Which amp for hd sound from ps3?

[admin_exported]

Hi there just wondered which amp would be most suitable to partner my ps3 so that i can get hd sound from my blu-rays? Am i right in thinking that the ps3 decodes hd sound onboard,and sends it out via linear pcm? if so does this factor rule out the sony 820? Apart from the onkyo 605/606 ive been looking at the yamaha dsp ax 763-would the yam be another amp to consider,as its cheaper than the onkyo?

 

[Liam19]

Hi,

Which amp you choose is really dependent on the specifications you want - you are right in saying the PS3 sends HD audio as LPCM via HDMI, so the receiver you pick needs to be able to accept multichannel LPCM, but doesn't actually need to be able to decode HD audio itself. Every receiver you mentioned above will do both of these things - bear in mind, however, that the even cheaper Onkyo TX-SR576 will also accept LPCM (but not be able to decode HD audio itself).

It all comes down to how much you care about being able to decode HD audio within the receiver - this could be an issue if you ever buy a new Blu-ray player which is unable to decode onboard. However, since the PS3 can't bitstream HD audio to a receiver in its native form anyway, it really doesn't matter in the short-term if the receiver can decode it or not.

It's up to you - be future-proof and buy one of the receivers you mentioned, or spend a little less on a more basic receiver like the 576 (not the 506, remember) which can accept LPCM.

Hope this helps.

 

[moomin]

I have a ps3 connected to my Yamaha dsp z9 via optical cable as my amp does not have HDMI,i think you may be correct though not 100% on that,however to obtain the dts master audio sound and dolby true hd,i think you have to have a capable amplifier which accepts this format as the ps3 does not have 7.1 analoge channel outputs,as long as the amplifier your looking at has hdmi connection,your be ok ,the sound my ps3 bitsreams to my dsp z9 is of superb quality,blurays hold a lot more information than dvds so the sound is less compressed ,i have a bluray copy of die hard 4,this is a superb example,hope this helps.

 

[Liam19]

As long as the amp you get has HDMI inputs that can strip audio information (and aren't just pass-throughs), the PS3 can deliver HD sound as Linear PCM. This is currently the only way to get the new audio codecs from PS3 to receiver, since, as moomin says, the PS3 has no multichannel analogue outputs.

And I have to reiterate what you said about the sound on Blu-ray discs, moomin - I'm using an optical cable to bitstream to my Onkyo system, and the difference between the simple DD/DTS soundtracks on Blu-ray and standard DVDs truly amazed me! DVDs sound decent, but BDs sound much better - watching my current favourite BD (Batman Begins - absolutely awesome, although I'm counting down the days until The Dark Knight), I never fail to grin when the Batmobile tears through my living room, and this is just the Dolby Digital track! I honestly can't imagine the TrueHD track being that much clearer or punchier than this - to my ears, it's just fabulous!

 

[Anonymous]

liam i think [to a certain extent]your absolutely right-on some blu-rays[indeed with batman]the standard dd track is great ,and i have been undecisive as to change my amp that i have only had for just over a year [onkyo 505],just to get dolby tru,and digital plus,and plus the fact that my lounge is fairly small,so perhaps i may not even tell any difference!