Hello Everyone,
This is a review and detailed measurements of the Sony DVP-SR760H DVD/CD Player and Transport.
Sony DVP-SR760H Presentation
This is a small and cheap DVD/CD Player. I will review it in the context of a CD player, I will not review the DVD side of it.
The front face is very basic as we find button to power it, open the tray, play and stop. Everything else is on the remote control. There's no display on the front face, so you can't see what track is played, nor the duration. A connection to an external display (monitor or TV) is required for that.
The back is equally basic:
It is still nice to see RCA analog outputs and digital coax too!
Note that the presence of an HDMI output means that all digital data at the output of the SPDIF Coax will be converted to "CD Audio", and that means 16bits (44.1kHz or 48kHz). After testing it, I can confirm it's 16bits/44.1kHz.
As a CD player, we get the minimum but essential. To be honest, the drive is surprisingly fast to skip one or multiple tracks, but of course not in par with a good old dedicated CD Player. The fast forward/rewind is à la DVD, that means press >> button and it will play at twice the speed, press again it will go at 4x or so, and press play when you get there. Not very convenient, but of course perfectly fine if you like to listen to a full album at once, like I do.
The power cord is a little too short, and not detachable.
Sorry, no picture of the inside.
Sony DVP-SR760H - Measurements (Analog Out)
All measurements performed with a Cosmos E1AD (grade G) and the Cosmos Scaler (100kohms from unbalanced input).
I am now consistent with my specific measurements for CD Players, as I described them in the post “More than we hear”, and as I reported them for the Onkyo C-733 review. Over time, this will help comparing the devices I reviewed.
The Sony DVP-SR760H outputs 1dB less than the standard 2Vrsm from its RCA outputs. The two channels imbalance was only 0.03dB, which is very good... The single-ended outputs are non-inverting.
Let's start with my standard 999.91Hz sine @0dBFS (without dither) from the Test CD (RCA out):
Yes, we loose 3bits of resolution into the very high noise floor. There's a lot of noise in bass and I can easily hear that. This is not good. Too bad because the THD alone is reasonable. The two channels are the same so I show only one.
This high noise floor does not decrease at -6dBFS:
Again, too bad to suffer so much noise.
This is the zoomed view on the high noise floor:
I overlayed the two channels of the DVD with one from the recently reviewed Sony CDP-X333ES. The difference is massive. Again, I have no difficulty hearing that and it's annoying.
The bandwidth shows ringing from the poor performing oversampling filter:
This looks like a 40+ years old Philips/Marantz CD player.
And so without surprise, because it is linked, the oversampling filter is a poor performer:
The attenuation, out of band, is roughly 65dB, and fully active after 24kHz, which is a little too late.
Multitone:
The test is good looking but let down by the high level noise floor, especially from 20Hz zo 300Hz.
The Jitter test is full of noise:
The red trace is from the digital coaxial output of Sony, and it is "perfect". The blue trace is from the Analog RCA outs. There is jitter and a lot of noise, this is bad.
Started with the Teac VRDS-20 review, and on your request + support to get it done (more here), I'm adding now an "intersample-overs" test which intends to identify the behavior of the digital filtering and DAC when it come to process near clipping signals. Because of the oversampling, there might be interpolated data that go above 0dBFS and would saturate (clip) the DAC and therefore the output. And this effect shows through distorsion (THD+N measurement up to 96kHz):
I kept some references and will keep the same for other reviews, so you can quickly compare. The results of the Sony DVP-SR760H mean that the oversampling filter has near to 2dB headroom to prevent intersample-overs. This is good results, but again the total noise is higher than the distorsion, which is too bad.
The Yamaha CD-1 shines here because it's old enough not to have an oversampling filter.
Let's continue with the good old 3DC measurement that Stereophile was often using as a proof of low noise DAC. It is from an undithered 997Hz sine at -90.31dBFS. With 16bits, the signal should appear (on a scope) as the 3DC levels of the smallest symmetrical sign magnitude digital signal:
Yep, it's the worst I measured. The tiny signal is hidden by the large quantity of noise.
