same speakersfor ht & stereo? .. advisable?

Use a switcher box if you can find one which lets you connect two amps to play one speaker pair. Usualy you get one which lets you play one amp with multiple speakers.
If not, I guess you can DIY one.

The other way out would be to use your avr as your preamp for stereo and drive the fronts with a good power amp for both stereo and HT. This way you dont need to change cables every time.

manek.

Hi Essel,

Very nice to find you here!

I am sure all your querries will get solved here...

Aniruddha.

Dear Dressel,
Would suggest the second method that Manek suggest rather than the first one.
Rgds
Prithvi

I have come across the stero+HT combination (Manek's second suggestion) before, but doesn't feeding the signal through the AV receiver and then to a stereo power amp nullify the claimed performance advantages of a stereo setup over a HT setup?
Dont the arguments of digital environment in AV receiver corrupting the signal hold good any more? Is it that only the power amp is superior in stereo compared to AV receiver and the preamp is just fine in both?

Talk about a rock and a hard place...

The 1st option would degrade the quality of sound to some degree.

The 2nd would nullify the advantage of the power amp , the degree depending upon the quality of the pre-amp section in the AVR.

Few questions, Dressel, if you don't mind -

1. What AVR are you using
2. What Int amp do you propose to go in for
3. What model are the B&Ws
4, What would be the frequency of switching between Hifi and Ht - once a day or once a week or something else?

Dressel,

Some AVR's do have good DAC's and preamp sections and I think now most of them have a feature shut down ancilliary circuitry when played in stereo to minimize crosstalk and other electronics related inteference issues. If the preamp section of the AVR is built with care you should not have much of an issue.

My broher uses an HK AVR as preamp and feeds the signal to 2 rotel power amps and is very satisfied. He was lucky to get a decent preamp section with his AVR.

Manek.

Normally, does entry level AVRs (below 35k) have that decent Pre-amp sections which when combined with a power amp can replace an integrated Stereo amp in musicality (price range being same for the power amp and integrated amp) ?
Is it worth the deal or will it be a compromise for the convinience of not having to switch cables between the Stereo amp and the AVR ?
Please suggest a few AVRs if possible.

T my mind its definately a compromise but depending on the AVR, it may not be that much of a compromise. Marantz avr's have decent pre-amp sections (4400, 5400) and I have heard a couple of Yamaha AVR's(dont know the model nos) which did a pretty decent job as a pre-amp as well.

So it all depends on how much of a compromise you are willing to live with.

manek.

Recently I was advised by someone that for a budget of around 22k, I can very well go in for a power amp with around 100w RMS per channel and use my AVR as the pre-amp rather than going in for a Integrated amp where the choices will be very few and output may not exceed 60w/channel. But I am yet to decide which one would be better....dont want to compromise more than 10% on quality (if at all). The brands mentioned for Power amp was mainly Rotel....

abhi,

the best thing is to do audition your avr as a pre with the power amp and audition the integrated amp of your choice and do a comparision.....
Doodh ka doodh....paani ka paani...

manek.

Yes Man, thats the last resort, but the problem lies in the fact that I am yet to buy my AVR and if I do plan for a Power amp with my AVR as pre then I got to be very very keen and sure about the pre-amp section of the AVR which I wasnt keen till now. Moreover its difficult to get such a demo at the hifi stores also. It is only through such discussions that one can know which AVR has a good pre-amp section.

Manek, you said Marantz has a good pre, now according to my research, the entry level Marantz 4400/4500 AVRs have a smooth but a laid back HT performance and it is mainly because its low freq signal to the Sub is very weak......one can anyway get hold of a good sensitive sub (active) and still enjoy Movies but for a Stereo where there is no question of a Sub if the low freq signal itself is weak then dont you think the power amp cant do much ??
One other thing, I have tried using the Bass - Treble controls of AVRs and most of the time it spoils the sound whereas in an integrated amp it does a good job...what does this mean ? Is it that the amp section of the AVR is not upto the mark or the tonal control circuit of the AVRs are below par ?

abhi.pani schrieb:

Manek, you said Marantz has a good pre, now according to my research, the entry level Marantz 4400/4500 AVRs have a smooth but a laid back HT performance and it is mainly because its low freq signal to the Sub is very weak......one can anyway get hold of a good sensitive sub (active) and still enjoy Movies but for a Stereo where there is no question of a Sub if the low freq signal itself is weak then dont you think the power amp cant do much ?? One other thing, I have tried using the Bass - Treble controls of AVRs and most of the time it spoils the sound whereas in an integrated amp it does a good job...what does this mean ? Is it that the amp section of the AVR is not upto the mark or the tonal control circuit of the AVRs are below par ? :.

