Basic question on Amplifiers - Can one use an AVR and a Stereo amp together?

There is a toggle switch in my power amp which helps me select between stereo and AVR . This is the the cleanest possible solution i have come across. So basically you need a nice pre amp and a set of power amps which let you switch between stereo and AVR
Cheers!
Anand
Which amp is that? Can you share a pic
 
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i gather you will be using your front left and right channels only for your stereo listening correct? In case you do, i have a similar setup due to paucity of space hence i have balanced outs from my pre to the power for my stereo listening and for my movie watching i have RCA outs from my AVR to power amps. There is a toggle switch in my power amp which helps me select between stereo and AVR . This is the the cleanest possible solution i have come across. So basically you need a nice pre amp and a set of power amps which let you switch between stereo and AVR
Cheers!
Anand

Hi, yes -- Will be using only front LR channels.

Is this what you have?
Code:
Music source -> Pre-Amp -> Power-Amp -> Speakers
AV Source -> AVR ---{rca-out}---|

Are you saying, you connected the AVR to Power-Amp using RCA in & outs and not pre-outs?
 
Hello everyone,
Apologies for not replying sooner.

I've gone through all the threads and made a diagram to summarises the suggestions given. This helps me to understand how these systems work and might be useful to others. I hope that the attached diagram is a right summary?

Many thanks to each one of you for taking the time to explain how this works.
@Love4sound @SEANDSILVA @sathtom @MaSh

View attachment 47331

Diagram looks fine except that HT-Bypass input should be present in Pre-Amp (not required in Power-Amp) as shown below,

Capture+_2020-07-12-10-58-13~2.png
 
AVR with Pre- out...
1. Use a dedicated power amplifier with unbalance input .
2. Use IA with HT Bypass mode to power front channels .
3 IA without pre-in - connect avr pre-out to one of the analog input of IA. Initially set IA volume dial on half or 12 O' clock position. Now gradually increase the AVR volume till 9 O' clock position . Check the speakers response . Still need power, move IA volume dial to 3 O' clock position . Still need more power move AVR volume dial to 10 O' clock position. In this case Clocks 6 O' clock position is consider as zero volume dial position for both AVR and IA. If both the volume dials are encoded in numbers , it make easy to adjust the volume dial on both units. Make sure to use upto 20-25% power from avr and 70 -80% power from IA else IA pre amplifier stage will trip or IA may get damage. This is a trial and error method to use IA as PA. Anyone must do it with proper knowledge , advice, guidance and supervision . Actually this is not advisable but careful experiments may yield good results.
AVR without Pre-out...
If Zone 2 pre-out is available, use it with PA and separate speakers for stereo purposes.
If wish to integrate avr with PA/IA without pre-out , use Rockford line converter to get pre- out for main channels.
 
Hello all,
I'm new to all the world of Hi-Fi. Thanks to many FMs' help, I got good info on how to setup a 5.1.

Now, I have a basic question w.r.t amplifiers:
I have a Denon AV Receiver -- works amazing for movies. Not so great for music.
How do I improve the quality of music given my setup?
There are a lot of terms like pre-amp, power-amp, stereo amp etc. I don't think I understand these very much.

What component should I look to, to significantly improve the music quality of my system, while still using my Denon AVR for movies?
(I know that if the AVR had pre-outs, things would've been easier. However, is that the only way?)

Can you please shed some light on this?
Thank you.

A unit like this world work.
Takes speaker level input or RCA input

Cheers,
Raghu
 
Please advise good integrated amplifier with HT bypass under 50k rupees.
I was going for denon pma 600ne or 720ne but they don’t have ht bypass.
Note I have Yamaha rxv695 avr.
 
Please advise good integrated amplifier with HT bypass under 50k rupees.
I was going for denon pma 600ne or 720ne but they don’t have ht bypass.
Note I have Yamaha rxv695 avr.
If you are okay to extend a bit and can have someone hand carry an amp from US or Canada you can look at Parasound NC 200 pre amp. This has HT Bypass.
 
Please advise good integrated amplifier with HT bypass under 50k rupees.
I was going for denon pma 600ne or 720ne but they don’t have ht bypass.
Note I have Yamaha rxv695 avr.
Getting an IA with HT bypass around 50K is a tough one. Keep an eye on the "For Sale" section.
Does the AVR have preouts for front L/R? Otherwise this experiment will not work even if you get something with HT bypass.

If you are okay to extend a bit and can have someone hand carry an amp from US or Canada you can look at Parasound NC 200 pre amp. This has HT Bypass.
Just a preamp may not cut it for this application. Needs to be an IA otherwise the system will need external power amps

Cheers,
Raghu
 
Just a preamp may not cut it for this application. Needs to be an IA otherwise the system will need external power amps

Cheers,
Raghu
Yeah. Got it. I assumed there was a PA. I again re-read and saw the OP mentioned it was only RXV 695 ;) . My bad
 
Please advise good integrated amplifier with HT bypass under 50k rupees.
I was going for denon pma 600ne or 720ne but they don’t have ht bypass.
Note I have Yamaha rxv695 avr.

Here you go. I don't think any will be within INR 50K. Audiolab 6000a at INR 78K could be closest.

I'm using Marantz PM8006 with pre-out from Marantz NR1609 for listening to Spotify. Works like a charm.
 

Here you go. I don't think any will be within INR 50K. Audiolab 6000a at INR 78K could be closest.

