optical cabel (re hdmi post)

Ok so,
Got my decent priced hdmi cables ($40 for two)
very pleased, plugged em in...wow hd ps3 looks awesome, wait a minute no sound??.....arrggghh
fancy pants reciever wont process audio via hdmi!
I have to buy an optical cable for my ps3.
How much should I pay?

I picked one up for about $15.

Won't process audio at all or just won't process 5.1? There's a high chance it's just 5.1 so go into your PS3 sound settings and set it to just 2 channel linear pcm output before shelling out for another cable.

The only issue with cheaper ones is they tend to be thin and fragile, so if you have a tricky route the cable has to go, get one with a decent jacket.

In terms of performance however, as with HDMI, quality is irrelevant. Fibre is capable of data rates far in excess of a piddling audio stream. So yeah, a $15 one is perfectly good.

Not disagreeing that it could be that, but there are a HEAP of receivers that don't do audio via HDMI. That, and then he's stuck with 2 channel audio.

Fuuuuuuuuck that would piss me off.

yeah did some searching and my reciever is called "the black hole of recievers".
It wont process any audio via hdmi, and I wouldnt do it with 2ch pcm cause I want tru 5.1!!
So optical it is.

You may still be in for hell yet. I know several people who have big issues with routing audio through receivers, and playing games like Rockband and the like, because you end up with funky delays in some of the process. And there's little you can do about it.

Keep ya fingers crossed tho!

Fingers are well and truly crossed!