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Re: connections
#122286 12/30/05 01:28 AM
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Jack

"People generally quarrel because they cannot argue." - G. K. Chesterton
Re: connections
#122287 12/30/05 06:22 PM
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thanks for the links........another question popped into my head last night.....if i have to watch TV from say Cable/Satellite source and want to watch it in surround sound i will need to connect the TV audio output to the Controller ........right ??? if yes, what kind of cables are best .......RCA vs Optical vs Coaxial.

Re: connections
#122288 12/30/05 06:57 PM
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RCA is not a type of cable it is a type of connector.

From Wikipedia.com: RCA Connector/Phono Plug



To take advantage of surround sound from cable/satellite, connect a cable from a digital output on your cable or satellite box (either a coaxial cable with RCA connectors, or an optical cable with toslink connectors), to a corresponding digital input on your controller.

Some prefer coaxial, some prefer optical. Personally, I don't feel it makes much difference. Optical cables are not subject to interference from other cables or devices. But, neither is a well constructed coaxial cable in normal use. Optical cables shouldn't be used if they must make tight bends and twists. Some say coaxial cables with RCA connectors have a more secure connection. I've NEVER had an optical cable fall out of it's connector. IMHO, Use the one that pleases you.

Here are some excellent cables at fantastic prices. At these prices, I'd get the top of the line cables. (3 ft. coaxial $4.64/3 ft. optical $4.50)

Digital coaxial cables from Monoprice.com

Digital optical cables from Monoprice.com (be sure to get cables with the toslink to toslink connectors, and not the mini to mini, or mini to toslink connectors.)

You probably will have to assign that particular input, using the controller's "input menu" to the device you select on your controller. i.e., when you want to listen to the sound from your cable box, you select "cable." or something similar like "Video 1," on the controller. You'll have to tell the controller which digital input you have your cable box connected to.




Jack

"People generally quarrel because they cannot argue." - G. K. Chesterton
Re: connections
#122289 01/04/06 05:58 PM
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and more questions.......if i connect the oppo player to C1 controller with audio analog 5.1 cables do i still need to connect either a coaxial or optical cables for sound from DVD ?? or will the 5.1 take care of all sounds from Oppo regardless whether sound is coming from DVD movie or DVD-A/SACD ?

Re: connections
#122290 01/04/06 06:46 PM
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Do you NEED to? No. The information on the disc is digital. That digital information must be converted to analog information at some point because that's what your amplifier and speakers need. By using the 5.1 cables for everything, you are forcing the Oppo's Digital to Analog Converter (DAC) to do this conversion from digital to analog. If you connect a digital cable (either coaxial or optical), you are sending the digital signal to your controller, and IT'S DAC does the digital to analog conversion. Though I don't know for sure, I suspect the Parasound DACs are superior to the Oppo's DACs.

Also, on most receivers or controllers (preamplifiers) using the 5.1 analog inputs bypasses a lot of the signal processing normally performed by those units, such as speaker size and distance, and sub crossover (these are often lumped into the term "bass management."), relying instead on the player to do this processing.

The Oppo has limited bass management. You can set speaker size and some distance settings (Channel Delay) on the "Speaker Setup" page of the setup menu, but these settings are limited. If you intend to use the Oppo's 5.1 analog outputs for movies and/or to play DVD-As, you should set the "Downmix" to 5.1 CH and go through these settings.

My recommendation is to hookup a digital cable and use that for DVDs, which enables you to utilize all the processing available in your processor. I'd hookup and use the 5.1 analog outputs ONLY for DVD-As.


Jack

"People generally quarrel because they cannot argue." - G. K. Chesterton
Re: connections
#122291 01/04/06 07:09 PM
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that what i meant....that means i need to have two audio outputs from oppo player.....optical/coaxial for movies and 5.1 for DVD-A ??? am i getting it right ?????

Re: connections
#122292 01/04/06 08:41 PM
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That's what I would do, yes. And remember, you have to select the multichannel inputs on you controller when listening to a DVD-A, and select the correct digital input when watching a movie.

Be sure to check your Parasound manual (I don't know which model you have) to see if you controller provides any bass management for the multichannel inputs. If not, and if the budget allows, I would recommend getting an Outlaw ICBM bass management system to use when using the Oppo's multichannel outputs for DVD-As (click the "About/Gallery" link for info about what exactly it does). They are $250 new, and $200 for B-stock (they currently have no B-stock ICBMs available ). It is a quite versatile crossover network and does a great job.


Jack

"People generally quarrel because they cannot argue." - G. K. Chesterton
Re: connections
#122293 01/04/06 09:18 PM
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i am using Parasound Halo C1 controller and Halo A51 5 channel amplifier

Re: connections
#122294 01/05/06 12:20 AM
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Page 41 of your C1 manual has this to say about the multichannel inputs.

"...this is a straight pass-through of the analog signal from input to output, with no signal modifications
beyond the analog level controls (including volume adjustment and the center, surround, and
subwoofer-level trims on page 3 of the Master remote’s C1/C2 menu).
"

This would indicate that there is no bass management provided by the C1 on the multichannel inputs. If you're going to listen to DVD-As, be sure to go through the speaker setup in the Oppo.

Really nice controller, by the way.


Jack

"People generally quarrel because they cannot argue." - G. K. Chesterton
Re: connections
#122295 01/05/06 06:39 PM
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thanks for your kind comments.......does that mean i will have to purchase the outlaw product you linked earlier ?? I thought this C1 could do "everything" music wise !!!

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