panasonic BlueRay's

[kojak]

I'm thinking of getting a Pioneer 50" Plasma. (5090). I also need a Blueray.

The problem I have, is the amp is a Dolby Digital 5.1 Yamaha A2 which is 7/8 years old. It doesnt have a HDMI but does have an Optical Socket. I'm looking at the Panasonic Bluerays BD35 and BD55....or even an older BD30. Questions I have are:-

1 - Will I still be able to listen to 5.1 through my Yamaha A2 amp on the BD35 (no analog sockets)

2 - Will the sound quality, especially for music be better on the BD55 as its dearer.

3 - Shall I try and get a BD30.


Cheers

[Plotloss]

1. Yes as DD5.1 goes over optical
2. Not sure
3. Uneccessary because you can utilise the optical output.

Edited by Plotloss on Friday 23 January 15:56

[DavidY]

I have a BD35, from what I understand all the differences are in the DAC/Analogue stages and therefore if you are using the optical output you will not gain anything from the BD35.

Note though the optical output only can output DD/DTS and not the newer HD Codecs. If your Amp has a 5.1 input via 6 phono connectors then you could connect a BD55 to these and use the decoder in the Panasonic to decode the HD Audio and pass it to the AV Receiver as analogue. This does entail a D/A and an A/D conversion so whether or not it will sound better with the extra conversions than normal DD/DTS I don't know.

I'm very pleased with my BD35

davidy

[JustinP1]

DavidY said:

I have a BD35, from what I understand all the differences are in the DAC/Analogue stages and therefore if you are using the optical output you will not gain anything from the BD35.

Note though the optical output only can output DD/DTS and not the newer HD Codecs. If your Amp has a 5.1 input via 6 phono connectors then you could connect a BD55 to these and use the decoder in the Panasonic to decode the HD Audio and pass it to the AV Receiver as analogue. This does entail a D/A and an A/D conversion so whether or not it will sound better with the extra conversions than normal DD/DTS I don't know.

I'm very pleased with my BD35

davidy

If you use the player as the converter and output in analogue, then there should only be the one single conversion as the amp should merely amplify the analogue inputs rather than AD and DA them again.

However, even in a perfect, money no object listening room the difference between the HD standards and maximum bitrate DD or DTS - which is what the player will send out over optical instead - are very, very minimal.

In fact, putting the signal through analogue cables before the amp will degrade the signal much more than this benefit could possibly be.

My advice would be to use the optical out of the cheaper player.

[DavidY]

Justin

That depends on the AV processor/receiver - I have a Meridian one and all analogue inputs are digitised, then /steered/etc digitally (inc volume control) then converted back to analogue. This is probably a legacy from their DSP speakers where the sound would never be converted back to analogue again.

But I totally agree about the benefits of HD Audio against a good quality legacy processor. I borrowed an Onkyo N906 and ran it in processor mode:-

BluRay - DTS Optical -> Onkyo N906
BluRay - DTS-MA Bitstream -> Onkyo N906

DTS-MA better

BluRay - DTS-MA Bitstream -> Onkyo N906
BluRay - DTS Optical -> Meridian 568.2

Meridian better

I have a similar system in £££££ to yours (from your previous posts), and at this stage I'm very happy with the BD35 feeding optical out into the Meridian Processor

davidy

[JustinP1]

I agree, DavidY, it depends on the processor and whether it has an analogue throughput mode or not.

Come to think of it, although mine can do this in stereo, I do not think many would allow this in multichannel. Either way going to analogue without an excellent reason when there is a digital connectivity option is never a great idea.

I guess we are now in the same situation with great 'old school' kit.

I must say I was recently tempted to look at a processor change with HDMI in, but after reading a couple of comparisons between blu-ray max bitrate audio over optical compared to the HD formats being miniscule, I think I will stick for a good while yet as changing the processor for something similar now but with HDMI now will be megabucks.

[DavidY]

Justin

What processor do you have, if it has a 3 x SP/DIF input like some Meridian and Lexicon processors then there are third party solutions available that might suit.

Have a look here http://switch-box.com/3x_S_PDIF_Transceiver_%28In_...

These have also been fitted into HDMI Splitters/extenders and can be supplied as a complete stanalone unit.

davidy

[JustinP1]

DavidY said:

Justin

What processor do you have, if it has a 3 x SP/DIF input like some Meridian and Lexicon processors then there are third party solutions available that might suit.

Have a look here http://switch-box.com/3x_S_PDIF_Transceiver_%28In_...

These have also been fitted into HDMI Splitters/extenders and can be supplied as a complete stanalone unit.

davidy

I've got an Integra RDA-7, it has 3 optical ins.

So you think I might be able to somehow split the signal into 3 optical cables? Not sure if it would process that, but interesting thought!

[DavidY]

The Meridians and the Lexicon have a mode that effectively allows 3 x SPDIF to be treated as a single signal. It might be worth finding out if your processor can do the same.

Meridian are launching this quarter, a better looking box, that has the same basic functinality but also dejitters and reclocks the data

davidy

[kojak]

Thanks a lot for all the input guys.