Audio on Xbox one need help please

Hello fellow gamespoters. Is it better to run the sound in the Xbox one through hdmi or optical? Any help is very much appreciated

I run mine through HDMI and it sounds pretty damn good, I have never tried optical. I dont see there being a big difference between the two though.

HDMI but it really depends, do you have 5.1 / 7.1 Surround Sound or are you running it through your television or speakers?

@solarplex: I'm running 5.1 through my receiver

HDMI for me.

Isn't HDMI always better? I have a 7.1 surround sound in my living room and it sounds fine. I do not enjoy the fact that when I watch 5.1 Blu-rays is only uses 5 of my speakers. So my in ceiling rears aren't all active. When I used a dedicated Blu-ray player I could have my receiver use Dolby tech to matrix the sound out to the create 7.1 sound from 5.1. It's disappointing these consoles don't just output Dolby True HD or DTS HDMA but I know licensing and more hardware would be required.

Battlefield 4 sounds amazing though, I believe it does use the 7.1 set up and its uncompressed. It sad that people don't appreciate quality audio much these days. Soundbars and simulated surround is fine for most, or even worse, garbage TV speakers. It kills me to see people watching movies on phones or laptops. I enjoy a movie on my iPad but I'd never watch a movie for the first time on it. Its more for entertainment while out of the house. I'd always suggest people at least spend money on a nice receiver (not an HTIB), quality center channel and a good subwoofer is important. My Left and right speakers are okay but they aren't floor standing, my sub makes up for their lack of bass. I spent a long time with a crappy center channel, but once I bought a decent speaker I was able to hear voices 80% better. Our subwoofer is the most expensive piece in our home theater, but it should last for many years. We only run it at half volume since its so powerful.

How did I get on this rant?

HDMI is capable of lossless audio but I dont know if the X1 uses it in their games. The wii u uses lossless audio so I hope the X1 and ps4 do as well. Optical cannot output lossless audio. I would just use the HDMI input unless you have a reason not to.

@magicalclick: The difference is pretty clear between Dolby true HD and Dolby Digital, its just a matter if your equipment can take advantage. My brother has a $1800 set of JBL 5.1 speakers and $500 Denon receiver and he doesnt know anything about audio ( I helped him ), he called me up and was curious why the blu-ray had a better sound than DVD's . There is a difference its a fact.