Starter for PCM

[BluePooh]

Hi all, I have PS3 and planning to buy receiver and speaker. Since the receiver support TrueHD and DTS-HD are very expensive, I want to build the system that can supprt PCM, which is almost sound track for every BD movies.

Which basic receiver and speaker can run PCM? Im new to home theatre things, hope you guys can help me. Thx~

[crackinhedz]

Originally Posted by BluePooh

Hi all, I have PS3 and planning to buy receiver and speaker. Since the receiver support TrueHD and DTS-HD are very expensive, I want to build the system that can supprt PCM, which is almost sound track for every BD movies.

Which basic receiver and speaker can run PCM? Im new to home theatre things, hope you guys can help me. Thx~

...start with looking at these entry level HDMI Receivers.

The Sony STR-DG810 is 5.1PCM capable, while the rest are 7.1PCM.


Its a good list of receivers to go by, and you probably could find them on the net somewhere else for a better price....but its a good list to start from.

[crackinhedz]

and for some good looking affordable speakers, take a look at Fluance.com

[I Bleed Blu]

Im pretty sure you can get the Onkyo 605 for under $400 which is an excellent receiver and does Dolby True HD, Master HD, etc, all the HD codecs basically, I would recomend this for a budget minded person. Goodluck.

[BluePooh]

So basicly, HDMI receiver mean you can run PCM ? Any HDMI receiver can run PCM?

I was planning to get Onkyo 605, but here in Canada is kinda expensive, around $600 before tax. Also with speaker, it will be around 1k, thats too much for me right now. >.<

[crackinhedz]

Originally Posted by BluePooh

So basicly, HDMI receiver mean you can run PCM ? Any HDMI receiver can run PCM?

I was planning to get Onkyo 605, but here in Canada is kinda expensive, around $600 before tax. Also with speaker, it will be around 1k, thats too much for me right now. >.<

no, not every hdmi receiver is PCM capable.

couple easy ways to spot those that do not support PCM audio...

a. if its under $300...anything lower and the odds are it doesnt support multichannel PCM.
b. if its HDMI "Passthrough"
c. or if in the HDMI description it says "additional cable (optical) may be needed for audio"

[BluePooh]

Originally Posted by crackinhedz

no, not every hdmi receiver is PCM capable.

couple easy ways to spot those that do not support PCM audio...

a. if its under $300...anything lower and the odds are it doesnt support multichannel PCM.
b. if its HDMI "Passthrough"
c. or if in the HDMI description it says "additional cable (optical) may be needed for audio"

Ok thx for the tips, Ill keep eye on those. ^^

[torrentmoon]

Originally Posted by crackinhedz

no, not every hdmi receiver is PCM capable.

couple easy ways to spot those that do not support PCM audio...

a. if its under $300...anything lower and the odds are it doesnt support multichannel PCM.
b. if its HDMI "Passthrough"
c. or if in the HDMI description it says "additional cable (optical) may be needed for audio"

Hi, crackinhedz, thanks for all your great posts. I have a question:

For those HDMI passthrough receiver but have multi-channel analog inputs, for example, mine is Yamaha 6050, can I get 5.1 lossless using multi-channel analog inputs? How does receivers handle incomming PCM stream from multi-channel? PCM is a digital signal, so the receivers need to do a Digital to Analog converstion before pass them to speakers?

[crackinhedz]

Originally Posted by torrentmoon

Hi, crackinhedz, thanks for all your great posts. I have a question:

For those HDMI passthrough receiver but have multi-channel analog inputs, for example, mine is Yamaha 6050, can I get 5.1 lossless using multi-channel analog inputs? How does receivers handle incomming PCM stream from multi-channel? PCM is a digital signal, so the receivers need to do a Digital to Analog converstion before pass them to speakers?

Multichannel Analog.

Yes, you can get 5.1 Lossless audio, as long as your Player can decode the format. (Uncompressed PCM is a given)

The audio passes through the DAC of the player first, then sent to the receiver for amplification.

[torrentmoon]

I have read the "Have an old school receiver (non-HDMI) and want Lossless audio" post by you. I am still a bit confusing.

1. What's the difference between Uncomopressed PCM and LPCM (linear)
2. In your "Have an old school..." post, you mentioned "For Multichannel Analog you would need a BLueray player with Internal decoding capabilities into Linear PCM", so does that mean, the player transmit LPCM signal to receiver?
3. if my point 2 is correct and LPCM is a digital signal, then is it contradict to what you said that the audio transimit from player to receiver in analog form after the DAC of player? Please correct me if I am wrong.

Thanks a lot

[Leaffan]

Originally Posted by crackinhedz

...start with looking at these entry level HDMI Receivers.

The Sony STR-DG810 is 5.1PCM capable, while the rest are 7.1PCM.


Its a good list of receivers to go by, and you probably could find them on the net somewhere else for a better price....but its a good list to start from.

DO NOT PICK UP the SONY RECEIVER. I bought the STRDG-900 and it does NOT support 5.1 LPCM. I just got rid of it only 1 year later because of this.

I just picked up the Pioneer VSX-9120TXH. This bay is only $100 more at Best Buy and is totally future proof:

Dual Switching 1.3a HDMI
Decodes Dolby TrueHD and DTS MHD
7.1 support
THX Select 2 certified

DON"T MAKE THE BIG MISTAKE I DID!