[MASHCT]

For ships & piggles, I put in a couple of DVD audio discs and SACDs. I was sort of wondering if we had the capability because obviously, our systems can play a DVD.

EDIT: I tried a SACD-only disc; head unit does not decode a SACD-only format. Must be a hybrid SACD that has a CD audio layer.

Both formats played. And I had options to select high res LCPM if the disc had the option in its menu. I could also select DTS 5.1 or DD 5.1. My guess is I could select DTS 96/24, too (I haven't dug out one of my discs with that format on it yet. Will do that later.)

It would appear our head units have the proper converters in them & is sending the analog signal to the amp (I have an aftermarket amp installed). The decoding/conversion is not occurring in the HK amp.

I was listening to Katatonia's The Fall of Hearts high-res disc. I listed to the DTS & DD 5.1 mixes. Sounded great. Then switched to the 96/24 high-res LCPM stereo mix - NOTICEABLE change to the volume & all other great things that come with this format. Deeper bass, warmer sound, crystal clear sound. Frankly, the sound was awesome.

I had no idea our system has this capability.

Didn't see any threads about it, so thought I would share. If there is a thread.. my bad.

Peace!
Jim

[Redbeemer]

Originally Posted by MASH65

For ships & piggles, I put in a couple of DVD audio discs and SACDs. I was sort of wondering if we had the capability because obviously, our systems can play a DVD.

Both formats played. And I had options to select high res LCPM if the disc had the option in its menu. I could also select DTS 5.1 or DD 5.1. My guess is I could select DTS 96/24, too (I haven't dug out one of my discs with that format on it yet. Will do that later.)

It would appear our head units have the proper converters in them & is sending the analog signal to the amp (I have an aftermarket amp installed). The decoding/conversion is not occurring in the HK amp.

I was listening to Katatonia's The Fall of Hearts high-res disc. I listed to the DTS & DD 5.1 mixes. Sounded great. Then switched to the 96/24 high-res LCPM stereo mix - NOTICEABLE change to the volume & all other great things that come with this format. Deeper bass, warmer sound, crystal clear sound. Frankly, the sound was awesome.

I had no idea our system has this capability.

Didn't see any threads about it, so thought I would share. If there is a thread.. my bad.

Peace!
Jim

Most modern SACD's are Hybrid discs which contain two layers of music. One layer contains the DSD files which can only be played by SACD capable players and the other layer is a standard music CD layer, so I very strongly suspect that is what you were playing in your BMW. Likewise, all DVD-Audio discs are required to be playable on ANY DVD player, such as the one found in your BMW. Again, I strongly suspect that you were listening to the layer which any DVD player can play and not the DVD-Audio only layer. That being said, the standard layer of both of these disc types can sound quite good if the disc was recorded and mastered properly.

[Viffermike]

Originally Posted by Redbeemer

Most modern SACD's are Hybrid discs which contain two layers of music. One layer contains the DSD files which can only be played by SACD capable players and the other layer is a standard music CD layer, so I very strongly suspect that is what you were playing in your BMW. Likewise, all DVD-Audio discs are required to be playable on ANY DVD player, such as the one found in your BMW. Again, I strongly suspect that you were listening to the layer which any DVD player can play and not the DVD-Audio only layer. That being said, the standard layer of both of these disc types can sound quite good if the disc was recorded and mastered properly.

Seconded. One reason the stereo version was louder is probably track summing: tracks that were fed to alternate channels in the 5.1 mixes -- which were likely the original mixes since recordings are generally made for highest-quality intended content in mind by engineers -- were optimized for stereo playback.

DSD audio is a moving target; I doubt our cars' decoding capabilities would include it. Your standard DVD or Blu-ray player, for instance, can't play DSD files.

[Redbeemer]

Originally Posted by Viffermike

Seconded. One reason the stereo version was louder is probably track summing: tracks that were fed to alternate channels in the 5.1 mixes -- which were likely the original mixes since recordings are generally made for highest-quality intended content in mind by engineers -- were optimized for stereo playback.

DSD audio is a moving target; I doubt our cars' decoding capabilities would include it. Your standard DVD or Blu-ray player, for instance, can't play DSD files.

Regarding the playing of SACD's, one way to tell for certain is if you have or can borrow one of the older SACD only discs (non-Hybrid). I suspect that if you were to try to play such a disc on your BMW, it would give you some sort of file format error or just not do anything.

[MASHCT]

Yeah, I tried a SACD-only format disc & it didn't play. It was playing the CD audio layer. I have a bunch of both SACD types.

However, as I stated, I actually CHOSE the 96/24 high-res LCPM format on the Katatonia release. The disc would not play until I selected either DD, DTS or the high-res option.

There is a VERY discernable difference between the 5.1 options and the high-res option, in the favor of the high-res option.

Jim

Originally Posted by Redbeemer

Most modern SACD's are Hybrid discs which contain two layers of music. One layer contains the DSD files which can only be played by SACD capable players and the other layer is a standard music CD layer, so I very strongly suspect that is what you were playing in your BMW. Likewise, all DVD-Audio discs are required to be playable on ANY DVD player, such as the one found in your BMW. Again, I strongly suspect that you were listening to the layer which any DVD player can play and not the DVD-Audio only layer. That being said, the standard layer of both of these disc types can sound quite good if the disc was recorded and mastered properly.

