M
MDS
Audioholic Spartan
That is a big 'IF' and one that people have differing opinions about. It comes down to whether the receiver or dvd player has the better DACS. IMO, it is next to impossible to tell the difference between any of the quality dacs, whether they be Burr-Brown, Cirrus, Wolfson, etc.If this is correct, it seems, all other elements being equal, that listening to DVD-video's via the 5.1 ch output would produce relatively higher quality sound, even if on paper.
But the answer to the question 'what does the coax digital output offer that the 5.1 outputs do not' gives some more insight into why digital connections are preferred in general [let's assume the dacs in the player and receiver are identical sounding]:
- Most players do not perform adequate bass management (fixed xover, no delay settings, etc). This is slowly changing and the Denon 3930CI is a relatively 'high end' player that could be the exception to the rule.
- Letting the receiver do the decoding affords you the ability to use bass management, other DSP processing if you so choose (like applying PLII on top of DTS if you wanted to try that), dynamic compression (late night mode), cine filter, etc.
Plus, it's simpler - one cable.