Hey kcarlile I'm still unsure about this (please bear with me) but all my components (cd, dvd and cable box) are all hooked up via digital connections. cd and dvd will be audible in direct mode, only the cable box isn't. Is the reason this is happening because the cd and dvd player have some kind of processing that allows for a direct mode playback which the cable box lacks?

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Axiom M60, M2i, VP100, QS4, EP350v3
Yamaha RX-V1400