Does your amplifier accept HDMI inputs?

yoda313 · POLLSTER Joined: 15 Jun 2004 Location: the real world

So do you have an HDMI receiver yet? With Bluray the winner in the high def battles are you looking to upgrade to high def dolby and dts?

I only have a 5.1 receiver but it has multi channel inputs for individual signals. It can do 96khz but it is not perfect in my initial tests off my pc.

How about you?
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jman98 · Member Joined: 08 Oct 2004 Location: Freedonia

What really makes me angry about the whole HDMI receiver thing is that when I bought my receiver about 2.5 years ago, I knew about HDMI and I could not find any receivers at any price that had HDMI connections. Now my receiver, which otherwise is perfectly fine, is a dinosaur.

aedipuss · aBigMeanie Joined: 25 Oct 2005 Location: 666th portal

i'm in jman's boat with him - a really nice 7.1 surround setup but no hdmi for HD.
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FulciLives · Posted: May 09, 2008 11:24

I find surround sound in the home to be gimmicky. It can be interesting in a movie theater but even then it is still kinda gimmicky.

I'm happy with a two speaker standard stereo set-up just so long as the speakers and receiver are of good quality. I admit a subwoofer might be nice but that's about it.

I did once have a gf that lived with me and we used her 5.1 Dolby Digital Surround Sound receiver (at her insistence) and rarely if ever did a "surround sound effect" WOW me at all.

I'm back to my stereo set-up now

- John "FulciLives" Coleman

P.S.
I have a Sony PS3 and play games and Blu-Ray and it is connected to my HDTV via HDMI but I'm just using the standard RCA stereo red/white jacks from the PS3 to my stereo only receiver.
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John · Member Joined: 02 Mar 2003 Location: Edinburgh

I will never get a surround system, again, bit of an audiophile. I have got 2 sets of speakers on every corner, but find stereo. enough for my needs. Have tried it but wasnt for me, then again it wasnt an expensive one.
But to answer the question, the new amp i got last year doesnt have hdmi.

Constant Gardener · Member Joined: 27 Mar 2006 Location: Canada

Maybe someday. Problem is, the TV is in the basement and the good sound system is upstairs, so we use the TV's built-in speakers, which seem to miss an octave or two. C'est la vie.

rcguy1 · Member Joined: 03 May 2006 Location: Central Florida USA

Don't need or want a HDMI receiver. I'm not spending another $1000.00 for another Yamaha receiver just to get a HDMI inputs. It will not change the quality of the sound I now have. My son bought the same system with HDMI and I challenge you to tell me which one sounds better? I have a PS3 player and use a optical cables to connect to my amp.
The PS3 HDMI goes to the HDTV.

pstedman · Member Joined: 04 Aug 2004 Location: Midwest, USA

I'm with jman98 and rcguy1. I love my current receiver which I bought about 3.5 years ago - at the time there were no HDMI receivers to be found - at least not in my budget. I like the idea of HDMI in concept, but the conflicting versions plus the cost will keep me from buying a new one for quite a bit.

yoda313 · POLLSTER Joined: 15 Jun 2004 Location: the real world

They have hdmi receivers under 500.00 USD nowadays. Would those be decent quality?
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jman98 · Member Joined: 08 Oct 2004 Location: Freedonia

edDV · Posted: May 09, 2008 13:46

dun4cheap · Member Joined: 08 Oct 2002

I have a pioneer amp which has svideo/Component and Analog video. This suffices for now, I may add a hdmi switch box but I am not ready to move to HDMI on the AMP.

As for surround sound, I love surround sound, AC3 is fine but DTS is even better. If your room is setup correctly and you have a good movie on, Transformers/LOTR DTS/Gladiator etc it is great. Not to mention a really good subwoofer that kicks in every so often in a suspnsefull moment. Most of the newer amps like my Pioneer even calibrate themselves. Alot of the times the systems are just not setup right. (Most of the time.).

I imagine this is true for theaters as well. I think one easy way to see the difference is to go to a standard theater, then an IMAX theater. Transformers in IMAX, the audio just kicked ass.

While my amp is 7.1 I have it configured in a 5.1 environment.

dun4cheap · Member Joined: 08 Oct 2002

I also wanted to mention, that this HD DVD and Blue Ray stuff is more of a FAD. I would start looking more closely at media players. I love my Buffalo Linktheater which does HD Playback with all the Audio bells and whistles but it uses Component video. There are more and more media players coming including nice home amplifiers with them built in. So if Blue Ray does not shape up it just may ship out.

