Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems CLUX-11SA HDMI to analogue converter

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.

Can you post-process the 3xspdif-based 5.1 decoded PCM coming in to the G68? Meaning can you add DPLIIx and make it 7.1, for example?

Yes it's no different than post processing DD 5.1 or DTS 5.1. The Cinema and Discrete presets also will synthesize sides.

+1

My experience so far is that it's a very good solution for far less $ than Meridian will charge. The benefits of lossless movie soundtracks are subtle, but they are there. There just seems to be *more* that my Meridian system is now reproducing.

Incidentally, there is one other thing that isn't completely obvious when using 3x SPDIF mods. We know that, in the absence of SmartLink metadata, the input is treated as Music6, but this also means that the Music bass management layout is applied. I've added this to the HDMI solution Wiki page notes section.

Actually, I do find this unbelievable, but well done for catching it if true!

What are you comparing against? Is either of the sources dropping LFE by -10dB to assist in calibration? Perhaps DVE isn't and this is why you feel it's hot? I need to check this out as I cannot believe there would be such a mistake on the disc...

I guess this discussion should be spin off to another thread to avoid sidetracking this one...

Mark

I think that this is spot on. I've yet to hear a HD track that is better than a well mastered DTS offering.

I would, however like compare one of the music BR discs, such Celine Dion - Live in Las Vegas, where one would hope that a lot of time has been spent mastering the audio.

Cliff

I rechecked it and DD and TrueHD are exactly 10db Hot.

DD was spot on 75db on all speakers (Merdian Decoding) and TrueHD was 76-77db (PS3 Decoding).

I rechecked it and DD and TrueHD are exactly 10db Hot.

DD was spot on 75db on all speakers (Merdian Decoding) and TrueHD was 76-77db (PS3 Decoding). [/quote]

You're saying the main speakers were 75dB while the LFE was 85dB? If so, this is correct, assuming all test signals are sent out at -20dB... Only on test discs where the LFE is sent out at -30dB would you expect the LFE to arrive at 75dB...

Mark

Correct.

I would have expected it to mixed such that everything was 75db at the SPL meter.

According to the manual that I have for DVE, all channels are recorded at -30dB so you are getting the correct results, ie DVE is not hot...

We had this discussion in another thread regarding DISCRETE vs CINEMA DSP modes - the LFE channel in DD/DTS is boosted by 10dB above the main channels so should be 10dB louder during playback with the same source signal.

On Avia Pro (and presumably AVIA) the main channels are recorded at -20dB and the LFE is -30dB so that when you calibrate you DO expect the same level because the LFE will get a 10dB boost bringing it back up to -20dB and matching the mains.

Mark

George,

Like I said before look for the LPCM tracks in movies. So far The Patriot and A Nights Tale sound really good.

Ron

I've already posted that the DTS HD MA soundtrack on "Kingdom of Heaven" is simply magnificent. I watched the rest of the movie last night and the sword fight between Balian and Guy after the battle for Jerusalem left me completely stunned - I have *never* heard anything so realistic in a movie soundtrack. I really could have been there.