Hi everyone, im fairly new to the world of Dolby Digital so I was wondering if anyone can help. Over the past year I have started building up a home cinema system. I started with a Sony KV28DS20 TV with surround sound. I then bought a Sony DVD player model: DVPS536D and finally I got Sony VCR: SF90. The next step for me is a Amp which will allow me to hear sound in Dolby Digital. My first question is what sort of advantages does the Amp bring? I know the sound will be better but is it worth forking out hundreds of pounds for? Is Dolby digital that much better than Pro Logic?? The second question is what is the best amp to go for. I know I have to get speakers with it and I dont mind spending around £900 for the set. Do I have good equipment to use it with or are my TV etc unsuitable. My DVD players has 5.1 built in so I guess thats an advantage. Finally can the AMP be used with VCR's and normal TV signals? I know most AMP's have different modes so even if something isnt broadcast in Dolby Digital will it still increase the sound quality. Any help wil be appreciated ha ha, because as you can tell im pretty new to all this. Thanks.

P.S With a decent Amp will it turn my DVD player into a great music system too? Cheers

Nobody has replied to you yet so i thought i'd help you out

Believe me, Dolby Digital is MUCH better than dolby prologic. (and even better still is DTS!!) if you have a dvd player which you do, you'll reap great benefits from a decent dolby digital amp and speakers. You definitely won't regret it. I've had a dolby digital amp for a few years now and before that had a dolby prologic system and the sound change was amazing.

If you have the money it is definitely worth spending the cash for a dolby digital amp.

when it comes to best amps, there are a lot to choose from. It really does depend on your budget. If you had a lot of money then go for a THX certified amp with dolby digital 6.1 (EX) capabilities or upgrade capabilities as this is going to be massive in the future of home cinema (i believe Denon, Pioneer etc make some)

Otherwise i would recommend the Sony STRDB-940 as you can't go wrong with it (and it's available in beautiful silver!!) It's an amazing amp with decent features and many inputs (so you won't run short of peripherals to plug in such as minidisc, video, digibox,dvd etc.)

your equipment seems fine. The dvd player you have is first class (i've the sony 725 and think it's the best i've seen!!)

If you buy a dolby digital amp you won't need to use the built in dolby digitaldecoder on the DVD player, the dvd should send the signal directly by an optical or coaxial cable to the amp for processing. (most of the time the decoders for dolby digital in the amp are much better than that of the DVD player)

Your DVD player has a DTS digital out, which means that it will send the DTS soundtrack feed to your amp for processing if your amp has a DTS decoder. (Most do nowadays, if they have dolby digital, the sony i quoted above has!!) DTS isn't as well heard of in the UK as dolby digital (it's big in the US and on region 1 dvds) but it is becoming more apparent now in the UK with a few titles carrying it, e.g. Gladiator.

The amp can be used with your other systems such as video, digibox etc but you'll only get a pro-logic feed out of them (but a very high quality one) for the moment.

A decent amp will turn your dvd into a decent sound system for music too but you've always got to remember that the sound from a CD in a DVD player will never be quite as good as that from a dedicated CD player. (but it'll come quite close)

I think that's all your questions answered, if there are any more don't hesitate to ask.

Thanks for your help!! You answered all my questions. One thing i was wondering though was that you mentioned that I have a Dolby Digital Decoder in my DVD player. Does that mean the sound im getting on my TV from DVD playback is in fact Dolby Digital or do I need the Amp as well? Also how much am I looking at paying for the Sony Amp you quoted and a decent set of speakers. Cheers!

I second everything Nikhil says.

I had a Dolby Prologic amp for many years and recently upgraded to a Dolby Digital 5.1/DTS amp. The difference between the two system is tremendous. There is more joining of sounds eg when a plane is flying overhead the speakers carry the sound from the back right to the front so it really sounds like it is overhead. The back speakers produce different sounds eg in The Lost World you can hear the dinosaurs scuttling behind your settee from left to right.

With your dvd you are only getting half the benefits. You have an excellent picture but not the excellent sound to go with it. Believe me you will not regret upgrading.

The only way you can, at the moment, listen to Dolby Digital 5.1 is by a dvd player which is outputing the signals to an amp. Your tv could only produce the sounds if it is DD 5.1 tv. I think Toshiba are making this type of tv at the moment.

If you have the cash do as Nikhil suggests and try and get a DD 5.1EX/DTS 6.1 ES amp which is the next stage up. On this system you would have an extra set of speakers to go behind you as well as the ones to the left and right back of you. Though these systems are very expensive at the moment. This technology will take over (eventually) but, at present, most dvds are produced in 5.1 and if you are lucky dts. However, Castaway Region 1 has just been released in America and its sound is in Dolby Digital 5.1 EX and DTS 6.1 ES. If you go to this site it explains a lot more www.dolby.com/tech/evolve.html about the Dolby side of things. I think Denon make amps that you can upgrade but you would have to check this out.

The Dolby Digital decoder in your dvd player is just decoding the info it needs an amp to process it.

