Question Regarding HD Audio - Blu-ray Forum

Kinslayer · 07-10-2008, 07:36 PM

I have 5.1 DTS Surround System right now but am curious about HD Audio. It's a 5.1 Sony Speaker System that I got about 6 years ago. Is it true that even if I upgrade my Receiver to HDMI that the speakers won't support HD Audio?

kpkelley · 07-10-2008, 07:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kinslayer

I have 5.1 DTS Surround System right now but am curious about HD Audio. It's a 5.1 Sony Speaker System that I got about 6 years ago. Is it true that even if I upgrade my Receiver to HDMI that the speakers won't support HD Audio?

NO.

You may want better speakers in any case, but no they will not affect the playback of HD audio.

bda4life · 07-10-2008, 07:58 PM

As KP said, the speakers have nothing to do with HD audio. However, if the speakers blow, you may not be too impressed with the HD audio.

You will need an HD audio capable AV Receiver to hear those codecs. Onkyo is a very popular brand on this site. I have a Yamaha and love it. Some other choices are Denon, Pioneer and the high level Sony's. Really depends on your budget.

Kinslayer · 07-10-2008, 08:25 PM

Ok, thats great to hear. My Sony System was about 700$ total back then. The Speakers are great and still in excellent condition. I was thinking of getting 2 more though to make it 7.1. What models of receivers do you guys recommend in the 300-500$ range. If you guys can include some links that would be sweet.

kpkelley · 07-10-2008, 08:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kinslayer

Ok, thats great to hear. My Sony System was about 700$ total back then. The Speakers are great and still in excellent condition. I was thinking of getting 2 more though to make it 7.1. What models of receivers do you guys recommend in the 300-500$ range. If you guys can include some links that would be sweet.

https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=56303
https://forum.blu-ray.com/showthread.php?t=56069.

You could go with an Onkyo in that range or some of the other cheaper ones mentioned in these threads. There are other threads on this topic as well if you search a little.

Pelican170 · 07-10-2008, 08:30 PM

If your receiver accepts PCM, then you can have your bluray player, if it decodes the HD formats, decode it and send to receiver and it will play... has to be HDMI though so most likely your stuff is outdate unfortunately..

Petra_Kalbrain · 07-10-2008, 08:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kinslayer

I have 5.1 DTS Surround System right now but am curious about HD Audio. It's a 5.1 Sony Speaker System that I got about 6 years ago. Is it true that even if I upgrade my Receiver to HDMI that the speakers won't support HD Audio?

Sounds like a Home Theatre In A Box (HTIB), am I right? If so, then your current speakers hooked up to an HD receiver will most likely damage one or the others. HTIB speakers tends to have a much lower wattage rating than individually purchased speakers. Thus, most receivers would be pushing too much power through those speakers.

My suggestion? Wait a little and save some $$$. That way, when you are ready to upgrade the whole package you can do it and not worry about anything.

Kinslayer · 07-10-2008, 08:45 PM

Thanks for all the info guys..I'll have to do some research on my speakers. The Front speakers are floor models and put out 150 -200 watts I believe..I'll have to check it when I get home.

Stephan.klose · 07-10-2008, 10:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kinslayer

Thanks for all the info guys..I'll have to do some research on my speakers. The Front speakers are floor models and put out 150 -200 watts I believe..I'll have to check it when I get home.

then you might be ok. If you are looking for receivers there are only 2 options.

Onkyo 606 LINK TO AMAZON

Yamaha 663 LINK TO AMAZON

Interestingly the yamaha is $100 more. Over here in europe they are the same price. Since there is a $100 difference I would definitely go with the onkyo

Kinslayer · 07-10-2008, 11:10 PM

I got a PS3 for Blu Ray Player...gotta check out and see what formats of HD Audio it supports b4 I decide on what to buy.

Kinslayer · 07-11-2008, 12:17 AM

Another Question I have is if there's 6.1 Audio on the Blu Ray and a 5.1 but you only have a 5.1 system. What will that do if you watch the 6.1 on a 5.1 System?

Also what is the best HD Audio out there?

Is it PCM,Master HD Audio or True HD?

crackinhedz · 07-11-2008, 01:41 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kinslayer

I got a PS3 for Blu Ray Player...gotta check out and see what formats of HD Audio it supports b4 I decide on what to buy.

the PS3 decodes every format.

