FYI for those unfamiliar with DVDempire.com (referenced in the Elliot Scheiner interview):

http://www.dvdempire.com/Content/articles/dvdaudio.asp

I've had good success ordering from them in the past (they ship out of Pennsylvania).

-josh

 

I agree. I placed my first order a week before I got the car and had the discs in less than a week.

My first three DVD-A discs were:

1) Fleetwood Mac "Rumor". Uniformly good, but not great sound.
2) 1812 Overture. Haven't tried it in the car yet, but my built-in D/A converter in my receiver kept dropping out when playing it at home. Don't know whether it's the disc or the DVD player.
3) Inside The Music: Classic Rock by Silverline. Decent selection of songs, such as "Centerfold" by the J. Geils Band, but the quality varied widely from track to track.

I ordered three more discs from DVD Empire last week and should have the following in the next day or two.

1) Eagles: Hell Freezes Over
2) Inside The Music: New Wave
3) Inside The Music: Women On Top

My next step is to invest in DVD ripping software to extract the audio from some of my music video DVDs, and invest in DVD-Audio mastering software to create my own. Search the forum for some very helpful threads on the topic of DVD-A mastering.

By far, the best sound out of the ELS system has been from the demo disc provided with the car. It even has some of my favorite songs skillfully remastered in 5.1 (IGY and Long Train Running).

Regards,

 

the only DVD-A i ever purchased was Linkin Park - Reanimation.. most of the other music I listen to, I don't see the point to have 5.1 surround.. plus paying 18-20 dollars + shipping is a bit much for music that I'm not particularly interested in.

 

I have the New Wave disc. Eyes Without a Face by Billy Idol sounds great, the rest are so so.

 

I was REALLY disappointed with Telarc's 1812. Even though the cover warns of "Digital Cannons" they still sounded fake; almost like a pop gun (ya know, the ones with the pingpong ball) rather than booooming . I adjusted my car's system several times and no better. I remember my first CD of the 1812 with similar warning ... nearly blew out the windows in my home office. Too kewl! Not here on the DVD-A though.

 

My Telarc CD is EXCELLENT though the DVD-A doesn't sound great on my home theatre system. You're right, the cannons do sound artificial.

I've been meaning to try out the DVD-A in the car. I'll do that this weekend.

Regards,

 

Has anybody listened to Led Zeppelin DVD-A yet? I want to know what the sound quality is like on it since they reproduced it from the original records.

I have a Best of REM 1988 - 2003 (?) DVD-A CD. Certain treks on the CD have a big difference in sound quality as compared to XM or regular CD but then the others are not so noticeable. For example, when my friends and I were listening to Loosing My Religion on XM and when I switched over to the DVD-A, everybody in the car went wow.. there is a big difference... this is so much better. However, when I did the same for What’s the Frequency Kenneth another day ... we couldn't feel much difference. The guitar strings definitely sound better in REM DVD-A vs. REM’s regular CD. Certain songs have instruments on rear channels that sound awesome.

I bought the REM CD at Best Buy. They have a separate section for DVD-A CDs right next to SCAD section.

 

"Hell Freezes Over" is a DTS CD, not a DVD-A, although it sounds great!

The reason some tracks are better than others on the REM hits disc is that a few of them were rushed to get completed for the HITS disc, while the others were already done with care because the albums they came from were already out as DVD-A's. (From what I was told)

 

I'm glad I wasn't the only one who thought so!

BTW, yes, "Hell Freezes Over" is great on 5.1 DTS

 

I finally broke down and bought Led Zeppelin's How the west was won, even though I had all the songs in various versions on regular CDs. I wanted to listen to their music in DVD-A quality. It is a great Led Zeppelin Live music cd but it is not a great DVD-A quality CD. So, buy it if you want to hear how Jimmy Page's guitar and Robert Plant's vocals sounded in a concert but don't buy it because it is a DVD-A cd. The cheering crowd sound comes out of rear channels but there is nothing else special about DVD-A quality sound. May be it is because this is the best DVD-A they could produce from an LP quality sound.

 

I got Flamenco.A.Go.Go by Steve Stevens... spanish guitaring truly brings out the true clarity and precision of the sound system. But don't get it expecting authentic spanish music!!

 

Can someone recommend some good Jazz DVD-A?

 

Anyone have "Blue Man Group"s DVD-A. I liked the soong on the demo disc and wonder if the DVD is worth buying?

 

I have the Blue Man DVD-A...it is OK....heard better...My expectations were very high...and was a bit let down. "Last Train to Transcentral" is hidden in Group 2. If you really like Blue Man...you won't be disapointed, but there are better DVD-A's out there.

 

I agree. I have the CD version and love it. I thought, heck, the DVD-A version has to be better, right?? Wrong. There's really no difference in sound quality. I think the surround mix actually detracts from the overall album quality.

-X-

 

Winelight by Grover Washington and Guitar Noir by Laurence Juber. Also check out AIX Records and DVD Empire

 

I second the recommendation for Guitar Noir, excellent quality recording. Also check out Gordon Goodwin Big Phat Band's XXL.

 

Thanks.

 

I agree Grover Washinton is a good DVD but there are only six regular length (if I remember correctly) tracks on it - A bit of a rip.

 

Does anyone kno if places like blockbuster music, or tower records have dvd-a, and if so, good selection?

 

You're absolutely correct about the DVD-A having only 6 tracks. A rip, not really. When it was originally released in 1990 on CD, it was selling for approx $13 and a lot of folks paid to have it. The import version from Japan was like $19. I picked up the DVD-A for $15 at Circuit City. Check out Digital Eyes DVD. IMO, if you can buy a 35G vehicle, surely you can afford a $15 disc.