[Was_There_Then]

Hi all,


I posted in the HTIB section regarding my set up and what sort of package I should be looking for.

my current set up


I was advised, with my budget, that I should look to build separately.


I have somewhat limited knowledge with audio so I am now doing some research on various AVR's. I figured if I was going to spend my money on a receiver now, I may as well get a good one rather than upgrade in 6-12 months time. Therefore to make the most of my PS3 I am looking for a receiver that can utilize the lossless PCM 5.1 that is available on the blu-rays. Obviously for this I will need an AVR that can process hdmi and handle 1080p signals.


With this in mind I am currently leaning towards an Onkyo 604.


I have two (what are probably silly) questions I was hoping you may assist with.


1) If I have the set up mentioned above where I can enjoy PCM on Blu-ray - if I then watch a SD DVD that only has DD or DTS, is it an option to then tell the receiver not to force the 2ch PCM but rather send out 5.1 dd? Please note, I would watch SD DVD through my normal dvd player so could I have the receiver set up to have 5.1dd for the dvd player and PCM for the PS3?


2) (This could be the silly q) - If I get a receiver that is capable of 7.1, can I then just buy 5.1 speakers and plug them in (I wouldn't be able to fit more speakers into the room).


Thanks

 

[hifisponge]

Hey there -


While I don't know the exact configuration capabilities of the AVR you are considering, I'm certain you can still set it up to play both lossless PCM and standard DD / DTS. Especially since you are going to use a seperate SDDVD player. You simply connect the SDDVD up using a coax or toslink digital audio connection and run the BluRay player to the AVR using the HDMI cable. Even if you were to watch SDDVD on your BluRay player with the HDMI cable, the player would likely decode the DD/DTS signal and tranmit it as 5.1 PCM to the AVR. Either way, you won't be stuck with just 2CH PCM.


And yes, you can use just a 5.1 speaker set-up with a 7.1 AVR. During the speaker config in the AVR set-up you simply set the Surround Back channels to Off/None.


Good luck.


- Tim

 

[rufo]

You're fine. Either the PS3 will decode into 5.1PCM or it will send the raw DD/DTS bitstream to the receiver, where the receiver will handle it; it's not dumb enough to downsample to 2channel PCM unless you specifically go through and ask it to (there are about 2 dozen audio settings, but the defaults you get when you plug in your 604 via HDMI will be set properly).


I have a 604, and I can vouch for the PCM audio working properly with the PS3 (all the games output in PCM by default also).


And as hifisponge said, you don't need 7 speakers for your receiver - 5 is fine, and you'll just set the back two to Off.