Playback of 96 khz DADs on the 950

I have a 96 khz stereo (2 CH)DAD that I can't get to play in surround. I put it in the DVD player (connected optically) and hit play. The 950 was previously in Dolby Digital (surround). The 950 changes to 96 khz PCM stereo. No matter which surround mode button I push, I can't get it to switch from stereo to DPl 2 nor NEO6. Any ideas?

There is no requirement IFAIK that a DVD-A be DVD-Video compatible, although most seem to be. Are you sure there is a DD/DTS track?

This is a DAD (Digital Audio Disc), NOT a DVD-Audio disc. A DAD is a DVD-Video format disc with only 96 khz audio on it, no video. It was an "interum" format, untill
DVD-A/SACD came along.

One more thing, I know that processing a DAD through the 950 for a surround mode defeats the purpose of 96 khz, since it will be converted to 44.1 khz for processing. Still, I want to hear it in surround.

Will it convert to 44.1 for processing? I was not aware of that.

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Matthew J. Hill
matt@idsi.net

I think it converts to 48khZ in a DSP mode.

Matthew,
Yes, anything that is put through DPL 2 or NEO6 (DSP) is done at 44 or 48 khz (not sure which).

So I understand the '6' in DTS 6.1 is derived with Neo:6, so how much of the DTS ES(EX?) signal gets reduced in case the high data rate was used to begin with?

The 950 may not have the computing horsepower to process 96kHz data; only the DACs to convert it into analog. My previous processor (MC-1) was the same when it came to 96/24 DADs: it would do D/A conversion, but nothing beyond (such as surround processing).

Best,
Sanjay

Well, that's a serious disappointment... I'd assumed that the 950 was capable of handling a 96 kHz signal.

In this era of multi-gigahertz processors, I'm not sure why any piece of equipment would be unable to handle a 96 kHz signal.

What's the point of using expensive 192 kHz DACs, anyway, if nothing better than a 48 kHz signal ever gets to them?

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Matthew J. Hill
matt@idsi.net

Sanjay's saying the 96kHz signal is processed in stereo, but splitting it into multichannel at 96kHz is more than it can handle and it has to downconvert it.

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gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review

Matthew, It is. In fact it's even capable of handling a 192kHz signal. Surround processing of a stereo 96kHz signal can seriously tax the processing chip; that's a helluva lot of data to manipulate! When your 950 or my old MC-1 does D/A conversion of a 96kHz signal, they are essentially bypassing the processing chip (no data manipulation) and going straight for the DACs. Who says that nothing better than a 48kHz signal ever gets to the DACs? Surroundophile had no problem with the data from his DADs being passed digitally to the 950's DACs; it even switched over to the 96kHz PCM Stereo mode automatically. And because there is stereo 96/24 software that can be digitally fed to processors, it makes sense to have 96/24 D to A conversion built in to the 950.

Also, have you tried to find a manufacturer that still makes 48kHz DACs? Pretty soon every receiver and processor will have 192/24 capable DACs in them, primarily because that's all that will be available from chip makers. It's like when someone asks if it is worth getting a DVD player that passes DTS or has 96/24 DACs built in. Let's face it, it would actually require extra effort (not to mention some additional expense probably) to find a DVD player without those features.

Best,
Sanjay

Thanks Sanjay, that makes sense. I guess the only option is to use the player's 2 ch out, which I have hooked to the 950's CD analog input, using the player's 96 khz DACs to run through the 950's DPL2 or NEO6.