Helo58

As I understand it, the ML system and others from Acura, etc. in the 2005-2009 timeframe experimented with DVD-Audio as a way to pack more audio information (surround) into the CD/DVD format. As digital media and chipsets became more advanced, this method fell out of favor. From the wikipedia page, here is some info on DVD-A:
Different bit depth/sampling rate/channel combinations can be used on a single disc. For instance, a DVD-Audio disc may contain a 96 kHz/24-bit 5.1-channel audio track as well as a 192 kHz/24-bit stereo audio track. Also, the channels of a track can be split into two groups stored at different resolutions. For example, the front speakers could be 96/24, while the surrounds are 48/20.Audio is stored on the disc in Linear PCM format, which is either uncompressed or losslessly compressed with MLP (Meridian Lossless Packing).[1] The maximum permissible total bit rate is 9.6 Megabits per second. Channel/resolution combinations that would exceed this need to be compressed. In uncompressed modes, it is possible to get up to 96/16 or 48/24 in 5.1, and 192/24 in stereo. To store 5.1 tracks in 88.2/20, 88.2/24, 96/20 or 96/24 MLP encoding is mandatory.If no native stereo audio exists on the disc, the DVD-Audio player may be able to downmix the 5.1-channel audio to two-channel stereo audio if the listener does not have a surround sound setup (provided that the coefficients were set in the stream at authoring). Downmixing can only be done to two-channel stereo, not to other configurations, such as 4.0 quad. DVD-Audio may also feature menus, text subtitles, still images and video, plus in high end authoring systems it is also possible to link directly into a Video_TS directory that might contain video tracks, as well as PCM stereo and other "bonus" features.


I have contemplated getting some DVD-A authoring software (Magix Samplitude seems to be the cheapest reliable method last I checked) and making some lossless audio. I have never taken it any further though and would be interested in what you learn or accomplish.

Anatoliy

Thanks for the response. What about playing multi chanel wav files from usb 16/24 bit or DTS encoded files?
Did anyone tried to play WAV-DTS files from USB?

mmartin061

Old thread being brought up here. But I was looking for opinions on upgrading the ML system in the ISF. I owned one but it was all afternarket. My DD right now has an Arc Audio 1200.6 in it connected to Focal Expert FX 6.5"s in front, 2 way component and I think HAT Unity line in the rear doors with a 10"JL in the back. Some music sounds incredible some it sounds ehhhh. But due to the different qualities of recording I am sure also. Was it worth what I paid over the stock JBL. Depends on what the meaning of worth is. It was not a cheap but not an expensive install which was plus or minus a nickle, 2400. But I also got a few hundred off on some of the components together. So then without that we would be very close to the 3grand mark. I love music and the JBL in the stock holes was just not doing it. The HAT Legatia L6V2 blew up or something in the front doors and the tweets blew as well. The guy installing the Focal's in the front said the nids looked water damaged but I don't drive through river beds in a Rav4. The HAT Unity's are still in the back door working fine and the Arc Audio amp hasn't skipped a beat. So now that I would be at 14 speakers which would be eithet 8 or 9 channels I up my speaker count by 5 total and need a new amp as well a strong 2 channel or a 3 channel to bridge a new sub. My figuring is throw in another 1500 for quality components without a discount and then another 500 for a 4 channel and I'm at that magic mark of 4400 if I get a little break on buying it all at once. Worth it? I would have to listen to the ML system first. Then take into consideration what year I bought since 8 year old paper speakers actually have how much usefull life left in them. But I think it would be worth in the long run.

MrFunex

I think the sound quality is very car-dependent:

My old '09 GS450 with ML sounded utterly fantastic.

My current '08 ISF ML is good, but not quite in the same league as the GS. Rather than upgrade the setup, I turn the volume down and listen to the engine more!

My wife has a '09 RX450 without ML and the sound quality suffers...

mmartin061

Ya the 2nd stage is something else lol. You know it is almost nice to not have headers and you can actually hear it instead of always sounding loud. But to each their own. It was nice to have it sound loud all the time also. But hell I am old now.