Would I be mad? Chop in AV amp for SONOS & Cyrus?

ChrisD.

ChrisD.

ChrisD.

Man of Honour
Joined
20 Sep 2006
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Hi all,

Currently have a Pioneer SC 2024 hooked up to MA BX5 fronts, BX Center and BXFX rears and a BK sub.

Would I be mad to consider changing the AV setup to a SONOS soundbar, sub and Play:1 rears, then get some Cyrus gear hooked up to the BX5's? I'd have to get rid of the other speakers of course.

My mate's just bought some Cyrus kit and I'm incredibly jealous of the quality of the sound!

For what it's worth, I already have a SONOS Connect, 3 Play:1's and a Play:5 in the house. I guess I need to check if my TV will pass through 5.1.
 
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Just to clarify, you're asking if you can replace your Pioneer with a soundbar and a Cyrus integrated amp?

If so, then the answer is that yes, you could use a soundbar for just AV and then a Cyrus stereo amp with one of your existing pair of speakers.

Of course it would mean a downgrade in AV sound quality, but a good improvement with stereo only music.

As for whether to do it, that's something only you can decide.
Another thought is that you'd probably be better even with movies just outputting two channel than bothering with the soundbar.
 
What about using the pre outs of my AV amp into a stereo amp? Am I right in thinking that the sound would bypass the AV amp and go into what I connect it to?

Ah, just thought, I'd still have to have the speakers connected to the AV amp, which wouldn't help.
 
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S2KIP said:
What about using the pre outs of my AV amp into a stereo amp? Am I right in thinking that the sound would bypass the AV amp and go into what I connect it to?
Click to expand...
I was about to suggest exactly that.

S2KIP said:
Ah, just thought, I'd still have to have the speakers connected to the AV amp, which wouldn't help.
Click to expand...
Only the centre, surrounds and sub (if present) remain connected to the AV amp/receiver. The front stereo pair (your BX5's) connect directly to the Hi-Fi amp. It's a way to bridge two worlds and give the best of both.




All that remains then is to add a Sonos Player (Connect) as an analogue stereo source to the Hi-Fi amp, and simultaneously as a digital source to the AV receiver so that it can be used either in pure stereo or via the surround speakers when entertaining.
 
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Cheers Lucid. Hmm, will have to keep an eye on the auctions for a Cyrus 8 or similar stack.

With such a setup, how would volume matching work when using the AV amp watching a film etc?

I already have the Sonos Connect, so that box is checked.
 
Volume matching: yes. All you need do is set up the HiFi amp volume once at a level that matches the centre and surrounds, then mark the dial and fascia so that the same setting can be used each time in AV mode.
 
You could buy it, try it, and if it's not for you then tip it back on Ebay or the specialist Hi-Fi forums for what you paid.
 
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