OK, here goes…
I would like to add a better pre-amp and DAC to my current receiver (Yamaha RX-V800) for 2-channel only, and I need some help on how to achive this. I am currently very happy with my system for home theater, but I would really like to add to my 2-channel listening experience. I do plan on getting some room treatments also, including some bass traps for the corners and some panels for the walls, if my wife allows!
Now, I had Monitor 5 v.2 fronts, Mini-Monitor v.2 rears, an LCR-350 center, and a Sunfire MKII Sub. Like I said before, my HT experience is as good as I could hope for. I have just recently decided to try to make this system into an excellent double duty, 50/50 HT / Music system (I know some say this can’t be done!) and here is the start of my plan:
I just traded my Monitor 5’s in (with Paradigms excellent 100% trade in policy) on my dream speakers, Studio 40’s. Now, this is one upgrade that I am likely to stick with for a long, long time, so that is one reason I went ahead and did this. It’s the rest of my system that I’m not as sure about what to do.
Let me also say that I’m not a real bass freak when it comes to music (now home theater, that’s a different story!), so I run the 40’s full range and turn my subwoofer off for music. Although this is the case, I still do love good tight clean bass (who doesn’t?).
OK, the 40’s alone added great improvement to my 2-channel system, so my plan has definitely started off on the right foot. They sound absolutely great. The only problem now is, my LCR-350 suddenly sucks! Anyway, the rest of my dilemma is where I get a bit confused and need some help.
I just bought a Carver AV-505 amp (80X5) from fellow AVS member “metallicafreak†and I should receive it within a week or so. My plan is to split the main pre-outs on my receiver and bi-amp the studio 40’s with 4 channels of the Carver (I’ll just leave the 5th channel unused). I thought that this would be a good start to see what extra amplification can do for my 2-channel setup.
At the same time, I wonder if the pre-amp and DAC in my Yamaha will be holding me back to the point where the amp won’t make as much difference.
So, I was reading another thread on this forum about 2-channel performance, and I found a few interesting ideas, but don’t know exactly how they are implemented.
Can I add any 2-channel pre-amp to my existing 5.1 system and share my main speakers between the 2? I saw something about a theater bypass, etc. Is this what the pre-amp needs? Will my Yamaha receiver allow me to send the correct signal to a pre-amp to achive this? My Yammy has a processor direct button that bypasses bass and treble. Does this need to be on for it to work correctly?
Is an $800-$1000 budget to add an external DAC and a 2-channel pre-amp even possible? Are there better alternatives? I have done a little research, and I saw a little Creek passive pre-amp for like $400 and a MSB Link III DAC for about the same I think over at audio advisor. Would this pair do what I want?
I know this is a lot, but if someone could help me out a little, I would owe you big time!
One more thing…as far as the hookup, I’ll take a stab at it, and if someone could correct me, that would be great also:
OK, I would go with a digital out from my CD player into the external DAC…
From the DAC into the pre-amp with a stereo pair of RCA cables…
Errrrrrrrr…...I think I’ve gone crosseyed.......
I would like to add a better pre-amp and DAC to my current receiver (Yamaha RX-V800) for 2-channel only, and I need some help on how to achive this. I am currently very happy with my system for home theater, but I would really like to add to my 2-channel listening experience. I do plan on getting some room treatments also, including some bass traps for the corners and some panels for the walls, if my wife allows!
Now, I had Monitor 5 v.2 fronts, Mini-Monitor v.2 rears, an LCR-350 center, and a Sunfire MKII Sub. Like I said before, my HT experience is as good as I could hope for. I have just recently decided to try to make this system into an excellent double duty, 50/50 HT / Music system (I know some say this can’t be done!) and here is the start of my plan:
I just traded my Monitor 5’s in (with Paradigms excellent 100% trade in policy) on my dream speakers, Studio 40’s. Now, this is one upgrade that I am likely to stick with for a long, long time, so that is one reason I went ahead and did this. It’s the rest of my system that I’m not as sure about what to do.
Let me also say that I’m not a real bass freak when it comes to music (now home theater, that’s a different story!), so I run the 40’s full range and turn my subwoofer off for music. Although this is the case, I still do love good tight clean bass (who doesn’t?).
OK, the 40’s alone added great improvement to my 2-channel system, so my plan has definitely started off on the right foot. They sound absolutely great. The only problem now is, my LCR-350 suddenly sucks! Anyway, the rest of my dilemma is where I get a bit confused and need some help.
I just bought a Carver AV-505 amp (80X5) from fellow AVS member “metallicafreak†and I should receive it within a week or so. My plan is to split the main pre-outs on my receiver and bi-amp the studio 40’s with 4 channels of the Carver (I’ll just leave the 5th channel unused). I thought that this would be a good start to see what extra amplification can do for my 2-channel setup.
At the same time, I wonder if the pre-amp and DAC in my Yamaha will be holding me back to the point where the amp won’t make as much difference.
So, I was reading another thread on this forum about 2-channel performance, and I found a few interesting ideas, but don’t know exactly how they are implemented.
Can I add any 2-channel pre-amp to my existing 5.1 system and share my main speakers between the 2? I saw something about a theater bypass, etc. Is this what the pre-amp needs? Will my Yamaha receiver allow me to send the correct signal to a pre-amp to achive this? My Yammy has a processor direct button that bypasses bass and treble. Does this need to be on for it to work correctly?
Is an $800-$1000 budget to add an external DAC and a 2-channel pre-amp even possible? Are there better alternatives? I have done a little research, and I saw a little Creek passive pre-amp for like $400 and a MSB Link III DAC for about the same I think over at audio advisor. Would this pair do what I want?
I know this is a lot, but if someone could help me out a little, I would owe you big time!
One more thing…as far as the hookup, I’ll take a stab at it, and if someone could correct me, that would be great also:
OK, I would go with a digital out from my CD player into the external DAC…
From the DAC into the pre-amp with a stereo pair of RCA cables…
Errrrrrrrr…...I think I’ve gone crosseyed.......