SACD playback. It could be the technology has evolved and the newer units are better...but I'm not sure on this.

But let your ears be the judge! Try a Sony then a Pioneer with the 30 day trial and see for yourself...

Good luck!

 

One other quick question. If you have an all-in-one player and want to just listen in 2-channel stereo, will there be any problems? Will the DVD-A need an on-screen menu? Will the DVD-A and SACD go straight to the stereo only track?

 

I haven't figured out DVD-A yet, but some players have a set-up screen asking which part of SACD to play. Mine is set to always pick stereo over MC.
But I haven't figured out how to set DVD-A that way. I find it a PITA to uncover the TV select layers, then recover the TV (and power it off) before I can settle into the sweet spot to enjoy the music.

 

All of the DVD-Audio discs have a selection screen that enables you to select the mode of your choice. Most will default to surround if you don't select anything.

 

I haven't heard any of the Sony players, but I too have been very happy with my Pioneer Elite DV-45A player. There are minor differences in sound between SACDs and DVD-As, but I'm wondering if that isn't normal due to them being different formats (for example, SACDs tend to sound a little brighter to my ears but not necessarily worse than DVD-As).

 

I havde also had this player since it came out and it sounds great to me in all formats that it is capable of playing except for Dolby. The Dolby when converted by my receiver sounds better to me than when converted by the 45a.

 

If they wait too long they'll be missing out on a bunch of great discs that have already gone out of print. See you on eBay.

 

I just got my DV-563A in the mail. I'm reading the book and it appears I have to hook it up to the TV to use the menu (DVD-A, SACD). I just wanted to use it for audio. I have another DVD player hooked up. Is there anyway around this? I'll keep reading this long-**** manual.

Thanks

 

....are you referring to the 563A or the 578A?

 

David, I have the 563-A myself and it faults to whatever format you play. The problem comes in when you have dual-discs and hybrid SACD's because then you must select which format you want and the only way to do that is with video mode.

 

You need only select the SACD format once. It's the DVD-A software that's not always authored the same way. Usually it defaults to multi-channel... but not always. It's a bummer to have to turn the TV on (if you even have one hooked up...).

 

I'm using my 563 as a 2 channel audio only setup connected to a headphone amp and Sennheiser 600s. It defults to 2-channel stereo on all SACDs. My few DVDa's will play by just pressing the forward button (how many times may depend on the menuing on the disc). Of course bonus stuff will need a monitor.

 

Sometimes you can bypass this annoying behaviour of DVD-A in the player settings. I have the Pioneer DV45A and after messing with its speaker settings, it now plays the 2 channel layer on all but 2 DVD-A discs.

 

Sometimes you can, perhaps. But not with the player that we're talking about, the Pioneer 563A.

 

Just make sure that your speaker settings are actually causing the player to play the stereo program and not just downmix the 5.1 program. You may get a good stereo mix out of that process, but it would likely be different than the dedicated stereo mix.

 

One last question

I have everything set up. I just put in a Babar DVD for my daughter. The sound and color are much better than my Sony 5-disc

Anyway, when she goes to bed, I'll hear Hotel California. Looks like I have everything set correctly for DVD-A. Next, I might hear EJ's Cpt Fantastic SACD.

My question: When I play an SACD, how do I know it's selecting the SACD layer and not the CD? There's nothing in the manual that specifies selection for SACD. Will it automatically go to the SACD hi-res? Pioneer DV-563A model.

Thanks

 

When it reads the TOC it will display "SACD" if it's a single or dual layer SACD. A cd will display "CD".

 

I'm surprised by this. There has to be a way to select which layer of a hybrid disc you want to play as well as which portion of a stereo/multi SACD you want to play. If you cannot find anything in the manual, just enter the menus and look through the audio setup options. There should be something along the lines of "cd/2-ch SACD/multi SACD" (unless Pioneer put a button on the front panel to select which program to play).

 

Put any kind of media in your player.

Press the Home/Menu button on your remote and then select "Initial Settings."

Select "Options" then "SACD Playback"

You now have a choice of default for SACDs consisting of:

2ch Area
Multi-ch Area
CD Area

Select the one you want and press "Enter" to save your choice.

Now press "Home/Menu" again.

You've now saved the SACD default setting and whenever you put an SACD into the player it will automatically play the layer in the default.

Unfortunately you cannot do the same thing for DVD-A. You can tell the player to default to the DVD-A layer of a "mixed-mode" DVD-A (one that has a DD, DTS, or Video layer in addition to the hi-res) but you cannot select a default for 2ch vs. Multi-ch.