But you need an HDMI capable Receiver to go with it.

Sith · 07-11-2008, 01:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kinslayer

Another Question I have is if there's 6.1 Audio on the Blu Ray and a 5.1 but you only have a 5.1 system. What will that do if you watch the 6.1 on a 5.1 System?

Also what is the best HD Audio out there?

Is it PCM,Master HD Audio or True HD?

I have a 7.1 receiver but living room can only fit 5.1, i just leave it at 7.1
but tell the receiver what is hooked up....

Theres not that many blu rays in 7.1 anyway to really make that big of a difference yet...

crackinhedz · 07-11-2008, 01:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kinslayer

Another Question I have is if there's 6.1 Audio on the Blu Ray and a 5.1 but you only have a 5.1 system. What will that do if you watch the 6.1 on a 5.1 System?

its a tricky question because it depends on how you output the audio (Bitstream or Linear PCM) and what capabilities your receiver has ...in a nutshell, 6.1 will play just fine on a 5.1 system.

Quote:

Also what is the best HD Audio out there?

Is it PCM,Master HD Audio or True HD?

all audio found on bluray is PCM. Dolby TrueHD and Dts-HD Master are PCM audio encoded into a Losslessly compressed format. When they are decoded they are simply returned back into their original PCM state.

Now, depending on the physical characteristics of the audio tracks found on each disc (ex. sampling rate and bit-depth) there could be a difference between Uncompressed PCM, Dolby TrueHD and Dts-HD Ma...but in the end, its all PCM anyways.

I know I confused you.

SeanMF · 07-11-2008, 01:50 AM

The HK 254 which I currently have is around $600 or cheaper. It's a magnificent receiver.

Kinslayer · 07-11-2008, 01:57 AM

Ok, wow u guys are great

But like the difference between 5.1 Dolby and DTS there's gotat be a difference between the 3 HD Audio formats. Isn't there one that stands out and puts out better sound then the other? I am just curious in case I am going to watch a Blu Ray that has more then 1 HD option so I get the best option for sound !

Sith · 07-11-2008, 02:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kinslayer

Ok, wow u guys are great

But like the difference between 5.1 Dolby and DTS there's gotat be a difference between the 3 HD Audio formats. Isn't there one that stands out and puts out better sound then the other? I am just curious in case I am going to watch a Blu Ray that has more then 1 HD option so I get the best option for sound !

actually no, since both 5.1 dolby and dts are compressed(and DTS is way better) they will sound different based on how compressed they are...

Since uncompressed audio is a bit by bit transfer of the master audio, It shouldn't matter what form it's in.....

How was that Crack?

crackinhedz · 07-11-2008, 02:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kinslayer

Ok, wow u guys are great

But like the difference between 5.1 Dolby and DTS there's gotat be a difference between the 3 HD Audio formats. Isn't there one that stands out and puts out better sound then the other? I am just curious in case I am going to watch a Blu Ray that has more then 1 HD option so I get the best option for sound !

well, you wont find many blurays that have both Dolby TrueHD and Dts-HD MA on the same disc. So comparing the formats with each other is kinda tough because it would be comparing two completely different movies (audio).

Now, there are plenty of movies that have an Uncompressed PCM and Dolby TrueHD track on the same disc, but again physical characteristics of the tracks can make a difference...although no real inherent difference since it is all PCM at the end of the day.

You will hear people say this or that about which is best and why the other sucks, just keep in mind its PCM.

They all sound great. Unless the studio mix just sucked to begin with. Which does happen.

crackinhedz · 07-11-2008, 02:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crackinhedz

well, you wont find many blurays that have both Dolby TrueHD and Dts-HD MA on the same disc.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind has both on the disc (or is it for different versions? ive never used this BD)...so maybe you can try a comparison?

Sith · 07-11-2008, 02:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crackinhedz

Close Encounters of the Third Kind has both on the disc (or is it for different versions? ive never used this BD)...so maybe you can try a comparison?

I actually have a rental copy of that right now from BB....Maybe i'll try it when i watch it...

