I have the Direct TV HD reciever with the HDMI cable going to the TV. Now for hooking up my home theater system... my (older) reciever only has digital optical and digital coaxial inputs/outputs. For best sound should I use the optical digital output out of the TV and go into the reciever? or use the digital coaxial output of the Direct TV box and go into the reciever digital input? thanks!!
Hooking up sound system question
- Thread starter Blaze
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I always prefer to do this as simple as possible with minimum number of hops, so for audio I would connect the digital coax of your TV box to your receiver directly.
Some TVs will not even pass on the digital audio correctly to the receiver. They will downsample/convert it to regular 2-channel stereo due to some archaic copy protection/legal issue which I forget now.
Some TVs will not even pass on the digital audio correctly to the receiver. They will downsample/convert it to regular 2-channel stereo due to some archaic copy protection/legal issue which I forget now.
Thanks! I'll give that a shot. I really cant afford to upgrade to a HDMI ready reciever right now.
I currently have a coax cable running from HD Cable Box/DVR to a Pioneer VSX-D509S and it works perfectly. I am only using it in stereo ATM with 2 Cerwin Vega VE12s but it sounds fantastic.
Originally Posted By: Blaze
I really cant afford to upgrade to a HDMI ready reciever right now.
There is really no need for a new receiver unless the number of your HDMI sources is larger than the number of HDMI inputs on your TV.
As long as your receiver decodes DD/DTS 5.1 and has enough juice to cleanly power 5 speakers, I think it is sufficient for 99% of applications. Anything beyond that provides only marginal improvement, IMO, but I'm sure there will be people who will disagree with me on this. That's OK.
I really cant afford to upgrade to a HDMI ready reciever right now.
There is really no need for a new receiver unless the number of your HDMI sources is larger than the number of HDMI inputs on your TV.
As long as your receiver decodes DD/DTS 5.1 and has enough juice to cleanly power 5 speakers, I think it is sufficient for 99% of applications. Anything beyond that provides only marginal improvement, IMO, but I'm sure there will be people who will disagree with me on this. That's OK.
Originally Posted By: nleksan
I am only using it in stereo ATM with 2 Cerwin Vega VE12s but it sounds fantastic.
Those are some banging old school speakers. Nice! Must come in handy if there's a party going on.
I am only using it in stereo ATM with 2 Cerwin Vega VE12s but it sounds fantastic.
Those are some banging old school speakers. Nice! Must come in handy if there's a party going on.
In theory the optical cable will provide the best sound quality because it is a purely digital transmission format. Fibre optics aren't susceptible to interference like a copper-core cable is.
But QP is right -- check the components to make sure they aren't downsampling to 2-channel. For the newer formats (DTS HD Master, Dolby TrueHD, etc) you would need to use HDMI. I'm of the opinion that you should let the receiver handle the downsampling since you're only doing stereo playback.
(I have a PS3 output the raw stream via HDMI into my Onkyo receiver.)
But QP is right -- check the components to make sure they aren't downsampling to 2-channel. For the newer formats (DTS HD Master, Dolby TrueHD, etc) you would need to use HDMI. I'm of the opinion that you should let the receiver handle the downsampling since you're only doing stereo playback.
(I have a PS3 output the raw stream via HDMI into my Onkyo receiver.)
Originally Posted By: dparm
I'm of the opinion that you should let the receiver handle the downsampling since you're only doing stereo playback.
Oh, I didn't realize he was only doing stereo playback. If that's the case, then forget all these digital cables and just use an analog stereo RCA cable from the TV box to the receiver.
I'm of the opinion that you should let the receiver handle the downsampling since you're only doing stereo playback.
Oh, I didn't realize he was only doing stereo playback. If that's the case, then forget all these digital cables and just use an analog stereo RCA cable from the TV box to the receiver.
You should go from TV to receiver. This means that any source that goes to your TV can ultimately be played back in surround sound.
If you connect a Blu Ray or Laptop to your TV via HDMI, the TV will then also pass the optical signal to the receiver.
