Rotel RSP-1069 and Sony PS3

[Guybrush]

Hi to all. Thanks to the help of hifiguy and KevinD my RSP-1069 is working perfectly and now I can focus myself on settings and performance.
The first thing I noticed when I started listening to movies were the high frequencies, much more present and detailed if compared to my previous RSP-1066. The sound seems more open and "airy".
I have connected my PS3 via HDMI and Optical and I tried to do some comparison between the two connections.
The HDMI is set to PCM and the Optical is set to Bitstream.
When listening to CDs (Chesky Records and other great sounding CDs) I am hearing NO DIFFERENCES AT ALL between HDMI and Optical (I can change between this two connections on the fly thanks to the latest PS3 firmware, but I can do that only in 2 channel mode). Am I deaf ?
In the next few days I will try to make a comparison between the two connections using Dolby Digital and DTS lossy soundracks and I will let you know.
Has any PS3 owner on this forum noticed any difference ? I'd like to hear others' opinions.

[bcampbell]

I have the same setup and I just run the hdmi connection. The reason for this is I use my ps3 as a media server with the Java Ps3 media server application and send lossless flac and alac files to it. The hdmi connection allows me to get higher bitrate pcm than what i could get using optical. I also then can get multi channel pcm when running dolby hd and master audio tracks which is much better than anything you could get over the optical connection. I just like using the single cable as well as getting the high definition audio as well.

[Guybrush]

OK, but I wanted to discuss about the difference between HDMI and optical while listening to lossy DD and DTS soundtracks. Of course lossless is better, but many Blu-Rays (and all the DVDs) do not include DD TrueHD and DTS MasterAudio. And it's also interesting the difference when listening to CD audio via HDMI or Optical.

[chanlon]

My experience with the PS3 was not comparing optical with HDMI connections but rather comparing the Oppo BDP-83 analog output VS my 1069's Burr Brown DACS. I found 2 CH more open and detailed using the Analog output VS the DAC of the Rotel.

I found the PS3 CD playback not really to my liking since it lacks a display and push button functions on the unit itself. I had no real qualms with the CD playback sound using the HDMI connection. I just prefer Oppo's.

[Guybrush]

I found the PS3 CD playback not really to my liking since it lacks a display and push button functions on the unit itself.

For that reason I bought a PSP. With the PSP I have a wonderful display and a great remote. It's a bit expensive, but, considering how cheap the PS3 is, I think it's a good deal.