Cables for Panasonic DVD-CP72 (1 Viewer)

Newbie question. I decided on the CP-72 but am confused on which cables to use. I am hooking it up to a Sony DA4ES. I know I need S-Video but I'm not sure on the audio end. Do I need the 6 interconnect cables for DVD-A? Which digital cable if any? What about the DVD audio interconnects?

Thanks................. Tom

Yes, Tom, you will need the six audio cables for DVD-Audio. These can also be used for DD and DTS (letting the CP-72 perform the decoding) so you won't need an optical cable.

Thanks for the help. Please help me get this straight. All I need is my S-Video cables and the 6 audio interconnects. I'm better off using the CP-72 to perform the decoding rather that the Sony DA4ES by using the 6 audio cables. And by doing this, I will have no need for an optical cable.

Thanks again........................ Tom

Thomas,

You do need the 6 analog cables for DVD-Audio, and the player does have built-in decoding for DD and DTS, so theoretically you don't need the digital cable.

Problem is that the DA4-ES probably has better DD and DTS decoding than the CP-72. Also, by using only the analog cables and the player's decoding, you won't be able to take advantage of the superior bass management and EQ features of the Sony receiver, they are all bypassed when using the 5.1 analog inputs.

Also, your receiver can decode and amplify DTS-ES and DD-EX, formats which add a rear center channel, and the player cannot.

I would strongly recommend you use the 5.1 analog cables for DVD-Audio only, and also run a digital cable for the receiver to decode DD and DTS on dvds.

The additional optical cable can be had for about $20 or so at Best Buy, needn't pay more for Monster.

I'd suggest hooking a toslink optical cable up to the receiver and let it perform DTS and Dolby Digital decoding. Those chips inside the player are rudimentary at best for DTS and Dolby Digital.

Hook the 6 channel analog cords to your receiver's 6 channel analog bypass for DVD-Audio only.

Does your TV not accept a component video connection? If it does, you do want to use component video and not S-Video for the best possible picture quality.

If you're looking for some quality audio cables and don't want to spend a huge amount, I'd suggest going over to Outlaw Audio's website and checking out their line of interconnects. They use combo silver dipped/high quality copper wires with good shielding. Looks like good stuff for the money. If you have your player on a shelf directly under your receiver (don't stack them!), 1/2 meter audio cables should do the trick and you won't have to spend as much money (plus, the shorter the cord, the better).

Dan

Thanks, this all helps a lot. Bummer, now I have to cable shop as well. One more question and I'll leave you all alone. What is the difference, if any, between digital optical (toslink) or digital coaxial? The manual for the Sony DA4ES states that they recommend using the digital coaxial jacks.

Still learning..................... Tom

Tom,

Toslink or optical digital cable is fiber optic and carries the digital signal in the form of light impulses, which are immune to magnetic interference.

Digital Coaxial cable is conventional wire cable with RCA plugs on the ends. It's pretty much immune to most magnetic interference too, and you don't need to buy special stuff, just about any 75 ohm video cable will do.

It's academic in your case, since the CP-72 only has optical digital output, no coaxial digital connector is present.
You will have to use an optical cable.

Don't worry about Sony's recommendation, I've used both optical and coax digital connections to a Sony receiver and never heard any difference.

For the DVD-Audio signal, your dealing with analog, not just 1s and 0s, so quality cable is important for that connection.