Is DTS Master Cinema worth the investment

[wes]

Originally Posted by kennyt

I would strongly disagree. In my bedroom system, which is made up of a Marantz 8002 receiver and Kef 5005.2 speakers (total for the 5.1 system and receiver is ~$3,000 street) the difference between the new uncompressed codecs and DD and DTS are huge!

Actually the closer you are to the speakers the better you can hear the difference.

[MatrixDweller]

Originally Posted by kennyt

I would strongly disagree.

In my bedroom system, which is made up of a Marantz 8002 receiver and Kef 5005.2 speakers (total for the 5.1 system and receiver is ~$3,000 street) the difference between the new uncompressed codecs and DD and DTS are huge!

I'd hardly say that a Marantz 8002 is low end and same with the Kef 5005.2 speakers. Although the satellites don't go low (100Hz) the sub is a fairly impressive unit for it's size. ~$3000 for an AVR and speaker system is higher than what the average person would spend. What I was referring to as small speakers and a weak sub are the < $500 high distortion HTIB systems that seem to sell like hot cakes to the non-audiophile masses. Does DTS HD Master sound all that much better on a Sony HT-SS2300 HTIB than regular DTS?

[wes]

Originally Posted by MatrixDweller

Does DTS HD Master sound all that much better on a Sony HT-SS2300 HTIB than regular DTS?

It all depends on your speakers! On 802Ds driven by Classé yes it does

[MatrixDweller]

Originally Posted by wes

It all depends on your speakers! On 802Ds driven by Classé yes it does

My point exactly but I have no idea why you quoted me?!?!?

Many of the small HTIB systems lack the dynamic range and frequency response to truly appreciate lossless audio.

Of course there will be some benefit from increased channel content on any speaker system. I do find that DTS Master and Dolby True pack more info on the surround channels.

[thxtheater]

Hi all! Great thread here.

I think I'm in agreement that the audio enhancements are worth making the plunge. HOWEVER, upgrading gear is often a very expensive and not within budget option.

My question, which may impact quite a few subscribers is how True HD and DTS Master are impacted with analog out. For example, in my case, my primary setup consists of:

1) Anthem AVM 20 with 6.1 analog input
2) Proceed AMP3 power amplifiers
3) Revel Performa speaker setup
5) Cardas and Tributaries interconnects

While I can spend $2,000 to upgrade my Anthem AVM 20 to an HDMI-capable edition, why wouldn't I just buy a BluRay player that has analog output??? (Like the Sony BDP-S550 here http://reviews.cnet.com/video-player...-32868777.html) Thus, I can take the PCM signal from the analog and play it through my existing system.

I also have a lower-end Marantz 7.1 receiver that likewise has analog 7.1 inputs that I want to leverage.

My thought here is that many of us audio and video guys would be in a better position of leveraging our existing setups (6.1 or 7.1) and using the analog inputs to take advantage of the new formats that way. Thus, I can spend $500 on a BluRay player and still leverage the investment of my higher-end system. Otherwise, I feel like I'd need to spend another $2,000 to upgrade my Anthem and then buy a BluRay player on top of that. Right now (and for the foreseeable future), that kind of spending is just not realistic.

So, I agree that the codecs are worth getting into; however, there has to be a cost-effective way of using using an existing high-end system and reaping the fruits of that investment.

Thoughts or experiences?

[glocksout]

I would say you could just wait on a processor, if it is truly the cost you're worried about. Instead, use a BD player which decodes the formats with good multi-channel DAC output. The new Elite BDP-09 should be killer.