Daryl Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 Iv got a 3d TV, and im looking at getting a hifi/home cinema install. I have an optical output on the TV, and I have an optical output on my Apple TV. Would I be best to get an amp that can take more than 2 optical outputs, as i was thinking of connecting my soon to be bought blu ray player to the amp with an optical cable, so thats up to 3 now, and im pretty sure my Sky box has an optical output too, so thats 4. Thinking i can get a DAC from the Apple TV to the amp,so that will, if i decide to get one, discount one optical out. Thing is, with the new v1.4 HDMI cables, is optical output worth it? From my limited knowledge, v1.4 HDMI cables will carry digital sound as well as picture. Does this then render the Toslink/optical cable redundant. Looking to power a pair of B+W 684's for the fronts, and a set of M1's for the rears. Lucky enough to be in a position where I can get 2 very good Yamaha Amps, at a very good price. One is the rxv 3067,which is ex display in a good hi specialist, and the other is the rxa 2010,which is at a good price at the moment. I cant see much to split them spec wise, though leaning toward the 2010 abit. Any advice welcome. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glrnet Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 if your Sky Box is HD+ then yes it does have an optical output, I can't answer your other questions but I'm sure one of our Hi Fi buffs will be along soon which will be useful as I'm still pondering which amp and speakers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flex Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 I'll be watching this thread as I'm in the same boat! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daryl Posted January 31, 2013 Author Share Posted January 31, 2013 A good friend of mine has recently got a RXv 673, and says its an awesome piece of kit, its WHF 5* rated etc etc. However, it only has 2 optical inputs, and iv got 3 things already that need an optical, and all the amps at around £500 are the same, so having to take the step up to the next level. The price difference between the 2 amps im considering is is £200. Not bothered about Airplay, as i have Apple TV already, and happy to keep using it, as I can watch Youtube and stream videos from my phone on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spursmaddave Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 Most amps have hdmi now so thats easier, everything feeds into the amp then the amp has a pass thru to the tv, some more expensive amps even have added features to improve picture output to HD tvs I used to use optical cables but why have hdmi & optical, I also have some very expensive RCA cables but I can't really tell much difference between any of the 3 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flex Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 So what amp are you rockin' Dave? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spursmaddave Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flex Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 Arrrgggggh my eyes! Could you have gotten any closer? Having said that, thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironhide Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 Yeah you want an av receiver with HDMI inputs not optical, as then your video and audio is hd and can transmit via the same cable. You'll also want a 3D hd receiver if you want to play with full 3D sound as well as visuals. I'm in the same boat, got Apple TV, sky hd, Xbox and 3d blu ray so looking for a box that will take at least 5hdmi inputs and then everything outputs to the tv/surround sound. Looking at the onkyo but haven't had time to properly test, your best bet is visit a proper hifi shop to see/hear them in action. Though your sound will only be as good as your speakers (to a certain extent). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spursmaddave Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 (edited) Dont forget if you have a smart tv you can feed all the hdmi imputs into that and then a single hdmi into your amp a lot less messy I used to have PS3, Xbox, SkyHD, Mac & PC all running through my Samsung TV and then one single HDMI to the Amp, I did use a toslink but found there was slight lag between picture & sound You dont need loads of inputs on the amp then you have to keep switching between inputs, its easy everything goes to TV then TV outputs whatever is playing through it to amp, no switching inputs, whatever you are watching you are hearing Edited January 31, 2013 by spursmaddave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flex Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 Hmm, I dont think my TV is that smart but it does have HDMI inputs on the back. Shall see how it goes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spursmaddave Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 Appologies it is HDMI in and toslink out still just one single connection to the amp though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gangzoom Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 Both the RX 3067 and RXA2010 have 8 HDMI in ports so that should be more than enough for any one. Regarding optical outs, HDMI has basically replaced everything, all HDMI cables/ports support video and sound, you simply plug everything into the amp, and than connect the HDMI out from the amp to the TV, the rest the amp will sort out . Don't know much about Yamaha amps (i have a few Denons), but simply looking at the specs both look good, the RXA2010 seems to offer internet/home networking options. Oh you don't need special HDMI 1.4 cables, and don't get talked into buying some stupidly overpriced cables from the shop, HDMI cables send digital information (1s and 0s) so the quality of the cable had no impact on the image/sound. Good luck . