analog out vs HDMI vs PCM?..which to use

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capall

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Hi all, first time poster here,

I have a pair of B&W 683 speakers that I'm trying to decide whether to leave as 2ch or go 5.1, as most of my focus is on music. However, if I go 2ch I'd still like to get as good audio quality from blu rays as I can.

So if I stay 2ch, and I want to optimize my 2ch sound, I'm considering getting an Integrated amp, such as rotel RA1570. I could then also avoid buying an AVR, by connecting by video sources (apple TV, directv dvr, and samsung mid level blu ray player) via hdmi to my TV (Samsung plasma), and connecting the players' audio (2ch only) to my Integrated amps either optical or analog inputs. The integrated Amp will have a v. good dac so shouldn't hold back the optical inputs, and I could consider upgrading my samsung blu ray player to maybe an oppo which would have better internal dacs than the samsung player for analog outs.

However, I'm unsure about the quality of the various audio formats and which ones become available with the analog vs optical/coax transport for Blu ray playback.

Am I correct in that optical and coax can carry 2.0 and 5.1 Dolby Digital, which is lossy compressed and 2 channel uncompressed (hence lossless) PCM. And thus if staying 2ch, PCM is superior sound quality, (would also be superior to 5.1 but the tradeoff is 2.1 vs 5.1)

Then the next step up in sound quality is the following; (however optical/coax can't carry the following and are only available via hdmi or analog out (thus bringing into play the AVR's dac vs the blu ray player's dac)

  • Dolby Digital Plus (lossy)
  • Dolby TrueHD (lossless)
  • DTS HD (lossy)
  • DTS HD MA (lossless)
  • Multi-channel PCM (lossless)

if yes..how does 2 channel uncompressed (hence lossless) PCM via optical/coax compare to Dolby TrueHD (lossless) and DTS HD (lossy) via analog with a good blu ray player (oppo eg)

one other format I came along is LPCM?..or is that Multi-channel PCM (lossless) from above?..if yes is LPCM = PCM for 2 ch?

Am I on the right track here?

Thanks
Derek
 
Hi Derek. Welcome. Lots of opportunity for discussion here.

Firstly, LPCM vs PCM is the same thing.

Secondly, you are going to listen to 2ch, go analog out from the stage where your best DAC is. This can apply to multi-ch too if your pre-amp supports direct ext-out analog out after DSP without any risk of further ADC. (Not many people do this b/c lots of cable involved and not many pre-amps have pure direct multi-ch out).

Thirdly, HDMI is best for DVD and BRD formats where Dolby & DTS bitstream codecs rule that domain. If you are listening to PCM above 96/24 then toslink is not an option, so stick to HDMI.

An OPPO BDP105 would be a very good option.
 
Steve said:
Hi Derek. Welcome. Lots of opportunity for discussion here.

Firstly, LPCM vs PCM is the same thing.

Secondly, you are going to listen to 2ch, go analog out from the stage where your best DAC is. This can apply to multi-ch too if your pre-amp supports direct ext-out analog out after DSP without any risk of further ADC. (Not many people do this b/c lots of cable involved and not many pre-amps have pure direct multi-ch out).

Thirdly, HDMI is best for DVD and BRD formats where Dolby & DTS bitstream codecs rule that domain. If you are listening to PCM above 96/24 then toslink is not an option, so stick to HDMI.

An OPPO BDP105 would be a very good option.
Click to expand...



Thanks Steve,
Understand that hdmi is required for multichannel lossless, however I'm trying to avoid buying a AVR and stay 2ch, but will use a good DAC/AMP combo to drive my speakers. This will only have optical/coax and analog in, hence trying to understand the difference between these and the codes available through the AVR/hdmi

Am I correct in the LPCM will be CD quality max raw audio, and is available up to 2 channels via optical or coax, and is available via analog outs on a blu ray player up to 5.1. and LPCM will be on all DVDs and Blu rays, thus the only need for hdmi and hence an AVR is to get either Hi Res audio up to 96Khz,(dolby HD / DTS master) and or multichannel audio via a digital connector (ie hdmi) to be decoded via an AVR DAC

thanks
 
If you are happy to to listen to everything in 2ch, analog out for everything from the Oppo BDP 105. It is a universal player with a fantastic DAC that has been implemented very well. It has DSP and multichannel down conversion from all bitstream codecs to LPCM. This would be a great and solid solution to begin with and build up from. It will sound better than going digital out (optical/coax is potentially lossy) where your AVR will be setup to do the same thing.

No point in buying an AVR if you are not going to multi-ch pre-out because the Oppo will already do everything you need to do and probably better. All you need is a decent 2-ch analog integrated pre-amplifier/amplifer.
 
I suggest HDMI.....but get a good cable...the differences are enormous. I am using Wireworld with great satisfaction.
 
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