I would like to use them in my HT system but I have a slight problem. Soon I will be getting a Toshiba HD-A2, and obviously HDMI audio will sound better than the 2.1 RCA that Xbox 360 uses. Is there any way that I can use the Xbox 360 visualizations while playing my music through the HD-A2?

I guess I am missing what you are asking. are you talking strictly about cd playback? since most audio is stereo recording, why not just use the optical output on the 360 into your receiver (which I assume you have). It will output the straight digital connection to the receiver. perhaps I am missing something in your question.

I guess I am missing what you are asking. are you talking strictly about cd playback? since most audio is stereo recording, why not just use the optical output on the 360 into your receiver (which I assume you have). It will output the straight digital connection to the receiver. perhaps I am missing something in your question.no you understand my question just fine. I was just under the assumption that HDMI (from my HD-A2) would produce better sound quality than Toslink Optical (from my Xbox 360). Thanks for the response.

no you understand my question just fine. I was just under the assumption that HDMI (from my HD-A2) would produce better sound quality than Toslink Optical (from my Xbox 360). Thanks for the response.

HDMI and Toslink both carry the exact same digital audio signal. The only thing HDMI potentially has to offer is slightly simplified wiring. (in some cases IF you have the right equipment)

HDMI and Toslink both carry the exact same digital audio signal. The only thing HDMI potentially has to offer is slightly simplified wiring. (in some cases IF you have the right equipment)

Yep. You will gain absolutely no benefit playing CDs on your Toshiba vs. the 360. But go ahead and try it out... stranger things have happened.

The only real benefit as far as sound goes, is not having any extraneous noise from the 360 while listening to music. This really only matters if your room is somewhat small, your 360 is open air, and/or you listen to music littered with nuances. I don't believe there is a way to get the visualizer to work with external sources (being that its designed for the 360). That would be cool though.

alright then, thanks a lot.

Well is it not possible that the HD-A2 has better audio quality than my Xbox 360? I understand that the DAC conversion is within my receiver.....but cant one device have better quality audio than another, for whatever reason?

Not if they're both sending digital bit streams to the receiver. If you had the player decoding and doing the DAC process there'd be a possibility for differences.

If you're playing HD DVDs, then the A2 will have better SQ for a couple of reasons. First, the Xbox is stuck in "night mode", or high dynamic range compression. Second, the 360 converts the Dolby True HD tracks to DD (help with the bit rate? 1.5 Mbps?). There is a possibility you'd hear a difference in that conversion, although the odds are pretty low. Once the dynamic range compression is fixed, SQ should be very nearly the same.