Video Asylum

Posted by John C. - Aussie (B) on December 07, 2001 at 13:48:33

In Reply to: Dolby digital add on processor posted by dave on December 06, 2001 at 15:15:33:

Hi

I trod this path a couple of years ago and wasted dollars. I purchased a used Technics (500 I think) and the sound was so dreadful it was promptly resold (at a loss).

My advice is to be careful about these units. Most of the "add ons" were very early in the DD scene and do not compare to the latest units. Digital processing has gone ahead in leaps and bounds over the last few years.

I went from one end of the scale to the other with the Meridian 861 and have a switched bypass for direct stereo from the preamp. As with many processors "direct" with the Meridian is not really direct as it upsamples & down loads again so if a direct analog signal is required a bypass switch is required.

Based on my experience I suggest you wait and save up for a better processor (maybe a used Meridian?) which will handle CDs as well as HT. Note that few processors can handle the dual roles of music & HT sucessfully. Regrettably there does not seem to be an inexpensive answer if you are at all critical of sound quality. In the meantime enjoy Dolby pro logic. Done well it is not all that far behind DD 5.1 and all TV broadcasts on free to air & satellite here are only pro logic anyway. You need to ask yourself how often you would use DD 5.1. Note that all DVDs contain pro logic as well as DD 5.1 encoded signals.

Hope this helps

John

John