Does anyone need an amp with HD audio?

[kingnothing83]

I had my heart set on a Sony 2400es and the great review pretty much made my mind up. But then i thought, hang on - do i actually need HD audio? With a PS3 and Sky HD hooked up to an AV amp, there would be no need for HD audio. And surely any future device such as a Blu Ray player would do HD encoding itself then output to the amp? So is there any need?

In terms of pure sound quality which amp is the best for £400?

Cheers

Simon

 

[Pistol Pete1]

Simon,

I see your point, BUT.......

Not all blu ray players decode all HD audio. For example, the new sony 350 does not decode DTS HD master audio. So you will need to be careful, if you buy one. Obviously the PS3 decodes them all.(I assume the sky HD box can too?)

I have the sony 350 blu ray and onkyo 606 amp, and I have played around a bit, and actually found out that decoding the audio in the amp, rather than in the player, sounds a little better to my ears.

Therefore, I suggest the denon 1909(£450) or onkyo 606(£400). If your going to use music playback too, the denon would probably be your best bet. If its used for cinema only(mainly), the onkyo may be better for all out slam.

Hope that helps............

 

[kingnothing83]

Thanks for the tips, perhaps HD is worth having afterall then.

Should have mentioned - i n eed my amp to have pre outs to hook up to the stereo amp.

Does the sony sound noticibly worse than what you suggested? Could stretch to £500 if it made a big different but would rather not!

 

[Gerrardasnails]

kingnothing83:
Thanks for the tips, perhaps HD is worth having afterall then.

Should have mentioned - i n eed my amp to have pre outs to hook up to the stereo amp.

Does the sony sound noticibly worse than what you suggested? Could stretch to £500 if it made a big different but would rather not!

The two suggested don't have front pre outs. I would imagine that the 2400 is at least as good as the Denon and Onkyo and it does have pre outs.

Back to your original point. You are right that soon all BD players will have onboard decoding. However, the older receivers don't normally allow you to send the HD audio through hdmi, hence why you need to connect via analogue. That is the other choice.

 

[kingnothing83]

yeah this is a real toughie as i dont know how i could audition the sony 2400es before buying, has anyone tested it against other amps with pre outs in the £400-500 range? i would love to know how it compares!

 

[Dave_]

with your budget, i'd take a look at a denon 2808, was originally a £900 receiver, but can now be had for within your budget,as its being replaced by the denon 2809,

 

[Gerrardasnails]

daveh75:with your budget, i'd take a look at a denon 2808, was originally a £900 receiver, but can now be had for within your budget,as its being replaced by the denon 2809,

I would too. Great receiver and if you can do with just two hdmi - it will sound great.

 

[kingnothing83]

hmm that is the problem. i can make do with 2 hdmi's now, but in the future i would certainly need more. And wouldnt a switching box cost £100+ for hdmi and be a lot of extra hassle to use (whilst degrading picture and sound?)

I signed up for the richer sounds VIP but havent got my email yet, is this a deal i have to move fast on if i do go for it (and its just the 2 hdmi putting me off)

cheers

 

[Dave_]

it is one of there vip deals at 399, it was last months deal,but still showing it on there site if you log in to the vip section. but can still be had at 499 elsewhere you can get hdmi switchers cheaper than that, can get automatic ones too,so wouldn't be any hassle

 

[Cofnchtr]

Pistol Pete1:

I assume the sky HD box can too?)

Hi,

SKYHD does not do HD sound - max is Dolby Digital.

Cheers,

Cofnchtr.

 

[Pistol Pete1]

Thanks Cofnchtr,

Wasn't sure which is why i said 'assume'. Don't have standard sky, nevermind sky HD.

Freeview is more than enough tv for me!!!!

 

[kingnothing83]

hmm - i dont really need it until nov/dec but very tempted if getting it now will save me £100

might check it my local richer sounds has any in stock and make the decision from there.

still worried about posential degredation in sound quality with the splitter though, maybe i am worring too much

 

[Anonymous]

I guess the issue is whether or not you are happy buying something you will very likely have or want to upgrade later. If you go with a non HD-audio amp now you will need to run your bluray player in LPCM mode via HDMI if you want to hear the HD audio. The further problem (and I dont know the spec on the amp you're considering so may be entirely wrong here) is that if the amp is below HDMI1.3, you wont get the benefit of Deep Colour and 24fps BluRay playback. These are the two problems which have prompted me to start looking at upgrading my Denon AVR4306 and I'd hate you to get stuck in the same situation. (if possible) try to get an amp at least with HDMI1.3 even if you're happy to have HD audio via LPCM or even via analogue outputs otherwise you'll find your future options compromised.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

Damien Buckley:I guess the issue is whether or not you are happy buying something you will very likely have or want to upgrade later. If you go with a non HD-audio amp now you will need to run your bluray player in LPCM mode via HDMI if you want to hear the HD audio. The further problem (and I dont know the spec on the amp you're considering so may be entirely wrong here) is that if the amp is below HDMI1.3, you wont get the benefit of Deep Colour and 24fps BluRay playback. These are the two problems which have prompted me to start looking at upgrading my Denon AVR4306 and I'd hate you to get stuck in the same situation. (if possible) try to get an amp at least with HDMI1.3 even if you're happy to have HD audio via LPCM or even via analogue outputs otherwise you'll find your future options compromised.

The Denon 2808 is 1.3a hdmi all the way. It also upscales analogue sources as well. Therefore you could use component in some devices (not the new ones but Sky HD boxes have component and you need optical for 5.1) and the Denon would upscale up to 1080p. I would have gone for the Denon if they had it in black at that price. However, I now feel very comfortable with 4 hdmi and with the knowledge that the future will be hdmi for almost everything (the new Sky HD boxes have done away with component).

