HDMI, SACD, PS3 - I need a straight answer!

[Grimbone]

Ok, here is the situation. We are talking strictly audio here.

I have a PS3 and quite a few SACD's.

I am looking to get a receiver with HDMI 1.3 inputs to play these SACD's.

If I were to hook up my PS3 via HDMI to one of these new HDMI 1.3 receivers, would it play the SACD?

I am talking just a PS3 hooked up to a receiver with nothing else connected to the receiver but speakers (no TV). Would the audio play with the HDMI connected from just the PS3 to the receiver?

I am hearing conflicting storys on this such as the HDMI wont pass just the audio on all receivers. Is this true? If so which receiver would you recommend could do this?

 

[Bloodstriker]

I'm not 100% sure, but I think it can pass SACD multi channel to any HDMI receiver.

 

[MDS]

It's true that some receivers don't process the audio portion of the signal over HDMI but those that do should work fine. Look for a receiver that specifically says it does 'HDMI switching' or can act as a 'repeater' and you should be good to go. The current Onkyo 605 and above meet that criteria but there are other models from other manufacturers that do as well.

 

[Davemcc]

I'm not 100% sure, but I think it can pass SACD multi channel to any HDMI receiver.

You need at least HDMI 1.2 to transfer SACD over HDMI.
http://www.hdmi.org/learningcenter/faq.aspx#q3_2

 

[Grimbone]

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

I am still a bit confused on which receiver will allow SACD playback without use of a TV. In a review listed at crutchfield.com it states the Onkyo TX-SR705 "Can't listen to SACD's w/o turning the on the TV, but this maybe a PS3 issue, not a receiver issue.".

I am still looking for an answer here. I do not want to throw away hundreds of dollars if the receiver does not have this feature.

 

[Pwner_2130]

Ok, here is the situation. We are talking strictly audio here.

I have a PS3 and quite a few SACD's.

I am looking to get a receiver with HDMI 1.3 inputs to play these SACD's.

If I were to hook up my PS3 via HDMI to one of these new HDMI 1.3 receivers, would it play the SACD?

I am talking just a PS3 hooked up to a receiver with nothing else connected to the receiver but speakers (no TV). Would the audio play with the HDMI connected from just the PS3 to the receiver?

I am hearing conflicting storys on this such as the HDMI wont pass just the audio on all receivers. Is this true? If so which receiver would you recommend could do this?

Dude all you have to do is tell the PS3 to output the audio via HDMI...it's in system settings

 

[avaserfi]

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

I am still a bit confused on which receiver will allow SACD playback without use of a TV. In a review listed at crutchfield.com it states the Onkyo TX-SR705 "Can't listen to SACD's w/o turning the on the TV, but this maybe a PS3 issue, not a receiver issue.".

I am still looking for an answer here. I do not want to throw away hundreds of dollars if the receiver does not have this feature.

With the PS3 and the Onkyo 705 you will be able to pass through SACD via HDMI and if you want should be able to turn the display off. My dad has the 805 which as far as I know is a beefer version of the 705 and has no problem with this situation.

I also use a Denon 3806 and a PS3 for SACD playback and do not need my display on to listen to music of any sort. Perhaps the user was simply referring to the fact that if you have the display on you can see what is going on in the PS3 interface (track number, time, etc.).

 

[Grimbone]

The TV does not have an HDMI input. There would be no HDMI out of the receiver going to a TV. It is just the PS3 to the receiver.

I am just trying to be 100% sure before I make a purchase.

 

[mdrew]

If, (and I can’t emphasize the IF part enough) the audio processor has HDMI 1.1 and can recognize M-channel PCM, the PS3 will play SACD. Not all HDMI receives handle M-PCM though.

HDMI 1.2 is required for SACD DSD output, not multi channel PCM which 1.1 can carry.

 

[gus6464]

Maybe you could bring in your PS3 to CC and connect it to the Onkyo TX-SR605 via hdmi without a tv and see if it works.