Aaron German
Active Member
That's right.
Help - Looking for a receiver - I don't know anything anymore
- Thread starter Aaron German
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That's right.
Aaron German
Active Member
Will I need better than a 5.1 speaker set-up to make use of these formats?
EDIT: Nevermind. Just did a bit a research. Looks like the new formats enable you to make use of 7.1 and better, but they also are higher quality audio feeds.
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Aaron German
Active Member
Looks like the 6009 and the 1040 will do DD+ and True HD.
It also looks like it does not cost a lot of money to get all of the features Haywood recommends. There's a refurbed Onkyo for $280. The problem is finding a receiver with 5.1 (at least) analog inputs. That's what sends the price up. I wonder if it's worth it. I do not listen to my multi-channel SACD or DVD-A much--hardly ever, actually. But I'd hate to lose the ability to play these.
It also looks like it does not cost a lot of money to get all of the features Haywood recommends. There's a refurbed Onkyo for $280. The problem is finding a receiver with 5.1 (at least) analog inputs. That's what sends the price up. I wonder if it's worth it. I do not listen to my multi-channel SACD or DVD-A much--hardly ever, actually. But I'd hate to lose the ability to play these.
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Aaron German
Active Member
Oh boy. If I move up to the Yamaha 1050 to get the new HDMI and HDCP, I lose the 7.1 analog inputs. The Marantz 6010 has the 7.1 analog inputs, but has me spending $250-$300 more than if I went with the 6009 or 1040.
I've been happy with the sound from movies. So perhaps I can live without the new audio formats. Surely it is not the case that I won't be able to watch/hear blue rays at all with an "old" receiver?
I've been happy with the sound from movies. So perhaps I can live without the new audio formats. Surely it is not the case that I won't be able to watch/hear blue rays at all with an "old" receiver?
The problem is that there is no separating audio from video on a going-forward basis. Those 7.1 inputs are basically worthless with any current or future source. If you do not get HDMI 2.0a, you will not be able to get the current audio standard when using the current video standard. Period. There is no work-around. Audio and Video are completely married unless you want to downgrade the audio to DD/DTS and deal with switching audio and video sources separately (audio on the receiver, video on the TV).
Trust me, you will care about these standards in a few years if you don't now. The difference in video quality between HD and UHD (4K) with HDR (High Dynamic Range) is NOT subtle. This is not just a matter of pixel density. It is a matter of color gamut and contrast ratio. If you use an old HDMI 1.4 receiver, everything will get downgraded to Rec 720 1080p regardless of the source or the display. Buying an HDMI 1.4 receiver at this point is just penny wise and pound foolish.
Aaron German
Active Member
No way I'm going to disagree with spending now to save later. But sometimes one has to be pound foolish because he only has pennies. The idea of upgrading my TV and video player at this point seems so unrealistic that considerations that involve doing so bear little weight in my current predicament. It sure would be nice to think about keeping up with the latest and greatest, but I just do not see that happening. So, I think I may have to live with downgrading the audio to DD/DTS.
I do appreciate you helping me think this one through, Haywood. Your comments have helped me to see exactly what kind of trade-offs I'll have to make.
I'm going to mull all this over a bit more. But I think I'm going to end up living a caveman A/V lifestyle.
Aaron German
Active Member
One more thing. In this impending HDMI2a world, where there are receivers that do not have 7.1 analog inputs, will SACDs and DVD-As become unplayable? Or are there plans to have receivers with built in decoding for these formats?
The newer players that still support those formats will pass them over HDMI.
Believe me, I get the budget thing. I just know that there are deals out there for receivers that support the new standards in the $500-700 price range and would hate to see you spend that kind of money and get boxed into a corner five years down the road. This is probably going to be the prevailing standard for the next 8-10 years. I was making my comments based on the idea that you might find yourself with a new display five years down the road because your old one quit or because the new ones get so cheap and so good that you cannot resist. The recommendation was definitely not predicated on buying a new display now (I would suggest holding off another year or two even if you had the money).
Aaron German
Active Member
This is key. I know the TV is going to go bad sometime soon. We've had it for almost ten years. But I don't want to give up the ability to listen to my SACDs and DVD-As--even though I never do listen to them. Perhaps, I'm being ridiculous in trying to keep these formats.
Aaron German
Active Member
Help me out, Batman. I don't know what's what around here anymore. Are you the man to be talking to?
Aaron German
Active Member
I just looked through my SACDs. Most of them, I can do without. There are a couple I'd like to be able to listen to. Maybe three or four.
Almost all of my DVD-As can be played as DD 5.1 or DTS 5.1, so I'm not giving anything up there, with one or two exceptions.
But maybe I'm giving nothing up. Haywood and Paul makes me realize I have no idea about these formats and the options for playing them or how HDMI works.
I use my PioneerDV 563A to play SACDs and DVD-As. It has no HDMI output. I didn't know that DSD and whatever DVD-A is could be sent out already decoded over HDMI. I suppose this means if I could find a cheapo player like Paul has, I'd have no problems not having the full array of analog inputs. Then again, for the 4-6 discs I'd really be interested in playing, it's probably not even worth hunting down a cheapo player. Perhaps I'm ready to give up on SACD and DVD-A.
Thank you all for helping me work through this. I love getting new things. But I hate making purchases.
I can get Marantz and the comparable products from the Denon lineup. I cannot obtain refurbs, open box or "end-of-life" units. If you're interested shoot me a PM.
DSD *can* be sent over HDMI and decoded by the receiver (or pre/pro in my case), or decoded by the player and sent as multi-channel PCM. (Actually "PCM" isn't really a format exactly... just un-encoded audio data at a specific frequency/sampling.) As I understand it, DVD-A isn't an audio format per se either, but rather a DVD layer that contains multi-channel audio that can be sent as PCM over HDMI (which in the case of my computer, is done by foobar with a special plug-in, but there may be other software that can do this).