The BV8 (and other BV) are not capable to decode DSD. 

 

But the Oppo is capable to decode DSD to multichannel LPCM and output this through HDMI. 

I listen to SACD & DVDA on a BS3/BV4 with a Oppo BDP83 and on a BV7-40 mkIV with a Oppo DV981 using this method.

 

I can recommand the Oppo's

Thanks for the swift reply!

-I really look forward to listening on SACD using my Beo setup. 

 

-What is you opinion about the quality, or perceived listening experience of the SACD, -does it sort of add another dimension to the sound, or just improves it? (My dealer has not yet been able to demonstrate any SACD on any Beo setup, so I simply don't have had any real listening experience using Beo for SACD)

 

Best regards/Jonas

The advantage of SACD is that it uses PWM, instead of PCM (the two different kinds of audio). PWM has it's advantages and disadvantages, as does PCM. PWM is considered to be sonically preferable by many.

By passing your SACD signal into your BeoVision 8, you will be converting the signal into PCM, thus effectively giving you the disadvantages of both PCM and PWM, with neither of their shared advantages.

That's the theory anyway. It'll still sound great, but you won't have much of the organic, free-of-brittleness and spacious soundstage associated with SACD. It'll probably sound almost identical to a DVD-A disc...

Alex wrote:

That's the theory anyway. It'll still sound great, but you won't have much of the organic, free-of-brittleness and spacious soundstage associated with SACD. It'll probably sound almost identical to a DVD-A disc...

You make it sound like per definition SACD is superior to DVDA.

I disagree..........

I have SACD and DVDA of the same albums. Sometime the SACD sounds better sometimes the DVDA. 

 

I do not know the term PWM. Can you explain 

Carolpa wrote:

Alex wrote:

That's the theory anyway. It'll still sound great, but you won't have much of the organic, free-of-brittleness and spacious soundstage associated with SACD. It'll probably sound almost identical to a DVD-A disc...

You make it sound like per definition SACD is superior to DVDA.

I disagree..........

I have SACD and DVDA of the same albums. Sometime the SACD sounds better sometimes the DVDA. 

This depends on the master which has been put onto the disk. In terms of actual transmission of sound, SACD can sound much better than DVD-A. It just depends on whether the formats receive the same mix from the mastering studio.

There are two kinds of digital - Pulse Code Modulation, and Pulse Width Modulation. 99% of digital sources are based on PCM digital - that is, steps of 'up' and 'down'.

Pulse Code Modulation (PCM) looks like this:

 

Pulse Width Modulation (PWM) looks like this:

 

There are other variations of both of these formats, but these are the two main types to worry about.

 

CD, DVD, MP3, WAV, AIFF, Apple Lossless, WMA, digital audio with TV, Blu-Ray audio etc... are all based on Pulse Code Modulation (although some of these formats use lossy compression to compact the data).

SACD is Pulse Width Modulation, and it can sound incredible. The problem is that most of the time, the original signal came from a recording platform which would've been based on Pulse Code Modulation, sort of making SACD a little pointless in many ways. Shame as it's a great format, there just isn't the technical infrastructure in the recording industry to work with PWM.

Hi Alex

PWC how you describe it is called DSD (direct stream digital), see Wiki!

There are lots of papers about the differences. In the end the conclusion that it is hardly to not possible to differentiate between the different formats.

jonasrosen wrote:

-What is you opinion about the quality, or perceived listening experience of the SACD, -does it sort of add another dimension to the sound, or just improves it? (My dealer has not yet been able to demonstrate any SACD on any Beo setup, so I simply don't have had any real listening experience using Beo for SACD)

 

Best regards/Jonas

there is a improved quality and so your experience will be accordantly! 

Multichannel for sure can and will be an extra dimension (but not always; this is depending on the mix)

Carolpa wrote:

Hi Alex

PWC how you describe it is called DSD (direct stream digital), see Wiki!

There are lots of papers about the differences. In the end the conclusion that it is hardly to not possible to differentiate between the different formats.

Hi Carolpa

 

DSD is the trademark Sony and Phillips use to describe the technology they use. Really, it's a variant of Pulse Width Modulation...

When comparing super high-res (128kHz and above) PCM audio, there is very little if any difference at all in terms of playback. However, most recordings are made at 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz or 96kHz from start to finish during the recording process, which can ultimately restrict the playback quality.

However, bear in mind there is more going on in sound than just simple straight-forward 'this one sounds better' comparisons. Try listening to OGG vorbis for 4 hours, then MP3 at the same bitrate for 4 hours, and see which one wears your ears more - you'll be surprised!

There's a brittleness inherent in pretty much all but the best PCM-based digital sources/processors, and it's something I haven't heard in SACD...

jonasrosen wrote:

Hi all,

 

-I just wondering if anyone have any experience, or knowldege about playing SACD (multi-channel 5.1) using their Beovision. I am thinking of buying an Oppo multiplayer BDP93 which according to their spec will pass DSD over HDMI. From what I understand DSD needs HDMI 1.2. Is that enough then, just connecting the Oppo to BV8-40 using HDMI?

I have a BV8-40 and BL3 as frontspeakers and is going to get a second pair of BL3 as rear speakers alongside a BL11.

 

Best regards/Jonas

If you can find an early-model PS3 second-hand, some PS3 models can decode SACD internally and send the sound to your B&O processor/tv via HDMI 1.1.