Info on using AVR as Pre-Pro - Blu-ray Forum

Beta Man · 01-30-2009, 01:32 PM

Here's my question..... and I could probably search and find the info, but I want to make sure since it's a little specific.....

I have a Marantz 7001 in my movie room, and a Marantz 5001 in my living room.

Neither decodes the latest codecs, but I have a PS3 connected to both of them.....

Here's the issue:

I have my B&W 700's in the movie room, and the 7001 just isn't cutting it, and they want more power.

I have B&W M-1's in the living room, and they could certainly benefit from some more power themselves......

What I want to do is get a Multi-Channel Amp (such as the Emotiva etc) and connect it to the 5001 for the movie room to power the 700's and then use the 7001 in the living room to give the M-1's a little more "oomph"

Will I still be able to use the PS3 to decode the codecs, while using the 5001 to send out the signals to the Emotiva, or am I better off (not financially I'm sure) in getting a separate processor in addition to the Emotiva Amp (I'm not sold on the Emotiva yet, but it's high on the list)

What do you think?

prerich · 01-30-2009, 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beta Man

Here's my question..... and I could probably search and find the info, but I want to make sure since it's a little specific.....

I have a Marantz 7001 in my movie room, and a Marantz 5001 in my living room.

Neither decodes the latest codecs, but I have a PS3 connected to both of them.....

Here's the issue:

I have my B&W 700's in the movie room, and the 7001 just isn't cutting it, and they want more power.

I have B&W M-1's in the living room, and they could certainly benefit from some more power themselves......

What I want to do is get a Multi-Channel Amp (such as the Emotiva etc) and connect it to the 5001 for the movie room to power the 700's and then use the 7001 in the living room to give the M-1's a little more "oomph"

Will I still be able to use the PS3 to decode the codecs, while using the 5001 to send out the signals to the Emotiva, or am I better off (not financially I'm sure) in getting a separate processor in addition to the Emotiva Amp (I'm not sold on the Emotiva yet, but it's high on the list)

What do you think?

Yes Beta - you have been ready for this upgrade-itis oops

I mean upgrade for a long time

I've always pictured your rig being run by a good amp! Those 700's want that power, they need that power! You will hear layers open up like you have never heard before! It will make a substantial difference! What's on your list and what's your real budget

P.S. If you want to get a seperate prepro also - thats my recommendation! Now the last prepro that Emotiva put out had some bugs that the gradually worked out, but the Onkyo prepro is out there and you can find them on the used market for about $900 -1200 now. Some people on this site have preordered the new Emotiva prepro, I'd wait until they answer back so I could see what its doing, but you will not be making a mistake by buying an amp now.

Beta Man · 01-30-2009, 01:49 PM

So the "old-School" receiver will still work as the pre-pro without sacrificing the codecs? I'm just worried about losing the HD-Audio by adding another "Link" in the chain......

As far as what's on my list.... it changes daily, some modest, some worthy of a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th mortgage

prerich · 01-30-2009, 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beta Man

So the "old-School" receiver will still work as the pre-pro without sacrificing the codecs? I'm just worried about losing the HD-Audio by adding another "Link" in the chain......

As far as what's on my list.... it changes daily, some modest, some worthy of a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th mortgage

Yes it will - The amp is the next to last thing in the audio chain - speakers being last. What will happen is the PS3 will decode and send it out as LPCM to the receiver, the receiver will send the proper LPCM channels directly to the Emotiva or whichever power amp you choose and the amp will send it to the speakers. All you've done is route the signal to the external power amp instead of the receivers internal amps. And you will be surprised at how much cleaner your sound will be.

Beta Man · 01-30-2009, 02:01 PM

Awesome! I'll start to slowly work on the wife for acceptance...... if a little bit of water can make the grand canyon, I'm sure I can convince my wife that we need a 5 channel amp

(I plan on using the Receiver for the rear surrounds, or is this a bad idea? )

I'm currently running 5.1 because my DS6's need to be wall mounted, and my room just isn't very well set-up for that, so they're not in use.

Based on my space I would either need to stick with 5.1, or get DIFFERENT speakers to run as rears, and keep my 686's for side surrounds since I doubt I'd get anything better than another pair of 686's for rears, I'm not upgrading the L/R surrounds.

I'm currently liking the idea of just keeping 5.1 at this point

prerich · 01-30-2009, 02:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beta Man

Awesome! I'll start to slowly work on the wife for acceptance...... if a little bit of water can make the grand canyon, I'm sure I can convince my wife that we need a 5 channel amp

(I plan on using the Receiver for the rear surrounds, or is this a bad idea? )

I'm currently running 5.1 because my DS6's need to be wall mounted, and my room just isn't very well set-up for that, so they're not in use.

Based on my space I would either need to stick with 5.1, or get DIFFERENT speakers to run as rears, and keep my 686's for side surrounds since I doubt I'd get anything better than another pair of 686's for rears, I'm not upgrading the L/R surrounds.

I'm currently liking the idea of just keeping 5.1 at this point

5.1 is good enough my friend

Beta Man · 01-30-2009, 04:21 PM

But I just picked up yet another movie with 7.1

why do I torture myself like this

(Got the 3-disc sleeping beauty on blu for $11.99

at a "Buy-Backs" they had more I wanted, but I showed restraint!!!!)

mdabb · 01-30-2009, 07:04 PM

Hey,

I was browsing Audiogon and didn't know if any of these would interest you ??? I know you enjoy music, alternatively maybe a nice 2ch or 3ch amp may do and let your receiver power the surrounds and/or center ???

