CD player / amp wiring advice

[Bigandbouncy]

HI,

I was hoping to pick everyone's brains on a couple of questions (well two and a half:)) being new to hifi!

1) I have been experimenting with different CD players to see which ones I prefer, I managed to find a very budget NAD 5420 for less than a tenner, however find it quite muddy sounding compared to other brands. Is there any way of rectifying this or is it just either a characteristic of the player (or the age of the player)?

2) Can I wire 2 amps into 1 set of speakers to use for different things. i.e. use the B&W front speakers on my AV setup for my Arcam amp which I use for listening to my other sources? or will this effect the sound quality on both - i dont have much space for 2 sets. Do i need a speaker switch to do this if neither is switched on at the same time?

I have got a Yamaha ESP - 800 surround sound amp which I thought would be ideal as it uses a seperate pre amp out for the front speakers but there is something wrong with it and it pops when switching the fronts on and off, i.e. when going to commercials during DTS shows, which gets annoying!

Thanks

Dave

PS thanks to everyone who bought bits and bobs off me for the dogs home, I made £440 and hope to raise more through a car boot sale next month

[ursus262]

Well, where to start really. The CD player is one of the earlier ones and I do understand that they are generally very good in terms of sound quality. You could try cleaning the laser lens using a cleaning disk, and cleaning the connectors. Given the age of the machine, these are the first things you should do and I think it would make a difference.

As for speaker wiring - really, I'd stick with a good two-channel amplifier (the Arcam) and ditch the Yamaha to be honest. You can't really wire them in the way you suggested, as this can have unintended consequences.

I hope this helps. Dave

[The Grand Wazoo]

If you must switch between two amps, then perhaps this (http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=6286) might be the thing you need.

More on it here (http://www.adventuresinhifiaudio.com/13/06/2010/the-beresford-tc-7220-what-exactly-is-an-audio-crossover-network/)

..and here (http://www.beresford.me/products/TC-7220.html)

[StanleyB]

2) Can I wire 2 amps into 1 set of speakers to use for different things. i.e. use the B&W front speakers on my AV setup for my Arcam amp which I use for listening to my other sources? or will this effect the sound quality on both - i dont have much space for 2 sets. Do i need a speaker switch to do this if neither is switched on at the same time?

Hi Dave, I developed the TC-7220 specifically for just this kind of requirement. There is no signal loss or distortion and there are hundreds of happy users to be found all over the world :).

[seoirse2002]

Ive been using Stans router for a while now and absolutely love it!
I originally got it to compare speakers with just one amp,but now I have 2 amps and 2 sets of speakers wired into it....I can switch between amps and speakers at the touch of a button....its beautifully made and is ideal if you like to change amps or speakers for different purposes....highly recommended and great value for money...
GT

[Bigandbouncy]

Cheers guys, will buy one of these on pay day, not too long now!

[technobear]

2) Can I wire 2 amps into 1 set of speakers to use for different things. i.e. use the B&W front speakers on my AV setup for my Arcam amp which I use for listening to my other sources? or will this effect the sound quality on both - i dont have much space for 2 sets. Do i need a speaker switch to do this if neither is switched on at the same time?


Only if you enjoy the smell of electrical smoke :lol:

Yes you do need a switch - even if you don't turn them on at the same time.

[Reid Malenfant]

Good advice from Chris :) As he has pointed out you'd soon discover that transistors work by the holy smoke, as that is what escapes when they give up the ghost :rfl:

[hermit]

Dave, you have a pm