Tips.
hey everyone, this is my first time dealing with home theatre audio and i had a few questions regarding the Yamaha 6140 receiver i purchased a few days ago. I am hoping some helpful members can explain some things better to me
I will be powering two Athena AS-F1s with this receiver (a little FYI).
I am planning to plug my two sources (hd cable box & laptop) directly into the RCA jacks behind my receiver. A friend of mine suggested running my audio through the tv and using a digital toslink cable directly to the receiver. Will doing this make a big difference in sound quality?
What are the "scenes" features on my receiver? how can i utilize/customize them for better sound?
What is the difference between the Direct and Straight settings?
The manual goes over them a little but im still not sure what exactly they do. thanks in advanced for the help!
Hi,
First, connect your HD Cable Box HDMI cable out (if it has one) to the HDMI Input of your Yamaha 6140 receiver (HDMI In called "DTV/CBL).
Also connect the digital optical (toslink) Out from your HD Cable Box to the OPT IN of your Yamaha 6140 receiver (OPT IN called "DTV/CBL").
* That source will be dedicated to the "DTV/CBL" Input.
Two, connect the digital optical (toslink) Out of your Laptop (if it has one) to the OPT IN of your Yamaha 6140 receiver (OPT IN called "CD").
Also connect the Audio RCA Stereo jaks Out from your Laptop to the Audio RCA Stereo jaks In of the Input called "CD" from the back of your 6140 receiver.
Three, connect the HDMI OUT from the back of your receiver to the HDMI IN
of your TV (if it has one).
That's all for the Audio connections.
* If your HD Cable Box doesn't have an HDMI Out jack, just use the Components OUT (Blue, Red & Green RCA jacks). And plug these cables the same as for the HDMI cable.
But, if your HD Cable Box has two sets of Audio Analog Stereo RCA Out jacks, you can plug the second set to your TV.
Or if it has only one set of Audio Analog Stereo RCA Out jacks, you can still connect these directly to your TV set, because you are already cover in your receiver by the digital Optical (toslink) connection. So you'll be able to listen to your TV speakers without using your receiver (but why doing that, when it's much nicer to listen from your home speakers instead of these boring TV speakers).
The best sound will be from the digital Optical (toslink) connection to your receiver (unless your HD Cable Box has that HDMI Output).
The "Scene" feature on your receiver is well explained in your manual.
But briefly, it's like a Macro feature; at the push of only one button, you will activate your receiver, than your HD Cable Box, then your receiver will switch to the DTV/CBL input source. And you can program any DSP you like for each "Scene" (Macro) feature. And if you have a DVD player, it will also start to play automatically.
The difference between Direct and Straight is also well explained in your manual. For best sound use the Pure Direct mode, it will turn the display Off and give you the shortest path to Audio Nirvana.
Straight will keep the display On, I believe.
Direct will allow you to use the bass management (subwoofer active and operational, if you have one) and the DSP modes.
Your manual should provide you with better explanations.
If you're not sure, just try different modes between these, and see if you can notice a difference. If not, just don't bother. If you think that one sounds better, just leave it there.
Now for a Bonus recommendation, because you seem to be a nice guy.
RYM = Read your manual, taking your time trying to understand and at the same time experimenting with the various features by selecting some modes, trying to push some buttons that you think is the right one and most importantly to sit down and listen while enjoying the music on your new receiver.
Hope this helps and Cheers,
Bob