I'm using Marantz PM8006 with pre-out from Marantz NR1609 for listening to Spotify. Works like a charm.
Read this entire discussion and I am still a little confused. Wondering what would work for me.... I have a marantz NR 1509 which has pre-outs. I current have a 4.2 setup ( two subs and still to get the centre channel but it can wait ) Can I add something like a xtz-edge a2 300 ( which is just a power amp ) to drive my two front speakers and also have the subs to come into play for stereo music. Any help will be appreciated!
 
Read this entire discussion and I am still a little confused. Wondering what would work for me.... I have a marantz NR 1509 which has pre-outs. I current have a 4.2 setup ( two subs and still to get the centre channel but it can wait ) Can I add something like a xtz-edge a2 300 ( which is just a power amp ) to drive my two front speakers and also have the subs to come into play for stereo music. Any help will be appreciated!

Yes you can add any 2 ch power amp to power your front left and front right speakers via the NR1509 and also power your subwoofers at the same time (NR1509 has Front L/R preouts which are different from your subwoofer pre outs). If you intend to power the Elac Debut B6.2 then yes they would benefit from a power amp as they are not very easy to drive. A cheap way out if usage is primarily for movies would be a crown xls 1002/1502 power amplifier , they should give you a good amount of improvement and will cost you only about 20/22k in total.
 
Yes you can add any 2 ch power amp to power your front left and front right speakers via the NR1509 and also power your subwoofers at the same time (NR1509 has Front L/R preouts which are different from your subwoofer pre outs). If you intend to power the Elac Debut B6.2 then yes they would benefit from a power amp as they are not very easy to drive. A cheap way out if usage is primarily for movies would be a crown xls 1002/1502 power amplifier , they should give you a good amount of improvement and will cost you only about 20/22k in total.
Am quite happy with the movie setup...was looking to up the stereo experience. Wanted something that would seamlessly work be it surround sound for movies or music. So in the setup you recommend, I connect the front L/R pre-out from the AVR to the power amp which would mean the front and left would be driven by the power amp while the surround speaker and the center channel ( will add in future) will be driven by the NR1509 and this will work seamlessly for both movies and music?
 
Am quite happy with the movie setup...was looking to up the stereo experience. Wanted something that would seamlessly work be it surround sound for movies or music. So in the setup you recommend, I connect the front L/R pre-out from the AVR to the power amp which would mean the front and left would be driven by the power amp while the surround speaker and the center channel ( will add in future) will be driven by the NR1509 and this will work seamlessly for both movies and music?

Yes it work seamlessly in the manner you described. But from an improvement perspective I am not sure how much better would the XTZ A2 be over the Crown XLS series , there are mixed reviews online about the Emotiva BASX/XPA vs the Crown amplifier. If you are ok with spending about 80k on a PA (the price of the XTZ seems to be 75k) do have a look at IndiQ Saptak , there is a group buy ongoing for the same and they are much better than the Crown/Emotiva XPA series (had demoed the same partially)
 
Yes it work seamlessly in the manner you described. But from an improvement perspective I am not sure how much better would the XTZ A2 be over the Crown XLS series , there are mixed reviews online about the Emotiva BASX/XPA vs the Crown amplifier. If you are ok with spending about 80k on a PA (the price of the XTZ seems to be 75k) do have a look at IndiQ Saptak , there is a group buy ongoing for the same and they are much better than the Crown/Emotiva XPA series (had demoed the same partially)
Just to be clear, the two subwoofers will be connected to the AVR right? And they will still work when using setup for stereo music?

Am not fully committed on a specific power amp. Was just looking at the right way to go about doing this. Will definitely look into the Crown series. Thanks a lot!
 
Just to be clear, the two subwoofers will be connected to the AVR right? And they will still work when using setup for stereo music?

Am not fully committed on a specific power amp. Was just looking at the right way to go about doing this. Will definitely look into the Crown series. Thanks a lot!

Yup, they will function during stereo listening as well. The pre-outs for subwoofer are different from that present for the Fronts. If you see below image under preouts there are 4 rca ports - "Bottom 2 for sub 1 & 2" , "top 2 for fronts (red for right front and white for left fronts).

When you get the PA , there will be 2 RCA ports on the same and you can just connect the preouts from your AVR to the Power amp , adjust power amp gain/volume and run audyssey. Then you are good to go.

1610551086246.png
 
I have Marantz NR 1509. I have connected it's pre-outs (L &R) to Sony TA F 590 ES integrated amp.

My main speakers are connected directly to the integrated amp. I suspect if the pre-out of this Marantz is weak. The levels are just enough.

1509 have a poor DAC in my experience and I did not want to use it for music at all. I wished if It had a digital out so that I can use Heos for streaming. Not happening. So I have my DAC connected to the integrated amp for music.
Read this entire discussion and I am still a little confused. Wondering what would work for me.... I have a marantz NR 1509 which has pre-outs. I current have a 4.2 setup ( two subs and still to get the centre channel but it can wait ) Can I add something like a xtz-edge a2 300 ( which is just a power amp ) to drive my two front speakers and also have the subs to come into play for stereo music. Any help will be appreciated!
 
Yup, they will function during stereo listening as well. The pre-outs for subwoofer are different from that present for the Fronts. If you see below image under preouts there are 4 rca ports - "Bottom 2 for sub 1 & 2" , "top 2 for fronts (red for right front and white for left fronts).

When you get the PA , there will be 2 RCA ports on the same and you can just connect the preouts from your AVR to the Power amp , adjust power amp gain/volume and run audyssey. Then you are good to go.

View attachment 53823
Thank you so much! Much appreciated! Giving the Crown XLS 2002 a serious look!
 
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