Update

I relistened to Fifth Element (DD 448kbps and PCM 5.1) and they sound the same to me. Credit to Meridian, Sony (PS3), the Audio Engineers on Fifth Element and Shawn.

I can't compare Ice Age II (DTS HD Master) with out reconfiguring (and I can't A/B stuff this close without an instant switch so I won't bother).

Just tried Star Gate (has DD 640kbps and DTS-HD HR 3.0Mps) they sound the same. Is DTS-HD HR even lossless (it uses 5 times the bandwidth DD did but still not nearly as much as DTS HD or TrueHD)?

I confirmed Video Essentials HD BD is yet again hot on LFE (unbeleivable).

House of flying daggers is the only one I hear a difference on and it's by quite a lot. Given how close the ones above are I don't believe the decoders (in the PS3) lacks in anyway. They are two different Mixes (English and Chineese). There is no vocals on the drum dance tracks so it's a good track to compare with massive sound effects.

Levels have been pretty consistent too except for the two mixes on House of the Flying Daggers.

I think I'll pick up the Patriot to see if I hear what I heard at Ron's house with his shawn modified Pioneer player.

So, so far it's what I have known and felt for a while. A good DTS/DD Sound track (on a Meridian system of course) can sound pretty darn perfect. But the problem is not all Mixes are the same or done well on the same disc. It may be the encoding or the mix before encoding. But it sure ain't the technologies capabilities.

The "HDMI Solutions" give you the choice to pick the best mix. And at these prices it's a bargain.

- Fiddler (IMHO)

If you think listening to music is fun, try learning an instrument.
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