Other measurements (not shown):
Last and not least, the THD vs Frequency @-12dBFS:
20dB more THD than a 30 years old ex-SOTA. No surprise.
Sony DVP-SR760H - Measurements (Optical Out)
I've seen several of you reviewing CD players using their digital outputs, in case the results could be improved from an external DAC.
This is one shines on this exercise, finally, I'd say. The relative imprecision of the clock (46ppm) forced me to average to only 2 measurements (my interface does re-sync the incoming data stream). That said, the digital output is, as far as I can tell, perfect (999.91Hz @0dBFS without dither):
This means that when using an external DAC, such as the low value SMSL PS200, we get near perfection:
It's incredible to see such a good result, as this is so close to the source WAV file. And if you have some doubts about this view, here below is the same with Shape Dither, theoretically allowing to reach more than 18.5Bits ENOB when limiting the THD+N calculation to 6kHz (to exclude the shaped noise):
Nice, full benefit of what the CD Audio can achieve with modern shape dither techniques (used in recent CD Audio Mastering, when reducing the bit depth to 16bits). We finally get to see the low distortion of the SMSL (at -123dB). With all of this, we get much more than 18bits resolution where our ears are most sensitive, and with the good old CDA.
Let's check the 3DC levels to verify there's no digital destructive process at minimum level, like I I saw elsewhere:
Yeah, perfection, nice.
Let's perform the same measurement from the analog outputs of the SMSL PS200 previously mentioned:
As opposed to when using the RCA out of the Sony DVP-SR760H, this is a very good trace, with minimum noise. The ringing is not only due to the Gibbs Phenomenon but also the reconstruction filter of the SMSL (its impulse response).
Sony DVP-SR760H - Testing the drive
What would be good measurements if the drive would not properly read a slightly scratched CD, or one that was created at the limits of the norm? The below tests reply to these questions.
The drive was able to consistently continue playing, without generating typical digital clicks, with dropouts of up to 2mm. The interpolation system was able to maintain a constant flow up to the maximum I can measure, and that is 4mm dropouts, generating clicks I could hear. The Sony had no issue with variable linear velocity and/or track pitch, as well as with HF detection.
These results are very good, nothing will stop this simple and cheap player from reading a CD. This is one thing I appreciate a lot.
Conclusion
As much as the analog output is under performing, this cheap DVD player shines as a transport, what a surprise!
Note that the USB input will accept 24bits data, but outputs 16bits from the coax out, so you'll loose high resolution. That said, the reduction of the bit rate is well done as it does not generate distorsion and/or any unwanted artifacts.
So, again, this is a surprisingly nice CD transport, and with an equally good value DAC, you get a killer CD player.
Enjoy the Weekend!
This is a review and detailed measurements of the Sony DVP-SR760H DVD/CD Player and Transport.
Sony DVP-SR760H Presentation
This is a small and cheap DVD/CD Player. I will review it in the context of a CD player, I will not review the DVD side of it.
The front face is very basic as we find button to power it, open the tray, play and stop. Everything else is on the remote control. There's no display on the front face, so you can't see what track is played, nor the duration. A connection to an external display (monitor or TV) is required for that.
The back is equally basic:
It is still nice to see RCA analog outputs and digital coax too!
Note that the presence of an HDMI output means that all digital data at the output of the SPDIF Coax will be converted to "CD Audio", and that means 16bits (44.1kHz or 48kHz). After testing it, I can confirm it's 16bits/44.1kHz.
As a CD player, we get the minimum but essential. To be honest, the drive is surprisingly fast to skip one or multiple tracks, but of course not in par with a good old dedicated CD Player. The fast forward/rewind is à la DVD, that means press >> button and it will play at twice the speed, press again it will go at 4x or so, and press play when you get there. Not very convenient, but of course perfectly fine if you like to listen to a full album at once, like I do.
The power cord is a little too short, and not detachable.
Sorry, no picture of the inside.
Sony DVP-SR760H - Measurements (Analog Out)
All measurements performed with a Cosmos E1AD (grade G) and the Cosmos Scaler (100kohms from unbalanced input).