There is no quality difference between digital optical and digital coax so long as you use a 75ohm cable (which is the spec for an analog video cable but not usually for an analog audio cable).
For my own set up, I had to buy a digital coax to optical converter as my TV digital audio output is digital coax only while my receiver is digital optical input only. My receiver receives the dolby digital surround signal just fine with 2 different types of cable and a converter in between.
Because it is digital, cable quality is only important up to a point, in this case a 75ohm video cable. I just picked up one of many old ones I had that was the shortest length required.
My only issue is that my TV outputs DD only not DTS. To get around that, I use AC3 Filter on my laptop to convert any DTS source to DD.
That is the only possible downside ie that your TV does something similar but as far as I have seen, all TV broadcasts use DD not DTS.
If you connect a Blu Ray or Laptop to your TV via HDMI, the TV will then also pass the optical signal to the receiver.
There is no quality difference between digital optical and digital coax so long as you use a 75ohm cable (which is the spec for an analog video cable but not usually for an analog audio cable).
For my own set up, I had to buy a digital coax to optical converter as my TV digital audio output is digital coax only while my receiver is digital optical input only. My receiver receives the dolby digital surround signal just fine with 2 different types of cable and a converter in between.
Because it is digital, cable quality is only important up to a point, in this case a 75ohm video cable. I just picked up one of many old ones I had that was the shortest length required.
My only issue is that my TV outputs DD only not DTS. To get around that, I use AC3 Filter on my laptop to convert any DTS source to DD.
That is the only possible downside ie that your TV does something similar but as far as I have seen, all TV broadcasts use DD not DTS.
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Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: Blaze
I really cant afford to upgrade to a HDMI ready reciever right now.
There is really no need for a new receiver unless the number of your HDMI sources is larger than the number of HDMI inputs on your TV.
As long as your receiver decodes DD/DTS 5.1 and has enough juice to cleanly power 5 speakers, I think it is sufficient for 99% of applications. Anything beyond that provides only marginal improvement, IMO, but I'm sure there will be people who will disagree with me on this. That's OK.
It does decode DD/DTS 5.1. Why do they put the optical outputs on the TV? now I'm confused.
Originally Posted By: Blaze
I really cant afford to upgrade to a HDMI ready reciever right now.
There is really no need for a new receiver unless the number of your HDMI sources is larger than the number of HDMI inputs on your TV.
As long as your receiver decodes DD/DTS 5.1 and has enough juice to cleanly power 5 speakers, I think it is sufficient for 99% of applications. Anything beyond that provides only marginal improvement, IMO, but I'm sure there will be people who will disagree with me on this. That's OK.
It does decode DD/DTS 5.1. Why do they put the optical outputs on the TV? now I'm confused.
Originally Posted By: rjacket
If you connect a Blu Ray or Laptop to your TV via HDMI, the TV will then also pass the optical signal to the receiver.
A lot of TVs will not do this right. They'll send signal via the optical audio out, but that signal will be down-converted to ordinary 2-channel audio instead of the original 5.1 or 7.1, whatever the case may be. And sadly many TV manufacturers will not explicitly state that in the owner's manual. Sometimes you have to dig around internet forums to find this out.
Both my Panasonic plasma (older model) and my Samsung LED (more recent model) behave this way.
If you connect a Blu Ray or Laptop to your TV via HDMI, the TV will then also pass the optical signal to the receiver.
A lot of TVs will not do this right. They'll send signal via the optical audio out, but that signal will be down-converted to ordinary 2-channel audio instead of the original 5.1 or 7.1, whatever the case may be. And sadly many TV manufacturers will not explicitly state that in the owner's manual. Sometimes you have to dig around internet forums to find this out.
Both my Panasonic plasma (older model) and my Samsung LED (more recent model) behave this way.
