[pennylane]

I have a not that great TV.  It's not bad, but it's not anything special.  It's a Samsung 27" CRT flat screen.  It suits me fine (for now).

I have an Onkyo DV-CP802 and a Harman Kardon AVR-330 (and Polk LSi9's for my mains).  I hear the Onkyo is a pretty good DVD player for CRT's and bad for HD, so I don't have a problem.  But I wonder how much a difference good component cables would make?  I was thinking of just getting the Radioshack Gold Series ones or something, but they're $30 and I imagine I can get better deals at bluejeanscable or something.  So, should I look into bluejeanscable or heartland cables?

Should I get 2 sets of component cables?  One for the Onkyo to the AVR-330 and one for the AVR-330 to the TV?  Is 1 enough plus some decent interconnects?  Should I just go to one of the websites for interconnects?

For audio, should I just connect the audio on the Onkyo to the AVR-330 using analog cables?  Should I try an optical cable or a coax cable?  I will keep the analog cables because with SACD's you apparently can't go digital to the receiver.  However, should I go digital for normal CD's/DVD's?  What do you recommend?  Should I look at bluejeanscable again?

I use my system both for music and movies.

What do you think I should do?  Thanks!

[skrivis]

I have a not that great TV.  It's not bad, but it's not anything special.  It's a Samsung 27" CRT flat screen.  It suits me fine (for now).

I have an Onkyo DV-CP802 and a Harman Kardon AVR-330 (and Polk LSi9's for my mains).  I hear the Onkyo is a pretty good DVD player for CRT's and bad for HD, so I don't have a problem.  But I wonder how much a difference good component cables would make?  I was thinking of just getting the Radioshack Gold Series ones or something, but they're $30 and I imagine I can g ...

I'm not at all into "component" fancy cables and wires. I wouldn't think you'd see any difference unless your present cables have something wrong with them.

Rod Elliott has some good articles on wire at: http://sound.westhost.com/articles.htm

Other people feel differently, so I'm sure you'll hear other viewpoints.

Using a digital link instead of analog might be better. I'd go with the coax since it won't have a pair of converters inline. (Optical has to be converted from electrical, then converted back when it reaches the destination.)

[smargo]

I have a not that great TV.  It's not bad, but it's not anything special.  It's a Samsung 27" CRT flat screen.  It suits me fine (for now).

I have an Onkyo DV-CP802 and a Harman Kardon AVR-330 (and Polk LSi9's for my mains).  I hear the Onkyo is a pretty good DVD player for CRT's and bad for HD, so I don't have a problem.  But I wonder how much a difference good component cables would make?  I was thinking of just getting the Radioshack Gold Series ones or something, but they're $30 and I imagine I can g ...

Don't get anything - just enjoy.

regards,
smargo

[Dan Driscoll]

I have a not that great TV.  It's not bad, but it's not anything special.  It's a Samsung 27" CRT flat screen.  It suits me fine (for now).

I have an Onkyo DV-CP802 and a Harman Kardon AVR-330 (and Polk LSi9's for my mains).  I hear the Onkyo is a pretty good DVD player for CRT's and bad for HD, so I don't have a problem.  But I wonder how much a difference good component cables would make?  I was thinking of just getting the Radioshack Gold Series ones or something, but they're $30 and I imagine I can g ...

How many component video sources do you have? From you description it sounds like only one, the Onkyo DVD player. I would only get 1 set component video cables and connect the DVD player directly to the TV for video. The RS Gold component video cables are probably just fine. Component video cables from Bluejeans or another boutique builder will be better, but they will also cost more and it is unlikely you would see any improvement, given your display.

For DD/DTS audio from DVDs, connect the digital output from the DVD player to the AVR-330. The DACs and decoders in the receiver are probably better than what's in the DVD player.

For 2 channel CD audio, compare digital and analog and chose whichever sounds better to you.

For DVD-A/SACD playback you have to connect the 6 channel analog outputs from the DVD player to the 6 channel analog inputs of the AVR-330. DVD-A and SACD cannot be transmitted digitally in your system. RS Gold audio interconnects will work fine, but in this case you might hear an improvement if you stepped up to Bluejeans or Outlaw Audio multi-channel interconnects. Expect to pay at least $75 for 3 pairs of short Bluejeans or Outlaw audio interconnects.

As always, IMO, YMMV, yada, yada, yada.