A/V amp Jiggery pokery

[Reid Malenfant]

The problem if using a load of 2 channel amps is you'd need to match the volume controls of each one & each time you adjust one you'd have to balance them again - a bloody nightmare if ever i heard of one

I'd say the answer to that is no, not unless you want serious hassle every time you adjust the volume

[Ali Tait]

If the processor has a volume control can that not be used? Just set the amp's vol pots to about 75% and leave them.

[Ali Tait]

Assuming all the amps are the same of course...

[Reid Malenfant]

If the processor has a volume control can that not be used? Just set the amp's vol pots to about 75% and leave them.

All the amplifiers would need to have the same sensitivity & output for that to work Even if it was the case we all know that no potentiometer is an exact match between the tracks on a single device, let alone different ones that might not follow the same law..

You'd end up in the same mess imo

[Ali Tait]

Aye, as I said, assuming you are using the same amps. They should match pretty close I'd say, and it should be easy enough to adjust by ear if there is any obvious mismatch. I'm doing this with two Bantam Golds through a Behringer DCX2496, using the pot on my WAD Pre 2 for volume. Works a treat. Both amps pots are at about two o' clock.

[Vinyleyes]

I think I have found ... the answer ... ,,, only thing I need to figure is where does my pre amp go ... and how to switch between just 2 channels on the main amp and all 5 using the DSP .. .... Also .. what is all the HDMI stuff all about .. At the moment I just run HDMI from sky to TV and analogue RCA's into my pre amp for 2 channel TV and no effects of course ... . and I bags the one on Ebay right now ,,,

What do you think ... is it a solution ..

[Reid Malenfant]

Hi Brian, the HDMI form your Oppo that you are purchasing can go straight to the TV. Just make sure the Oppo has 5.1 or 7.1 analogue outputs If it has 7.1 you can get round that problem in the Oppo menu by selecting rear surround "no speakers" & any 7.1 disc you spin will have the rear surround forced to the surround speakers.

As for the rest of it i'm totally unfamiliar with that unit so i'd rather leave it to someone that knows more about processors than possibly lead you up the garden path

[Vinyleyes]

Thanks Mark ... I think the fog is thinning slightly ....... .. will check on the Oppo.

[Reid Malenfant]

Ok, i have had a look at the processor you linked to. Don't take this as gospel because i may well have missed something

It looks to me as though the thing has built in power amps for the centre & both surround channels & only pre outs for the front channels Now from the way my semi scrambled brain thinks you have a couple of choices depending on what you are using already. If you have a pre amp & it has a "bypass" switch it should allow you to use the volume control on the processor to control the whole system volume (IE 5.1) when you are watching movies or spinning multichannel music DVDs or CDs (i have both ) when you bypass the volume control on one set of inputs on your pre amp that you need to dedicate to when going multi channel. If your pre amp doesn't have a bypass switch then you'll need to get a switch box as i mentioned earlier so you can swap between the pre amp outputs of your stereo pre amp & the front channel outputs of the processor..

It sounds much more difficult than it actually is at the end of the day Take it from me...

[Jac Hawk]

ok here's my 10p worth

You can either go down the "all in one box route" or go for a seperate DSP pre amp and seperate powe amp combo, no prizes for guessing which is going to be the cheapest and the easiest to set up, so this is how each would work.

Dedicated A/V amp would require you only to take a cable, be it spdif, toslink or multi channel rca from your source to the A/V Amp, which contains the sound processor, pre and power amps, so then it's a simple job of connecting the speakers up and bobs your aunties best friends dog.

or you could get a seperate DSP pre amp and then run seperate power amps as follows.
7.1 system would require 4 stereo power amps and would allow for a passive sub or 3 stereo and 1 mono for an active sub
6.1 system needs 3 stereo power amps
5.1 system needs 2 stereo and 1 mono or 3 stereo but with the ability of having a passive sub

i don't think i need to go into how you would hook em up the only tricky bit would be setting up a stereo amp to get your passive sub and centre speaker on the correct channels