Greetings,
I use the 5.1 analog out connections to get the uncompressed audio. This sound is considerably better than audio via the digital connection. I don't have the hdmi connection for uncompressed audio so i can't tell you anything there. The only problem i see with the sony player(not sure if the pioneer is the same) and the analog out is, i can't change speaker distance in player and have to use the processor to control that.
I use the 5.1 analog out connections to get the uncompressed audio. This sound is considerably better than audio via the digital connection. I don't have the hdmi connection for uncompressed audio so i can't tell you anything there. The only problem i see with the sony player(not sure if the pioneer is the same) and the analog out is, i can't change speaker distance in player and have to use the processor to control that.