nitroman
Audiophyte
Hi guys,
I want to connect my PC, my X360 and my TV through a receiver to my speakers.
In order to keep things clear this is what I have:
- Speakers: Jamo S606 HCS3
-Receiver: Pioneer VSX-418-S
-TV Station: Samsung LE40M86BD
-PC(Sound Card): Sound Blaster® X-Fi Platinum - Fatal1ty Champion Series
-Xbox 360: Elite model
Here is how I have set up the connection:
The Xbox is connected to the TV through an HDMI cable.
The TV is connected to the receiver through an optical cable.
The PC is connected to the receiver through a SPDIF cable.
Here are my questions:
1. The Xbox is set on Dolby Digital 5.1. Should I connect the Xbox directly to the receiver to have a direct connection or it’s the same if, first, it’s going through the TV?
(In case some wonder, the solution would be leave the Xbox connected to the TV through the HDMI cable and mute the TV. Then, using the HD AV Xbox cable I would connect only the audio jacks directly in the receiver).
2. The PC is connected to the receiver through a SPDIF (coax) cable. My main concern is that when I run the speakers test from the SB’s software “Rear” is heard in the “Front” speakers too. Now, I’ve read in this post the following: “The thing to remember about digital is that for ordinary, uncompressed sound, it will only carry a stereo signal. So, if you like to use CMSS with your music, or you try the speaker test function, optical/coax is useless as you only hear the front left/right speakers.” I searched the net about this issue, but couldn’t find too much info to get my head clear about this. Is this true in my case? Should I leave the test button alone?
I also read: “PC games usually use technologies like as EAX to create surround sound, not Dolby Digital. So even if your speaker system has a Dolby Digital decoder, it will be of no use when playing games. The EAX processing is done on the soundcard, and the 6-channel sound is output via the analogue (or digital DIN if available). So you still need analogue connections to your digital speakers for games, if you just use an optical/coax cable you will only get the front left/right sound.”
I add that when I play music all speakers seem to sound ok. I haven`t tried (yet) to play a DVD movie to see if the sound is DD or DTS or, in case of games, EAX). To be more precise and stick to the point, I use the PC (more precise, the PC’s sound card) mainly for games. I want to take full advantage of EAX or similar features. I’m afraid that I’ll hear only a 2x stereo or something. So, the question: Is what I quoted above true? Should I use analogue connections or digital in order to have the benefit of EAX and other technologies alike?
3. I have a STB box from my cable TV provider. The STB is connected to the TV through a “SCART” cable (something like in this picture). Remember that the TV is connected to the receiver through an optical cable. Should I leave this like that or should I connect the STB’s audio directly to the receiver for the best sound? (The STB has two audio-out RCA outputs, so I could use them)
4. Taking into consideration what devices I have and what I want has anyone any suggestion for a better connectivity? (I thought about: STB-RECEIVER using 2xRCA cable; X360-RECEIVER using HD AV cable; PC-RECEIVER using OPTIC cable if the quoted stuff doesn’t apply to me OR STB-TV using the SCART cable; TV-RECEIVER using OPTIC cable; X360-RECEIVER using the HD AV cable and PC-RECEIVER using 3 ANALOG (jack-RCA) cables.
Best regards,
Andrew
I want to connect my PC, my X360 and my TV through a receiver to my speakers.
In order to keep things clear this is what I have:
- Speakers: Jamo S606 HCS3
-Receiver: Pioneer VSX-418-S
-TV Station: Samsung LE40M86BD
-PC(Sound Card): Sound Blaster® X-Fi Platinum - Fatal1ty Champion Series
-Xbox 360: Elite model
Here is how I have set up the connection:
The Xbox is connected to the TV through an HDMI cable.
The TV is connected to the receiver through an optical cable.
The PC is connected to the receiver through a SPDIF cable.
Here are my questions:
1. The Xbox is set on Dolby Digital 5.1. Should I connect the Xbox directly to the receiver to have a direct connection or it’s the same if, first, it’s going through the TV?
(In case some wonder, the solution would be leave the Xbox connected to the TV through the HDMI cable and mute the TV. Then, using the HD AV Xbox cable I would connect only the audio jacks directly in the receiver).
2. The PC is connected to the receiver through a SPDIF (coax) cable. My main concern is that when I run the speakers test from the SB’s software “Rear” is heard in the “Front” speakers too. Now, I’ve read in this post the following: “The thing to remember about digital is that for ordinary, uncompressed sound, it will only carry a stereo signal. So, if you like to use CMSS with your music, or you try the speaker test function, optical/coax is useless as you only hear the front left/right speakers.” I searched the net about this issue, but couldn’t find too much info to get my head clear about this. Is this true in my case? Should I leave the test button alone?
I also read: “PC games usually use technologies like as EAX to create surround sound, not Dolby Digital. So even if your speaker system has a Dolby Digital decoder, it will be of no use when playing games. The EAX processing is done on the soundcard, and the 6-channel sound is output via the analogue (or digital DIN if available). So you still need analogue connections to your digital speakers for games, if you just use an optical/coax cable you will only get the front left/right sound.”
I add that when I play music all speakers seem to sound ok. I haven`t tried (yet) to play a DVD movie to see if the sound is DD or DTS or, in case of games, EAX). To be more precise and stick to the point, I use the PC (more precise, the PC’s sound card) mainly for games. I want to take full advantage of EAX or similar features. I’m afraid that I’ll hear only a 2x stereo or something. So, the question: Is what I quoted above true? Should I use analogue connections or digital in order to have the benefit of EAX and other technologies alike?
3. I have a STB box from my cable TV provider. The STB is connected to the TV through a “SCART” cable (something like in this picture). Remember that the TV is connected to the receiver through an optical cable. Should I leave this like that or should I connect the STB’s audio directly to the receiver for the best sound? (The STB has two audio-out RCA outputs, so I could use them)
4. Taking into consideration what devices I have and what I want has anyone any suggestion for a better connectivity? (I thought about: STB-RECEIVER using 2xRCA cable; X360-RECEIVER using HD AV cable; PC-RECEIVER using OPTIC cable if the quoted stuff doesn’t apply to me OR STB-TV using the SCART cable; TV-RECEIVER using OPTIC cable; X360-RECEIVER using the HD AV cable and PC-RECEIVER using 3 ANALOG (jack-RCA) cables.
Best regards,
Andrew
