Gee, this is getting technical. I would have thought ultimately, it comes down to Yamaha's DAC versus Marantz's DAC, to making a difference in the sound? In one case, the digital data is being converted to analogue in Marantz's DAC, in the other, it's being converted to analogue in Yamaha's DAC. I would expect that if my DVD player has a 5.1 output and my receiver has a 5.1 input, then depending on the quality of the DAC, I would still hear differences when listening to the 5.1 output decoded by the DVD's DAC as oppose to that decoded by the receiver's DAC?
Anyway, the differences I'm talking about are things like the bass (cello part) sounds softer (almost cannot hear it) when played from the DVD, decoded by Yamaha, and sounded louder (more normal) when played from the Marantz. The Marantz has a very good reputation for its CD's DAC, so I 'trust' its output more. The Yamaha has a full spec AC-3 DAC, and I have no problem with its DAC doing AC-3 soundtracks, but when it comes to music CD, I think it must somehow being decoded through a different circuit (since it's not AC-3) maybe, so it's not as good.
To your side question: I'm connected to the net from work, which is either a T1 or ISDN line (I don't care, as long as it's fast! :-D). At home, I am connected to the net via modems. I have a server that fetches the mail every few hours automatically, and notifies me when there's new mail. If I want to surf the web, then I logon manually.
As for the hub, of course you can. I had a temporary lapse of memory. Although, a small hub is still not as cheap as a t-piece. But I'm sure that won't be a problem in a few years time. Another potential hassle is the making of cat 5 cables. I saw it at PC shows where they give demos on how to make these things...one mistake and you'll have to start all over again. Go wireless! (and have the Pronto control your network) :-)
