PaulDA
Senior HTF Member
It's true, there are more cables, but I've managed to hide them reasonably well. And it sure beats swapping.
Of course, my case is probably rare. I only use one switchbox with three cables: L/R/SUB. I use my universal for all hi-res. I have the SL/SR/C connected directly to the receiver. However, my dedicated CD player is actually a DVD player with DVD-A capability (how I came to buying this unit for CD playback is a long story I've told elsewhere. I'll post a link and you can read it if you're interested). I don't use it for DVD-A but I can configure it for 2.1 operation with CDs. This keeps my sub active without an additional A/D/A conversion. I've experimented with using the "STEREO" setting on the receiver via digital toslink vs my player's internal BM. I found both sounds to be quite nice (slightly fuller bass with receiver, but wider soundstage imaging with the player and that trumps the slight bass loss). I tested this after level matching the volume output for each setting. It's not that I'm averse to my receiver's A/D/A capabilities (I use the digital BM/TA feature for my multichannel inputs with the universal player so I can get 80hz xover at 12/24 slope--instead of DVD-A at 100hz and SACD at 80hz but with 6/12 slope--and speaker distance settings applied to SACD--not possible within my player), but the switchbox was an inexpensive way for me to tweak and I now have the system working to my satisfaction.
link to how I chose a DVD player for CD duties
Of course, my case is probably rare. I only use one switchbox with three cables: L/R/SUB. I use my universal for all hi-res. I have the SL/SR/C connected directly to the receiver. However, my dedicated CD player is actually a DVD player with DVD-A capability (how I came to buying this unit for CD playback is a long story I've told elsewhere. I'll post a link and you can read it if you're interested). I don't use it for DVD-A but I can configure it for 2.1 operation with CDs. This keeps my sub active without an additional A/D/A conversion. I've experimented with using the "STEREO" setting on the receiver via digital toslink vs my player's internal BM. I found both sounds to be quite nice (slightly fuller bass with receiver, but wider soundstage imaging with the player and that trumps the slight bass loss). I tested this after level matching the volume output for each setting. It's not that I'm averse to my receiver's A/D/A capabilities (I use the digital BM/TA feature for my multichannel inputs with the universal player so I can get 80hz xover at 12/24 slope--instead of DVD-A at 100hz and SACD at 80hz but with 6/12 slope--and speaker distance settings applied to SACD--not possible within my player), but the switchbox was an inexpensive way for me to tweak and I now have the system working to my satisfaction.
link to how I chose a DVD player for CD duties
