A question regarding hooking up a blu-ray player to a receiver with rca-cables

Hello everybody,

I have been contemplating for some time now to try out the analogue outs for 5.1 surround sound on my blu-ray player by connecting it to the corresponding analogue ins on my receiver. But, before I go browsing for suitable RCA-cables I'd like to ask the more experienced surround sound aficionados out there about a pair of issues that concerns the setup of said cables.

Have you guys ever experienced any differences in audio quality depending on whether you have used 6RCA-6RCA-cables or 3 x 2RCA-2RCA-cables (or any other combination of RCA-cables for that matter)?

This particular matter also ties in to the ease of procuring said cables. In my neck of the woods, only a few vendors sell 6RCA-6RCA-cables but there are loads of options to choose from should I be able to switch to multiple cables that cover different bases so to speak.

Also, my setup has no center speaker. To date, when using a digital connection between my disc player and receiver, my front left and right speakers have "shared the burden" of handling dialogue and singing depending on the source material. Will an analogue connection require me to hook up this particular channel in order to hear it properly or will it simply be redirected to the aforementioned speakers?

 

As for the second question, you will need to tell the BluRay player that you don’t have a center speaker. It should redirect the center content to the L and R.

 

Get a centre channel speaker

 

I'm curious if surround will even work with RCA, or will it just come out L/R only??

 

That's correct! I remember now that the blu-ray player has a configuration program where one can tell it to ignore specific speakers, thus redirecting whatever would have come out of them elsewhere. Gosh, now I feel stupid for posing this question in the first place.

 

Normally you set this in a menu when you first set this up the player. Then years later when you have change it, you have no idea that it's buried 3 or 4 menus deep in your settings.

 

Might do that. Someday. Thus far, I haven't really encountered anything where I have felt that a center speaker would have enhanced the experience. But that might change. As of now, cables are my primary interest.

 

My player has dedicated RCA-outs for analogue surround. I guess it should be technically feasible.

 

I had a feeling it would give you simulated surround, but I guess that makes sense.

 

Since these are all just audio channels, you could put individual RCA-RCA cables on each one. No need for a set of six.

 

Thanks for your reply! I guess I can keep my options open in that case.

 

There are plenty of fine cables at all price points that are the standard 2 lines per cable. Just get 3 of the same type, probably cheaper too.

 

There are two factors to consider. 1. What has the better 5.1 DAC and analog output stage in it? The bluray player or your receiver? This will determine what will provide you with better sound, the analog our digital out of your bluray player. 2. You will get a bigger boost in 5.1 experience by adding a matched center speaker than you will playing with your connections.
To answer your question, really 6x6 or any combination is not likely to make much of a difference. If you are looking you will likely find the "paired" cables are usually lower in build quality. If you really want to try it out, have a decent cable and not spend much money... I would go for some of the Monoprice shielded digital/analog coaxial cables. 6 of these 3 footers will only set you back $30 plus shipping. Monoprice 25ft High-quality Coaxial Audio/Video RCA CL2 Rated Cable - RG6/U 75ohm (for S/PDIF, Digital Coax, Subwoofer & Composite Video) - Monoprice.com If you want something nicer, I'd look at blue jeans cable Stereo Cables at Blue Jeans Cable Beyond that, the sky is the limit on what you can spend on cables.

 

Thanks for this! Very informative.

I've heard good things about the 5.1 DAC in my blu-ray player, hence my willingness to try out the analogue surround connection. But seeing as this, at least at this stage, is primarily a test, I'll follow your recommendation and buy some cheaper yet decent cables in order to check this out.

 

It works perfectly well. As the DACs in my blu-ray/SACD player are much better than those in my surround AVP, that's what I use for CD, SACD, DVD-A, et al, analog only. For video; blu-ray, DVD. 4k UHD, etc., I use HDMI.

 

It could be a very easy decision to make if we know the make and model of your AVR and Bluray player.

 

There are a couple of good reasons to get a dedicated center channel speaker.

Today's TV's are much larger than the average TV set twenty years ago. Because of this, the front mains are farther apart from each other and that makes having the phantom center channel not as convincing as having the two front speakers further apart.

The main vocal part of the soundtrack comes through the center channel, while the music and effects get routed to the front mains.

With a dedicated center channel, you will be hearing mostly voices.

This allows you to adjust the volume level of the center channel so that the voices are clear and cut through the other information in the movie soundtrack.

You will hear the dialog and be able to understand and differentiate it more clearly.

 

The player is a Cambridge Audio Azur 752BD.

The receiver is a Marantz SR6009.

 

I suspect your BD player is going to have the better sound. Try the analog connection (with RCAs) and see how it sounds. The 5 Wolfson DACs and the 32bit Analog Devices DSP are going to sound better than the undisclosed DAC in the Marantz. Go for it!

 

Will do. Once again, thanks for all your input!