I am now consistent with my specific measurements for CD Players, as I described them in the post “More than we hear”, and as I reported them for the Onkyo C-733 review. Over time, this will help comparing the devices I reviewed.
The Sony DVP-SR760H outputs 1dB less than the standard 2Vrsm from its RCA outputs. The two channels imbalance was only 0.03dB, which is very good... The single-ended outputs are non-inverting.
Let's start with my standard 999.91Hz sine @0dBFS (without dither) from the Test CD (RCA out):
Yes, we loose 3bits of resolution into the very high noise floor. There's a lot of noise in bass and I can easily hear that. This is not good. Too bad because the THD alone is reasonable. The two channels are the same so I show only one.
This high noise floor does not decrease at -6dBFS:
Again, too bad to suffer so much noise.
This is the zoomed view on the high noise floor:
I overlayed the two channels of the DVD with one from the recently reviewed Sony CDP-X333ES. The difference is massive. Again, I have no difficulty hearing that and it's annoying.
The bandwidth shows ringing from the poor performing oversampling filter:
This looks like a 40+ years old Philips/Marantz CD player.
And so without surprise, because it is linked, the oversampling filter is a poor performer:
The attenuation, out of band, is roughly 65dB, and fully active after 24kHz, which is a little too late.
Multitone:
The test is good looking but let down by the high level noise floor, especially from 20Hz zo 300Hz.
The Jitter test is full of noise:
The red trace is from the digital coaxial output of Sony, and it is "perfect". The blue trace is from the Analog RCA outs. There is jitter and a lot of noise, this is bad.
Started with the Teac VRDS-20 review, and on your request + support to get it done (more here), I'm adding now an "intersample-overs" test which intends to identify the behavior of the digital filtering and DAC when it come to process near clipping signals. Because of the oversampling, there might be interpolated data that go above 0dBFS and would saturate (clip) the DAC and therefore the output. And this effect shows through distorsion (THD+N measurement up to 96kHz):
| Intersample-overs tests Bandwidth of the THD+N measurements is 20Hz - 96kHz | 5512.5 Hz sine, Peak = +0.69dBFS | 7350 Hz sine, Peak = +1.25dBFS | 11025 Hz sine, Peak = +3.0dBFS |
| Teac VRDS-20 | -30.7dB | -26.6dB | -17.6dB |
| Yamaha CD-1 | -84.6dB | -84.9dB | -78.1dB |
| Denon DCD-900NE | -34.2dB | -27.1dB | -19.1dB |
| Denon DCD-SA1 | -33.6dB | -27.6dB | -18.3dB |
| Onkyo C-733 | -88.3dB | -40.4dB | -21.2dB |
| Denon DCD-3560 | -30.2dB | -24.7dB | -17.4dB |
| Sony DVP-SR760H | -67.5dB (noise dominated) | -54.1dB (noise dominated) | -24.6dB |
I kept some references and will keep the same for other reviews, so you can quickly compare. The results of the Sony DVP-SR760H mean that the oversampling filter has near to 2dB headroom to prevent intersample-overs. This is good results, but again the total noise is higher than the distorsion, which is too bad.
The Yamaha CD-1 shines here because it's old enough not to have an oversampling filter.
Let's continue with the good old 3DC measurement that Stereophile was often using as a proof of low noise DAC. It is from an undithered 997Hz sine at -90.31dBFS. With 16bits, the signal should appear (on a scope) as the 3DC levels of the smallest symmetrical sign magnitude digital signal:
Yep, it's the worst I measured. The tiny signal is hidden by the large quantity of noise.
