@madshi
new Sonic decoders version 4.3 are capable to decode raw MLP/TrueHD stream, so they connect to both EVOB or raw MLP/TrueHD stream.
i made the same test i made before with Nero:
24fake4851_nero_decode and 24fake4851_sonic_decode are identical
244851_nero_decode and 244851_sonic_decode are indentical
but 164851_nero_decode and 164851_sonic_decode are not, Nero output is 24bit with least significant byte zero, but Sonic properly detects, that the stream is 16bit and outputs only 16bit:
and the result from the test with TrueHD:
Vendetta TrueHD stream, Sonic output:
Vendetta TrueHD stream, Nero output:
so Sonic decode of Vendetta TrueHD stream has least significant byte of every sample set to zero, but when listen to the decoded stream it has some kind of noise, so seems it's faulty.
Nine Inch Nails: BYIT' bonus track TrueHD, Sonic output:
Nine Inch Nails: BYIT' bonus track TrueHD, Nero output:
with NIN TrueHD track there are some different bytes, but most of the bytes are identical, from previous tests we know, that NIN TrueHD is probably 24bit, so seems that with 24 Sonic performs almost perfect, again there is some noise in the sound.
so both Nero and Sonic are perfect with MLP, Sonic is better, because has 16bit output, when MLP stream is 16bit, plus can decode raw MLP.
when it comes to TrueHD, like Nero, Sonic always reports the TrueHD stream as 24bit, but when TrueHD stream is 16bit (Vendetta) seems Sonic has faulty decode, because there is noise, when TrueHD stream is 24bit (NIN bonus track) again there is noise, but as bytes the output is almost identical to Nero.