Using an old receiver

[FurnaceRocker]

Hey,

I'm needing a new receiver because my old one got struck by lightning, and I'm also needing a new TV. I was wondering if anyone had any feedback on buying an old receiver with a new TV? I'm thinking I could just run an optical audio out from the TV to the receiver, and run all the other HDMI's I'd need straight to the TV. Would there be any major drawbacks to this? Was thinking of using a receiver like the Pioneer VSX D912K or Sony STR-DG800. I have a 5.1 channel surround system.

 

[lovinthehd]

Really old receivers (2ch) won't have digital capabilites . An older avr even pre-HDMI could well handle an optical or digital coax connection, tho many used avrs these days will have hdmi. Might save some money on a used avr either way, altho limits the audio somewhat in terms of lossless audio codecs. Depends what you want to do with audio from the tv in the first place (personally use no audio from tv). I dont use tv's as a switching center, tho.

 

[Eppie]

Connecting everything to the TV can lead to a mess of cables but might be ok if you only have 2 or 3 HDMI devices. The optical out will work but not yield the best surround decoding as multi-channel audio gets compressed over optical. Might be your safest option if you have any HDMI 2.1 devices. The Sony only supports HDMI 1.1 and a new TV will likely support HDMI 2.

 

[Old Onkyo]

Really old receivers (2ch) won't have digital capabilites . An older avr even pre-HDMI could well handle an optical or digital coax connection, tho many used avrs these days will have hdmi. Might save some money on a used avr either way, altho limits the audio somewhat in terms of lossless audio codecs. Depends what you want to do with audio from the tv in the first place (personally use no audio from tv). I dont use tv's as a switching center, tho.

How do you not use any audio from the tv?

 

[lovinthehd]

How do you not use any audio from the tv?

I don't use any smart apps nor any sources plugged into the tv otherwise. It's really easy.

 

[sterling shoote]

OP, get a new receiver. The primary reason is it will have digital to analog processing which will process any digital format you can throw at it from AAC to 24/192 PCM and DSD, meaning you can enjoy 5.1 SACDs from a cheap Sony UBP Player, Dolby ATMOS Music via Apple TV, and Lossless stream too, since the new receiver will have Airplay as well as a usb B input.