l remember a few years back they a had a 5.1 category in the states.
sq and especially 5.1 has flatlined. damm spl. with the intro of dvd the idea has not taken off. alpine is one of the few who make 5.1 stuff.

 

yes that is about it yet I have seen some amplifiers from Hifonics that are catering to the 5.1 scene.
My buddy wants to do his car in 5.1 yet I don't if it's worth it.

 

Eclipse has a good 5.1 dvd unit

 

I now have a 5.1 set up...without the dvd. I refuse to buy a dvd player until they include dvd audio (the real thing, not that 2 ch. mixdown business). As far as dolby pro logic is concerned...I don't like it, sounds weak, thin and lifeless. I've stated this a few times previosly; until the powers that be make dvd-a available at reasonable prices for car audio and more available in home units, dvd-a will not replace cd's. I, nor most enthusiasts, will be willing to pay 1500.00+ for a dvd-a unit(Alpine f1, kenwood, Pioneer etc...). I don't even want a dvd video system, and I'll bet many car audio freaks don't care for it either, but I would like a 500.00 dvd unit that plays dvd-a, wma, mp3, and has a direct usb port for ipods etc...I don't think that's too much to ask for. There are home dvd players(pioneer, samsung) that are under 250.00 that have all the features,except usb, I listed. The other thing is the software, it needs to come down in price. I believe that the key is the players need to be available at reasonable prices, the software will take care of itself eventually. One other point; there will always be a need for 2ch audio, the reason is simple...personal music players(ipods etc...). It's pretty hard to do 5.1 on head phones!! That's easy to incorporate into either the players or the discs. Anyway, my two cents on the multi channel future.

 

I'm working on another full 5.1 system right now for that matter.

 

I agree with many of your points for DVD Audio, but I have to differ on the subject of software... software drives the market. Playstation outsells XBOX because there is more games at less expensive prices. MP3 took off because music is "free". I think DVD Audio and SACD are dead in the water because:

- two formats for one idea is a stupid thing.
- most of the mixes are cheesy
- people think MP3s sound good, so why "pay" for something they can't hear
- few mainstream artists (ie not "audiophile" hacks who would never get a recording contract in the real world) record with 5.1 in mind.
- Monster Tracks, has the right idea, surround discs in 5.1 16bit or 20bit that plays in a normal player -- I haven't seen the disk prices though.

JVC has the right idea with non-video or small screen DVD indash player that look like and are priced like cd players, they even have a model with a USB jack.

my 2 cents

 

^^excellent points as well. I really like the monster tracks' idea, I would definitely go for something like that.

 

Alpine is coming out with DVA-7861 and IVA-W200, both of them will play DVD-Audio for real...and both have optical outs...and both are reasonable in price...any day now at your local dealer

 

There is a 5.1 build going into my truck as we speak. Completion is set for April 29th.
I'll post some picts and views once it is done and I've had some time to play with it.

 

I think both of those are 2 channel mixdown dvd-a, not 5.1 surround. Quality should be great, but no surround. At least that's the way I read it. See below:

http://www.alpine-usa.com/en/products/product.php?model=IVA-W200