What do you mean by low freq signal is weak and thats why sound is laid back ????? I'm confused....laid back sound is a marantz trait and they will stick to that in all their product lines cause thats one of the things that sells a marantz.

Using bass treble control circuits in any amp(including stereo) if not implemented well, will always make things worse.

So, the bottom line is to get an AVR with a good pre-amp section with a power amp driving fronts for stereo and HT and let the avr drive the centre and surrounds. This way the HT recvr wont be taxed too much with speakers loads.

Otherwise physically swap cables !

manek.

Ok, I understand that by virtue the Marantz are warm (hope thats the same as laid-back)...but does that mean that it does not have good bass ? Even I am confused here...I have just auditioned Marantz AVR 4400 and nothing more from Marantz. I liked the sound very much but want to know more about this "WARM" thing. A amp can sound warm and still have good lows,mids and highs right..(please correct me if I am wrong) and Marantz is a brand in that direction right ?? In that case the low freq should'nt suffer due its warm characteristics right (using it as pre with a power amp) ??

Hi Abhi,

First of all, take a deep breath and relax.

Things aren't so complicated in the hifi world....

Fact is, at any given price, you will find all brands offering a level of performance that is more or less similar. Sure, there are subtle differences between different brands, depending upon the philosophy of the designer, but they are nowhere so drastic! I mean, around the price level of a Maruti 800, you will find a Daewoo Matiz or a Hyundai Santro, give or take a little. You would hardly expect to find a BMW or a Porsche, would you?But, since tastes are so subjective, it is recommended that you listen to as many brands as possible, in the hope that you may come across something you like more than the rest.

So, don't worry too much about specs and descriptions, and settle only for what sounds best to your ears. This is a long journey, all of us have to go through the the trial and error process. Nobody gets it right the first time out!!

abhi,

good, bad or ugly bass is dependant on may factors like speakers, placement, room, cables, source equipment, amps, bad power, etc or all of the above so one cant attribute lack of bass to the amp only.

Hear the amp in another setup and sound will change, for the better or for the worse, thats upto you.

As big ears says, hear all the amps you can, preferably with familiar speakers, sources and music.

manek.

I got the point....I have to listen to them first, then look for your comments..

abhi,

listen to them but you can look for our comments in parallel too....but keep listening to stuff...dont just eliminate equipment on peoples comments only.

manek.

I got it...

listen to them but you can look for our comments in parallel too....but keep listening to stuff...dont just eliminate equipment on peoples comments only.

how true.myriad was talking of Audio Analogue and lo there she is singing with my Klipsch today.......but only a week to evaluate

sub boss, you better make the most of the week then....
listen to it as much as possible with various kinds of music.

I've heard the puccini with the quads and it sounds good.

With the klipsch, and their higher sensitivity the amp just might do the trick.

manek.

WOW!!!
What a thread!!!!
Firstly I apologise for appearing here so late.
But what a discussion!,although little off the tract lately
So, the bottom line was .... IT IS NOT CLEAR.
I think Iwould prefer unplugging speakercables and reconnect them to stereo amp every time.
any way thanks all of you
DrEssel.

Manek is right, puccini would gel well with RF3s. However, anytime for higher sens speaker, valves would be best match, provided one likes the valve sound.

hey dressel,
iam facing the same dilema and am under fire from my pop to order a niles audio selector switch which cost s 3k.
told him that i would build one fo rhim as soon as my course is over.
so until then,
i too am swithing the speaker cables from the amp and the receiver manually. am worried that the jacks on the speaker would wear out and loosen. anyway, for now it will have to do.
Ben

benks...just make sure your amps are turned off then swapping is taking place, you just may end up shortig the amps unkowingly...I know of a guy who did that.

manek.

hey benks go to a automobile shop and ask him for push pull switch.Mount them on a switch board box and use them to switch between amps.hehehe