Hi,

If you were to use the processor on your dvd player then you would connect it via the 5.1 channel output to a 5.1 channel input to a compatible amp. (i.e. an amp which has an input for 5.1 channels, the majority do nowadays as it might be used for some future digital audio stuff and future compatibility etc) You should see the 5.1 channel output on the back of your dvd player being the 6 phono outputs (5 for each of the channels and one for the subwoofer) The way it works is that the dvd player computes and processes the sounds for each speaker and these are sent to your amp which directs it to the individual speakers (so in essence the amp doesn't have to do much) If you use the processor on a dolby digital amp though (which is better) the DVD player sends a pure digital stream (via an optical or coaxial cable) without processing it to the amp which will itself compute and process the sound and then send it to the speakers. (so, the dolby digital decoder on the amp is bypassed and the one on the amp is used.) (I hope that is clear, i might have confused you there)

The sony amp i recommended is quite new and is one of the high end amps sony makes (but not the top of the range, they are very expensive (but soooo beautiful!!)) As a ballpark figure i think the 940 is around £400. I'll try and find out a more accurate price for you though. There are a huge range of different speakers available at varying prices, don't go for the cheapest ones but make sure that you buy a GOOD CENTRE SPEAKER as this is the most important speaker in the set. (A lot of people neglect to tell you this and tend to concentrate on the left and right channel speakers, the centre speaker is where the bulk of your sound/speech will come and should be of high quality.)

If you buy the Sony 940, you won't be disappointed, i assure you.

I think you mentioned you had dolby pro logic in your TV right? If so, when you upgrade to dolby digital you'll notice a much better increase in quality because i'm assuming at the moment the centre left and right channels of sound are coming from your tv and you have two additional rear speakers. When you have a dolby digital amp fitted you will have 5 discrete channels (and a subwoofer) and you'll be able to spread out the left and right speakers for added effect giving you better sound (depending on the size of your room)

I would recommend you buy the amp from a sony centre if you buy a sony and from a hi-fi specialist if you buy another make such as denon etc.

Finally, when you do upgrade make sure you buy a good quality optical/coaxial cable and decent speaker cable as these do affect the quality of sound received. (Make sure you haggle with them as you can get some pretty good discounts when you try )

Make sure you buy a DVD such as Gladiator or Castaway (these are both DD6.1EX and DTSEX titles, they have got some good scenes in them for testing the sound!!)

I hope that helps, if you have anymore questions just post them and i'll try and help.

I just got a Sony STR-DB 940 from Richer Sounds for the bargain price of £300.
You will need the latest copy of What Hi-Fi magazine to get it at that amazing price though.

Im on to getting speakers next now.

I've narrowed it down to the new Mission M70 series (M73,M7C1,M7DS) and the Tannoy (MX3,MXC,MXR) package. So which one is best? Im leaning towards the Mission M70 package at the moment as they look better aesthetically and have excellent reviews so far (in particular the M73's). So if anyone wants to add their 2 cents....

Having bought myself a nice big Sony telly, I am now looking to completely drain my savings account by getting a DVD player.

Is there any point in me going for a 535/6 DVD player (with built-in DD/DTS decoder), or can I save a few pounds by going for, say, the 335/6?

I am planning to buy an amp in a few months time and really would like DTS capability.

Your help is appreciated!

I currently have a Sony Pro Logic amp (model escapes me, sorry). I am looking to upgrade to dolby digital. I was wondering wether it would be better to buy just a decoder for digital and feed it out to the pro-logic amp (has an optical in) as it is quite good qaulity, or wether to go the whole hog and get a reciever, decoder, amp all in one??

Any help appreciated!

what you could do is replace the amp with a DD/DTS amp with more power and you then have the option of using pre-outs and re-using your amp to power a couple of speakers.

Basically unless it is a blinding amp, it won't be worth using it with external decoders - and they will be as pricey as the replacement box and you're taking up more space with it all.

RJM - Have you thought about an all in one system like the Sony DAV-S300, this is an excellent DVD player, with built in DD5.1 and DTS decoders and 5 speakers with a sub. All for around £500. Some people have been stuffy about all in one systems, saying they are not as good as seperates, but everyone I know who have this system - like me - love it. Ideal for those new to home cinema.

I bought the HTK 215 amp first and as it had the 5.1 and dts decoders I wasn't bothered about buying a dvd player with the decoders in built. I am more than happy with the dvd player. It may not have as many options as higher spec players but to be quite honest all I want to do is stick a dvd in and play it. I would recommend it as a good entry level player. It has had no problems playing any discs which I think is a problem with some entry level dvd players.

Hi there,

I too own the Sony 535D like yourself.

Previously, my system was connected to my home stereo, but yesterday I bought the Kenwood KRF-5050D receiver. This receiver can decode both 5.1 dolby digital and also DTS.

Sadly I still only have two speakers, but you can fool the amp into sending all the sound through the front speakers, so I'm still getting DTS and DD if you see what I mean.

I cannot emphasis enough the need to get a receiver that can handle DTS. I tried out 'Gladiator' last night, and in 5.1 it sounded much better than before, no doubt about that, but try switching the sounds to DTS and the difference is incredible. The music and effects had MUCH more vibrancy and depth about them.

I ordered my receiver from Unbeatable.co.uk for just under £170, which I think is a real steal considering the rrp is £230.

Make sure you get decent leads to connect everything up with too, I'm using an optical lead to send the sound from the DVD to the Amp too.