DVD Audio is a format which offers much higher quality from discs than obtainable from conventional CDs. It offers both multi-channel sound and high quality stereo, with reproduction of frequencies up to 192kHz (compared to 22kHz for CD) and a dynamic range 0f 144dB.

DVD-Audio software is generally encoded with MLP (Meridian Lossless Packing) which enables 74 minutes of high quality 6-channel audio to be put on a single layer disc. In order for the sound to be decoded, it must pass through an MLP decoder. This decoders are currently built into the DVD-Audio player . As a result, the player must be connected to the AV Receiver by way of the 5.1 channel output connections (i.e. the 6-phono leads). 

Please note: Even if the MLP decoder was built into the receiver, the existing optical/co-axial connections on DVD players are not able to handle the high sampling rates that DVD-Audio provides. These digital outputs convert PCM (such as 192kHz & 96kHz/24bit DVD-Audio sound), down to 48kHz/16bit for copyright protection reasons, thus ensuring that no more than a CD quality copy could be made (copyright protection). This also is true for DVD-A recordings not using MLP at all (which could happen if the content is of shorter duration and therefore does not need compression to fit onto a disc)."

What all this means is you are better off using the analogue RCA audio outputs from your DVD-A player  for both CD DVD or DVD-A  discs as the sound quality will be better with all formats due to the high quality 24bit  D/A converter and audio stages  used in the  DVD-A player .

 Upgrades are available to make this an Exceptional DVD from SSS

Clock upgrade

PSU Upgrade

Lazer assby upgrade

Analogue and Digital  Upgrades

 More Detail  SSS Audio upgrades