Support NeoGAF

[Joe]

i really want to get this onkyo hts-580 surround system mainly because its a great price for the volume and quality of sound it provides. but i have one gripe. it only has 1 coax and 1 optical input. so i was wondering if i could buy a coax splitter or switch so i can hook up to potentially 3 components thru coax into that one input. obviously they wouldnt be on at the same time i just want the equivalent of 3 inputs.

i did a google search and didnt really find anything. i came across a forum thread and someone said to get a composite switch but that seems weird because composite is analog compared to digital signal of coaxial.

i've thought about getting a $200 pioneer or sony receiver since they both have 2 coax inputs and 1 optical but it wouldnt sound as good as the onkyo system with a $100 speaker system.

any help please?

 

[Vlad]

I have seen references to switchboxes that handle optical connections, but I couldn't tell you what they are exactly. They do exist, though.

 

[Inumaru]

Probably the easiest thing to do is go with a Toslink (digital optical) switcher. I've got a 4-to-1 autoswitcher that works great. They're not all that cheap though, for example Audio Authority makes an autoswitching basic model (1177) that you can find for roughly $110. Might be able to find cheaper without the autoswitching in a different brand, though.

 

[mrklaw]

audio authority 1154 component switcher

switches component video, inputs coax or optical and converts as necessary.

 

[Inumaru]

Sure, the 1154 is great, but probably a bit much for someone who's looking at a $250 mini-system.

 

[fart]

in a pinch you can use any RCA switchbox to switch coax digital. it's not ideal but whatever, it's cheap. toslink is going to be prohibitively expensive, though.

also put more emphasis on the speakers. speakers introduce much more distortion to an audio signal (since they're the last step before the signal hits air) than amplification.