Is there a notable difference in using digital optical for audio vs using your standard monster cable red/white for audio? Just wanting to know if it's worth forking over the high price for the cables.
no easy question to answer. but, generally, digital signal transfer is more accurate. however, overall it depends on which machine has better digital to anolog conversion(dac). if a cd player has great dacs, and you got a so-so receiver, you would be better off with the composite cables(red-white rca style). also worth saying... digital signal transfer goes to shit in a hurry over long distances(15ft or so). if yer transfering between a dvd player and a surround sound receiver, then you almost have to use digital. dolby digital, dts have to go over a digital connection to even be present at the destination. pro logic is the best analog surround availible. you dont have to use optical digital. most devices have a composite digital jack as well. anything over 6ft, not a good idea to use optical.
Some dvd players have 5.1 analog outputs, usually used for dvd-a and sacd. But you can watch movies using those analog outputs, and they sound a lot better than pro logic. Also, that is the only way to hear the new HD audio formats on HD DVD and Blu ray, if your receiver doesn't process audio through HDMI. I'm sure those just slipped your mind? ) @goodswipe......... Don't ever buy Monster cables, for anything! You can get just as good, a lot cheaper! Try one of these: http://www.bluejeanscable.com/ http://www.monoprice.com/home/index.asp or just go to Wal Mart and buy some RCA or Phillips brand cables.
yeah yeah... i stand corrected. pro logic is cheeze. any analog surround leaves something to be desired tho, as there only 2 discreet channels. You cant modulate(properly) 6 channels into 2, so really didital is the only good alternative for surround sound. but hey, another example of. "if it sounds good to you, than it sounds good"
You think the 5.1 analog outputs are only 2 channel? That's sending each channel's signal, through it's own cable, instead of sending the signals through one cable, and letting the receiver separate them. It's actually more discreet than digital. The digital sounds better for movies, and the analog sounds better for music (dvd-a and sacd). The analog has what most people call a "warmer" sound, for music.
not if your running 5 or 6 separate anolog cables, obviously, that is discreet. i thought you meant the 5.1 upsample that was started by dpl. sacd is only warmer cuz its much higher resolution. not becouse its analog. its still digital on the disk. it just transfers the signal to the amp in analog form. in fact, even over a digital cable, audio signal is still demodulated to analog before the amp stage. Im not trying to argue, just trying to clear some stuff up
JVC, some of the best advice I've seen given.What you have stated parallels what I have read in Stereophile and The Absolute Audio mags.Good Show
I forget where, but I have seen billed opto-isolators built into the optical chain. Opto-isolator (not a new technology)has the ability to greatly reduce tranferred noise, so yes, good optical transfer cables are worth it.
Ok guys, got my system setup over the weekend. I needed at least 8-10 ft of cable so I found a nice off brand for about 24 dollars, not to bad IMO for 10ft of digital cable. Anyways, WOW, sounds much much better then the 2-channel RCA cables I was using before. Oh yea, and this setup was for my HD-DVD player. The sound was clearer, crisp, and just all around better!
Er, no it isn't. SACD sounds better if you put in LPF at 23KHz. All there is in DSD streams above 23KHz is noise - lots & lots of noise. This is because it is a single-bit system that uses heroic noise shaping to try & make a format designed for archival purposes playable because SOny got greedy & wanted to own the entire format despite having several DVD-A patents. No other reason.
Using a digital cable (optical, coax) on an HD DVD player, is giving you DD and DTS, which is good on regular dvds. But for the lossless HD audio on the HD DVD movies (which is better than regular DD and DTS) you need to hook it up using HDMI, or 5.1 analog outputs/inputs. Do you have the capability of either hookup?
No, I had an older receiver that couldn't process those new formats, hell it didn't even have an HDMI input! I now have a new onkyo receiver that sounds great and offers everything I need in a receiver. I've learned so much over the past two months as far as audio goes. Thanks for the help guys.
