home audio question - which connector?

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terminaldegree

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I'm building a 5.1 home theater system. The components include:

all PSB speakers [Alpha B's for front, C for center, Intro LR for surround, and Subsonic 5i]
Denon DVD-900 progressive scan player
Harman Kardon AVR 230 receiver
The TV is a cheap, crappy 20" set for now.

I'm trying to figure out how to hook the DVD to the Receiver for best audio quality. The DVD player is supposed to have good quality DAC's, but the ones in the receiver probably aren't too shabby either.
Connections available to me from the DVD player:
Optical digital out [1 terminal]
Coaxial digital out [1 terminal]
Regular RCA audio out [stereo pair]
Yellow "video out" jack [1 terminal]
S-video out [1 terminal]
Component video out [3 terminals]
I assume the last two have nothing to do with this hookup [with the cheap TV and its absence of inputs/outputs]. Any ideas?

Thanks in advance.
 
Connection from DVD to receiver should be optical digital out or coaxial digital. Should upgrade TV, 20" is too small for home theater. Get a TV with component video terminals or for really higher end; a digital TV with DVI connections. Depends on how much you want to spend
smile.gif
 
Thanks for the reply.
I know what you mean about the TV-- luckily our apartment is on the small side. Obviously, we will upgrade when we can afford it. It has taken us 2-3 years just to get things to where they are now.

Any other replies welcome. Keep in mind that audio quality is the goal for the time being.
 
Don't forget that the quality and gauge of the cable plays an important part in sound quality. Again you can spend a lot for cables but don't skimp. Usually the patch cables that came with the DVD player are poor quality.

On some DVD players there is an option for sound output to be either analog (PCM) or digital (bitstream). Set to digital for better (?) sound.
 
I've found some great buys on cables on E-Bay.

I don't think think digital cables really differ, I've found optical cables (Toslink) as cheap as $5 for a three-foot length. For other audio and video cables, don't skimp. But don't pay retail either!

Toslink cables are also PS2 compatible, so your games will sound great if you're into that sort of thing.

BTW - nice setup for your audio. PSB makes some great speakers.
 
The DACs on the DVD player do not decode 5.1 Dolby Digital or DTS as evidenced by the lack of 6 audio out jacks on the DVD player.

In that case, you should connect the Coaxial Digital out of the DVD player to the Coaxial Digital in on the receiver.

You can also do the same using the optical connectors as well. However, the connection using the coaxial is likely to net you a more error free transmission than the optical using run of the mill cables unless you obtain very high quality optical cables.

It is always best to connect using component connections. These preserve the video information the best. Svideo and composite (yellow) combine these signals and then the "TV" has to separate the signals to show the picture again. The combining and separation is not a distortion free process. So avoid those anytime you can.
 
Forget about expensive cables. Most of the connections between the components are actually 75 ohm specs. Try making some of your own using RG59 coaxial cable from Home depot and good quality connectors. Also "gold plated" are of no significance and don't give you better picture.

For your speaker wires, try some of the Home Depot orange outdoor wire if your decor allows.

OK I'll gice you the rundown on cables. The interconnection specs call for 75 ohm impedances. That means the cable AND the connectors should be 75 ohm impedances. 99.99% of the RCA connectors do not terminate at 75 ohms. BUT they're cheap and that's why they're used commercially. Canare makes a 75 ohm RCA but you'd be hard pressed to find them.

Forget monster and the exotic stuff, they're mostly designed to separate you and your money.
For your 20" TV don't sweat it.

Cables make a difference but lighting and monitor setup are more important at the level you're at right now. Most importantly get a good setup DVD like Video Essentials and a cheap SPL meter from Radio Shack. You won't regret it.
 
Are you in the industry or just enlightened? I don't mean that sarcastically, your answers are honest and correct. Though very few dvds have dvi out.
 
Optical or digital coax to the HK and the highest possible connection to the TV.
1-hdmi
2-dvi
3-component
4-s video
5-composite(yellow)
6-coax with modulator
1 being the highest quality 6 lowest. If calibrated correctly that audio set up can rock.
 
quote:
Originally posted by cangreylegend:
Forget monster and the exotic stuff, they're mostly designed to separate you and your money.
For your 20" TV don't sweat it.
Click to expand...
are you sure oxygen-free mercury-filled wire isnt better
smile.gif
 
Hey cangreylegend,
I bypass my receiver entirely, and run my video cables directly from the source to the TV. My thinking is, this will provide the best picture.

Do you think that there is any signal degradation if you send the video signals thru the receiver first?
 
You're correct in your thinking but you bypass the convenience if you use multiple video sources. In good equipment, the degradation is minimal if at all detectable Some actual do some perocessing for you in the receiver.
 
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