5.1 HDMI AVR for PS3

[ScooterMcTavish]

Hi All,

Had a question for a friend, but if I like the answer, it'd be great for me too.

A buddy is building a 5.1 HT in his basement, and will be using a PS3 as his BDP.

As we all know, the PS3 must do the conversion for lossless audio, and output it to the AVR as PCM via the HDMI. (wow, lots of acronyms here...)

Anyways, does anyone have knowledge of any decent quality AVRs that are 1-2 years old (i.e. less expensive) that can handle PCM 5.1 via HDMI, but don't necessarily have Dolby HD and DTS-MA decoders? The decoders are kind of useless if you're sending PCM anyways.

Or follow up question, any rumors of the PS3 handling PCM 5.1 via TOSlink in the future (I know there are some bandwidth claims here), or there being a dongle available that allows sound from the PS3 to be attached to analog 5.1 direct-ins?

Any and all ideas are appreciated. It would be a shame (in my case) to have to retire a 5-year old H/K AVR-230 just because of this.

[jayoldschool]

Pioneer 918. Look up the specs, and I think you will be very happy.

[57]

Be aware that although the PS3 can only send lossless audio as PCM, it is unique in this regard and stand-alone BD players can bitstream to an AVR via HDMI and you may wish to "future-proof" your/his AVR selection by choosing one that can also decode, in the event the PS3 dies for example. Here's a link to AVR features:

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=76082

[ScooterMcTavish]

Thanks guys,

Jay, unfortunately neither of us are Pioneer fans, and that "PHAT" amplification seems like a step down vs. the high current we both like in our H/Ks.

57, sage advice as usual, but he has committed to a PS3 as the BDP for his kids in the basement (he has a Sony BDP in his main HT) as this is his second system. So we're kind of stuck with the PS3 as a BDP (permanently), so an AVR that accepts 5.1 via PCM is pretty much "future-proof" for this setup as any busted PS3 will be replaced with another PS3.

Crap, my AVR-230 with the 6.1 channel analog in was supposed to be future proof too. Shows the price you pay for being an early adopter - I have a 720p DLP in the basement that the kids love due to this.....

[wgauci]

I've been running a Yamaha HTR6080, I'm very happy with it's performance, it works great with my PS3 and does everything I need. It's the last generation before they added the HD audio, you could find it for a good price now.

[Dwayne Gorniak]

My RXV-1700 also accepts PCM audio. If you can find a Yamaha Receiver for a good deal, I say go for it.

[TKG26]

I just got a HTR6150 for my ps3. Works well

[57]

AVR-230 with the 6.1 channel analog in

Well, you could get a BD player with onboard decoding and multi-channel analogue outputs. There are several models that are usually about $100 more than the non-multichannel output models.

[eimaj]

I'd suggest a Marantz 4003 or an earlier version of the 500x or 600x. And no one else has mentioned that many ps3 games use lossless pcm so this will improve game audio as well.

[David Susilo]

Originally Posted by ScottCrick

Thanks guys,

Jay, unfortunately neither of us are Pioneer fans, and that "PHAT" amplification seems like a step down vs. the high current we both like in our H/Ks.

57, sage advice as usual, but he has committed to a PS3 as the BDP for his kids in the basement (he has a Sony BDP in his main HT) as this is his second system. So we're kind of stuck with the PS3 as a BDP (permanently), so an AVR that accepts 5.1 via PCM is pretty much "future-proof" for this setup as any busted PS3 will be replaced with another PS3.

Crap, my AVR-230 with the 6.1 channel analog in was supposed to be future proof too. Shows the price you pay for being an early adopter - I have a 720p DLP in the basement that the kids love due to this.....

Well, first of all, you may want to try an amp out not based on spec only. You may like it... or you may not... but you'll never really know.

PS: early adopter means that when something new is out, one adopts it. So if one is an early adopter and got a 720p when it came out, then when 1080p is out, one should've adopted that too. In terms of display, I've adopted 16:9 SDTV, then 16:9 EDTV, then 720p, then 1080p. As far a projector goes I went from 16:9 SDTV to 16:10 SDTV, 16:9 960i, then 1080p.

[ScooterMcTavish]

David, you wouldn't want to know what I have around the house.

Let's just say garage sales (and eBay) have been great ways to sell off my previous passions.

Good tip though - maybe I should give the Pio a spin. Last one I demoed was the 1014 when I bought my H/K and I really did not like the sound. However, maybe "phat" is the way to go?

[David Susilo]

Or maybe you want to get VSX21 from Pio which is also high current MOSFET (available Summer 2009)

Talking about stuff taking up space, right now I'm having space problem and need to get rid of 500 DvD. To make room for my blu-rays