digital coax...

ah-ha

hi,

i just bought polk speakers (rti8, csi5, and fxi3) and my speakers are connected to the harman cardon avr240. i have a question about wiring. when i use digital coax to connect my dvd to the ampli, i am limited in the "choice of sound" - i can only choose "dolby". whereas if i use composite (rca) cables, i have more choices like pro-logic, dts etc... why is that?

any suggestion is welcomed.

Dennis Gardner

Welcome to ClubPolk,

It handles only digital signals(Dolby Digital and DTS). The others are analog thus the composite type conections. You can get all of the surround modes by using the multi channel outputs if your DVD player has them. It takes alot more cables, but it uses the converters in the player, instead of transporting the info in digital mode for the receiver to decode. Generally, people try both and decide what works best for there setup.

danger boy

ah-ha wrote:

hi,

i just bought polk speakers (rti8, csi5, and fxi3) and my speakers are connected to the harman cardon avr240. i have a question about wiring. when i use digital coax to connect my dvd to the ampli, i am limited in the "choice of sound" - i can only choose "dolby". whereas if i use composite (rca) cables, i have more choices like pro-logic, dts etc... why is that?

any suggestion is welcomed.

please explain what DVD player you are using....

a digital coax will pass along the DTS signal to your HK if your DVD player doesn't decode it. as for Dolby Digital.. it should work if you are using a coax digital cable. I think you may have some setting in your DVD or your HK set wrong.

By using your RCA connectors.. that would not give you full 5.1 sound either Dolby or DTS. It would probably give you left and righ fronts. and maybe dolby pro logic only.

ah-ha

to danger boy, my dvd is jvc...

adam2434

The digital coax from your DVD player should send any type of format to your receiver:

Dolby Digital (independent of the # of channels), DTS, linear PCM (standard CD format)

If the source is a 5.1 Dolby Digital or DTS, that what your AVR will decode.

If the source is stereo (for example like a 2.0 Dolby Digital soundtrack or CD), your AVR will likely default to Pro Logic. You can also listen to these stereo sources in stereo by using the stereo option on your AVR.

You need to make sure that your DVD player's digital audio output is set to "raw" or "bitstream" in the setup menu of the DVD player.

You really don't need any analog audio connections from your DVD player, unless you want to compare the sound of your DVD player's DAC (digital to analog converter) vs. your receiver's DAC, but my guess is that your receiver's DAC would be better.

Adam

SuperDave

I connected my DVD/CD player to my receiver using the coax and the analog inputs. As I switch the sources back and forth it seems like the coax digital input sounds a bit crisper. For music I have the receiver set to no effects (2 ch output).
I just leave my receiver source on DVD(coax) for movies or music and switch the receiver from dolby dig(movies) to no effects (music).

SuperDave
Yamaha RX-V992
Panasonic DVD-A310
Sony XBR 27"
DVR
Polk LSI 25 Fronts
Infinity CC3 Center
Infinity RS1 Rears
Monster THX Cables

ah-ha

i check the set-up in my dvd and it's as follows...
for digital audio output, it's on "dolby digital/pcm". the other choices are "pcm only" and "stream/pcm".
and for analog down mix, it's on "dolby surround". the other choice is "stereo".

adam2434

ah-ha wrote:

i check the set-up in my dvd and it's as follows...
for digital audio output, it's on "dolby digital/pcm". the other choices are "pcm only" and "stream/pcm".
and for analog down mix, it's on "dolby surround". the other choice is "stereo".

For the digital out, try "stream/pcm" then try both a Dolby Digital and DTS soundtrack from a DVD(s) and make sure Dolby Digital or DTS lights up on your receiver appropriately. This setting will also send the audio from your CDs.

For the analog down mix, don't even worry about it unless you're planning to hook up with the analog outs, which are not needed anyway (unless you want to compare DVD player and receiver DACs, or if your DVD player has DVD-Audio capability and you want to get into DVD-Audio).