Is HDMI essential??

[admin_exported]

Currently I am looking for an a/v amp in the £400 price range and the Onkyo 605 seemed the obvious buy. Recently, however, the Yamaha RXN600D has been reduced in price and is available for a similar cost. It also is a What HIFI five star product and to me offers the additional advantage of DAB Radio and Network Connectivity. Unfortunately it does not have HDMI.

Could anyone please advise:

1. What will I really miss by not having HDMI and can I live without it.

2. Does anyone have experience of the implementation of the network capability of this receiver - for example will it save me the cost of a Squeezbox.

3. Are both products similar as far as sound quality etc are concerned.

Many thanks for any help you can give.

 

[kungula]

it depends what you would like to connect.
If you have not planned to buy a BR player you really will not miss HDMI.
You also do not need to worry about the sound quality if you connect your DVD player or satellite radio with a good digital interconnect.
Remember though that a superior kit is quite important.

 

[Anonymous]

mate get the onkyo its out of this world

 

[Anonymous]

Thank you for the responses. I would like to connect a PS3 to my system and also have a DVD recorder which has SCART, component and optical outputs. If I connect the PS3 to TV using HDMI and to the Yamaha using optical will I end up with the same performance as all on HDMI with the Onkyo?

How is it best to connect the DVD recorder - In addition to using the optical link to the amplifier do I

1. Use SCART for playback to the TV and for recording from Freeview or

2. Use component to the amplifier for playback and SCART for recording or

3. The obvious solution which I have missed

 

[Anonymous]

I am also in the same position on whether to buy a RXN600D

The Yamaha RXN600D was a model that I was looking into just before the HDMI
revolution came out. But now it is going so cheap, I am reconsidering it again!

I was also looking at buying the Onkyo 605. But my budget is tight and the RXN600D
seems to have more of the features that I would actually use. RXN600D has the
features I have been looking for DAB, and network capable. The only downer is
the lack of HDMI.

Can anyone please tell me if the RXN600D is any good for stereo music? I
appreciate it will not be as good as a dedicated HIFI amp, but I wonder if it
would be at least equal to now ancient Sansui AUX201 amp, which was never that
great anyway!

Thanks in advance for any help

Peter

 

[professorhat]

With a PS3, the main thing you'll miss not having an HDMI input will be your PS3 won't be able to send the new Hi-Def sounds formats (e.g. Dolby TrueHD) via PCM to the surround amp (it can't send this via optical as the optical connection does not have the bandwidth). This means any Blu-Ray discs will play the sound in their respective older format (e.g. Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS 5.1). This is fine (it's what I use currently), but then since you're buying a new amp, it makes sense to try and get the new sound formats now unless you can live without them or the other features you've pointed out are more important to you.

I should also point out, the PS3 can't (currently) send any DTS-HD Master Audio soundtracks with or without HDMI connection. It can send Dolby TrueHD and also PCM lossless sound though which the Onkyo would be able to process.

 

[Alsone]

The Onkyo is fantastic and I don't see where all the web comments about it running hot are coming from - obviously people with large listening rooms. In my modest room 50-54 volume (out of 100) is enough for tv (depends on the source) and with DVD up to 60. To give you an idea, it seems non linear and is barely audible to around 40. Get it to 70 and believe me its loud!!! I'd be deaf in a day with it at 70. In my experience with it running it at 60 or less it doesn't get too hot and heat or not the sound quality is fantastic. In any case, there's no problem with the heat causing any problems from what I've heard, everyone says the same thing, its fantastic! You won't regret it as a purchase.

As for HDMi, its a good cable for digital connections and is a must for HD sources due to its compatability with HDCP (content protection). If you're not using HD sources then you could use a digital coaxial cable instead as this gives similar sound quality.

 

[Gerrardasnails]

Tootinalong. I would buy the Onkyo all day long. HDMI is the future as well as the present. I don't know if you have Sky HD or any satellite box but in the future most of us will as it will get cheaper and cheaper. HDMI gives you the best solution for this. Most new DVD players have HDMI, again, the best picture will be via HDMI. The great thing about is that you can have just one HDMI cable from TV to AV receiver and then just cables from DVD box to receiver, Sky box to receiver, PS3 to receiver. It makes things simpler. Buying a receiver without HDMI connectivity for the same price as one with, is pretty worthless. For the record, component only gives you visual and not audio.