Harman Kardon Receiver - will it decode 5.1 from a Mac?

[Ad Pro]

I am thinking about buying A Harman Kardon AVR 132 so I can connect 5.1 speakers to my Mac. I will be using the optical out of my Mac.

I just wanted to check, will this receiver decode surround sound from a Mac. Also will this receiver up-mix to 5.1? Basically will the receiver be ok with all the sound output a mac will through at it. I am not worried about it always being true surround sound.

 

[Cave Man]

If the receiver has an optical input, then it will decode the Dolby Digital sent from the ATV. Of course, the media file has to be encoded in Dolby Digital. Does the receiver also have Dolby Pro Logic decoding? If so, then you can get 4-channel (DPL) or 5-channel (DPLII) out of it using the R&L RCA inputs.

 

[Ad Pro]

If the receiver has an optical input, then it will decode the Dolby Digital sent from the ATV.

I want to use the receiver with my Mac, not an ATV.

The Receiver has: Dolby Digital, Logic 7 and DTS.

 

[PLin]

You should be fine. Since most receivers have a Toslink jack, you just need a Toslink to Mini Toslink cable.

 

[Cave Man]

I want to use the receiver with my Mac, not an ATV.

The Receiver has: Dolby Digital, Logic 7 and DTS.

Doh! Senior moment...

Answer is still yes, provided that you're using a DVD that has DD or DTS encoded (not sure about L7). You can also get DD from Quicktime files to play if you have Perian installed and do a plist mod, but Apple seems intent on breaking that with each Quicktime update.

You only need a Toslink cable with a 1/8" plug on one end.

 

[Ad Pro]

Okay, cool. thanks for the quick replies.

So music (itunes mp3's) will also play fine through this receiver?

 

[txhockey9404]

Yep it will. I used an optical cable from my iMac to a 5.1 Harman Kardon AVR220, and it worked just fine except that some surround modes would not work (DTS never worked). I got Logic 7 to work as well as DD. Make sure you get an adapter--and not a cheap one either. I went the cheap route and my adapter broke off in the headphone jack. Took me about an hour with a good light and a few tweezers to pry it out. Now I am back to analog until I can find a better quality adapter. If you have found one please let me know! Hope I helped. If you have any more questions please just ask!

 

[Ad Pro]

Yep it will. I used an optical cable from my iMac to a 5.1 Harman Kardon AVR220, and it worked just fine except that some surround modes would not work (DTS never worked). I got Logic 7 to work as well as DD. Make sure you get an adapter--and not a cheap one either. I went the cheap route and my adapter broke off in the headphone jack. Took me about an hour with a good light and a few tweezers to pry it out. Now I am back to analog until I can find a better quality adapter. If you have found one please let me know! Hope I helped. If you have any more questions please just ask!

Thanks for the help! - much appreciated. Great to hear it from someone who has had experience with a Harman Kardon receiver too.