Some of you may also want to look at like the Xbox360 and PS3 as media players and programs like Tversity, Nero Mediahome, even Windows Media Player 11 is a built in media server now.

Other devices that are cool are like the Klegg box for $99
http://shop3.frys.com/product/5393408;jsessionid=qf3qRHXlscQzvOH9 ... IN_RSLT_PG

Or this little external 2.5" Drive box for $20 that is also an HD media player - http://shop3.frys.com/product/5031395?site=sr:SEARCH:MAIN_RSLT_PG

So all I am saying is Surround Audio is cool especially if you have good ears. (If you don't and I am not being mean, then it will do nothing for you.) As for eye candy, Blue Ray may look cool on the screen, but I think the hardware is old news, older than DVD thats for sure, because Hard Drives are cheap and can hold A lot of your DVDs/HD DVDs/BlueRay and Family Videos in HD and not clutter your walls.

JohnnyMalaria · Member Joined: 29 May 2006 Location: United States

My youngest amp is 11 years old. My NAD 3120 is a little over 20! Between them they don't even have 5 channels.

And I have a Marshall...

John · Member Joined: 02 Mar 2003 Location: Edinburgh

well having gone through yamaha dennon kenwood im now on to a rotel ra06. powering not 1 set but 2 sets of wharfdale diamond 9.1's. i have excellent hearing, thats why surround does nothing for me. i have all the sound i need out of two channels, and bass if needed. for those scary moments

motors4fun · Member Joined: 21 Aug 2002 Location: United States

I bought the Denon 3808. Single greatest piece of home theater equipment I have ever bought. It can be had for just over a grand and it is well worth it!!!! Plenty of power, 4 HDMI inputs. Old connections up converted to 1080p. 2nd zone video output and third zone for audio. On screen GUI is the nicest out there. I would reccommend this to anyone looking to upgrade

ricoman · Member Joined: 25 Jun 2004 Location: CT, USA

paulw · Member Joined: 11 May 2001 Location: New Zealand

My HT amp is about 12 months old and has two HDMI in but unfortunatly they are only switched, no audio pick off. Wish I'd known alittle more about these things before I bought it.

yoda313 · POLLSTER Joined: 15 Jun 2004 Location: the real world

Even if you don't care for rear surround effects how can you argue the crispness of a good center channel speaker? That alone is worth getting a 5.1 system for. Having clear dialogue makes all the difference.

Not to mention the dedicated .1 bass lfe channel. Even if you aren't an action buff having the bass frequency shunted to the subwoofer makes your sattellite (or full range) speakers that much crisper. It always amazes me whenever I pop in an older movie on dvd that only has pro logic surround on it. The lack of a defined center channel and constant bass just detracts from the clarity of the movie itself. That is the beauty of the 5.1. Even if it was just 3.1 with front, left, center and bass that helps balance the dialogue and bass with enough power and precision to give a much better home listening experience.

Another nice thing about 5.1 is in tv shows on dvd these days. For instance Stargate SG1. I have all 10 seasons on dvd. The nice thing is having the music in higher quality with it dispersed over the multiple channels. It isn't jammed in with the dialogue. It is very crisp and helps lift the episode.
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Xylob the Destroyer · Melkor Joined: 18 Sep 2004 Location: Earth, for now

Yes! That was one of the main selling points, as my TV only has 1 HDMI input.
The reveiver has 3 inputs so it makes a nice HDMI switch and it was time to upgrade from 5.1 to 7.1 anyway. Now I just need to find a good center channel speaker...

However, I do not use HDMI for audio. My PS3 and HTPC are currently connected to the receiver via HDMI, but only for video.
The PS3 audio is through optical and the HTPC audio is connected via a digital coax.
I was not impressed with the audio quality over HDMI...
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edDV · Posted: May 10, 2008 15:55

FulciLives · Posted: May 10, 2008 19:23

I'll accept multi-channel audio as a benefit when they create hologram video where you can actually be INSIDE of the action ... even 3D doesn't do that.

Then having sound "all around me" might make sense.

Otherwise TV is FLAT and in front of me ... I don't need sound from that BEHIND me.

*shrugs*

- John "FulciLives" Coleman
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cracula · Something Else Joined: 06 Oct 2007 Location: Transylvania

FulciLives · Posted: May 10, 2008 21:30