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Why does Denon 3910 default to PCM for sacds?

I have been made aware of this by Alex Peychev. He states, "Anyway, the 3910 Source Direct ON/OFF mode is in the On-Screen menu in the Audio Settings. You need a monitor. When you select Source Direct ON you have true DSD. If it's OFF the DSD is converted to 176.4/24 PCM. Be aware that the Factory Default is Source Direct OFF, so the machine converts DSD to PCM. You need to go and change that." I have tried it both ways and it makes a substantial difference in the realism of the sound.

I suspect that Denon's indifference to sacd and the desire to hear sacds in dsd conversion is overridden by their expectation that most will be interested in only dvds and HT.
tbg
tvad
9,467 posts
 
That's great info, Tbg. Thanks.

Alex says he ships all his machines with Source Direct ON, and the SACD filter setting option does not apply to the APL Denon 3910 since Alex's modification bypasses this setting in favor of his re-design.
aplhifi
515 posts
 
Tbg, yes, you will need to break in the DSD part of the DACs and other components on the DSD signal path. The Denon 3910 DACs feature Burr-Brown's best DSD to Analog conversion technology as seen in their DSD only top line DSD1700 DAC.

The other thing Denon 3910 users should know is that, if you are listening to 192/24 DVD-A and you do not have the Denon in Pure Direct "All OFF" mode, you are getting 96/24. In order to get real 192/24, please turn the Pure Direct to "All OFF". This will also give you much better audio quality with all formats.

Regards,
Alex
pardales
652 posts
 
This is very useful, thank you, all. A question on the SACD filter settings. In the Audio set-up menu you can choose between 50 khz and 100khz (I think). Is one better as a set-it-and-forget-it or is it disc dependent? Thanks, again,
tbg OP
5,263 posts
 
Pardales, I did some switching back and forth and heard no differences. I just set it on 100k Hz and forgot it.
aplhifi
515 posts
 
Pardales, you really need to experiment with this setting. Depending on your system and taste you might like one or the other. In general, 50KHz is recommended. This will give you more focus and high octaves resolution. The 100KHz will sound a bit rolled and muddy, but you might like it as it is more forgiving/rounded.

Regards,
Alex
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