Need help with 5.1 ch surround sound, esp. audio DVD. Any audiophiles in the house?

[EdBwoy]

Guys, apparently 2008 was a good year to be an M owner, especially if you sprung for the relevant packages.
These are the various OEM ways you could get to play audio:
1. AM/FM Radio
2. Satellite Radio
3. CD + MP3 Player
4. Compact Flash (CF card)
5. iPOD
6. Musicbox hard drive
7. DVD player for movies & music
8. RCA input via an AUX cord

My car happened to come with the Infiniti sample DVD and I played it to and from work. It might just be my lack of exposure, but boy, was I impressed! It's not bass-heavy like other systems, but it truly delivers the "middle-of-orchestra" feel one of the manuals mentioned. What can I say, I'm a simple man.

Anyway, I want to keep up with this crack cocaine for the ears. From the owners manual (didn't see anything helpful really) and the FSM, it seems like the DVD player is the only way to experience the 5.1 surround sound. I've done some googling but most of the stuff I came across went over my head.

+Do any of you guys actually use your DVD players beyond playing movies?
+If yes, is there a specific program you use to copy the music to DVD?
+I suppose the bigger question should be - where do you source your music? None of the stuff I have is in the DVD-correct format and I understand you cant regain those properties.

[Ilya]

lol @ crack cocaine for the ears. Interestingly put.

To answer your questions, I'm a musician (two decades worth) but I will admit that I'm not 100% up to speed on todays car audio equipment. That being said, you can buy "DVD Audio" music scores, etc. online from Amazon, etc. HOWEVER, if you were to burn a DVD with your favorite music, it would NOT be 5.1 because it would just be the same format you have now (which I'm guessing is MP3?). It would simply be a data DVD. There is no program I know of that will burn specifically DVDA discs...and I work in IT so I've used a bunch. CDBurnerXP, ImgBurn, etc.

I don't know of a place (like Amazon or Google Music) where you can download DVD-Audio files...only that you can buy entire discs on eBay, Amazon, etc.

The other option is, if you're tech savy to an extent, is to torrent music that may be DVDA...but honestly, I feel like DVDA never really took off so there probably isn't that much out there.

I do notice a difference on my cars 16 speakers when I play a song I 'ripped' (via vid2mp3.com) from YouTube which claims to be 320kpbs for bitrate and ones I pay and download from Amazon (which actually are 320kbps).

[EdBwoy]

Yeah, I mostly have MP3 (or whatever the "complimentary" download versions usually are ). I figured I wouldn't be able to convert that back to the good stuff. Let's just say I'm more tech savvy than most grandmas, but I don't foresee myself being invited to any Hackathons in the near future. Buying the DVDs seems to be the most efficient way to go for now.

My music tastes are truly eclectic, but short of Jazz, I can't think of any other genres that release in surround sound from the studio. I tried to narrow down to HipHop, and the closest interesting one I came across was the soundtrack of Fast & Furious 5. That website [dts-music dot net] looks cool and all, but I'll try to see how I can get it from a more reputable site. I have bought music from Amazon before.

[cruzad3r]

are you swapping out any OEM speakers?

[EdBwoy]

No Sir, I wasn't planning on it.

[cruzad3r]

for true 5.1 surround sound system, you want to buy original dvd or download dvd that are ripped with true surround sound; meaning it was not compress to save space.

due to the fact that our cars do not have the Bluetooth Integrated into the unit that allows you to direct stream music from your mobile device, i find it's somewhat disappointed. yes you can AUX your device into the head unit but you're at the risk of crackleling due to the RCA cable.

[EdBwoy]

I bought a $4 walmart RCA cable, and the sound seems lower than other inputs, even when my phone is near max. I still use it once in a while though. I wonder whether the more expensive cables like Monster would help.

On the DVD issue, I just can't seem to find music that I'm interested in, in that format. Otherwise I'd download it/buy the DVD

[cruzad3r]

right so you have to rely on external source to play music that you like and integrate with the bose headunit

[EdBwoy]

cruzad3r, are you referring to some other method other than the 8 I listed at the top?
Because, so far I can play my favorites, it's just the surround sound that's lacking.

[cavousier]

the only way that i have found to get the quality that you are looking for out of the RCA is to use an ipod or iphone.

[EdBwoy]

Thanks, I will have to borrow one to try soon.

[Rayh]

I have been using two programs designed for making dvd-a 5.1 disks, DiscWelder Chrome and HD-Audio Solo Ultra
You cannot really make anything worthwhile using MP3's as they simply wont translate into a true 5.1 dolby sound but there are
5.1 disks available if you want to make your own compilation which is what I do

http://www.minnetonkaaudio.com/products ... der03.html

http://www.cirlinca.com/products.htm

My preference is for HD-Audio and you can download a functional 30 day trial

[EdBwoy]

Thanks Rayh.

Looking through their sites, I saw something on the HD Audio site. It says that you can get regular media and up-convert it to DVD quality. Is this true? It is 2017 and many miracles happen after all. If true, have you used the feature by chance?

Also, since I'm looking on my phone I must have missed a few features, but you're saying I can just pick and choose songs from albums that were already mastered so I don't have to buy 10 albums to listen to 10 different songs. Did I understand that correctly?

[Rayh]

I have done that before, but I dont think that anything can be converted easily if at all to 5.1 dolby quality. I think the conversion uses the 5.1 to a point but no conversion can add sounds etc that werent there originally....I might be wrong there tho
I have picked and chosen, music that was already 5.1 to make my own compilations
Undoubtably there will be better programs to do this, but the price will be one problem, and their complexity another

[EdBwoy]

You're a godsend my friend. I'll look into those sites.