Audio Through HDMI in Receiver?

[masterlychief]

Hello,

I'm new to this forum (as well as to Ascend products) but I'm the proud new owner of three Sierra-1's L/R/C and two 170's in the rear. I am using a Yamaha RX-V463BL receiver. My question is concerning my current setup where I simply connect my Comcast HD DVR and Xbox 360 to the receiver via HDMI, and have a single HDMI-out going to my 50" Panasonic plasma.

Should I be using an optical cable instead of HDMI? There are probably a number of different ways I could configure my DVR, Xbox, and receiver to "play nice" and connect to the TV, and I was hoping people here could give me suggestions or help confirm that the way I have it right now is "just fine".

I wouldn't consider myself a hardcore audiophile, but I want to make sure I am hooking-up these speakers properly for the best possible sound (no jabs please on my "budget" receiver, maybe in the future I'll be able to upgrade but for now it seems to suit my needs just fine).

So, is HDMI acceptable? Am I missing out on anything by not going the optical route?

(Also, as an unrelated question, are banana clips worth using for performance, or are they primarily for ease of connecting/disconnecting wires?)

Thanks!

Jeff

[DougMac]

Jeff,

Welcome to the forum!

Theoretically at least, there should be no difference in sound quality sending the digital signal to the receiver when using HDMI or optical digital. I'm assuming the receiver is routing the signal through the same DACs.

There should be no performance benefit using banana plugs. The speaker terminals on the back of my receiver are close to one another and hooking bare wire is tedious. There's a greater risk of having a stray strand short across the terminals. I use banana plugs all around for convenience.

We wouldn't think of taking jabs at you for your receiver. Your Yamaha is well regarded and considered an excellent buy at its price point. Tell us what you think of your new Ascends!
Doug

[masterlychief]

Thank you Doug for your prompt, courteous, and helpful response. I was hoping that would be the answer (now I don't have to go and buy optical cables and dismantle my current setup!). Also I wasn't aware that a stray wire strand could cause a short in my receiver, I'll have to make sure everything is tidy back there and maybe I'll use some banana clips just for that purpose.

As I mentioned above, I'm definitely no audiophile but that doesn't stop me from appreciating the sound, appearance, build quality, and price point of the Sierra's. For the last year I have only ever used the built-in speakers in my Panasonic plasma, so needless to say it was a wonderful experience to install and listen to my 5.1 setup with Ascend hardware. These speakers make me appreciate audio nuances from movies, television, and video games that I never before knew existed.

One of the things I was most surprised with was the bass on the Sierra's! I read tons of reviews praising these speakers for their bass response, but to actually hear it coming out of such relatively small speakers is amazing. (Enough so to make me reconsider immediately buying a Hsu subwoofer that is on my shopping list, though more than likely I will grab one around the holidays to support some of the BIG bangs in my Xbox 360 games...).

So, I'm absolutely thrilled with my purchase and I look forward to a long relationship with the Ascend brand. (You'd think they were paying me to write this stuff, sorry!)

[drewface]

first off, welcome to the ascend forum!

like doug said, a digital signal should theoretically sound no differenct no matter what type of cable it is being sent through. that said, i do believe hdmi can handle more advanced audio feeds than a standard optical or co-ax digital audio cable can, so you're even better off sending the audio through hdmi than you would be with optical! plus, it is much nicer with a single cable handling everything you need between components.

my current receiver does not accept hdmi, so i have a few components with hdmi going to the tv and optical to the receiver, and i am also forced to use the component video cable on my xbox since you need the plug for the optical audio out, and the plug is so big it blocks the hdmi port! needless to say, i've got a rat's nest of cables going everywhere, and your 3 hdmi cable setup has me envious... :P

enjoy your speakers!