Lossless HDMI vs. Analog Outputs

[jayjay300]

I have read with some surprise the excitement Blu-ray fans have over the 7-channel analog outputs of the Denon 3800. However, I have always thought the lossless signal over HDMI is as good. Is this true? Does 5- or 7-channel analog ouput (i.e., the BD player decodes the signal) have superior performance than the LPCM lossless signal over HDMI (also decoded in the BD player)?

 

[MDS]

'Decoding' a lossless format is just unpacking it into a larger raw format and is analogous to unzipping files you have zipped (algorithm is different obviously).

So sound quality depends entirely on which device, player or receiver, does a better job of digital to analog conversion. If you use the analog outs of the player then the player is doing the D/A. If you use HDMI then the receiver is doing the D/A.

 

[NapaDRB]

As far as I know the sound quality should be the same either way. The main difference is using the analog outputs the player will have to perform the bass management, speaker delays, etc.

I think the excitement you are hearing concerning the analog outputs is it allows people with an older receiver that does not do audio over HDMI to enjoy the new HD audio. That is my case, I have a Toshiba A35 with the analog outputs to feed my Rotel RSX 1057 receiver (need to update sig.) that has analog inputs but does not do audio over HDMI.