[Redbeemer]

Originally Posted by MASH65

Yeah, I tried a SACD-only format disc & it didn't play. It was playing the CD audio layer. I have a bunch of both SACD types.

However, as I stated, I actually CHOSE the 96/24 high-res LCPM format on the Katatonia release. The disc would not play until I selected either DD, DTS or the high-res option.

There is a VERY discernable difference between the 5.1 options and the high-res option, in the favor of the high-res option.

Jim

Yes, it has been reported earlier here and i have confirmed that the BMW head unit will play hi-rez audio. IIRC it will play files up to 24/192 kbps in FLAC format and probably LPCM as well such as found on the DVD-Audio discs which was a very nice surprise for me. I called the BMW Genius hotline when I first got the car and they really didn't understand what I was talking about. After talking with a supervisor, all he could tell me was a list of supported audio/video file formats and FLAC was not even on that list, even though that is what I play from a USB stick all the time in my M235i. It sounds quite good, assuming the album is properly recorded.

[MASHCT]

Ain't that something that we gotta school the genius? LOL

Shows you how little thought they put into the sound system & don't really understand their customers.

I miss my Evoque's sound system. Meridian - and it was pretty damned good for a stock system. Played actual high-res audio from discs. For the life of me I can't remember if it played SACD, though... I have forgotten about it that quickly after driving the 235.

Originally Posted by Redbeemer

Yes, it has been reported earlier here and i have confirmed that the BMW head unit will play hi-rez audio. IIRC it will play files up to 24/192 kbps in FLAC format and probably LPCM as well such as found on the DVD-Audio discs which was a very nice surprise for me. I called the BMW Genius hotline when I first got the car and they really didn't understand what I was talking about. After talking with a supervisor, all he could tell me was a list of supported audio/video file formats and FLAC was not even on that list, even though that is what I play from a USB stick all the time in my M235i. It sounds quite good, assuming the album is properly recorded.

[MASHCT]

I just tried a DTS-only disc (Porcupine Tree) and none of them would play. Unreadable format.

[MrBucket]

I know I can hook up my Astell & Kern AK240 to the USB and browse it and play high res PCM from that, but I don't remember if it can read the DSD I have on it.

[Viffermike]

Originally Posted by MrBucket

I know I can hook up my Astell & Kern AK240 to the USB and browse it and play high res PCM from that, but I don't remember if it can read the DSD I have on it.

Give it a try the next time you have it hooked up.

Phenomenal DMP, by the way. I have a couple of pre-A&K relics from back when it was known as iRiver, including a SlimX CD player I still use from time to time for headphones. It and my vintage Sony D-90 are the only two that pretty much play any disc I put into 'em.

[Redbeemer]

Originally Posted by Viffermike

Give it a try the next time you have it hooked up.

Phenomenal DMP, by the way. I have a couple of pre-A&K relics from back when it was known as iRiver, including a SlimX CD player I still use from time to time for headphones. It and my vintage Sony D-90 are the only two that pretty much play any disc I put into 'em.

Try any of the currently available Oppo players (BDP-103, 103D, 105D). They will play any currently available disc format as well as DSD on discs (SACD) and from USB HDD's or USB thumb drives and will also stream the above via wireless or Ethernet connections.

[Redbeemer]

Originally Posted by MASH65

Ain't that something that we gotta school the genius? LOL

Shows you how little thought they put into the sound system & don't really understand their customers.

I miss my Evoque's sound system. Meridian - and it was pretty damned good for a stock system. Played actual high-res audio from discs. For the life of me I can't remember if it played SACD, though... I have forgotten about it that quickly after driving the 235.

Meridian makes some very fine audio gear and are also the designers of the MLP (Meridian Lossless Packing) format used for DVD sound as well as the new MQA compression algorithm which allows the streaming of hi-res files using the same bandwidth as CD quality streaming. Those are some smart people!

[Viffermike]

Originally Posted by Redbeemer

Meridian makes some very fine audio gear and are also the designers of the MLP (Meridian Lossless Packing) format used for DVD sound as well as the new MQA compression algorithm which allows the streaming of hi-res files using the same bandwidth as CD quality streaming. Those are some smart people!

Very familiar with both Oppo (I had a BDP-93 for a time before adopting Blu-ray) and Meridian. I was talking portables, actually ...

[MASHCT]

I still have my Oppo BDP 93. I want to upgrade to the newer model, but I gotta stop all these upgrades to existing equipment. Sheesh... I have enough "outdated" premium players lying around. Makes me sick... Only saving grace is I bought 2 of 'em on Audiogon from the guys upgrading their outdated gear.

Love that site. Someone needs to come up with one for car audio gear.

Any takers for a Helix DSP?

Originally Posted by Viffermike

Very familiar with both Oppo (I had a BDP-93 for a time before adopting Blu-ray) and Meridian. I was talking portables, actually ...