Main room versus zone 2 usage

[ThA tRiXtA]

Just looking for someone who has a multi zone receiver and pumps music to their second zone...

My Sony CD player is currently hooked up with a digital optical cable, and after learning that you can't output to zone 2 sourced from a digital output I hooked it up (redundantly) with this RCA cable

I just have one or two questions... How do you set up the receiver to go through the digital optical in the main listening room, and through the analog RCA cable when you want the music to play in zone 2? How do you differentiate the 2 output methods?

Would it be better if I just removed the digital optical cable all together? Is there really a need to have the main room on a digital optical output and zone 2 on an analog output?

Just to avoid confusion my CD player is a Sony M555ES and my receiver is an Onkyo TXSR875.

The Sony is an "ES" model that is supposed to have a higher end DAC in them, however the Onkyo is supposed to have a higher end DAC in it as well, if this makes any difference in your answer.

Just to clarify a bit of my own confusion, if I use the digital out from the CD player to my receiver, the CD players DAC is not used, right?

And if you use the analog out from the CD player to the receiver, only the CD players DAC is used?

Thanks all.

 

[jostenmeat]

Hey man, long time no see.

Just looking for someone who has a multi zone receiver and pumps music to their second zone...

I don't, but I want to reply anyways.

I just have one or two questions... How do you set up the receiver to go through the digital optical in the main listening room, and through the analog RCA cable when you want the music to play in zone 2? How do you differentiate the 2 output methods?

IF you mean that the player needs to be fiddled with, that is or was commonplace with Sony BDPs. If OTOH it's being shotgun simultaneously, then it's just picking the source/assignment in the receiver, right?

Would it be better if I just removed the digital optical cable all together? Is there really a need to have the main room on a digital optical output and zone 2 on an analog output?

Not really. The only reason to use the optical is if you are sure the receiver has a DAC. Interestingly, I've had an experience that led me to believe that my player(s) were better than my pre/pro at one time!

The Sony is an "ES" model that is supposed to have a higher end DAC in them, however the Onkyo is supposed to have a higher end DAC in it as well, if this makes any difference in your answer.

The AH disposition is that you won't be able to tell the difference between one quality DAC and another. Some might say that you can tell when comparing a POS DAC with a decent one, but not between two decent DACs.

Just to clarify a bit of my own confusion, if I use the digital out from the CD player to my receiver, the CD players DAC is not used, right?

Correct.

And if you use the analog out from the CD player to the receiver, only the CD players DAC is used?

Correct.

edit: I think, maybe with Onkyo, it might be better with optical though, but only depending who you ask. The X05 series were not particularly hailed for "analog performance", but certainly were when using digital inputs. That said, I am not sure how subtle that difference is, depending who you ask. Then again, others are satisfied whatever the connection.

 

[ThA tRiXtA]

Hey Josten - it has been a long time. Happy new year to you, and all the rest of AH as well.

Things in life have been keeping me away from posting here and from my A/V hobby in general, some of those circumstances being unfortunate roof leaking problems that will just not go away.

Case in point I made a thread about RCA cables versus digital optical cables a long time ago (it was the last thread I made) and I finally got around to hooking up the cable today. Obviously given my lack of experience with zone 2 output I haven't even tried it out yet.

I'm glad to be back, even if it is fleeting. We'll see.

I'm not thinking the CD player needs to be fiddled with in between playing in main room or zone 2, I was just curious as to how the receiver sorted out when to use the digi opti output and when to use the RCA cable output...

So you're basically saying that the player will shoot both signals out at the same time and the receiver just picks which one it will use, pending on what zone mode you have the receiver in? Interesting.

Regarding the DAC's, I guess I already knew from my time spent here that 2 quality DAC's would not (or should not) sound any differently, just the same as two quality speaker cables should not make any discernable sound difference.

Thanks for your time (again.)

Best regards.