Quote:
thxgoon wrote:
 The audio processing for the True HD and HDDTS are being done internally in your Onkyo in your current setup. These formats are only authorized to be sent via HDMI. There are no 7 channel analog outs on the A2 so your only option would be to hook it up to the Denon using digital optical. In this case, the player will convert the TrueHD stream into standard DTS of the highest bitrate and send it to the Denon. Thus you would still get great sound quality but it would be limited by DTS. What you would end up with is state of the art DTS sound and would likely lose some of the dynamics. I don't own any HD equipment so I can't vouch for hearing any difference myself. DTS is quite good and the codec allows for virtually unlimited headroom so the difference may be negligible. Maybe before going through all the trouble of switching out receivers try hooking up the optical cable to your Onkyo and see what kinds of differences you hear and if they are acceptable. Can't comment for the PS3.
Why are you looking for a new amp? |
Thanks, thxgoon. Unfortunately, I'm an idiot and don't follow some of what you said. Would I still get 7-channel output (correctly decoded) over optical in the scenario you describe? Or, would it use only 5 channels, or not send the intended signal to each of the 4 surrounds, or...??
The suggestion you make on trying optical on the Onkyo is a good one, and something I could try. It seems like to really test this out then I need either a TrueHD or HD-DTS encoded DVD. Is there a "master list" somewhere of movies encoded that way? Quite frankly, I have no idea if I own any that are encoded that way or not.
My concern is that (I assume) Blu-ray discs will be encoded that way more-and-more in the future, so I don't want to make a change I'll regret (i.e. not be able to use the full 7 channels as intended with the latest HD encoding). Am I making sense, or way off base?
My reasoning for wanting the option of an amp is that I tried some relatively inefficient speakers in my HT and the Onkyo just couldn't push them as loud as I wanted to go. I've thought about just upgrading to the SR805, which would give me about 40% more power plus the option to add an amp later if need be (has 7.1 pre-outs, unlike my SR605). But, if it's as simple as moving my Denon to the HT, and I can avoid replacing the receiver, then that would be a much better (cheaper) option.