Which Amp to buy and Cabling question

Willyk

Hi,

I am upgrading my tv / amp setup and after many hours of research have bought a:

Samsung (UE40C5800) TV
Denon amp (AVR 1311)
Sony Blu ray player (BDP - S370)

I had planned to buy the Onkyo TXSR308 amp, but when in the shop noticed the Denon one above for an extra £20. I asked the guy in the shop which is the best and he said the Denon and I switched to it. Also had a few extra inputs on the front which could be useful to me. Can't find many reviews on it so I'm not sure if I have bought the right one. I have not opened the Denon box yet so have 6 days to return it.


Also a query on the cabling:

The planned setup is:

Bluray -> Amp using HDMI.

Sky Box to TV using Scart.

Sky Box to amp using optical cable.

Amp to TV to amp using HDMI ???? Is this right ?

I am unsure if this is right.

I can see how:

.1. The video from SKY to Tv works okay and the audio via optical to amp.

.2. Bluray to amp and then onwards to the TV via HDMI out on amp and HDMI in the TV

.3. If I want to watch a non sky channel on the TV (via analogue aerial) how does the sound from the TV get to the amp ? Do I need another optical out cable (but there is only one optical in on the amp ) and a switching unit or would another hdmi cable work ok ?

I haven't set any of this up yet, just in planning stage.

Lastly I am replacing a Yamaha V592RDS amp with the above. The speaker out cables for left / right go into a switching box and drive 3 sets of speakers in another lounge and the kitchen. Will these amps provide enough output for this ?

Many Thanks in advance.

Regards,

Hammyman

For an extra £20, I'd have got the Denon - I have that Onkyo and its not bad so I'm not too dischuffed.

Only thing I have with the cabling is the Sky box. If its HD then HDMI to TV instead of SCART with the optical to the amp as you're doing.

3). Depends on the outputs you have on your TV. Mine has optical out so I just use that - hmm, maybe the Denon wasn't such a good deal in this respect as the Onkyo had 3 optical ins. There should be RCA connectors (red and white ones) on the back of the amp for a CD player etc? If you've similar on the TV, just hook them up and select CD/whatever on the amp.

almillar

Agree with Hammyman subject to both amps having roughly the same connections that both suit your needs - I have no experience of the specific models. Your questions:
1. Yes
2. Yes, and any other device that you put the video into the amp will do the same.
3. OK, you're inputting from amp to TV with the HDMI. Now you want to get sound from the TV to the amp. So, does the TV have an optical out, or stereo phono. If it has optical out, you ideally want to use that, and therefore get an amp with at least 2 optical inputs, but stereo phono will be fine really, but no Dolby Digital, Pro Logic 2 will be the best you can do.

Your last question about the speakers, I don't know any of the outputs, but if the Yamaha works fine, and these amps aren't, like, half the power, they'll be fine.