5.1 digital vs analog

[JacobKorn]

i'm looking to buy some 5.1 speakers and i have an nforce 2 motherboard, so in other words i have dolby digital 5.1 encodeing.

i was just wondering what the benifits of dolby digital 5.1 are over just normal analog surround? like is it better sound quallity? better positioning or something else?

in other words is it worth paying extra for speakers with a digital decoder?

my main applications for the speakers will be music and games with the occasional dvd.

thanks

 

[ripthesystem]

honestly- I'm going to say to save the extra $$!! unless you are an audiophile you will not notice the difference. There are several 5.1 systems (analog) out there that sound amazing and they can cost you enough as it is.

my 2 cents

 

[BoomAM]

Theres very little difference, alot of people here will try and tell you that there is a significant difference, but there isnt.
The difference is just the actual quality, as long as you have a decent set of speakers and a decent sound card (ie, not a cheepo one/s), then you`ll be fine, the nForce2 APU will decode/encode the digital audio streams, and send them out though its analogue outputs, so you`ll still get the dolby digital output.

 

[T9D]

..

 

[Pariah]

The only reason you would want that feature is if analog out is not an option. The encoded DD stream will always be less accurate and thus potentially sound worse due to the encoding step which compresses the audio and introduces errors and the loss of some audio data.

 

[buleyb]

Originally posted by: Pariah
The only reason you would want that feature is if analog out is not an option. The encoded DD stream will always be less accurate and thus potentially sound worse due to the encoding step which compresses the audio and introduces errors and the loss of some audio data.

But I would assume this isn't true for previously encoded DD sound (ie from a DVD). I would hope these aren't decoded then encoded again to be passed out the rear in a DD stream...

clarify please?

 

[dpopiz]

I hope I'm not changing the subject of this thread too much, but I've been wondering if there is a significant sound quality difference between the original dolby pro-logic and dolby digital or DTS

 

[BoomAM]

ProLogic is a stereo up mixer. There are very few movies that have ProLogic.
Dolby Digital/DTS are the main sound systems that movies are encoded in.
When being decoded, say from computer->DD Decoding Unit->Speakers, then the stream is passed through the computer and handled by the Decoder Unit.
When its computer->speakers, then the computer takes the job of the decoder unit.

 

[MasterHoss]

Originally posted by: dpopiz
I hope I'm not changing the subject of this thread too much, but I've been wondering if there is a significant sound quality difference between the original dolby pro-logic and dolby digital or DTS

Yes... the surround channels are stereo and the subwoofer has its own discrete channel (as does the other 5 channels). I believe that DTS is "better" on paper than DD, but it's very subjective.

 

[Peter007]

I Disagree completely!
Everyone can hear the difference between Dolby Digital vs Pro-Logic vs DTS It is as clear as Night/Day

Perhaps the difference isn't so obvious when watching DVD through a pair of Lousy PC-Speaker
To makes a worst, most so call "PC-Home-Theater" are just a pair of "echoing" speaker behind your ears.

The only way to judge the difference is through an Actual Dolby Digital/DTS Receiver,
a DVD Player with Digital Hookup to the receiver, and a person who actually know how to enable
Digital Output on the DVD. [by defualt - most DVD Player turn off Digital Output]

Then select either Pro-Logic/ Dolby Digital/ or DTS under your [Audio Setup]
The difference is rather obvious
_______________
If anyone here wants to check this out in my house in SouthernCalifornia,
you're welcome. Drop me a PM perhaps we'll have a local party of some sort

 

[JacobKorn]

thanks for the info ppl. i think i will probably go analog and save a bit of money.


just one thing tho, i thought that the nforce 2 only had a dolby digital encoder not a decoder, thats why you need a reciever on the speakers? so say this true and i get a dvd and watch it with my analog 5.1 speakers (hopefully the creative megaworks ), would i be able to use dolby digital 5.1 or would i have to use prologic or something else?

also can someone please clarify on the encoder/decoder thing?

thanks

 

[Pariah]

Originally posted by: buleyb

Originally posted by: Pariah
The only reason you would want that feature is if analog out is not an option. The encoded DD stream will always be less accurate and thus potentially sound worse due to the encoding step which compresses the audio and introduces errors and the loss of some audio data.

But I would assume this isn't true for previously encoded DD sound (ie from a DVD). I would hope these aren't decoded then encoded again to be passed out the rear in a DD stream...

clarify please?

Yes, you are correct in your assumption. Pre-encoded material is not decoded and then re-encoded. Even so, it may still be a better idea to use analog even for pre-encoded material depending on your soundcard. The Audigy2 has much better DAC's than the ones in PC speaker decoders. Odds are you won't hear the difference, but just something worth mentioning.

I hope I'm not changing the subject of this thread too much, but I've been wondering if there is a significant sound quality difference between the original dolby pro-logic and dolby digital or DTS

As stated above, there is a significant difference between Pro-Logic and the other 2 because Pro-Logic is a matrixed sound format that expands the audio from a 2 channel source while DD and DTS are encoded in 5.1+ discrete channels. The difference between DTS and DD is not nearly as significant, and you would need some quality audio gear to be able to identify one from the other.

