In reply to:
Not quite. If you don't use the 6 RCA cables, and instead use the digital link, you can still get 5.1 audio. What you won't get is the higher fidelity 5.1. DVD-A is capable of 24 bit 96 kHz audio which is too much data to push through SPDIF. In order to send 5.1 through the SPDIF, it will default to traditional 16/44.
Let me also add, that many DVD-A's do not have a 16/44 multichannel track. If your player is DVD-A capable, the only way you are going to get high resolution or high resolution multi-channel music, is by using those 6 analog cables....unless you have one of the very few DVD-A player/receiver combos that pass those signals via firewire.