The OP didnt say he was doing 2 channel. One might assume the receiver has the better dac, so I would run a decent home brew 75ohm coax from the box to the receiver. Optical and coax are both digital interchange formats, though dparm is correct in that the optical is galvanically isolated - though it may be poorly implemented. GND loop and noise are major issues getting good sound these days. You may want to consider running an isolated AC circuit just for your HT setup and run the wires in gnded conduit if code allows. Industrial surplus 2KW isolation transformers can be helpfull too.
Originally Posted By: Blaze
Why do they put the optical outputs on the TV? now I'm confused.
If you have cable TV arriving to your TV set directly via traditional concentric cable (so that your TV's own HD tuner decodes the signal), then in this case the TV will send 5.1 signal out its optical/coax audio output.
But if the signal is coming into your TV via HDMI, then the audio part of this stream will most likely not get passed onto its optical/coax audio output "as is".
Why do they put the optical outputs on the TV? now I'm confused.
If you have cable TV arriving to your TV set directly via traditional concentric cable (so that your TV's own HD tuner decodes the signal), then in this case the TV will send 5.1 signal out its optical/coax audio output.
But if the signal is coming into your TV via HDMI, then the audio part of this stream will most likely not get passed onto its optical/coax audio output "as is".
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: Blaze
Why do they put the optical outputs on the TV? now I'm confused.
But if the signal is coming into your TV via HDMI, then the audio part of this stream will most likely not get passed onto its optical/coax audio output "as is".
OK, thanks. I'll try the output on the Direct TV box.
Originally Posted By: Blaze
Why do they put the optical outputs on the TV? now I'm confused.
But if the signal is coming into your TV via HDMI, then the audio part of this stream will most likely not get passed onto its optical/coax audio output "as is".
OK, thanks. I'll try the output on the Direct TV box.
Try the TV output first. It's the best setup. If it doesn't give you surround sound then go do it direct from the Direct TV box.
Read your instruction manual. It might explain more about the digital audio signal that your TV outputs. Alternatively, your receiver will advise you what it is receiving.
Read your instruction manual. It might explain more about the digital audio signal that your TV outputs. Alternatively, your receiver will advise you what it is receiving.
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: nleksan
I am only using it in stereo ATM with 2 Cerwin Vega VE12s but it sounds fantastic.
Those are some banging old school speakers. Nice! Must come in handy if there's a party going on.
I love them. They are rated at 300W but I have yet to break them even at 50% higher than rated (accidental). They are also perfect for a stereo home theater setup as with two 12" woofers a subwoofer is useless, yet the mids and highs are extremely natural sounding with great clarity, never once have I gotten any distortion.
Friends do not believe they are CV's after hearing them... One thought he was listening to my Definitive Tech. Mythos II towers!
The set I have were made in 2005, and I bought them new. There is absolutely nothing comparable for the price, not even close, and this is coming from an audio snob. I gave them a chance and could not be more pleased!
I would equate the sound to similar to my Grado RS2i's (headphones) with a high end amplifier. Bass is powerful but never overwhelming.
Originally Posted By: nleksan
I am only using it in stereo ATM with 2 Cerwin Vega VE12s but it sounds fantastic.
Those are some banging old school speakers. Nice! Must come in handy if there's a party going on.
I love them. They are rated at 300W but I have yet to break them even at 50% higher than rated (accidental). They are also perfect for a stereo home theater setup as with two 12" woofers a subwoofer is useless, yet the mids and highs are extremely natural sounding with great clarity, never once have I gotten any distortion.
Friends do not believe they are CV's after hearing them... One thought he was listening to my Definitive Tech. Mythos II towers!
The set I have were made in 2005, and I bought them new. There is absolutely nothing comparable for the price, not even close, and this is coming from an audio snob. I gave them a chance and could not be more pleased!
I would equate the sound to similar to my Grado RS2i's (headphones) with a high end amplifier. Bass is powerful but never overwhelming.
I ended up going out of the digital coax port on the Direct TV box. Its working great and its the first time ever the digital surround sound light has lit up on the reciever. Thanks for the help.
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