[alstein]

Hi. I will be setting up this Blu-Ray player for my Son who has an older Harman Kardon AVR 135 receiver. Unfortunately, this receiver lacks HDMI connections. I noticed that the Blu-Ray player has Analog audio outputs (7.1-channel). The HK receiver has "6/8-Channel Direct Inputs: These jacks are used for connection to source devices such as DVDAudio or SACD players with discrete analog outputs." I assume that I can connect the Blu Ray to the HK receiver using these audio outputs/inputs.

I would appreciate knowing what type of cable I would require. Would it just be regular RCA audio cable?

Thanks.

 

[eljay]

I noticed that the Blu-Ray player has Analog audio outputs (7.1-channel). The HK receiver has "6/8-Channel Direct Inputs ... I assume that I can connect the Blu Ray to the HK receiver using these audio outputs/inputs.

That's correct. And if the player is able to decode lossless audio, the receiver will accept and output it. If the player is not able to decode lossless audio, then you might as well just use a digital audio connection (coaxial or optical) to pass the lossy audio from the player to the receiver.

I would appreciate knowing what type of cable I would require. Would it just be regular RCA audio cable?

Yes, it would be just regular RCA.

 

[57]

Any BD player that has multichannel analogue outputs will be able to decode the BD lossless audio. Many people use 2 (or 2.666 for 8 channels) sets of component video cables since they have the appropriate impedance.

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=76085

("regular RCA" will work too, especially if the connection is short - 6' or less)

AVR FAQ, discussing HD audio near the end:

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

 

[csks]

Many people use 2 (or 2.666 for 8 channels) sets of component video cables since they have the appropriate impedance.

Isn't 50 Ohm cables better for analogue audio?

 

[57]

You're correct regarding red/white analogue audio. You know, I honestly can't remember if multi-channel is 75 or 50, but either will work fine. It may be that capacitance is more important. You can always purchase/use 3 or 4 pair of analogue audio cables. Some places even sell multichannel audio cables with different colours for each cable... When I looked up those (expensive) cables they had 75 ohm impedance...

 

[alstein]

That's correct. And if the player is able to decode lossless audio, the receiver will accept and output it. If the player is not able to decode lossless audio, then you might as well just use a digital audio connection (coaxial or optical) to pass the lossy audio from the player to the receiver.


Yes, it would be just regular RCA.

Thanks for the information.

 

[alstein]

Any BD player that has multichannel analogue outputs will be able to decode the BD lossless audio. Many people use 2 (or 2.666 for 8 channels) sets of component video cables since they have the appropriate impedance.

http://www.digitalhome.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=76085

("regular RCA" will work too, especially if the connection is short - 6' or less)

AVR FAQ, discussing HD audio near the end:

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

Thanks for the information. I may experiment with component and RCA to see if I can hear any difference.

 

[alstein]

One other question. I notice that the HK AVR 135 has connections for 7 speakers (including the subwoofer), i.e. a 6.1 settup. However there are 8 channels for the analog audio outputs. Do I connect all 8, and assume that the left/right surroundback channels will be combined to the single surround back speaker?

 

[57]

Use a Y-connector to connect the two "rears" from the BD player to the single rear on the AVR. That way you won't lose any signal.

Edit - Upon further reflection, I believe that most BD players with multi-channel outputs have a user setup menu on how to handle these outputs. There's probably an option in there for a 6.1 setup wherein the 2 rear channel signals are sent to one of the rear outputs (left or right) and then you would connect this single output via one cable to the center rear input of the AVR.

I know I did this for someone with a similar setup a while back. I also tested the signal using a BD test DVD with 7.1 channels to ensure that both rear signals played out the single center-rear speaker.

 

[Neild]

Alstein - so far everyone has been giving you tips on a fairly advanced way of transmitting audio to the receiver. Perhaps that's because you have that rare combination of Blu-ray player that has analog outs and a receiver that can actually accept them.

However there is a much simpler option available that you might consider. You could just use a single optical cable or a single RCA/coaxial cable going from the player's digital output to one of the digital inputs on the receiver.

The AVR 135 will transmit a reasonable audio mode such as DTS that even that old receiver can decode, and you'll experience pretty decent 5.1-7.1 sound.

Not everyone has the extremes (of audio gear, speakers, room, source material, the personal listening expectations) that it would make much difference.

If you aren't of the type that obsesses over the nuances of each audio format, then the single cable solution should do fine.

What happening is the that 0's and 1's of your digital audio format (Master Audio, etc) get converted to analog signals eventually, since analog is what comes out your speakers.

Now your receiver can do that decoding, although not some of the newest codecs. So the concept of the 8 wires is to alleviate your audio receiver from having to convert the audio data stream. Your blu-ray player does the decoding, then transmits analog signals for each speaker back to the receiver so they can be amplified directly.

I'm a sound quality nut, but I'll concede that any difference in the sound quality of the two methods wouldn't be noticeable to 98% of the population.

 

[eljay]

You could just use a single optical cable or a single RCA/coaxial cable going from the player's digital output to one of the digital inputs on the receiver.

I did mention this option in post #2, but only as a fall-back in case the OP's player couldn't decode lossless audio. (I assumed that the point of his thread was to see if he could use the multi-channel analogue outputs to get lossless from his player to his receiver.)

 

[csks]

You're correct regarding red/white analogue audio. You know, I honestly can't remember if multi-channel is 75 or 50, but either will work fine. It may be that capacitance is more important. You can always purchase/use 3 or 4 pair of analogue audio cables. Some places even sell multichannel audio cables with different colours for each cable... When I looked up those (expensive) cables they had 75 ohm impedance...

Good point. Apparently video cables have better shielding (than audio cables) in general, which makes them desirable for audio applications as well.

 

[alstein]

Alstein - so far everyone has been giving you tips on a fairly advanced way of transmitting audio to the receiver....

Thanks. I was aware of the optical cable option. But I just thought that with Blu-Ray, I wanted to try to get as high a quality level as possible from the player to the receiver. I know that quite a few blu ray movies have sound options such as Dolby trueHd, or DTS-HD. If the player can decode by taking the analog audio route then I'm prepared to try.

 

[alstein]

I believe that most BD players with multi-channel outputs have a user setup menu on how to handle these outputs.

Thanks. I will check the options on the player.