Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion HiFi & HT Chat Advice on all in one player

VK - just noticed that your comment about nano-second jitter from laserdisc players was in relation to the RF output. I am of course using the SPDIF optical out through a 519 for CD.

And, to be clear, I am not saying the player, a Pioneer CLD-925D, is a great CD player just that I prefer the sound of it to the Sony blu-ray. The laserdisc transport is noisy enough to hear it in quiet passages which in itself invalidates it as a top-quality source. I do like the look of that EAD-T8000 though - proper hi-fi.

In contrast, I bought my 596 on the basis of its CD performance.

Back to the OP's original question. Try out your BD player direct vs. your 507. Borrow a high-end BD player and contrast. Your ears will tell you quickly which sounds worst.

But what about SPDIF coax out?

I thought that the Sony 550 sounded better than I had a right to expect when playing CDs. This was in direct mode via coax to my 861v6 i.e. bypassing the HD621.

And my new Oppo 93EU also sounds good, possibly better than the Sony (I have made so many changes to my system that it is now difficult to say with certainty). It is set up in the same way as the Sony was.

The new Oppo also has specific advantages over the Sony that may be of interest to the original poster. Apart from streaming and 3D, neither of which I have yet tried, it also plays and decodes SACD, DVD-A and HDCD. I have not yet made any comparisons with standard CDs / layers so do not really know how much of an advantage this is in practice.

Just to give an update on this topic: I have the Oppo 83 connected to the DSP 5200's now. The performance on CD is absolutely on par with the 507. I really don't hear the difference. I did not compare a to b because I already sold the 507, but i'm happy like this.

I'm glad we could be of help and hope you get many hours of pleasure.

Have you assessed SACD, HDCS and DVD-A?

Thanks a lot!

I'm not able to get sound from SACD (and I don't have any DVD A discs). I go directly from Oppo to the Meridians via SPDIF. Is it possible to get SACD sound? Am I doing someting wrong?

No SACD via SPDIF. IIRC the Oppo disables SPDIF output when using SACD. You can set the player to read the CD layer of a dual SACD title but obviously this isn't SACD. Only player output options for SACD is HDMI or analogue.

Avii

Clear Avii. Any idea how I do the setting to get the CD layer? I can't figure it out.

From memory "setup menu">"SACD Priority"="CD Mode"

Avi

I can only choose PCM or DSD for SACD output, is DSD what I should do?

Hi,

M kit does not support DSD thus you should select PCM as the output format.

Regards,
Carl

I can only choose PCM or DSD for SACD output, is DSD what I should do? [/quote]

That's not the correct setting. "Playback" top of the list in the setup menu. The first item under "Playback" is "SACD Priority" and the options are "Multi-channel", "Stereo" or "CD Mode".

Avii

That's it! Thanks again Avii.