My Rotel CD player sounds much better when connected to my 1050 with coaxial as opposed to the rca analog.I guess this is because the D/A converter in the 1050 is better than the D/A converter in the Rotel.Am I right? This is why I am interested in IEEE1394,I believe in the future SACD will sound much better if the player is connected to a reciever with IEEE1394 inputs and high grade D/A converters.The new Pioneer DVP 47ai ELITE has the IEEE1394 output.Can anyone add to this train of thought.
Thanks
Duncan

Unfortunately, there is no standard way to connect high-resolution formats such as SACD and DVD-A to a processor other than via analog connections at this moment. You may blame the RIAA and their paranoid delusions for this.

But yes, most of us have been hoping for this sort of thing for quite some time now.

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Matthew J. Hill
matt@idsi.net

Matthew has hit the nail on the head ("whap!"). There is no industry standard digital interface to connect DVD-A or SACD players to DAC's, receivers, or pre/pros. (Firewire was sort of adopted as the interface back around the first of the year, but that standard neglected to identify the format and encryption that such a connection would use, leaving it incomplete and thus basically useless.) The 47ai may have a firewire output, but only a Pioneer receiver with a compatible input will be able to use it. Likewise, Denon's 9000 player has a proprietary digital output that can be used with the Denon 5803 receiver. None of that does us much good, in my opinion. It's all window dressing until a standard encryption format is agreed to.

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

Do either of you know how good the DACS are in the Pioneer 47ai or the new sony dvp ns999es?

Not me...

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