A/V Receiver Upgradation

[nitinbose]

Hi,

I have the Onkyo HT-SR 800 system. I am considering upgrading the receiver to the TX-SR-606, due to its HDMI capabilities.

The question is: would it be really worth spending on the upgrade? Is HDMI really necessary? My existing receiver has the HDMI Pass-through connection.

If I connect a blu-ray player using the digital optical connection (for audio); what are the drawbacks?

Please input your valuable suggestions.

Thanks,

Nitin.

 

[sud98]

Dear Nitin,

There are quite a few threads in the Connectivity section and others that have answered similar queries.

ESp. read this http://www.hifivision.com/audio-video-cables/2608-avr-connectivity.html which should answer most questions.

Not sure of the two systems mentioned, but in general having HDMI connectivity is useful for good quality connections and simplified connections (instead of separate audio and video).

If you are looking for changing the AVR for connectivity, then you connect your Blu ray player to the TV and use optical for audio.

On the other hand if you are looking for a change due to HD upscaling, then you would need to look at the upscaling capabilities of the different components (source, AVR and Display).

Hope this helps.

Hi,

I have the Onkyo HT-SR 800 system. I am considering upgrading the receiver to the TX-SR-606, due to its HDMI capabilities.

The question is: would it be really worth spending on the upgrade? Is HDMI really necessary? My existing receiver has the HDMI Pass-through connection.

If I connect a blu-ray player using the digital optical connection (for audio); what are the drawbacks?

Please input your valuable suggestions.

Thanks,

Nitin.

 

[marsilians]

The question is: would it be really worth spending on the upgrade? Is HDMI really necessary? My existing receiver has the HDMI Pass-through connection.

I am confused about your requests. You already have a HDMI capable receiver with 1080P support. what are you looking for otherwise with this connection? I know this does not pass through audio but you have other options as I note below.

Generally speaking, unless you are extensively watching 1080P 24fps content, then HDMi is not worth it. Component will take care of all your resolutions upto 1080i/720P.

If I connect a blu-ray player using the digital optical connection (for audio); what are the drawbacks?

With digital coax or toslink (optical) cable, you can only get 5.1 discrete sound channels. For high resolution audio, you will have to use analog audio cables that will carry them as PCM signals. In additional to enhanced quality, these can go upto 7.1 discrete channels (though there are only few audio sources in this format at this time).

If I were you, keep the existing receiver and go with analog audio inputs and use quality sources like SACD, DVD-A to feel the difference in sound quality.

Side Note: I had mentioned in one of the other threads that my biggest beef with Onkyo products was that they rushed to market with enhanced feature set but terrible support/implementation. thsi is a very clear example of the same. I am not sure how many early adopters are burned by having systems that do not do the job fully. Its unfortunate and this is one of the reasons I am not a big fan of HDMI in general (too much room for screwing up the implementation) and Onkyo in particular.

 

[nitinbose]

First of all, let me express my gratitude to both of you for your suggestions.

My current a/v receiver in the Onkyo HT-SR800 has 3 HDMI pass-through connectors.

I am aware that one can connect a blu-ray player to the television using HDMI and a TOSLINK to the a/v receiver.

However if you take a look a the following link: TOSLINK - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia you would find a limitation in TOSLINK, that it cannot handle Dolby TrueHD/DTS-HD etc.
As for the video part, the component video can handle upto 1080p, so I feel HDMI would not be needed for a video.

Hence would it be worthwhile upgrading the receiver because of the above concern?

An alternative for the audio would be to use a 7.1 RCA audio connection from blu-ray to a/v receiver, whence the quality would be dependent on the DSP on the player?

What would you consider? An A/V receiver with HDMI 1.3x or going for a blu-ray player with 7.1 analog connections?

 

[nitinbose]

I am confused about your requests. You already have a HDMI capable receiver with 1080P support. what are you looking for otherwise with this connection? I know this does not pass through audio but you have other options as I note below.

Generally speaking, unless you are extensively watching 1080P 24fps content, then HDMi is not worth it. Component will take care of all your resolutions upto 1080i/720P.



With digital coax or toslink (optical) cable, you can only get 5.1 discrete sound channels. For high resolution audio, you will have to use analog audio cables that will carry them as PCM signals. In additional to enhanced quality, these can go upto 7.1 discrete channels (though there are only few audio sources in this format at this time).

If I were you, keep the existing receiver and go with analog audio inputs and use quality sources like SACD, DVD-A to feel the difference in sound quality.

Side Note: I had mentioned in one of the other threads that my biggest beef with Onkyo products was that they rushed to market with enhanced feature set but terrible support/implementation. thsi is a very clear example of the same. I am not sure how many early adopters are burned by having systems that do not do the job fully. Its unfortunate and this is one of the reasons I am not a big fan of HDMI in general (too much room for screwing up the implementation) and Onkyo in particular.

Hi Marsilians,

I fully agree with you and feel HDMI is a big hype. I'm into telecom sector and we use fiber for gigabit communication, but wonder why the electronic industry is mentioning a limitation of bandwidth in optical cable!!!

I guess they're simply trying to push HDMI..

 

[Sujit]

HDMI for me is - SIMPLICITY!

One can do away with the mess of separate wires for audio and video - Just one cable from all your sources into your amp - and one cable out of it to your displays - This for me makes it well worth it! Upconverting and HDMI Switching capable AVR may be a worthwhile and reasonably future proof investment!

I am yet to experience the features of the new 1.3a standard - deep colour, lip sync etc.. hence if its all its made out to be then all that can only help!

 

[nitinbose]

Hi,

I've now ended up buying a Denon avr1909. I managed to get an exchange offer from Modern World, Bangalore, for my HT-R550 a/v receiver, that came with the HT-SR800. The offer was for 27K, including an HDMI cable.

I was trying this receiver with Onkyo TX-SR606, however the audio quality for Movies/Music seemed better in the Denon 1909, hence I favoured it over Onkyo.


Nitin