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does hdmi handle audio well?

I am looking for a pre/pro. I need some digital inputs in order to get surround sound out of my digital cable box. I would love a great analog input or two to take analoge from an oppo blu ray and a cdp. I thought that I needed hdmi but now I am questioning that. The oppo will do the hd movie formats and I can send a coax or optical out of my cable box. I dont want room correction other than the ability to adjust speaker levels, distances and crossovers. I dont need multiple zones or wifi or any of that jazz. Just need good digital and analog inputs and decoding.
It seems like the midfi folks are all over the latest options via hdmi but the more traditional high end makers are staying away. Is that because HDMI has sound quality issues, or is there more to it?
Here are some of the names that I am trying to hear:
Integra, nuforce, parasound.
Any others?
jimmy3993

Showing 2 responses by jimmy3993

jimmy3993 OP
141 posts
 
Sufentani -
Your integra is on my short list for sure. But it had been suggested to me that it isnt up to our standards as a 2ch analog pre. What is your experience with it in this area? One of my ultimate goals is to find a single pre that I can live with for 2ch and htr.

R - You are right of course. Classe and many others are starting to offer hdmi in thier newer models. But they are definatly showing up later to the party and I suspect that your comments on the costs of investing in new technologies have a lot to do with it. As you point out, if I can get around hdmi for audio, and I get my video processing somewhere else, the list of quality pre/pros at reasonable costs gets much longer.
A follow up question though - I know that I can live w/o the room correctino just fine (not using it now as a matter of fact) but I am curious about the thx post processing that you are talking about. Could you elaborate? I am not looking for a pre/pro that is completely analog, just one that does not have hdmi. Most seem to have digital input of some kind, either optical or coax that would allow me to send a digital signal. I would think that this would be the audio connection that i would use for cable and regular dvds.
jimmy3993 OP
141 posts
 
just got the oppo blu ray "universal" player plugged in and am letting it run for a while.
Part of the reason for all of the searching and head scratching on my part is that I cant shake a couple of nasty noise problems that I have in my system.
I use a jrdg capri for 2ch. It has a bypass. I run the pre out from my htr to capri unbalanced (only choice from the htr). When I run balanced out to the amps, I get a "pop" from the L & R speakers when I change channels or pause a movie.
If I take the capri out of the mix, the pop goes away but I get hum instead....
So that brought be to a pre/pro with balanced output that might negate the hum but that could be a quality 2ch pre as well. Each time i dig a little deeper, I find another problem.
I thin kthat I will just forget about it for a while and see if something comes to me.
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