Expert: Cleggsan - 2/19/2009

Question
QUESTION: Equipment
Television: Sony KDSR70XBR2  
Receiver/Surround: Onkyo HD-S990THX 7.1
BluRay: Sony BDP-S350
How should I have these connected for best performance.
Current set up: HDMI from BluRay to T.V.
         Audio Cables(Red/White) from Receiver to TV

ANSWER: Your current connections are fine.  Nothing wrong with HDMI for video and audio.  If you have a full surround audio playback system including speakers then the additional audio cables will not hurt.

I think you mean the audio  cables you have connected are from TV to Receiver?   

Is there more question?  Am I missing something?


C


---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for the reply. I was wondering if I should be running audio from BluRay to receiver instead of from TV to receiver.Is there a difference and will there be a significant upgrade in sound quality? And if so, should  I use an optical or coaxial connection vs the rca cables. My recevier does not have HDMI. I thought I had the "latest technolgy" but whatever. I'm trying to get the best out of what I have. Since my BR player does not decode latest audio( but would compress if my receiver had HDMI). Thanks in advance.

Answer
For audio you are always better off going as direct as possible. For example, if you are listening/watching a disc you will get the least deterioration of sound quality by taking the audio directly from the disc player to the amplifier and speakers.  In good equipment the losses may be inaudible and the convenience for the way you usually listen may be more desirable then the small loss that would occur by passing it through the tv.

So, listening habits, others in the family who may be using the system from time to time, switching flexibility of the equipment you have and their inherent audio quality may all need to be factored into the final setup decisions.

In your case you did not give me any information about the speaker systems you are using and if you have full surround configuration.  The rptv is older, but the Onkyo receiver is great stuff; so it was hard for me to tell if you are an audiophile, videophile or a techie.  Your proclivities may have more to do with your final configuration setup and equipment list than one would think!

Finally, it is always best to experiment; listening and watching critically will tell you which is the best way.  If you don't detect a difference in audio quality, for example, when going direct vs going through the tv, then chances are it doesn't make any difference in the long run!

(Note: In my own experimentation and comparisons I have always noticed sound quality deterioration when passing audio through or out of a television system.  Why?  I am a design engineer and I have not been overwhelmed with the audio circuit designs used by tv engineers - what do they know about high fidelity sound?  Not much sometimes.  So my own trend line is to be suspicious about tv audio and try to stay away from it with the exception of pulling out the tv audio from a tv program that is being viewed.  But for all other sources I try to keep the audio totally away from the television system....... but I am also a loudspeaker engineer and I use big, expensive, carefully designed loudspeakers when doing tests.... Just my personal opinions; not to be followed unless you can relate to the mentality of a kooky electronics audioholic!)

c