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalos Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 (edited) As the amps these days use HDMI switching (as said earlier), use HDMI for everything that has it. For Sky however, also use optical for the sound as they only transmit 2ch via HDMI for some reason. On a Blu-ray, if you use optical for the sound you won't get HD sound as optical can't carry that much information so you will be limited to DD/DTS. Although there is plenty of chat about the differences (or lack of) from one HDMI cable to the next, its not as simple as black and white (or 1's and 0's ). If you have a recent TV that supports Audio Return Channel, then you will need a 1.4v cable to utilise that function to an audio system. On the amps, I personally think that the Yamahas and Onkyos are the two current best mainstream brands. The Yamahas have the edge on surround DSPs and the Onkyo the edge on 2ch audio. With the RXV673 winning the What HiFi? award, the Onkyos have dropped in price quite a bit, so are amazing value. All IMO of course Edited January 31, 2013 by Dalos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 All amps sound different, and even more so through different speakers. You need to go test play with some to see what sound you like, no point just buying on spec and budget. It's like saying you want a fun car that has 300bhp and costs under £10K, and then buying a 7-series instead of a Zed. Specs might be there, but you can end up very disappointed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daryl Posted January 31, 2013 Author Share Posted January 31, 2013 (edited) All amps sound different, and even more so through different speakers. You need to go test play with some to see what sound you like, no point just buying on spec and budget. It's like saying you want a fun car that has 300bhp and costs under £10K, and then buying a 7-series instead of a Zed. Specs might be there, but you can end up very disappointed. Id love a 7 Series, ist Bangle Bmw,yes please! lol So the crux is, that i dont need more than the 2 optical inputs. I can get away with running HDMI cables (are 1.4 needed now with the surround sound) So the fact that the 6073 has enough HDMI inputs, i dont need anything more expensive than that? What about Bi Amping the front 684's,is it something worth doing? The local specialist is where i got my TV from, ex display 55" Panasonic Plasma, are a B+W stockist, so il go in and ask them for an audition. They initially specced the system with a Pioneer SC2020, but from what iv read from previous peoples experiences, il have a listen to the Yamaha, and then the Pioneer. But I can get the Yamaha 2010 for £700, which I think is a good deal, despite it being out for a couple of years. The Pioneer is £750, and a year newer from what i can tell. Not bothered about the Airplay, as iv got Apple TV anyway. Appologies it is HDMI in and toslink out still just one single connection to the amp though Panasonic by any chance? lol Edited January 31, 2013 by Daryl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ekona Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 All my inputs (Sky, PS3, 360, Rpi) go straight into the AVR. Sky has an optical connection to the AVR as well. I then take the single HDMI cable from AVR to TV. That's all you need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalos Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 (edited) What TV do you have Daryl? *ah, you edited your post. I didn't see that. The reason I asked was to see if it had the ARC channel on one of the HDMI inputs. If it does, then you won't need an optical from the TV back to the amp. Although, if you watch all of your program's via Sky and not the built in Freeview then it,doesn't matter. The RXA-2010 is an amazing amp at that price; I think it should comfortably beat the Pioneer. Edited January 31, 2013 by Dalos Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spursmaddave Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 Samsung, and ALWAYS bi-wire Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daryl Posted January 31, 2013 Author Share Posted January 31, 2013 Samsung, and ALWAYS bi-wire The back looks almost identical to my Panasonic, how odd! lol I know about bi wiring, sort of, but what about Bi amping? I dont really understand it, just picked up on it on a couple of forums i was looking at. My TV is a Tx-P55VT30B Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daryl Posted January 31, 2013 Author Share Posted January 31, 2013 Just trying to get my head around whether I need an amp that can handle HDMI 1.4 or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalos Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 My TV is a Tx-P55VT30B Then it does have ARC then, on HDMI 2 iirc. You will only need to use an optical on the Sky box then. HDMIs from everything to the amp and one HDMI from the amp to the TV in HDMI input 2. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalos Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 Just trying to get my head around whether I need an amp that can handle HDMI 1.4 or not. Most amps these days, especially at the price you are looking at , will be 1.4 ( for the ARC input). You will need the cable between the amp to the TV to be a V1.4, the rest don't need to be. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daryl Posted January 31, 2013 Author Share Posted January 31, 2013 I have no idea what ARC is. Only just found that the TV is 1.4 compatible. I understand that I can run just one HDMI 1.4 to the Amp from the TV and everything will work. So this needs to be plugged into the HDMI 2 channel then. The RXA 2010 dont appear to advertise that is HDMI 1.4 compatible. Or when it says 3D ready does that mean it will operate 1.4? Sorry, shop isnt open at this time, so you will all have to face my stupid questions! lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dalos Posted January 31, 2013 Share Posted January 31, 2013 HDMIs are traditionally 'one-directional', so normally, to get sound from a TV you would have to use an analogue or optical cable back to the amp. Now, ARC (Audio Return Channel) is becoming available on higher model TV's and amps which allows the sound from a TV to travel back down the HDMI cable so you only need one between the TV and amp. (You TV is compatible and your amp will be). The amp won't be described as 1.4 compatible, it will just say it has Audio Return capability. The HDMI cable needs to be 1.4. Pretty much all amps are 3D compatible now. I manage an Audio/Visual store so don't mind helping out. Except I'm about to personally close now and head to bed, lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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