The Denon was priced at £800-£900 when it came out only a year or so ago. This will give you an idea of how far up the food chain it is. The current Denon that is it's price equivalent is the 1909 - two machines down.

Just looked at what you have. You could connect your HD box straight to your screen and have optical out to your receiver. This would still leave two hdmi. What else have you planned to hook up your receiver with?

 

[kingnothing83]

I am extremely tempted, think i'll have to go give richer sounds a call to see if they have one available...

Hopefully i'll get an "old" Sky HD box i am ordering sky HD for december and beleive i could get either box?

As well as that a PS3 is all i'll actually have in for the moment with a HTPC in the future, and then who knows (as id like to keep this amp for the long term)

The fact that it was such an expensive amp to start with is probably enough to sway me in its direction i think

 

[Gerrardasnails]

kingnothing83:I am extremely tempted, think i'll have to go give richer sounds a call to see if they have one available...

Hopefully i'll get an "old" Sky HD box i am ordering sky HD for december and beleive i could get either box?

As well as that a PS3 is all i'll actually have in for the moment with a HTPC in the future, and then who knows (as id like to keep this amp for the long term)

The fact that it was such an expensive amp to start with is probably enough to sway me in its direction i think

Here is a problem. Unless you buy an older (second hand off ebay - I just sold one!) Thomson Sky HD box, you won't get component. I had a new box delivered on Friday and was told that the new Pace and Samsung boxes are identical (coaxial and optical rather than just optical and no component). He also said that new Thomson ones will surely be made to the same spec. You could connect via a RGB scart to component cable though.

 

[kingnothing83]

Damn, could have almost bought yours! If you dont mind - how much did you sell it for? Could always look for a second hand one. Or even hook the PC up by VGA connection or get a pc with component and optical out card (havent seen component out on pc for a while though i dont think)

 

[lobby]

You could also consider the new Yamaha AX863se for £495 at Digital Direct or Amazon.Five star award tested at £800 so seems a good price being that its a solid allrounder with 3 hdmi sockets and very good in stero as well.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

kingnothing83:Damn, could have almost bought yours! If you dont mind - how much did you sell it for? Could always look for a second hand one. Or even hook the PC up by VGA connection or get a pc with component and optical out card (havent seen component out on pc for a while though i dont think)

I sold mine for £125. You can get new ones for £75! Which is what I did.

You can connect your pc via S video too.

The Yamaha mentioned is another really good option if you can squeeze to £500.

 

[kingnothing83]

Well it sounds like the yamaha has an advantage in terms of an extra hdmi and is better with stereo. But as the Denon has pre outs and i intend to hook up a stereo amp to it later anyway that only leaves the 1 extra hdmi as a benefit, which to me isnt worth £100.

Unless the denon is truely awful for stero? I wil connect my squeezebox directly to it for a few months at least.

Would rather save the £100 for now if the yamaha isnt clearly the better amp!

 

[Gerrardasnails]

kingnothing83:Well it sounds like the yamaha has an advantage in terms of an extra hdmi and is better with stereo. But as the Denon has pre outs and i intend to hook up a stereo amp to it later anyway that only leaves the 1 extra hdmi as a benefit, which to me isnt worth £100.

Unless the denon is truely awful for stero? I wil connect my squeezebox directly to it for a few months at least.

Would rather save the £100 for now if the yamaha isnt clearly the better amp!

If you are hooking up your stereo amp, the receiver will have no bearing whatsoever with stereo playback as you will be able to listen to cds with the receiver turned off. You have to connect your front left and right speakers to your stereo amp and the remaining speakers to your receiver. You need your stereo amp on to listen to 5.1 playback.

 

[kingnothing83]

Called richer sounds.

They have one in stock.

So im going to pick it up after work - dont think i can go too far wrong with a £900 amp for £400 - so pretty excited Thanks for all the tips much appreciated.

Just to check, it is 24fps compatible isnt it?

I think i'll be able to get round the 2 hdmi problem, even getting a splitter wont be too much hassle/cost

 

[Dave_]

it certainly is 24fps compatable, nice one let us no how you get on

 

[Gerrardasnails]

kingnothing83:Called richer sounds.

They have one in stock.

So im going to pick it up after work - dont think i can go too far wrong with a £900 amp for £400 - so pretty excited Thanks for all the tips much appreciated.

Just to check, it is 24fps compatible isnt it?

I think i'll be able to get round the 2 hdmi problem, even getting a splitter wont be too much hassle/cost

It can do all that the latest crop of receivers can do with regards to 1.3a hdmi. It doesn't upscale hdmi - ie Sky HD won't go from 1080i to 1080p (which is annoying as if you used component it would), I have the same with my new receiver. This is a small gripe though. I've listened to the 2808 with the B&W MT20 system and it sounded superb and it wasn't even hooked up to a BD player just a Denon 1940.

 

[kingnothing83]

Yeah that is a minor gripe - but i guess if i was that concerned i could always just sell the new sky+ box and buy an old one and not be out of pocket (more or less), doubt it will bother me too much though

isnt 720p better than 1080i for fast moving images (live sport etc)?

i will of course let you know what i think, even though i will have a strange setup for a while. I am buying all of this prior to a move in December, so for now i will have the denon set up with my squeezebox for music, and tannoy mercury custom f1 left, right, and mercury fc centre (and wharfedale sw250 sub). I wont be connecting up the tannoy rears until i move. So i guess i'll have a 3.1 system for now unless impatience gets the better of me and i end up connecting them up