Blu-ray to amplifier.

[Dave2002]

OK. Following on from msg 15.

One other thing, though not in the original request. If an attempt is made to play an SACD disc the sound won't come out via the toslink connection, unless you ensure that the CD layer is played. Of course many Blu-Ray players won't play SACDs anyway, though they should play the CD layer. Some may play DVD-As though, in which case there is just a possibility of surround sound, though it probably won't be uncompressed if done via Toslink. Probably irrelevant though - but eventually someone may try these things and find they don't work as might be expected and wonder why.

It might be possible to get some different results using HDMI, but that usually requires a newer AV amplifier.

[garyc]

Thanks so much for the interest everyone. As I see it I think that I need a Digital to Analogue Audio Converter unit with an R/L cable to the amplifier. To connect the Audio Converter unit to the Blu-ray player I need either a Coaxial cable or a Toslink cable. I was wondering what the difference is between using the Coaxial cable or a Toslink cable?

It's essentially the same digital signal, one on copper, the other optical. (Toslink == Toshiba link. Toshiba created it originally). Both are derived from S/PDIF (Sony Philips Digital Interconnect Format) which in turn was derived from the AES3 standard but with modified voltage levels.

Basically you just need something like this http://www.amazon.co.uk/FiiO-192KHz-.../dp/B005PWPUW6
and you are covered for either type of output (different cables obviously). Or indeed this http://www.amazon.co.uk/Digital-Opti...ref=pd_cp_ce_2 which is cheaper. (I have used neither and not recommending these, just quoting as examples - though there are plenty of reviews on Amazon).

[Dave2002]

You can get cheap optical cables like this - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Good-Quality...=optical+cable for not much more than a couple of quid.

As it happens you can also get some cheap coaxial SPDIF cables - http://www.amazon.co.uk/Metre-Digita...al+SPDIF+cable

Some people suggest not going for the cheapest, and some hi-fi freaks suggest that coaxial is better, though not always. It can depend on the devices at each end of the cable. I have seen oscilloscope type traces which purport to show problems with the signal over optical cables - arguably due to reflections, though some cables may just be inherently poor. Whether the visual indications of waveforms really have an effect is difficult to assess, as they should be interpreted as digital 0s and 1s anyway. It is possible that jitter will get in, and have an audible effect.

Having said all that, I think it depends on what quality you are expecting, and how critical the application is. I have a variety of both coaxial and optical cables, including some more expensive ones (though not hi-fi woo ones ...) and some rock bottom cheapies. I've never noticed any significant differences, though one or two of the cheap cables have what look like weak connections of the connector to the cable - though this does not necessarily correlate with the absolute cheapness of the cable.