HD Audio?

Pepi28

I've been too busy lately to do any research on preamps with the ability to decode HD audio so I am asking anyone here if they know of any pre/pro's that decode the new HD audio formats and if so, which ones.:D

F1nut

What new HD audio are you referring to?

Sherardp

integra, denon, onkyo, HK, sony. The integra is a dedicated pre/pro, the others I listed are AVRs.
http://www.integrahometheater.com/model.cfm?class=Separates&m=DTC-9.8&p=i

If your Sony ES gives you LPCM out with the PS3 while playing Blu-ray you wont benefit allot by having a new receiver.

cheddar

Sherardp wrote: »

If your Sony ES gives you LPCM out with the PS3 while playing Blu-ray you wont benefit allot by having a new receiver.

Yep, current hdmi 1.3 players have a chip that implements the deep color part of the spec but not the undecoded trueHD and dts-ma streams to a pre/receiver. Could be that future players are released with this enabled via the proper chipset. But hd-dvd's advanced authoring mode of their disks disables this feature and your ps3 already decodes trueHD. All it needs is a firmware update to decode dts-ma and the outboard decoding will become unnecessary for you.

Pepi28

Sherardp wrote: »

integra, denon, onkyo, HK, sony. The integra is a dedicated pre/pro, the others I listed are AVRs.
http://www.integrahometheater.com/model.cfm?class=Separates&m=DTC-9.8&p=i

If your Sony ES gives you LPCM out with the PS3 while playing Blu-ray you wont benefit allot by having a new receiver.

Whenever I play a regular dvd on my PS3 the audio is output in digital meaning the blue light on the sony es lights up when 5.1 digital surround is being decoded. But when I put in a blu-ray disc and watch a movie the blue light does not come on and the LFE channell is not lit up. Also the sound is nowhere near as loud or full as when a regular dvd is playing on the PS3.

Sherardp

your PS3 should be able to decode the new HD formats, update your firmware and you should be seeing the blue light come on during playback. I know my 7100es does. Also check audio settings in the PS3.

surfntomm

i thought the ps3 could only output the new hd formats via analog outputs or am i mistaken?

Sherardp

should also be via HDMI and Analog unless Im mistaken.

MikeC78

The PS3 will only output the new audio formats via HDMI. There is no analog feature on the PS3.

BIZILL

MikeC78 wrote: »

The PS3 will only output the new audio formats via HDMI. There is no analog feature on the PS3.

the ps3 uses the a/v multi-connector from the ps2 to utilize 2 channel analog out. from what i've read, anyway.

MikeC78

BIZILL wrote: »

the ps3 uses the a/v multi-connector from the ps2 to utilize 2 channel analog out. from what i've read, anyway.

Thanks, I stand corrected.:) Wasn't aware of such hardware, and would never use it anyway.

LuSh

Most source players will only support up to 5.1 True HD audio if it has any decoders at all. The industry is about to shift (yet again) with HDMI 1.3 receivers decoding and a number of player's finally being able to bitstream out TrueHD and DTS Master Audio. The receivers will be fully capable of 7.1...the home user also won't have to calibrate his source device every time he wants to listen to a disc switching between PCM and Bitstream out. This can get rather annoying.

In regards to Deep Color; there is alot of confusion. The spec allows billions of colors but requires every link in the chain to fully utilize this option. For instance, the source player, receiver, panel and disc all have to be Deep Color compliant. Most panels are just starting to introduce 10 Bit color processing. Deep Color allows for up to 16 Bit. There are virtually no Blu Ray or HD DVD disc's which are authored using the advantages Deep Color has to offer. Some manufactures will internally process 8 Bit color information to 10 Bit.

rtart

Most HD DVD players will decode and output the HD formats via analog outputs. You can use 5.1 or 7.1 inouts on your receiver.

LuSh

I dont know of an HD DVD player which has DTS Master Audio decoders built into it. Most have 5.1 analog output and not 7.1

kuntasensei

I just got the Onkyo 705 receiver a couple of weeks ago. You name it, this sucker will decode it - TrueHD, DTS-MA, DSD - it's all there. It also lets you apply post-processing to Multi-channel PCM (which is what most devices are outputting via HDMI now), so you can use matrixing for 6.1/7.1, use the Audyssey MultEQ XT equalization, etc. with high-resolution audio. I don't have HD-DVD or Blu-ray yet (because I'm not getting into another format war and DVD still works for me), but DVD-Audio from my Panny S97 sounds amazing, and I actually like the 6.1 produced by applying DPL-IIx Music to the MCH-PCM stream. So jazzed about this receiver that I'm trying to find a pair of RTi38s or 28s to step up to 7.1.

Also, the MultEQ XT calibration does wonders if you have a good subwoofer. My SVS 20-39CS+ now blends seamlessly with my RTi28s and CSi40, and sounds better than any theater I've ever been in.

Not bad at all for a receiver you can find for around $650 with a little digging. Onkyo also has the 605 for around $400, which decodes all these formats but without any post-processing and with only Audyssey 2EQ equalization. Not sure if the 605 has pre-outs, but the 705 does and would make a pretty nice pre-pro on the cheap.