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In Reply to: from 2 channel to Home Theater posted by Lethvig on April 14, 2003 at 07:39:37:
After some minor tweeking, i have found my Sony V444ES receiver to be a very good pre-amp... i got rid of the captive power cord, and use a PS Audio Prelude. I also installed a pair of Bybees from the new IEC socket to the transformer.So, the receiver has pre-outs for every channel. I use the L/R outs to my PS Audio HCA-2 for music and let the receiver handle the rest of the surround channels (C/RR/RL).
If you still want to use a separate pre for music only i think your options are limited. I believe the new PS Audio Pre has a Home-theater pass-through that was designed specifically for this situation. but, i'm unaware of any other pre that does this.
You would think more Preamp companies would do something like this for those of us who want to have our cake and eat it too!
good luck.
Sam
Follow Ups:
There are a lot of Preamps with Processor loops. Conrad Johnson, Cary, AR, all offer stock units and Quicksilver and Rogue offer as an add on option. Sonic Frontiers had processor loops for years before discontinuing that line as well as Anthem Pre 2L. It is actually a pretty comman.
Interesting, I've been considering this exact setup - well almost exact anyway. I have the Sony STR-D4ES reciever and I was considering using a digital amp (Bel Canto EVO2, PS Audio HCA2 or even Spectron Musician). The nice thing about these amps is their low power consumption and dual inputs - balanced XLR and RCA.I was thinking about using the RCA inputs driven by my home theater reciever pre-outs, and the balanced XLR inputs with a cd player with volume control and balanced XLR out.
I checked with PS Audio and they did confirm this worked, but at the same time I think they wanted to make a sale with their new preamp. Hence they recommended their new pre with HT bypass. I really have no need for multiple inputs for 2 channel, since I only own CDs.
Any thoughts? This has only been brainstorming at this point, have yet to 'pull the trigger' for a high end 2 channel system...
if i could afford the new Pre from PSAudio i would buy it in a heart-beat.... I ain't no Schill, but i've yet to return a product to them and the HCA-2 is no exception.I would say that the Sony Receiver (after i tweaked the power) is a very good pre-amp, that will do you well until you can save the $$$ for a higher end pre with HT pass-through. By all means i would try the HCA-2 amp in this setup... after burning it in for about 60 hours now, the sound is nothing short of breathtaking... and this is with the receiver as a pre! The HCA-2 does however NEED a very good PC for it to shine... i use a XStream Statement PC from PSAudio also...
Sam
Sam,Curious...what speakers are you driving with your HCA2?
thanks,
jim
Some heavily moded Athena AS-F2s. (93db)Sam
Just wanted to mention that many modern "audiophile" preamps do have a theatre bypass which allows for easy integration of your existing 2-channel setup into a home theatre.I'm using my CJ Premier 18LS preamp in this fashion. For my normal audio listening the CJ preamp switches in my Cary CD player and sends the signal to my CJ tube amp. For home theatre, the front stereo channels from the Denon receiver pre-outs are routed into the CJ preamp "theatre bypass" which routes the signal directly to the same CJ power amp. In this case, the Denon receiver controls the volume level of the front stereo speakers as well as the center and surrounds. My front stereo speakers are always powered by the CJ tube amp whether for home theatre or audio only and there's no need to swap interconnects or speaker cables.
Hello Sam,Thanks for your very quick respons.
One of my alternatives where also to put my existing poweramp in the preouts on the surround- receiver/amplifier, and use the other 3 power channels in the surround receiver/amplifier for the center and rear speakers
But I do think that it is very few surround receiver/amplifiers that have a very good pre-unit, unless you spend a whole lot of money on it.
However, I have heard that the company THULE should have a preamp/processor, where you can by-pass the digital units when using it for normal 2 channel stereo. I have to dig into that before I decide on where to go, Home Theater wise.
Brdgs.
Lars
I had your problem exactly. You can look at my system to see what I've done.I have a Denon 5800 Receiver. It was supposed to be the highest-rated for sound! Well, the internal DACs do an okay job, but are a bit too bright and hashy on the highs. They tend to sound clear but "thin". It doesn't have good jitter rejection either, as the quality of the digital cable and transport affect the sound to a high degree. However, the analog bypass is junk. There is no life left to the sound on stereo sources. Turntable, CD -- they all have the high-frequencies and the detail severely degraded.
So, unless you are willing to go for a separate pre/pro, rather than a receiver, I am will bet that you will NOT get acceptable stereo sound, even with an analog bypass mode. So, you will likely need a separate stereo preamp with a home-theatre bypass mode.
I use a placette passive preamp. I keep it at "full volume" when on the HT input, which essentially takes the resistors out of the circuit, and makes it "like" a HT bypass. I'm told that Placette will install a real HT bypass for about $100 on the unit.
I have a Bel Canto DAC2, and the quality of sound is awesome. However, if you are using a cheap DVD or CD player as your source, you may not get so much improvement from a separate preamp -- your sound is only as good as your worst component.
I've always used a Bryston 4B-ST to drive the main speakers.
I hope that helps.
Neil
The Sony ES receivers have the stereo analog bypass feature also... and you can hear an audible improvement when you use it... "Analog Direct" is the name of the feature on the Sonys.You know i've been compring the sound of my mods to the receiver as a pre for music to a good little creek passive pre i have in order to hear how close i can get with the receiver.... and after the mods i made, the difference is really quite negligeable. (ofcourse does not compare to other HIGH end pres, though...) I think i have found a good solution for HT and 2 channel audio qualities in my system, but YMMV.
Sam
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