onkyo 505 or 605

[admin_exported]

hi everyone i have a dilema im keen on getting a surround sound system and have pointed out thekef 1005 system [richer sound £250]-this is the maximum i can afford for a system! now the dilema is this -when looking at both onkyos[505& 605] i noticed that one of the differences is that the 605 can transmit audio through hdmi whereas the 505 cannot!-now ill be rigging up to the amp sky hd[programmes for which i believe are not available in any surround form] and a sony blu ray bdp-s300[which also is not capable of transmitting raw audio through hdmi either!] so would the 505 serve me just as well as i could set up both sky and sont blu ray through digital co ax and optical for less money[£400 is pushing it for me ]-if i where to get the 505 would it be worth me connecting the sky and blu ray to the amp via hdmi[i have many hdmi cables from my current setup] or just running the system like i am now -dvd hdmi to back of tv -optical from dvd to amp sky hdmi to tv -component cables from sky box to amp [i only have 1 digital input on my current amp] anyones opinions are much appreciated!

 

[Clare Newsome]

I think the 505 would be fine for what you need. Oh, and Sky HD does offer surround sound - typically Dolby Digital 5.1 on movies/sport and more.

 

[Anonymous]

thanx claire ,so if i were to get the 505 would there be any point in connecting both blu ray and sky hd via hdmi?

 

[professorhat]

The advantage is, this will automatically switch your display e.g. when you want to watch Sky HD, just select the Sky HD input on your amp (whatever you have this assigned to) and the TV will automatically output Sky HD picture. To get 5.1, Sky needs the optical connection though, so you'd need to set the audio to use the optical connection and the video to output the HDMI signal.

 

[Anonymous]

so as well as using an hdmi lead,and an optical connection i still need to connect component video cables too?

 

[professorhat]

Erm no. Not sure where you got that from...

 

[Anonymous]

sorry -so just hdmi and optical connections?

 

[professorhat]

Yeah, so you'd need HDMI from Blu-Ray to receiver, HDMI and optical from Sky HD to receiver, then HDMI from receiver to TV. You'd also need to set the receiver so it knew that when you selected your Sky HD source (Satellite or whatever the Onkyo calls it), you want to use the optical connection for audio and the HDMI connection for video. This should be in the setup menu somewhere on the amp.

 

[Anonymous]

greatadvice,i take it i would have to do the same for the blu ray player[ie tell the amp what connections im using for sound and video?

 

[professorhat]

Yup, though it's easier for the Blu-Ray as the HDMI lead is sending both the audio and visual signals. So my guess is the Onkyo has a source called "DVD" (or maybe even "BD") for one of its HDMI inputs. You'd therefore plug your Blu-Ray player into this, tell the amp that you're using HDMI for this source. When you then select that source, it'll then automatically pick up the sound and visual signals from this HDMI signal and output them correctly via the speakers / TV.

 

[Anonymous]

so no need for a digital co ax connection then?

 

[professorhat]

Sorry, just realised, but you did say your Sony wasn't capable of transmitting audio through HDMI though didn't you? I'm not sure of this, from what I've read on it, it looks like it can, but since I don't have it, I'm not in a good position to say! If it can't, then you would need the digital coax connection as well, you're right. However, if it can transfer sound over HDMI, then that's the only connection you'd need.

 

[Anonymous]

reading the hd supplement that came with this months what hi fi ,it reads :it wont stream hd audio,all it can do is decode content onto player,outputting it in anologue to 6 channels,or sending out as pcm via hdmi[is this my best option rather than 6 channels?

 

[Anonymous]

i reckon i might as well connect the co ax seen as though i have it - what confuses me is whether or not its better to use just hdmi [thus commanding my blu ray to output through pcm] or utilise the co ax cable ,thus commanding my blu ray output to bitstream!--what is best pcm-hdmi or bitstream-co ax?

 

[professorhat]

HDMI is better as your coax doesn't have the bandwidth to send the HD sound formats the Sony can decode itself. Therefore, if you use HDMI, your amp will receive the decoded PCM signals from the Blu-Ray player so you'll get whichever HD sounds the Sony can decode (looks to be Dolby Digital Plus and of course any discs with uncompressed PCM soundtrack).

If you use the Coax, the best you'll get is the standard Dolby Digital and DTS 5.1 soundtracks.

 

[Anonymous]

thanx for all the advice-just cant wait to get the amp now!

 

[professorhat]

No worries!