[bajaed]

I am getting in all of my speakers and need help hooking everything up to the HK325. First time doing this.


Here is what I have:

LG 50PS60 plasma.

Magnavox NB500MGX Blu-Ray (Walmart cheapo).

Energy RC-10 L/R fronts.

Energy RC-Mini CC center.

Energy S8.3 subwoofer.


I will be adding 2 RC-Mini bookshelf speakers as rears later.


The Blu-Ray is hooked to the LG via HDMI. I think optical audio cables out of the TV go to optical in on the HK. I see where the speakers go on the attached diagram but would like to know if there is anything else I need to do. What kind of cable do I use for the subwoofer? Am I missing anything else here?

 

AVR325RrPnlCnnctns.pdf 128.38671875k . file

 

[MLKstudios]

Any RCA will work for the sub. Without an HDMI connection on the AVR, you could use the analog Y, Pb, Pr connections for video and either SPDIF or Toslink for sound in from the Blu-ray and the same out to your TV. HDMI has the advantage of using one cable, but the sound and picture quality are just as good with component/digital audio.


I've used both component and HDMI on a Panny plasma, and cannot see any difference.

 

[bajaed]

Thanks for the reply. Sorry to be such a newbie but you lost me on this:


"Without an HDMI connection on the AVR, you could use the analog Y, Pb, Pr connections for video and either SPDIF or Toslink for sound in from the Blu-ray and the same out to your TV."

 

[MLKstudios]

Another name for the red, green and blue connections (Y, Pb, Pr) is component, which is a hi def video connection. The S/PDIF and/or Toslink are hi end multi-channel audio connections. Combined they do what an HDMI cable does, without the HDCP (High Definition Copy Protection) handshake.


There are two ways to go about what you need. One is to run everything in and out of the TV (as you are planning). The other, is a more traditional hook-up, with the AVR in the middle...


For the video, you'd need two component cables . One set takes the picture to the AVR and the other from the AVR to the TV.


For sound you'd need one S/PDIF cable (simply a single RCA connection) to carry the sound from the Blu-ray to the AVR, or a Toslink (digital optical cable) to do the same. The sound from the AVR goes directly to the speakers.


Using your pdf layout, you'd run a component cable set from the Blu-ray to the three Y, Pb, Pr connections labeled DVD (#22). That carries the picture to the AVR. From the AVR another set is needed to carry the picture to the TV, using the connection labeled Monitor (#21). So, one set runs from the Blu-ray to the AVR and another to the TV.


Now to get multi-channel sound you need to choose between Coaxial (an RCA type plug) or Optical (Toslink).


Depending on your choice, Coaxial (S/PDIF) uses #36 in, and Optical (Toslink) uses #33 in.


For the sub, you need a single RCA from the AVR (#4). Buy one long enough to put the sub where you want.


You would then have the control of sound and video through the HK.


The MonoPrice links I gave you are very high quality cables for very little $$. For each, there are other lengths available. Use the red/white MonoPrice ad/link above to choose cables of different lengths.

 

[bajaed]

That all makes sense, thanks. Would I lose much picture quality by not going with an HDMI from blu-ray to tv?

 

[MLKstudios]



Quote:
Originally Posted by bajaed /forum/post/16873327


That all makes sense, thanks. Would I lose much picture quality by not going with an HDMI from blu-ray to tv?

None at all. If you need you can run your cable box through the AVR as well, using the same technique.


Note that I made some edits above, for clarification. Also note that this uses the TV as a monitor ONLY, with the sound coming from your new speakers. If you want to use the TV speakers, you need one more cable (Toslink or S/PDIF) from the AVR to the TV (#28 or #30).