07-10-2008, 07:36 PM	#1
Kinslayer Special Member Member since:Jul 2008 Location:Ottawa, Canada Blu-Ray Steelbooks™: 500+ Home Theater Gallery:20 Blu-ray collection:574 Blu-ray reviews:2 Trading Score:81	Question Regarding HD Audio I have 5.1 DTS Surround System right now but am curious about HD Audio. It's a 5.1 Sony Speaker System that I got about 6 years ago. Is it true that even if I upgrade my Receiver to HDMI that the speakers won't support HD Audio?

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07-10-2008, 07:58 PM	#3
bda4life Active Member Member since:May 2007	As KP said, the speakers have nothing to do with HD audio. However, if the speakers blow, you may not be too impressed with the HD audio. You will need an HD audio capable AV Receiver to hear those codecs. Onkyo is a very popular brand on this site. I have a Yamaha and love it. Some other choices are Denon, Pioneer and the high level Sony's. Really depends on your budget.

07-10-2008, 08:25 PM	#4
Kinslayer Special Member Member since:Jul 2008 Location:Ottawa, Canada Blu-Ray Steelbooks™: 500+ Home Theater Gallery:20 Blu-ray collection:574 Blu-ray reviews:2 Trading Score:81	Ok, thats great to hear. My Sony System was about 700$ total back then. The Speakers are great and still in excellent condition. I was thinking of getting 2 more though to make it 7.1. What models of receivers do you guys recommend in the 300-500$ range. If you guys can include some links that would be sweet.

07-10-2008, 08:30 PM	#6
Pelican170 Blu-ray Samurai Member since:Jul 2007 Location:Newtown, CT 4K collection:127 Blu-ray collection:735 DVD collection:256 Trading Score:13	If your receiver accepts PCM, then you can have your bluray player, if it decodes the HD formats, decode it and send to receiver and it will play... has to be HDMI though so most likely your stuff is outdate unfortunately..

07-10-2008, 08:45 PM	#8
Kinslayer Special Member Member since:Jul 2008 Location:Ottawa, Canada Blu-Ray Steelbooks™: 500+ Home Theater Gallery:20 Blu-ray collection:574 Blu-ray reviews:2 Trading Score:81	Thanks for all the info guys..I'll have to do some research on my speakers. The Front speakers are floor models and put out 150 -200 watts I believe..I'll have to check it when I get home.

07-10-2008, 11:10 PM	#10
Kinslayer Special Member Member since:Jul 2008 Location:Ottawa, Canada Blu-Ray Steelbooks™: 500+ Home Theater Gallery:20 Blu-ray collection:574 Blu-ray reviews:2 Trading Score:81	I got a PS3 for Blu Ray Player...gotta check out and see what formats of HD Audio it supports b4 I decide on what to buy.

07-11-2008, 12:17 AM	#11
Kinslayer Special Member Member since:Jul 2008 Location:Ottawa, Canada Blu-Ray Steelbooks™: 500+ Home Theater Gallery:20 Blu-ray collection:574 Blu-ray reviews:2 Trading Score:81	Another Question I have is if there's 6.1 Audio on the Blu Ray and a 5.1 but you only have a 5.1 system. What will that do if you watch the 6.1 on a 5.1 System? Also what is the best HD Audio out there? Is it PCM,Master HD Audio or True HD?

07-11-2008, 01:50 AM	#15
SeanMF Blu-ray Baron Top ranked HT gallery Top contributor Member since:Apr 2007 Location:Iowa Home Theater Gallery:70 Blu-ray collection:1428 Blu-ray reviews: 2 Trading Score:83	The HK 254 which I currently have is around $600 or cheaper. It's a magnificent receiver.

07-11-2008, 01:57 AM	#16
Kinslayer Special Member Member since:Jul 2008 Location:Ottawa, Canada Blu-Ray Steelbooks™: 500+ Home Theater Gallery:20 Blu-ray collection:574 Blu-ray reviews:2 Trading Score:81	Ok, wow u guys are great But like the difference between 5.1 Dolby and DTS there's gotat be a difference between the 3 HD Audio formats. Isn't there one that stands out and puts out better sound then the other? I am just curious in case I am going to watch a Blu Ray that has more then 1 HD option so I get the best option for sound !

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