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Long Description on how I do it.

Posted by AbeCollins (A) on December 12, 2004 at 10:18:17

In Reply to: Receivers with pre outs? posted by middleground on December 12, 2004 at 07:23:59:

Joe and Kal gave you some great info. I'll elaborate some on how I did it with my audio / HT setup. I do exactly what you are trying to do. Think of it this way: You will keep your existing audio-only setup just as it is then 'integrate' the home theater into your audio-only setup. Many modestly priced AV receivers will have pre-outs. This is important if you want to integrate it into your audio-only setup! I have the previous model Denon 3803 (replaced by the 3805). I believe Denon has some lower end units that will also work as do many other brands. They MUST have pre-outs though!

"Is there any way to have the signal not go through the receiver for two-channel music reproduction but simply through my ARC LS-25 and to the Bryston 7B-STs?"

Yes, this is exactly the point and why we should think of it as integrating the home theater into your existing audio-only setup.

Your ARC LS25 should have a theater bypass. I don't recall what ARC calls it but I had this feature on the ARC LS16.

Leave your existing audio-only setup alone. Take the L & R main pre-outs from your A/V receiver and route those into the theater bypass inputs on the ARC preamp. When you switch your ARC preamp to 'theater bypass' mode, the L & R pre-outs from the AV receiver get fed directly to your Bryston mono amps. The volume control on the ARC is disabled in this mode and the volume is controlled from the AV receiver. The AV receiver now controls the volume for ALL channels as the ARC is being used simply as a switch to get the signal from the AV receiver pre-outs (main L & R ch) to the Bryston amps. Power the remaining 3 channels from the AV receiver amps (left-rear, right-rear, and front-center). If you have a powered sub, wire it to the 'sub-out' jack on the back of the receiver via RCA interconnect. You can get a powered sub later if your wish for better effects. Same for the center. I've had great results running just 4 speakers - no sub, no center. They're nice to have but don't be discouraged if have just four speakers.

As for the DVD player, run the main L & R RCA jacks to one set of the regular inputs on your ARC preamp. You can now use your DVD player for CD, SACD, DVD-A, etc (assuming its a 'universal player'). Or if you choose not to use the DVD player as one of your audio-only sources, just don't connect it's analog L & R channels. For DVD video home theater, run the DVD player optical or coaxial digital cable to the AV receiver. (I prefer optical. Some will insist on coaxial. I use optical because it is one less cable to potentially introduce a ground loop that might result in HUM). The AV receiver will do the necessary signal processing and break the signal out to all the channels. The most common setup is 5.1 channels consisting of Front-Left, Front-Right, Center, Rear-Left, Rear-Right, and the .1 is the sub-out to the subwoofer. Again, with the ARC preamp set to 'theater bypass', use the AV receiver volume control to control the volume level for all channels.

You'll also go into the AV receiver SETUP menu to adjust the relative signal levels of all channels. The receiver will have a 'noise generator' that creates a hissing sound and you adjust each channel to have the same hissing loudness from where you sit. You can do this by ear from the seating position and get very good results or if you want to be a perfectionist, get a sound-level meter and set it at ear level at the seating position. Some higher-end AV receivers will have a microphone that you place at the seating position and the receiver will automatically adjust the levels. Its really not THAT critical unless you're a real HT enthusiast and want perfection. I am not. My HT is secondary to my audio setup.

So, in HT mode flip the ARC switch to 'theater bypass' and use the AV receiver to control everything. When not in HT mode, use your ARC preamp as you always have with various source components.

Accuphase DP65V cdp or Denon DVD-5900 Universal
PS Audio PCA-2 Pre - Krell KSA50S - Tannoy D500 spkrs

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