This the way to get best Stereo Hifi + Home Cinema ?

Raymond Lin

Raymond Lin

Raymond Lin

Caporegime
Joined
20 Oct 2002
Posts
77,634
Location
Wish i was in a Ramen Shop Counter
I have scrapped the Pioneer 2021 idea (£700), and going to go with the VSX-921 at £370, then pair it with an Audiolab 8200M at £629 (mono bloc) power amplifier at a later date.

Perfect home cinema and Hifi under £1k that even a £1k AV Reviver can't touch?

I am not that bothered about the extra bells and whistles - Win 7 certified and all that, or 7 HDMI inputs (I only need 3) so I am thinking this is the best way and most versatile. Can even pick my power amp to suit the front 2 speakers.
 
My plan:

Marantz AV7005 - a quality pre/pro with fantastic stereo quality but can also do all the home theater HDMI surround/HD surround formats

Some DIY stereo speakers me and my friends are making. They would cost about £4K new, thankfully as a DIY project they cost far, far less. The amp circuitry is all part of the build.

5 channel amp (Emotiva?), matched front 3 bookshelf speakers (centre speakers, especially horizontal ones are meh), di or bipole side/rears (need to work out what would be better for the room). Probably a BK sub.

Other than the Marantz, there is the Emotiva UMC-1 going at CRAZY cheap money atm for what it does ($499 for something like the AV7005 but without Audessy), although that is because it's replacement, the XMC-1 is on the way. I hope that will be as good as the Marantz for less money. The UMC-1 is an amazing bargain at the moment, although it's still not as polished as the bigger-name company offerings and new firmware comes out reasonably frequently to address the odd bug.

IMO if you want great stereo and home theatre in the same setup, the pre/pros are where it's at.
 
I wouldn't use any av amp as a pre for music. If you really want HD audio support, the a s/h audio lab 8000ap processor and some decent power amps.
 
Mr_Sukebe said:
I wouldn't use any av amp as a pre for music. If you really want HD audio support, the a s/h audio lab 8000ap processor and some decent power amps.
Click to expand...

There will also be a compromise somewhere if you want both 5.1 + stereo with without having 2 systems.
 
Would it not be better to use an AV Amp into an integrated amp rather than power amps?

What are the sources you want to use? When i did something similar years ago i had

Into Stereo Amp
CD Player
Pre out from AV Amp

Into AV Amp
DVD Player
Xbox
PC

The AV Amp then controlled most of the speakers and the stereo amp powered the front 2 speakers.

Optimum sound for stereo when listening to cd's and then the AV side for everything else.
 
The problem is AVR's don't tend to offer high end stereo performance, even using the pre-outs so you can hook a stereo amp to your main left/right speakers. The newer pre/pros as they have been designed to perform both jobs well rather than do everything in one box, although the prices are a step beyond the integrated AVR (which is why the UMC-1 is such a bargain at the moment). Audiolab are guilty of missing a couple of features that are inexcusable at the price point for a 'does both' product though.

The AVR SR7005 is around £900-1000 but the pre/pro AV7005 is £1599-1699 because even though it's 'missing' the amp section the guts are higher end.
 
Last edited:
Marvt74 said:
Would it not be better to use an AV Amp into an integrated amp rather than power amps?

What are the sources you want to use? When i did something similar years ago i had

Into Stereo Amp
CD Player
Pre out from AV Amp

Into AV Amp
DVD Player
Xbox
PC

The AV Amp then controlled most of the speakers and the stereo amp powered the front 2 speakers.

Optimum sound for stereo when listening to cd's and then the AV side for everything else.
Click to expand...

I didn't know you can do that...I just missed out on a musical fidelity x-a2 o £250 if I had known this.

I guess you plug the pre out from the AV into AUX in at the integrated and select that during movies?
 
Marvt74 said:
Would it not be better to use an AV Amp into an integrated amp rather than power amps?

What are the sources you want to use? When i did something similar years ago i had

Into Stereo Amp
CD Player
Pre out from AV Amp

Into AV Amp
DVD Player
Xbox
PC

The AV Amp then controlled most of the speakers and the stereo amp powered the front 2 speakers.

Optimum sound for stereo when listening to cd's and then the AV side for everything else.
Click to expand...

CAn you confirm I can do this????

Pre out from AV amp into AUX of integrated for the movies?
 
Last edited:
First off, you need an AV amp with Pre-outs.

Connect the hi-fi sources in to hi-fi amp. Front ch spkrs connect to hi-fi amp.
AV sources connect to AV amp. Center and surrounds connect to AV amp.

AV amp front ch pre-out connects to hi-fi amp aux in (or any line input).

To play music just use the hi-fi amp. To play movies you use both amps. Set the hi-fi amp to a volume level equal to the AV amp's speaker levels. Use the AV amp as the master volume control.
 
Right, pre put in AV amp is all I need, will check that when I get back.

I actually have the pioneer at home, albeit dented out of the box but it is the same one I am getting,
 
I used a Cyrus 3 integrated with a denon 3802 using exactly this method a few years ago. It worked very well. CDs just used the integrated amp while movies benefitted from better amplification of the front channels. You might want to check if the integrated amp has an AV bypass mode which turns off the integrated amp's separate volume control and sets a fixed level. Otherwise you will have to choose a set point on the dial as a point of reference. I've since got rid of the AV amp, but I certainly found that having the integrated and AV amp was a great compromise. Most AV amps apart from the slimline ones have pre outs for all the channels (some only have a sub pre out). If you've got an all in one remote it makes switching everything on and off easier.

Enjoy!
 
No Pre-Outs there. It is becoming a rarer feature. You'll have to look further up the range to find amps with Pre-Outs.
 
That's sorted then...:)

Turns out to be a blessing in disguise I think. When I got the Pioneer VSX-921, in Sevenoaks I specifically said that I plan to get a Power Amp later on and use its pre-outs for that.

He said "Yes, you can."

Add to the fact that when i opened the box, this was the unit !!!



It is going back regardless but more reasons to get the 2021.

Going to have to call them to get them to order in the VSX-2021 for Saturday.
 
Last edited:
Ooops. Big dint in the box?

The 2021 is a big chunk of wedge for an AV Amp, then again buy a good one and it'll last you for years. My Sony must be 9 years old and gets daily use. OK so it doesn't do HD audio and it pre-dates HDMI by many years but it sounds good and that's all that matters.
 
Strangely enough the top of the box is fine, the polystyrene is intact. The side of the box has a "tear/hole" in the cardboard. It is almost like something hit it during the packaging stage?

I did ring the Sevenoaks the moment I got home on Saturday and they are not open Sunday and Monday and being at work I can't do anything about it until Saturday.

They already agreed on the phone to swap it for another unit they have in stock, but I rather have the VSX-2021 now and yes, a good amp will last years, my Marantz lasted me a decade. I've got my monies' worth with that.
 
I have a Cyrus 8vs + PSxr for music only, i have a yammy 765v which has pre outs and that gives me 5.1 for Tv + Movies, The Cyrus runs the L/R fronts and the Yammy the centre and rears, i can put the Yammy into pure direct and listen to hifi music via Cyrus kit
 
fabkat said:
I have a Cyrus 8vs + PSxr for music only, i have a yammy 765v which has pre outs and that gives me 5.1 for Tv + Movies, The Cyrus runs the L/R fronts and the Yammy the centre and rears, i can put the Yammy into pure direct and listen to hifi music via Cyrus kit
Click to expand...

I never compared a HiFi amp to an AV amp, can you tell a difference? A noticible difference?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom