DVDs offer high-quality video and audio, but unless you connect your
playback hardware so you get the best possible sound out of it, you may as well
be watching worn-out old VHS tapes. Your speakers constitute one of the
greatest limits on your sound quality, but how you get the sound to them plays
just as big a part in making your DVD-viewing experience pleasing to the ears
as well as the eyes.
- 1
Use your DVD player's digital connections for the
best-quality sound with the fewest compromises, regardless of whether you plug
your player straight into your TV set or integrate it into a mega-component A/V
system. When your audio converts from the digital signal stored on disc to the
analog signal that meets your
ears, it goes through hardware called a
digital-to-analog converter, or DAC. Use the best-quality DAC you have
available and the most flexible connection, in terms of sound output. Given a
choice between plugging your DVD player into your TV and plugging it into your
A/V system, of course, the TV loses almost every time, unless your A/V system
uses tinny little speakers.- 2
Use your DVD player's High-Definition Multimedia
Interface, or HDMI, connector if it -- and whatever you're plugging it into --
includes one. HDMI serves as your best choice because it conveys the surround
sound encoded into the signal on disc. It also supports the highest-resolution,
best-quality video signal: 1080p HDTV. Without an HDMI output on your player
and an HDMI input on your TV or A/V receiver, you're limited to multichannel
audio connections that rely on the DAC in your player to turn digital recording
into analog sound waves. Although 5.1-, 6.1- and 7.1-channel audio may sound
like the ideal option, they rely on the DAC in your player, and use multiple
analog cables to your TV or receiver.
- 3
Use good-quality cables, but don't assume that
price equals quality at every cost level. Generally speaking, they're called
"cables" when they're affordable and "interconnects" as the
price rises. The debates between the people who spend hundreds of dollars per
foot on interconnects versus the ones who use the cables that come in the
DVD-player box continue to rage on, just as they've done for every generation
of playback media since "hi" met "fi." The bottom line
really is the bottom line: buy the best cables you can afford, but don't go
crazy. Past a modest investment, any appropriate-format cable in good condition
can get the job done.
- 4
Repurpose cables from a previous A/V setup if and
only if you're sure they're in good working order. Bag the ones your cat chewed
on -- or worse -- and the ones that lay across a heating vent for years. You
can be penny wise and pound foolish in either direction when it comes to
cabling, and it makes just as little sense to under spend as to overdo it.
- 5
Sit in the listening position in which you're
likeliest to watch DVD programming. Play a range of different types of discs --
an action-adventure movie with explosive special effects, a concert DVD
featuring acoustic instruments, a documentary with wildlife sounds and an audio
CD. Verify that all your speakers output audio when they should and none of
them emit the crackly, tinny sound of a bad connection. If you're plugging your
DVD player into an A/V receiver that includes built-in sound balancing and
adjustment features, use them to verify and fine tune your setup.
- 6
Plug a good pair of headphones into your DVD
player or receiver so you can listen without bothering others. You can spend a
few hundred dollars on high-performance phones that offer better audio
performance than speakers that cost several times as much. That's because the
drivers in a pair of headphones move less air at lower volumes and across
shorter distances, enabling them to do more with less hardware. They may not
support digital surround sound, but they can turn a portable DVD player into a
better listening experience than its small built-in speakers can provide.
