Connecting Marantz NR 1402 to laptop

[Karan Malhotra]

Hey guys, I'm fairly new to high end audio so this might be a basic question for most.

This is my current setup:

LED TV
PS3
Marantz NR 1402 receiver
KEF T105 5.1 speakers
A generic toshiba laptop

The PS3 is connected to the TV via a HDMI. The TV is connected to the receiver via a optical cable. The laptop is connected to the receiver via the 3.5mm audio cable (laptop audio out to Aux-in on the receiver).

My question is, how do I improve the sound from the laptop, since all my FLAC / 320 kbps music is on my computer and that's my preferred source? I had the following options:

a) Connect laptop to TV via HDMI and then play music
b) Connect laptop to receiver and then play music
c) Get an external USB DAC and connect laptop to receiver via this. This seems to be the recommended way, but I'm not sure as the receiver already has a DAC built in, so I'm not 100% sure.

Any other way to optimize my system would be a great suggestion! Thanks a lot for your help.

 

[Adam]

Welcome to the forum, Karan!

To start, I would connect your PS3 to the Marantz via HDMI, and then connect the HDMI output on the Marantz to your TV. That way, you'll be sending the audio from the PS3 directly to the Marantz. A lot of TVs will convert surround sound from an HDMI input into stereo sound to output through their optical audio output (doesn't mean that yours does, but most do). In general, I'm a big fan of using receivers as audio/video switches versus using a TV for that purpose if you have a receiver.

For the laptop, it seems like it has an HDMI output based on your question - correct? That's certainly one way to go on the connection to the Marantz. It should provide a good digital signal and handle your music just fine. What other outputs does the laptop have, besides the HDMI and headphone jack?

 

[sjcguy]

You can get a USB to SPDIF converter that works with windows, mac. The pc will see it as a second sound card. There are many versions on ebay. The converter does not have built-in DAC and it just has coax or toslink output.

 

[cpp]

Which toshiba laptop do you own ?

I agree with Adam on his connection methods as your Marantz has the necessary HDMI inputs and the HDMI output to the TV

Your Marantz has these
[h=5]Connections:[/h]

• 1080p-compatible HDMI digital video switching (4 in, 1 out)
• HDMI version 1.4 with support for 3D video, Audio Return Channel, Deep Color, x.v.Color, auto lip-sync, and HDMI-CEC
• Audio Return Channel function receives digital audio signals from a compatible HDTV's tuner via HDMI
• component video switching (2 in, 1 out)
• digital audio inputs: 1 optical and 1 coaxial
• 4 audio/video inputs with composite and component video
• 1 audio-only input
• 1 front-panel minijack input for connecting a portable music player

It's built in dac is configured: 192kHz/24-bit digital-to-analog converters for all channels so I say you really don't need an external DAC.

 

[Karan Malhotra]

Which toshiba laptop do you own ?

I agree with Adam on his connection methods as your Marantz has the necessary HDMI inputs and the HDMI output to the TV

Your Marantz has these
[h=5]Connections:[/h]

• 1080p-compatible HDMI digital video switching (4 in, 1 out)
• HDMI version 1.4 with support for 3D video, Audio Return Channel, Deep Color, x.v.Color, auto lip-sync, and HDMI-CEC
• Audio Return Channel function receives digital audio signals from a compatible HDTV's tuner via HDMI
• component video switching (2 in, 1 out)
• digital audio inputs: 1 optical and 1 coaxial
• 4 audio/video inputs with composite and component video
• 1 audio-only input
• 1 front-panel minijack input for connecting a portable music player

It's built in dac is configured: 192kHz/24-bit digital-to-analog converters for all channels so I say you really don't need an external DAC.

Thanks everyone, greatly appreciated. While I understand how to do this conceptually, I spent hours today figuring it out but I couldn't run anything via an HDMI from the receiver. Here's what I did:

Connected the HDTV box HDMI to the 'SAT' input on the receiver
Connected the PS3 HDMI to the 'game' input on the receiver
Connected another HDMI from my laptop out to the DVD input on the receiver

After connecting all these inputs to the receiver, I connected the ARC port (out) on my receiver to the ARC port on my TV. This means, my TV only has one HDMI connected to it.

Unfortunately none of these worked. I did go to the 'Amp' menu where you can assign inputs and meddle around - tried all settings but nothing seemed to work. Just to make sure that I'm doing it right, I'll give quick example of what I did. Assigned 'SAT' to HDMI 3, and connected the HDTV HDMI in the third slot on my receiver. When done, I switched input on my receiver to SAT. Unfortunately it was no sound or video for either of the options.

I realize this is a pretty long post and apologize. If I can't resolve it soon, I fear I'll have to call someone to my place to fix it, or first maybe call tech support.

Thanks again!

 

[cpp]

Thanks everyone, greatly appreciated. While I understand how to do this conceptually, I spent hours today figuring it out but I couldn't run anything via an HDMI from the receiver. Here's what I did:

Connected the HDTV box HDMI to the 'SAT' input on the receiver
Connected the PS3 HDMI to the 'game' input on the receiver
Connected another HDMI from my laptop out to the DVD input on the receiver

After connecting all these inputs to the receiver, I connected the ARC port (out) on my receiver to the ARC port on my TV. This means, my TV only has one HDMI connected to it.

Unfortunately none of these worked. I did go to the 'Amp' menu where you can assign inputs and meddle around - tried all settings but nothing seemed to work. Just to make sure that I'm doing it right, I'll give quick example of what I did. Assigned 'SAT' to HDMI 3, and connected the HDTV HDMI in the third slot on my receiver. When done, I switched input on my receiver to SAT. Unfortunately it was no sound or video for either of the options.

I realize this is a pretty long post and apologize. If I can't resolve it soon, I fear I'll have to call someone to my place to fix it, or first maybe call tech support.

Thanks again!

Your TV's HDMI 'IN" should be connected to the HDMI out of the Marantz.

Your other items need to go to the HDMI's inputs of the marantz.
If you have cable TV Box (sat/cbl) that will connect to a marantz HDMI input.

Have you looked at the setup wizard that comes with the marantz which will guide you through the speaker setup and source set up, also the manual has the same thing but in more detail ?

 

[Karan Malhotra]

Your TV's HDMI 'IN" should be connected to the HDMI out of the Marantz.

Your other items need to go to the HDMI's inputs of the marantz.
If you have cable TV Box (sat/cbl) that will connect to a marantz HDMI input.

Have you looked at the setup wizard that comes with the marantz which will guide you through the speaker setup and source set up, also the manual has the same thing but in more detail ?

Yes, that's how I've connected those and mentioned above in my post. I guess either the unit is defective or there is some problem with the HDMI 'handshake' people talk about. Either ways, I've ordered a new receiver and will be selling this one for a discount.