Trouble with old DTSCD - Sting and others

I have an Oppo-103 connected through HDMI and when I play a DTSCD, any DTSCD from a number of years ago I get the video on my TV (song listing, ,etc) but no sound. I can see the seconds moving along.

I've tried playing around with the Oppo settings but to no avail. For a while I had it going through the coax cable and it was passing 5.1 to the 976 but I'm confused on why the HDMI won't pass it or whether the 976 is not reading it. Does take a few seconds for the handshake to confirm. Get all Master Audio, etc through Blu-ray as anticipated. Curious if I'm the only one listening to these old DTSCDs?

I am having the same problem as you. My Sting dts cds will not play through the HDMI input. I have reported this to Outlaw Ben. It is not a big deal for me because I listen to all my music through the 7.1 analog inputs but I do like to use the dacs of the 976 sometimes.

^^^
FWIW, many of the newer DTS licensed decoders do not support legacy formats like DTS 96/24 and a couple others. So its possible you will need to set a player like the Oppo to decode those for you - if its supported.

Thanks. I forgot to mention that I did let the Oppo do the decoding and that allowed sound to be heard through the hdmi input. I did however lose the sound coming from my back surround when I did this. When I use the analog inputs I do get sound from BS speaker even though it is just a matrixed one.

Thanks for the replys. I have it working through the analog connections . Been busy past few days playing patient and then nurse as the stomach flu rolled through the family ! Back to experimenting !

I am having the same issue with SACDs from the Oppo 103 to the Outlaw 976. I assume you know that the 103 only sends DSD from the HDMI2 out. However, when I switched and sent my HDMI2 to the 976 and HDMI1 to the TV, I still did not get any sound. Like you, I am using the analog connections. But I don't like having to switch the 976 audio input to 7.1 for SACDs and to HDMI for DVD and Blu-Ray discs.

BenH2

I have got my Sacd and DVD-audio playing through the HDMI connection. It’s just some of my old DTSCDs that won’t play except through the 7.1 connections.

If I am correct, I have never heard sound with my hdmi inputs when playing sacds and choosing dsd. This is the way it was with my Oppo 105 and now my Oppo 205. Only when I choose PCM in the sacd Oppo menu do I get to use the hdmi inputs on my prepro. I actually prefer the sound of DSD to PCM espically now that I have the 976. I don't mind switching to the 7.1 inputs when I play music because I like the dacs in the Oppo 205 even though the dacs in the 976 are very good as well.

dhop,

Your issue with DTS-CDs sounded similar to mine with SACDs.

How are you able to play SACD and DVD-Audio discs, with PCM or 7.1 analog?

manderson,

According to the 976 manual, DSD decoding is now possible. But I can't get it work for SACDs played in the Oppo.

So you have the Oppo SACD output set to DSD and are using the 7.1 inputs on the 976?

BenH2,

I have the Oppo Sacd option set to PCM and multi channel and it comes through the Hdmi. Sounds really good. Same with DVD-audio. Only need the analog for my old DTSCDs.

Yes, that is the way I have my Oppo SACD output set(DSD) along with using the 7.1 inputs.

I also use the analog for my DTSCDs as well but I can get them to play through the hdmi input of the 976 if I let the Oppo do the decoding rather than bitstreaming it.

When I try that, SACDs in 3.0 or 4.0 format do not play in the right channels. 3.0 plays in L/R/SR speakers - should be L/C/R and 4.0 sound is from L/C/R instead of L/R/SL/SR. Not totally sure if 5.1 are decoded correctly but I think so. Sound is from correct channels using analog 7.1.

Waiting for Oppo response.

manderson,

I've found there is no subwoofer sound unless the Oppo SACD output is set to PCM. When it's set to DSD my sub is silent - I verified this by turning all of the other amps off.

Is it different in your system?

I am getting plenty of sound from my sub when the OPPO is set to DSD . One thing to check on your OPPO is the setting where you choose front left/right instead of down mix stereo.

New Topic:
I like my 990 but would like the 976's HDMI capability - like so many others. But - can the owner name inputs on the 976's display like I've done on the 990; eg., "AudioTape", "VideoTape", "Phono+Aux"? (The last one is because I have a Parasound Zphono preamp which has two line-level inputs besides its phono input.)
Also, if I read the manual right, speaker equalization isn't available from analog inputs. Please tell me I'm wrong there.

990+D-Sonic class-D stereo amp+Magnestand-upgraded Magnepan 1.6QRs / nOrh LeAmp2+Magnepan MMG-C / Adcom GFA535+Magnepan MMG-Ws
AR XA turntable+Mayware Formula V unipivot+Denon DL-107 MM+Parasound Zphono UFG phono preamp
Oppo BDP93, Mapleshade cabling

Renaming of inputs is not an option on the 976 and the PEQ can't be applied to analog inputs. But on a positive note, the 976 sounds quite excellent for music and movies. I am very satisfied so far, espically with music. The soundstage is very good.

manderson,

My Oppo speaker down mix is set to 5.1, which I believe is correct.

Oppo's response to the issue: "When set to DSD the player will not do any bass management as it is not processing the signal, so the player can't generate a subwoofer signal. When using PCM the player is decoding and processing the signal, thereby, allowing the player to generate a subwoofer signal."

Maybe your Oppo, being a later model, handles DSD differently.

I guess I'm resigned to using the analog outs from the Oppo with the SACD format set to PCM. And switching the Outlaw audio input for the Oppo to HDMI for video and 7.1 for SACD.

It's odd that the 976 does not assign channels correctly for PCM over HDMI when there is no LFE channel (when Oppo shows 5.0 on TV screen and not 5.1). Oppo says some Anthem pre-pros have this issue and apparently the Outlaw 976 does, too.

I did discover something about the 976 and the handling of the analog inputs that is not spelled out in the user manual. The level controls in the Oppo should all be set to the same level, because the 976 speaker levels are used. However, the Oppo crossover and distances should be set to the same values as those in the 976, because the 976 settings for those don't apply to the 7.1 inputs - according to Ben in Outlaw CS.

Since I am getting bass with DSD there has to be some sort of sub signal coming from my OPPO. I will try to get an answer for you in the OPPO 205 owners thread at AVS forum.

Here is a link that might help. Bob is an expert.
http://www.avsforum.com/forum/149-blu-ra...ml#post52428105

You're right about Bob Pariseau - he is very knowledgeable about the ins/outs of Oppo players and DSD/PCM processing. After reading his comments I can see why it is best (for me) to set the Oppo SACD output to PCM and use the 7.1 inputs on the Outlaw 976. That way I get the correct subwoofer crossover processing, and the right channel assignment for discs without LFE. For Bluray and DVDs I will use bitstream through HDMI - so the 976 can decode the high-resolution formats on them.

Thanks for your help.