2 amps, 1 pair of speakers

[matt_d]

I just posted this in one of my other threads but thinking about it should probably be a new one. Apologies to those who read it twice.





Another silly question.



Let's say I manage to get a good price for the 5200 in the auction and can afford a separate stereo amp. How do I go about hooking up the front speakers?



Is it a case of having a separate run of cable from each amp and switching the connections on the speaker terminals when changing from movies to music?



Surely an easier way?

[Hotblack Desiato]

You can intergrate the stereo amp into the AV set-up, and use it to drive the front speakers for both movies and music.

[matt_d]

thanks tyefi



but how will that affect movie performance? that's what's most important to me

[Hotblack Desiato]

It's not an approach i've opted to take for any prolonged period of time, but it's an approach that seems to be enjoying some popularity at present, so hopefully others will be able to highlight the pros/cons.

[MarkE19]

To add an additional amp onto the AV receiver you need to have pre-outs on the receiver.

Plug the pre outs for L & R to any input on the sterio amp and plug the main L/R speakers into the amp. Set up the levels and watch a DVD. As you turn up the volume on the receiver it turns up the volume on the sterio amp (feeds it a higher signal as volume on receiver rises).

To listewn to Cd's, tapes etc leave receiver switched off and just turn on amp. All sterio devices should be plugged into the sterio amp. Playback is just as if it was a standard HiFi.



Mark.

[Madge]

The way I see it you have three options:



1) Use a speaker switch box in reverse to switch between stereo and AV - cheap, effective, need not degrade the signal too much, though you still need a Stereo Amp.



2) Use an integrated amp with a unity gain input (often called a processor input). Does the same as above but means you could hit a button on a remote control, and there will be no degradation of signal. The special input isn't totally necessary, but would be useful as you don't want to be hunting for the calibrated point with a remote control unit :twisted:



3) Get a stereo power amp and hook this up to your AV via the pre-outs. 2nd cheapest, and depending on the AV amp used, will either have a small or large effect on the sound quality. Some amps have poor power sections, some have poor preamp sections whilst others have an even balance between the two. The best result will be in the first case. I think the Marantz makes quite a nice amp in stereo for the price, and two MA6100s (about £360) to drive the left and right would make for a very good musical setup.



If you've got any more questions, fire away. w)