ARE WE THERE YET?
Ah, the promise of digital. For several years now, consumers and reviewers
alike have anticipated the day when a single digital cable is all we’ll need to
transfer both audio and video between components. For a while, we argued amongst
ourselves whether that cable should be FireWire or HDMI. Now we’re just happy to
accept the existence of both—FireWire for multichannel, high-resolution audio
and HDMI for uncompressed, high-definition video. After all, two digital cables
are still better than six analog audio cables and three cables for component
video.
Digital transfer isn’t just a nice way to cut down on cables. It also
eliminates the need to convert a signal from digital to analog and back again on
the path from source to receiver to display, which can degrade the signal. A
digital link can also allow devices to recognize and communicate with one
another more seamlessly—at least, theoretically.
The dream of using
one cable hasn’t died. Last year saw the arrival of the HDMI 1.1 spec, which
allows the transmission of multichannel DVD-Audio. A few manufacturers have
incorporated this new spec into their players and/or receivers, but many are
waiting for the newly announced HDMI 1.2 spec, which adds SACD transfer to the
mix. When this spec begins appearing in actual gear, HDMI will pretty much cover
all necessary bases in the audio realm.
To test the promise of digital for
myself, I rounded up three systems at different price points—all with HDMI
switching and two with FireWire. In a moment of gleeful insanity, I threw out
all of my analog cables. I surely wouldn’t need them anymore, right? Yeah, sure.
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