DVD-S97 Audio RightMark Test Results

I tested the player on the 2 channel analogue output, using Audio RightMark 5.5 and an E-MU 1212M as the capture card, at 24 bit resolution and 44.1, 48 and 96 kHz sampling rates.

As you can see, the player measured very close to published specs, with the dynamic range slightly below the quoted 110dB but THD twice as good as the published spec of 0.002%. The output voltage was very close to the 2Vrms reference. The stereo crosstalk figures were particularly good and reflect care taken in the design of the analogue line output stage.

A comparison of the player outputs with Audio Only switched on and off (measured at 96kHz 24 bits) showed that the audio characteristics improved slightly with Audio Only switched on, but not significantly (so it's pretty safe to leave the video circuits turned on 舑 particularly for DVD-Audio):

The following graphs are all based on measurement of the player playing back test tones at 96kHz 24-bit. In these graphs, the green plot is the player 2ch output, and the white plot is the E-MU 1212M measuring itself in loopback mode.

The frequency response graph indicates the player has a low pass filter that is down -1dB at 20 kHz, but is very flat for low frequencies. This filter is to compensate for ultrasonic noise generated by the DAC:

Looking at the noise level, the DVD-S97 has a noise floor that is mainly concentrated at below 1kHz, with the most significant contributor being residual 50Hz (fundamental plus harmonics) from the power supply. In addition, there are several significant spikes clustered at around 30kHz, plus another set around 1-3kHz: