I've been thinking about buying a Sony DAV-S550 because I don't currently have surround decoder. This one caught my eye because it's compact and also plays SACDs. Looking at pictures and reading reviews it seems that I could plug my laserdisc player into the DAV but I'm unsure if it would meet my needs.

This is the back of the DAV-S550:


As you can see it's possible to plug in two extra inputs, so I'd be able to plug in my laserdisc player and perhaps my Turntable using component cables. What I'm not so sure about is if I could plug the surround outputs of my player into the DAV.

My laserdisc player is a DVL-919E and has the following outputs on the back


Both the DAV and my LD player have optical digital ports so I could probably connect them that way, but having never connected an LD player and a surround amp before I'm not sure if I would get everything. Do the PCM, PCM/MPEG and the PCM/MPEG (Opt) all output the same thing in a different method? If so then I could simply plug the PCM/MPEG (Opt) from my player into the Optical Digital In on the receiver and I assume that would give me Dolby Digital and DTS from DVDs and DTS from laserdiscs. But as the DAV already has a DVD player in it I'm not too worried about getting the DVD outputs from my player, but I would at some point like to get a AC3-RF demodulator so I could hook up the Dolby Digital from my Laserdiscs. Because the DAV only has an Optical Digital input I'm not sure I could get both Dolby and DTS. Do AC3-RF demodulators exist that take in an AC3-RF and Digital Optical cable and combine them into a single Digital Optical cable?

I realise I'm trying to bring together two completely different generations of equipment but I really don't have the space for a larger AV Receiver that would probably allow me to do what I want a lot easier.

Any help or advice would be helpful.

OK, let's see. You have three digital output jacks there : one coaxial, marked PCM ; one coaxial, marked PCM/DD/MPEG, & one optical marked PCM/DD/MPEG (OPT). Now, since dts on LD is encoded as pseudo-PCM, any of these connectors will work for that. The differences arise with how audio from DVDs is handled. Coax 1 presumably decodes the AC3 or MPEG audio on DVDs encoded with them to 2-channel PCM, or feeds out the PCM on DVDs which have that. Coax 2 & Optical 3 feed out whatever is on the DVD.
Looking at the handy-dandy list of AC-3 RF audio gear, what you want is a demodulator with "1o, 1o out" or "1c, 1o out" meaning an optical or coaxial digital input (in addition to the AC-3 RF input) & an optical digital output. It looks like your choices are "McIntosh RFD-2" or "Pioneer RFD-1".

Thanks for the fast and informative response, publius, that list is indeed really handy. I've seen the Pioneer RDF-1 listed on n$a's site for $500, so I'm guessing that and the McIntosh ones are fairly top of the line and expensive. While having a look around I noticed the Meridian 519 which appears to have a coax and optical in and out as well as an RF-Input, yet the handy list says "Meridian 519 (1c out, 1o out)."




I've seen this one floating around for much cheaper so it most likely doesn't do what I'm looking for, but thought it would be worth checking anyway.

Thanks again.

No, I'd say it probably does exactly what you want. I'd be very surprised if it didn't, with those connectors. Note that the list I linked to tells you right up front that it's not complete, & also that Signor Santini is in the business of providing things to people who really want them at a price considerably higher than what you might be able to obtain through other channels.

Once again thanks for the info.

Now I know it can be used the way I want I think I'll buy a Sony DAV-S550 and keep my eye out for a good RF Demodulator. When I pick one up I'll post an update letting you know how I get on.

Thanks again.

AC-3 Demodulator can be quite expensive, I would recommend u to get a reciver that supports AC-3. I use a Pioneer VSA-E08, which cost me less then buying a
Demodulator. Oh and the 919e matches the E08 greatly with that shiny golden color, other recivers I could recommend is also the E06 and E07.

Hope I didnt confuse you, its just a suggestion

I ended up getting a DAV-S500 which is basically the same thing but with a different casing and no progressive switch for NTSC DVD playback. Dolby Pro Logic (right, centre, left, back) from my laserdisc player sounds really good, most of my discs have Dolby Pro Logic so that'll keep me going until I get hold of an AC3-RF demodulator. I've also managed to hook up my turntable so I'll have to see how it handles my Quadraphonic LPs, I've heard mixed results on how Dolby Pro Logic handles them.


Most AV Systems I've seen have been massive, especially the few that contain an AC-3 RF input, and as I said I was looking for something nice and small that I can tuck away. AC3 isn't a must for me when watching laserdisc, I was just wanting to check that whatever I bought I could actually hook up the machine if I ever stumble across a demodulator for a good price. If I ever do I'll post here again and let you know how I got on.

Sorry to resurrect an old thread but last week I won a bid on a Meridian 519 and it arrived in the post on Friday. I've not had much of a chance to play with it yet but I can confirm that it does work with my Sony DAV-S500 system as described above.

When I first tested it with Lost World, The: Jurassic Park (1997) [43310] I thought I might have a problem. The "lock" light on the modulator lit up meaning it had found the ac3 signal but I wasn't getting any audio through my system, I tried everything but no luck. I came back to it the next day with a few more ideas of things to try, hooked it up the same as before but this time tried it with Matrix, The (1999) [17665] and hey presto it worked perfectly. I then tried again with the Lost World and it worked fine too. Sometimes the DAV has problems recognising SACDs (recognises it first time 90% of the time though) so perhaps it's just one of those quirks with the system that every now and then it fails to interpret the signal right.

I'm still yet to actually sit down and watch a full laserdisc with demodulated ac3 but I should be able to sometime this week, gives me something to look forward to.

The Meridian 519 is a beautiful piece of equipment, very solid and made in the UK so I don't have to muck about with power converters. I was also surprised to find that the case was made of metal, from the pictures I'd seen it looked more like a plastic coating. With the build quality and features of this modulator I can highly recommend it, and the brief sample I've had so far of the ac3 demodulated through it sounded great!

Thanks for the help and advice guys, I hope this thread can be of help to anyone else looking to do something similar.