Other measurements (not shown):
- IMD AES-17 DFD "Analog" (18kHz & 20kHz 1:1) : -88.6dB
- IMD AES-17 DFD "Digital" (17'987Hz & 19'997Hz 1:1) : -86.2dB
- IMD AES-17 MD (41Hz & 7993Hz 4:1): -85.3dB
- IMD CCIF (19kHz & 20kHz 1:1) : -86.1dB
- IMD DIN (250Hz & 8kHz 4:1) : -82.1dB
- IMD TDFD (13'58Hz & 19841Hz 1:1) : -118.8dB
- IMD TDFD Bass (41Hz & 89Hz 1:1) : -100.3dB
- IMD SMPTE (60Hz & 7kHz 1:4) : -82.6dB
- Dynamic Range : 81.4dB (bad)
- Crosstalk: -86dB (100Hz), -97dB (1khz), -93db (10kHz)
- Pitch Error : 19'997.94Hz (19'997Hz requested) ie 47ppm
Last and not least, the THD vs Frequency @-12dBFS:
20dB more THD than a 30 years old ex-SOTA. No surprise.
Sony DVP-SR760H - Measurements (Optical Out)
I've seen several of you reviewing CD players using their digital outputs, in case the results could be improved from an external DAC.
This is one shines on this exercise, finally, I'd say. The relative imprecision of the clock (46ppm) forced me to average to only 2 measurements (my interface does re-sync the incoming data stream). That said, the digital output is, as far as I can tell, perfect (999.91Hz @0dBFS without dither):
This means that when using an external DAC, such as the low value SMSL PS200, we get near perfection:
It's incredible to see such a good result, as this is so close to the source WAV file. And if you have some doubts about this view, here below is the same with Shape Dither, theoretically allowing to reach more than 18.5Bits ENOB when limiting the THD+N calculation to 6kHz (to exclude the shaped noise):
Nice, full benefit of what the CD Audio can achieve with modern shape dither techniques (used in recent CD Audio Mastering, when reducing the bit depth to 16bits). We finally get to see the low distortion of the SMSL (at -123dB). With all of this, we get much more than 18bits resolution where our ears are most sensitive, and with the good old CDA.
Let's check the 3DC levels to verify there's no digital destructive process at minimum level, like I I saw elsewhere:
Yeah, perfection, nice.
Let's perform the same measurement from the analog outputs of the SMSL PS200 previously mentioned:
As opposed to when using the RCA out of the Sony DVP-SR760H, this is a very good trace, with minimum noise. The ringing is not only due to the Gibbs Phenomenon but also the reconstruction filter of the SMSL (its impulse response).
Sony DVP-SR760H - Testing the drive
What would be good measurements if the drive would not properly read a slightly scratched CD, or one that was created at the limits of the norm? The below tests reply to these questions.
| Test type | Technical test | Results |
| Variation of linear cutting velocity | From 1.20m/s to 1.40m/s | Pass |
| Variation of track pitch | From 1.5µm to 1.7µm | Pass |
| Combined variations of track pitch and velocity | From 1.20m/s & 1.5µm to 1.40m/s & 1.7µm | Pass |
| HF detection (asymmetry pitch/flat ratio) | Variation from 2% to 18% | Pass |
| Dropouts resistance | From 0.05mm (0.038ms) to 4mm (3.080ms) | Up to 2mm. |
| Combined dropouts and smallest pitch | From 1.5µm & 1mm to 1.5µm & 2.4mm | Up to 2mm. |
| Successive dropouts | From 2x0.1mm to 2x3mm | Up to 2mm. |
The drive was able to consistently continue playing, without generating typical digital clicks, with dropouts of up to 2mm. The interpolation system was able to maintain a constant flow up to the maximum I can measure, and that is 4mm dropouts, generating clicks I could hear. The Sony had no issue with variable linear velocity and/or track pitch, as well as with HF detection.
These results are very good, nothing will stop this simple and cheap player from reading a CD. This is one thing I appreciate a lot.
Conclusion
As much as the analog output is under performing, this cheap DVD player shines as a transport, what a surprise!
Note that the USB input will accept 24bits data, but outputs 16bits from the coax out, so you'll loose high resolution. That said, the reduction of the bit rate is well done as it does not generate distorsion and/or any unwanted artifacts.
So, again, this is a surprisingly nice CD transport, and with an equally good value DAC, you get a killer CD player.
Enjoy the Weekend!
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