I have an Arcam DV139 CD/SACD/DVD player that has served me well for many years. I have recently bought a new television, which led to a new Blu-Ray player, which led to a new AVR. Trying to get all these devices to co-operate with each other and with my DV139 has been a bit of a struggle for an Old Hi-Fi Guy like me, but I'm inching closer. However, today I suffered some bad news...
I've been trying to get my DV139 to play multi-channel SACDs through an Anthem MRX520 (which is on loan to me while my MRX720 is on order). After much trial and error, I discovered the unique magical combination of settings that enabled the DV139 and MRX520 to produce multi-channel sound at my speakers. The sad part of this is that during my experimentation I had already played the CD layer of the same disc in my new BD player, a Panasonic DP-UB820. That stereo CD layer played over HDMI and decoded by the MRX520 sounded much better than the multichannel PCM audio stream that the DV139 sent over HDMI to the MRX520. I'd been counting on the DV139 and MRX520 being able to figure this out between them, but they've let me down!
My previous receiver had multi-channel analogue inputs, so I used those with the DV139, but that isn't an option with the Anthem; HDMI is the only route. What is the solution to getting my magical multi-channel SACD sound back?
I've been trying to get my DV139 to play multi-channel SACDs through an Anthem MRX520 (which is on loan to me while my MRX720 is on order). After much trial and error, I discovered the unique magical combination of settings that enabled the DV139 and MRX520 to produce multi-channel sound at my speakers. The sad part of this is that during my experimentation I had already played the CD layer of the same disc in my new BD player, a Panasonic DP-UB820. That stereo CD layer played over HDMI and decoded by the MRX520 sounded much better than the multichannel PCM audio stream that the DV139 sent over HDMI to the MRX520. I'd been counting on the DV139 and MRX520 being able to figure this out between them, but they've let me down!
My previous receiver had multi-channel analogue inputs, so I used those with the DV139, but that isn't an option with the Anthem; HDMI is the only route. What is the solution to getting my magical multi-channel SACD sound back?