I believe that DTS is "better" on paper than DD, but it's very subjective.

DTS is better on paper because it uses a higher bitrate among other things.

 

[JacobKorn]

Originally posted by: JacobKorn
thanks for the info ppl. i think i will probably go analog and save a bit of money.


just one thing tho, i thought that the nforce 2 only had a dolby digital encoder not a decoder, thats why you need a reciever on the speakers? so say this true and i get a dvd and watch it with my analog 5.1 speakers (hopefully the creative megaworks ), would i be able to use dolby digital 5.1 or would i have to use prologic or something else?

also can someone please clarify on the encoder/decoder thing?

thanks

so, can any one answer this one ^^^^

 

[lameaway]

Your DVD software should have a software Dolby Digital/DTS decoder built in that will send the sound data to the appropriate channels

 

[Viper96720]

i had a cheap dd receiver hooked up to my dvd player. Think it was $250 for the receiver and speakers. Watching band of brothers all the time was cool. Sounds way better when watching movies than the audigy and klipsch 4.1's I got.

 

[Pariah]

just one thing tho, i thought that the nforce 2 only had a dolby digital encoder not a decoder, thats why you need a reciever on the speakers?

That is correct. If you don't have an external decoder, then you can't use the encoding feature on the NForce, because there won't be something on the other end to decode the stream. The NForce has no decoding abilities, but all popular DVD software players have DD and DTS decoders that can output the 5.1+ channels through analog out, so it isn't necessary for the NForce to. Again, the only reason someone would use the encoding feature on the NForce is because they have an external decoder and because they can't use 5.1 analog out, otherwise analog is the preferred method of output to PC speakers.

so say this true and i get a dvd and watch it with my analog 5.1 speakers (hopefully the creative megaworks ), would i be able to use dolby digital 5.1 or would i have to use prologic or something else?

See above.

also can someone please clarify on the encoder/decoder thing?

The encoder takes an audio source and either converts or expands it to 5.1 channels and then encodes it into a DD compliant stream. The decoder simply reads the encoded stream and decodes it into 5.1 analog channels which each get sent to the appropriate speaker.

 

[BoomAM]

Im not 100% sure with the nForce2 APU, but in your DVD software, set the sound output to S/PDIF.
Then what`ll happen, the DD5.1/DD-EX/DTS/PL/PL2 sound will get decoded by the APU. Thats what happens with the Audigy 1/2 anyway.

 

[JacobKorn]

ok, thanks alot this has helped alot.

now i need to find some good speakers to buy, alalog 5.1

i was looking at the creative megaworks 550 but after reading the bad reviews on www.pricegrabber.com and comming to terms with the fact that they are probably too expencive i've decided not to get them.

can any one please advise me on a good set of speakers? or even jsut tell me what speakers you have and what your experiances with them are, ie good/bad?

thanks

 

[BoomAM]

The megaworks 550 were good, but they have been superceeded now, by the 510D THX if in not mistaken, which has certification for practically everything. THX, DD, you name it.
The VideoLogic DigiTheartre DTS and LC are good systems as well. The DTS comes with a decoder, and the LC, just the speakers.
Both systems are 5.1 setups.

 

[JacobKorn]

so the 510D's are newer than the 550's?

i thought it was the other way around

 

[Pariah]

The 550's are newer and the recommended set to get.

 

[BoomAM]

Pariahs right, its the Creative MegaWorks THX 5.1 550, that are newer. Plus they are supposed to be pretty good.
http://asia.creative.com/products/speakers/megaworks550/

 

[Auric]

SoundStorm SNR is awful though (worse than old SoundBlaster 16). So with everything else being equal digital output would be significantly clearer, besides negating any possbile interference. Assuming the SS can pass a digital PCM stream (stereo or matrixed stereo) like normal cards without upmixing or re-encoding then using digital would not have any draw-backs. The sole advantage the SS does have is DD encoding for games which otherwise would have to use analog for the common Direct3D with four or more channels. Of course the external decoder and speaker quality figure into the sound quality equation too. I always recommend at least a mini-system for stereo or surround and a HT receiver and seperate speakers or HTiB for surround. Computer speakers just aren't worth buying as HT gear gives you more bang for the dinar.

 

[lazybum131]

i don't own the megaworks, yet that is, i just ordered them two days ago.

but i'd take the reviews on pricegrabber with a grain of salt...if you read the comments, all of them are something like this..."i decided to crank the volume and all of the sudden the speakers went dead"...

and the reviews for the 510D and 650 are positive at pricegrabber, i'm more inclined to believe that either the ppl at pricegrabber just got fluke bad sets, or they screwed them up by themselves.

 

[rendicil]

Another question on the topic. What's the Deal with S/PDIF. If I get the Intel 865 PERLL with S/PDIF 6 Channel Sound will hooking up a 5.1 system with S/PDIF make a big difference than just a plain old 5.1 system? Looking to get the 5.1 Inspire 5700s paired up with the Intel 865PERLL (as mentioned above). Recommendations are welcomed!