So I just bought an older receiver (Onkyo TX-SR600) and some decent older speakers (RM6600s with a PSW-350 woofer) and a brand new blu-ray player (Samsung BD-P3600).

Now the blu-ray player can decode all the newer HD standards like DTS-MA and output them through 8 analog outputs. I can run 6 of those through thick composite cables to my receivers 6 analog inputs. Problem is the Blu-ray player is a little far from the receiver so I've purchased six 12' long cables to make the run.

My other option is a 12' optical cable which would only be able to do Dolby Digital DTS.

I imagine that the choice is clear, and that dispite the 12' run, there shouldn't be enough noise in the line to make the optical DTS sound better than the DTS-MA but thought I'd pose the question anyway.

On a side note, what's up with optical cables only supporting 2 channel PCM!?!? There is no way I'm going to believe it has anything to do with it not having the bandwidth. I guess it's just that there's no handshaking to communicate supported formats.

by the way, these are the 12' cables I bought:
They are: PREMIUM 2 RCA Plug/2 RCA Plug M/M 22AWG Cable - 12ft

http://www.monoprice.com/products/product.asp?c_id=102&cp_id=10218&cs_id=1021803&p_id=2865&seq=1&format=2

This question is not as straightforward as it sounds. It all depends on how your AVR handles optical vs MC analog.

* Use of the analog input may bypass all the DSP and setup in the AVR. Meaning no room corrections or EQ.
* The player may have less than excellent D-A conversion.
* If you use optical, what is the player sending? And how good is it at the re-encoding?
* If you use a lot of SAP in the player, it is re-encoding anyhow.

Bottom line is you should try both and make up your mind based on what you hear or don't hear. You may well prefer the optical.

On a side note, what's up with optical cables only supporting 2 channel PCM!?!? There is no way I'm going to believe it has anything to do with it not having the bandwidth. I guess it's just that there's no handshaking to communicate supported formats.

Optical cable was designed when there was really only 2-ch PCM, DD or DTS signals for consumer devices. So no copy protection mechanisms were put in place, no handshaking, because it wasn't deemed a requirement.

Although Optical/Coax SPDIF can physically handle 5.1 lossless, and even DTS-HD MA or TrueHD I suspect, the lack of copy protection has prohibited that mechanism from carrying the lossless MCH signal.

So you are stuck with HDMI or analog outs to hear the advanced audio formats and regular lossless MCH PCM.

I agree with rdgrimes, btw: try both, see what you prefer. Being able to manipulate the digital DTS re-encode might give you more benefit than the lossless audio via analogs.

IMHO, AFAIK, etc,

shinksma

Thanks guys :-D I figured the answer would be "it depends". I'll give them all a try once i get all my cords and hardware.

If you use optical, you will not get the lossless MA track. It isn't preference-based. You want lossless if possible; it's part of the reason to go Blu.

If you use optical, you will not get the lossless MA track. It isn't preference-based. You want lossless if possible; it's part of the reason to go Blu.

It's really not that simple, and there's no reason to assume the lossless track will sound better on any given system via analog.

^^^^ I agree! Using analog should be the last resort, unless you were planning to use analog all along and have good quality preamp+amp, true full range speakers all around, and a treated room.