How much better does an hdmi receiver sound than one that only goes up to optical?

I have a ps3 so i am really into hi def. I am currently using a receiver that goes up to optical (which i use) and play games and watch movies in dolby digital 5.1 and dts 5.1. How much better will SOUND be on an hdmi receiver? Will it output PCM 5.1? I heard PCM sounds great, is this true? Can you recommend some good (not great, im a college student) receivers that I can look at?

An HDMI receiver is a receiver that has HDMI connections on it (of course). HDMI is just a type of connection that combines digital video and digital audio into one connection. It's basically the same as combining a DVI (video) connection and an optical (audio) connection into one singular connection.

Therefore, with respect to just audio, HDMI will not sound any better than optical because they are (again with respect to audio) essentially the same thing. Changing your audio connection from optical to HDMI will not change the quality of sound. However, it does give you the option of using your receiver (if it has HDMI capabilities) as a video switcher, too. That is, of course, if you have more than one HDMI source - like a PS3 and an HD cable box.

I hope that helps! If you are just playing ps3 games there will be no difference in sound. But if you are watching a blu ray movie you will hear quite a difference if you listen to PCM uncompressed audio tracks. I own a dvd audio player which uses the same audio format and it sounds amazing.

Yamaha makes a pretty good HDMI receiver. Don't know what your price range is though I am sure there are cheaper though.

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