Players with 7.1 and analog output

[biggroomer]

I have an older Yamaha 7.1 receiver that I really like. Can't think of the model# right now and don't want to wake the house turning on lights to find it. However, I know it indicates on the front that it puts out 130 watts per channel.

How many players are there that will allow me to utilize all of my eight speakers I have hooked up now?

I've listened to a friends' Yamaha that puts out 95 watts and is hooked up via HDMI and uses about the same speaker set-up I use and I certainly prefer my sound through the analog set-up.

[rkish]

I have a new, but lower end Yamaha AVR and this is how I am set up (analog ins/outs). I have a 5.1 Bose speaker setup and a Panasonic BD-10AK and the sound is more than adequate for me.

You won't get DTS-MA, but will get "core", which is supposedly pretty close to what you would get with pure MA.

[bootman]

Take your pick.

http://www.blu-ray.com/players/compare.php?p=1

[Sciatti]

The Sony BDP-S550 will decode all the new HD codecs. I enjoy superb HD audio in the analog realm.

[LOTR07]

Originally Posted by bootman

Take your pick.

http://www.blu-ray.com/players/compare.php?p=1

I would wait and get the new OPPO player. However if you need WI-fi then i would wait on the new sony line coming out soon

[primaz]

Originally Posted by LOTR07

I would wait and get the new OPPO player. However if you need WI-fi then i would wait on the new sony line coming out soon

+1

I'm waiting to see the new OPPO Digital 83 as I am also thinking of the Panny BD80 but so far the OPPO has the best specs so far?

[BIslander]

I think the Sony S560 adds WiFi and drops the analog outs. So, the S550 is still the ticket for older receivers without HDMI. Panasonic will have 7.1 analog on the new BD80, which replaces the BD55. The Samsung 2500/2550 can decode all for analog output as well. The Pioneers are still waiting for firmware updates to get dts-MA decoding. That's about it for reasonably priced players that decode all formats and have multichannel analog.

[ronjones]

At lower price point there is the new Vizio VBR100 player, due to be released in the April/May timeframe. It has 7.1 ch. analog outputs and BD-Live features for a list price of just $199. Overall performance is yet to be determined.

[DIY_HD]

I can't speak for other units, but my Sony BDP-S550 works great with my old AVR via analog inputs. You just have to understand that the back surrounds will do nothing if the BD is only 5.1. The newer AVRs hooked up via HDMI will synthesize the back channels, but when you use the analog inputs, you bypass all the digital signal processing that makes this possible.

I sometimes switch to optical input even though the bandwidth is much smaller (and sound information is lost) simply because it spatially sounds better without the dead zone in the back. Since optical is digital, my AVR can then matrix the back surround channels from the 5.1 source tracks.

Nonetheless, the 7.1 discs sound fantastic. I'm not going to invest in a new AVR for a while, so for me this is a good compromise.

[biggroomer]

I think I'm going to wait for the "too good to be true" Vizio. My son has a Vizio 42" plasma that rivals my Samsung 42' that I paid three time more for. I've felt for a long time that Blue Ray players were outrageously overpriced. Perhaps Vizio will prove so. If I blow $200, I believe it will be worth the gamble.

BTW/ My Yamaha receiver is the RX2500. My only complaint is that it took me many moons to learn most of the ins and outs of it. I know there are yet many things I have yet to utilize.