[KBMAN]

Looking to upgrade from my Lexicon MC-1 with the latest Lossless Audio Codecs. I have a PS3 and want to take advantage of HDMI 1.3 and all that good stuff...the MOST important thing besides SQ is having Pre-Outs for my NAD AMPS....anybody? I was looking for a pre/pro, but they are out of my price range. Basically, I want simplicity, very good sound with the new lossless audio, and HDMI 1.3, AND PRE OUTS....thanks people!

 

[imeridian]

The Yamaha 663 has pre-outs for well under a grand.


Keep in mind that the PS3 internally decodes HD audio codecs and sends them out as PCM over HDMI, it does not bitstream them, thus you don't need HDMI 1.3/AVR decoding for the PS3.

 

[penngray]



Quote:
Looking to upgrade from my Lexicon MC-1 with the latest Lossless Audio Codecs. I have a PS3 and want to take advantage of HDMI 1.3 and all that good stuff...the MOST important thing besides SQ is having Pre-Outs for my NAD AMPS....anybody? I was looking for a pre/pro, but they are out of my price range. Basically, I want simplicity, very good sound with the new lossless audio, and HDMI 1.3, AND PRE OUTS....thanks people!

The outlaw pre/pros are under $1K and the new Emotiva UMC-1 is under $1K (big hype for that one!!).


What are they missing that you want?

 

[KBMAN]

thanks for the quick reply. YEAH, i guess I will be using the receiver as a "slave" in sorts. My primary concern is blu-ray thru the receiver. Also, will I loose any PQ with another HDMI cable in the chain??? I have a fairly impressive setup right now, but need to "UP" my SQ capabilties with the newest update from the PS3. Also keep in mind that I have a 7.1 system. I will go to the yamaha site right now to see what this baby can do...

 

[TCARCIO]

are Hdmi 1.3a and have the decoders that you are looking for and the pre outs. http://www.google.com/product_url?q=...AA&gl=us&hl=en

 

[KBMAN]

for penngray,

If I spent a grand on a pre/pro, do you think I will really take full advantage of it's built-in HD sound decoding when the PS3 HAS to do it internally thru LPCM? Just thinking out loud here and thanks for your reply. As far as features, i think SQ, build quality, simplicity, and possibly upgradablility are coming to my mind right now. I plan on keeping my PS3 for a very long time.....

 

[penngray]



Quote:
If I spent a grand on a pre/pro, do you think I will really take full advantage of it's built-in HD sound decoding when the PS3 HAS to do it internally thru LPCM?

I do not own either of those new products but I do own both Outlaw and Emotiva products. I believe they are as good as or better then any AVR out there for under $1K. I have to assume that they are better honestly because all the money is in the pre-processing and nothing is in an amp that you never use.


Other than that I also have the Yahama V663 and its $$$/performance is incredible. I think its great used a pre/pro and right now I have it in my HTRoom with outlaw 200W monoblocks and I have the PS3 connected through it.


No SQ loss, HD audio is perfect, No video over HDMI loss (its digital so it either works or it doesnt)....others argue the full color range is missing but that only matters for those with PC needs and the problem does not exist with movies.

 

[allargon]



Quote:
Originally Posted by KBMAN /forum/post/14337220


for penngray,

If I spent a grand on a pre/pro, do you think I will really take full advantage of it's built-in HD sound decoding when the PS3 HAS to do it internally thru LPCM? Just thinking out loud here and thanks for your reply. As far as features, i think SQ, build quality, simplicity, and possibly upgradablility are coming to my mind right now. I plan on keeping my PS3 for a very long time.....

KBMan, you can often find good deals on Harman Kardon receivers on E-bay. I got my AVR-247 for a song at Fry's. It's not HDMI 1.3 though if you were hoping for deep color support. It does have pre-outs and support audio over HDMI. You might be better off looking at one the Onkyo 705/805's, since the Yamaha's clip above white and below black.

 

[penngray]



Quote:
since the Yamaha's clip above white and below black

That's sort of misleading since I doubt the OP would be impacted by this so its a moot point. Do you know who it impacts? Its definitely not anyone playing a movie on a PS3.


Personally, I dont know if he is going to be happy moving from a lexicon to any of these cheaper AVR solutions so I think Emotiva's UMC-1 might be his best choice since he has a $1000 range.

 

[KBMAN]

so are you saying that there is a "clipping" issue with video over HDMI with the Yamaha??? That would be a deal-breaker for me. I'm kinda set on the Yamaha products....used to sell HK and they were great sounding, but poorly built....I'm also hearing the same things about ONkyo. Penngray, I COULD spend a grand, but I would like to avoid it. The yamaha looks promising if the video is on par with a direct hook-up I have with my beloved Epson Pro 1080UB.......Video is also very important to me!

 

[imeridian]

The Yamaha will clip full-range (as in computer display) color information down to studio levels (as in, what would be on the DVD or Blu-Ray anyway), so there is no issue here for watching movies with the PS3.

 

[penngray]



Quote:
so are you saying that there is a "clipping" issue with video over HDMI with the Yamaha??? That would be a deal-breaker for me. I'm kinda set on the Yamaha products....used to sell HK and they were great sounding, but poorly built....I'm also hearing the same things about ONkyo. Penngray's last post is getting me excited....

No, they keep posting that flaw because its really the only documented flaw they can use to bash the V663. Its an issue that is not even seen by anyone of us. Only people doing PC based stuff may have a concern. ZERO concern with any move playback.


I did the full test, PS3 HDMI -> JVC 1080P vs PS3 HDMI -> V663 -> JVC 1080P, I could not spot the difference so once again the forum gets bent out of shape about a certain flaw that does not even impact us.



I see you posted on the V663 forum, good luck in your research!!



personally, I still have the UMC-1 on pre-order

 

[MichaelJHuman]

Yamaha has responded about the clipping issue. They claim it is correct behavior. While people argue that it's not correct behavior, Yamaha's points did seem reasonable, at least to me. I don't think this clipping issue effects your average user.


When you calibrate your TV (and you should,) you should properly set black. So levels below black don't matter because you should have calibrated black such that levels below that are too black to see.


The inability to see whiter than white does not sound very critical from what I have read. If you are really bored, you can read the clipping thread.