DTS sound question?

Question

Ok I have the following sound card:

Creative Audigy 2 ZS , which supports DTS-ES.

My speakers are ANALOG --> Logitech Z-5300 5.1 setup.

I also have Power DVD version 7 deluxe which supports DTS-ES and DTS 96/24.

My speakers are connected to the soundcard via the analog cables.

Now if I play a DTS DVD and select the DTS soundtrack will I hear DTS sound , or just the Dolby Digital EX sound?

In other words do i also have to have digital speakers.

Reason I'm asking is because I've tested some dvd's using the
DTS-ES & Dolby Digital EX soundtracks and I can't say I hear a better sound when using the DTS soundtrack.

Is it because i have analog speakers or is it something else?

Answer 1

hi,
dts and dd5.1 both offer great quality sound reproduction. the main difference between them is that dts will give a more "dynamic" sound (the range between the low volume and high volume sections of the audio track). unless you are using high-end audio equipment (receiver / speakers), and listening at a fairly generous volume, the difference is not substantial but is noticeable. as far as your speakers, all speakers are capable of reproducing the audio. the notation "digital" on a speaker is both misleading and incorrect - ALL speakers are analog!
for the best sound, use the digital out from your sound card into a good receiver, and good quality home theater speakers.

hope that helps. mike. [e-mail]

Answer 2

As explained before, you don't need digital speakers (there is no such thing...everything your ears hear is analog).

There are audible differences between Dolby Digital and DTS. On a lower resolution computer speaker setup (and with all due respect, that is what you have), you probably won't hear much of a difference between the two formats.

On a higher resolution speaker setup, the differences are quite noticeable. If sound quality is really important, you may want to consider going way up the foodchain in your speaker selection. I'd go into a home theater speaker package like a Klipsch Cinema 8 or Cinema 10 system with a mid priced AV receiver as the amplifier section. I use a Klipsch Cinema 10 system in my home office with a Marantz receiver and it works great.

Answer 3

As "mike" wrote, all speakers are analog. When you listen to DTS or DD over the stereo output of your card, the DVD player gets all 5.1 channels and downmixes them to just 2 channels.

There are PC audio cards that have 6 audio outputs. In that case the DVD player can actually send and decode all channels.

If your card has a digital output (s/pdif), then you can connect that to an AV receiver and again let the receiver decode all channels.

In summary, with stereo out only, I doubt there is much difference between DD and DTS, but in theory DTS should sound better (they use more bits than DD).