I wasn't sure of your budget ??? These aren't too bad...............

ATI
http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....8734&/ATI-2007

Parasound
http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....Parasound-5250

Theta Digital
http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....epid-in-silver

Anthem
http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....m-mca-50-black

Bryston
http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls..../Bryston-5B-ST

Primare
http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls..../Primare-A30.5

As for the other two speakers for the 7.1, would you consider a pair of in-walls ??? I am using a pair of in-walls for the surround back channels and it works rather well. They are nothing special, just an ordinary pair of two-way Polks (6 1/2" woofer and tweeter) but they do the job convincingly !!! It doesn't take up any room and blends in with the wall.

Beta Man · 01-30-2009, 10:09 PM

That Theta Digital looks tempting........ I need to try to track one down for a listen... but have read good things.

01-30-2009, 01:32 PM	#1
Beta Man Moderator Top contributor Member since:Jan 2008 Location:Juuuuuuuust A Bit Outside.... Home Theater Gallery:4 Blu-ray collection:268 Blu-ray reviews: 18 Trading Score:25	Info on using AVR as Pre-Pro Here's my question..... and I could probably search and find the info, but I want to make sure since it's a little specific..... I have a Marantz 7001 in my movie room, and a Marantz 5001 in my living room. Neither decodes the latest codecs, but I have a PS3 connected to both of them..... Here's the issue: I have my B&W 700's in the movie room, and the 7001 just isn't cutting it, and they want more power. I have B&W M-1's in the living room, and they could certainly benefit from some more power themselves...... What I want to do is get a Multi-Channel Amp (such as the Emotiva etc) and connect it to the 5001 for the movie room to power the 700's and then use the 7001 in the living room to give the M-1's a little more "oomph" Will I still be able to use the PS3 to decode the codecs, while using the 5001 to send out the signals to the Emotiva, or am I better off (not financially I'm sure) in getting a separate processor in addition to the Emotiva Amp (I'm not sold on the Emotiva yet, but it's high on the list) What do you think?

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01-30-2009, 01:49 PM	#3
Beta Man Moderator Top contributor Member since:Jan 2008 Location:Juuuuuuuust A Bit Outside.... Home Theater Gallery:4 Blu-ray collection:268 Blu-ray reviews: 18 Trading Score:25	So the "old-School" receiver will still work as the pre-pro without sacrificing the codecs? I'm just worried about losing the HD-Audio by adding another "Link" in the chain...... As far as what's on my list.... it changes daily, some modest, some worthy of a 2nd, 3rd, and 4th mortgage

01-30-2009, 02:01 PM	#5
Beta Man Moderator Top contributor Member since:Jan 2008 Location:Juuuuuuuust A Bit Outside.... Home Theater Gallery:4 Blu-ray collection:268 Blu-ray reviews: 18 Trading Score:25	Awesome! I'll start to slowly work on the wife for acceptance...... if a little bit of water can make the grand canyon, I'm sure I can convince my wife that we need a 5 channel amp (I plan on using the Receiver for the rear surrounds, or is this a bad idea? ) I'm currently running 5.1 because my DS6's need to be wall mounted, and my room just isn't very well set-up for that, so they're not in use. Based on my space I would either need to stick with 5.1, or get DIFFERENT speakers to run as rears, and keep my 686's for side surrounds since I doubt I'd get anything better than another pair of 686's for rears, I'm not upgrading the L/R surrounds. I'm currently liking the idea of just keeping 5.1 at this point

01-30-2009, 04:21 PM	#7
Beta Man Moderator Top contributor Member since:Jan 2008 Location:Juuuuuuuust A Bit Outside.... Home Theater Gallery:4 Blu-ray collection:268 Blu-ray reviews: 18 Trading Score:25	But I just picked up yet another movie with 7.1 why do I torture myself like this (Got the 3-disc sleeping beauty on blu for $11.99 at a "Buy-Backs" they had more I wanted, but I showed restraint!!!!)

01-30-2009, 07:04 PM	#8
mdabb Power Member Member since:Jan 2008 Trading Score:1	Hey, I was browsing Audiogon and didn't know if any of these would interest you ??? I know you enjoy music, alternatively maybe a nice 2ch or 3ch amp may do and let your receiver power the surrounds and/or center ??? I wasn't sure of your budget ??? These aren't too bad............... ATI http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....8734&/ATI-2007 Parasound http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....Parasound-5250 Theta Digital http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....epid-in-silver Anthem http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls....m-mca-50-black Bryston http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls..../Bryston-5B-ST Primare http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls..../Primare-A30.5 As for the other two speakers for the 7.1, would you consider a pair of in-walls ??? I am using a pair of in-walls for the surround back channels and it works rather well. They are nothing special, just an ordinary pair of two-way Polks (6 1/2" woofer and tweeter) but they do the job convincingly !!! It doesn't take up any room and blends in with the wall.

01-30-2009, 10:09 PM	#9
Beta Man Moderator Top contributor Member since:Jan 2008 Location:Juuuuuuuust A Bit Outside.... Home Theater Gallery:4 Blu-ray collection:268 Blu-ray reviews: 18 Trading Score:25	That Theta Digital looks tempting........ I need to try to track one down for a listen... but have read good things.

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