Please help me choose preamp for family room

Bill13

Bill13

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Apr 5, 2013
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Hey Guys I have a combo kitchen-family room where I have a quasi theatre set up. This is not my main theatre room.

Right now I have vintage gear. Lexicon preamp. My three front speakers are powered and work perfectly so I would like to keep them.
My two rear speakers are powered by a Rotel amp and I would like to keep them.

A Yamaha Adventage was suggested to me but it might be overkill with 11 channels vs my 5.1 set up

I like Yamaha, Denon, Marantz. It looks like I need a preamp instead of a receiver because of my powered speakers and Rotel.


Can any one throw out some specific ideas for the preamp to me?

Thanks

Bill
 
MIKE: I did not see any HDMI ins or outs on this unit. I need a preamp mostly for a TV experience.
 
Bill13 said:
MIKE: I did not see any HDMI ins or outs on this unit. I need a preamp mostly for a TV experience.
Click to expand...

BILL: a two channel preamp with HDMI? Good luck.

Do you mean a Surround Sound Processor? Something like a multi channel receiver, but without the amp? That's an SSP. That will have HDMI.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 
mep said:
Mike-He has at least 5 channels.
Click to expand...

Then he needs a SSP, not a preamp. The pickings for a multi channel preamp are few and far between. And ones with HDMI are almost non existent. The Parasound P7 is the only one that comes to mind, but again, no HDMI.

Bill - check out something like a Marantz 7701 or 8801.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
 
Mike said:
Then he needs a SSP, not a preamp. The pickings for a multi channel preamp are few and far between. And ones with HDMI are almost non existent. The Parasound P7 is the only one that comes to mind, but again, no HDMI.

Bill - check out something like a Marantz 7701 or 8801.



Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD
Click to expand...


I should have said SSP: The 7701 and 8801 are the type of machines I am looking at. Does Marantz rule the market? Do Yamaha Adventage line and Denon compare?
 
Bill

If by legacy you mean analog sources, there are four sets of analog inputs and one set of analog 7.1 inputs.
 
Jack said:
Bill

If by legacy you mean analog sources, there are four sets of analog inputs and one set of analog 7.1 inputs.
Click to expand...

Oh when I read the review it said something like not providing for legacy. Those inputs would do. I did not realize Denon and Marantz were made by one company. Do you know what is the equivalent Denon to the 8801?
 
Bill

The reviews were referring to it having no component or composite video inputs. As to the Denon's, D&M Holdings doesn't market SSP's under the Denon badge. Another thing with the Emotiva is that you can try it for 30 days and then ship it back if you don't like it.
 
For my 5.1 HT/surround sound/spare stereo I use the Onkyo SC5509. I have been very happy with its sound.

Preamplifiers | PR-SC5509 | Onkyo USA

The rest of the system is Aerial Acoustics 7T speakers for the front, PSB Synchrony One for the rears, and a PSB Synchrony One Center speaker. Two Cambridge-Audio 840W amps drive the front, and a Sunfire TGA-5400 amp drives the center and rears. A Bryston BDP-1 file player is an audio source, and it connects to a Bryston BDA-2 DAC. An Oppo 103 plays the Blue Rays.
 
Jack said:
Bill

The reviews were referring to it having no component or composite video inputs. As to the Denon's, D&M Holdings doesn't market SSP's under the Denon badge. Another thing with the Emotiva is that you can try it for 30 days and then ship it back if you don't like it.
Click to expand...

It gets a lot less press than the more popular Marantz and the upcoming Yamaha CX a5000 but it sounds like its worth exploring. I will read about it more. Very hard to get answers by googling reviews (so many are biased)
 
BlueFox said:
For my 5.1 HT/surround sound/spare stereo I use the Onkyo SC5509. I have been very happy with its sound.

Preamplifiers | PR-SC5509 | Onkyo USA

The rest of the system is Aerial Acoustics 7T speakers for the front, PSB Synchrony One for the rears, and a PSB Synchrony One Center speaker. Two Cambridge-Audio 840W amps drive the front, and a Sunfire TGA-5400 amp drives the center and rears. A Bryston BDP-1 file player is an audio source, and it connects to a Bryston BDA-2 DAC. An Oppo 103 plays the Blue Rays.
Click to expand...

sounds interesting: specs appear right
 
Bill

The Onkyo appears to be a great unit, but as you said this was a secondary HT setup, I was trying to help you accomplish your goal at a far lower price with a well reviewed unit. If you are willing to spend in the price range of the Onkyo there are multiple units that will fit the bill. But if you don't need 7.2 or 9.2 and all of the advanced processing in this setup, then don't pay for them.
 
Jack said:
Bill

The Onkyo appears to be a great unit, but as you said this was a secondary HT setup, I was trying to help you accomplish your goal at a far lower price with a well reviewed unit. If you are willing to spend in the price range of the Onkyo there are multiple units that will fit the bill. But if you don't need 7.2 or 9.2 and all of the advanced processing in this setup, then don't pay for them.
Click to expand...


Of course, you are right its not my primary HT, I do not need 7.2 or 9.2. I am looking for the best "reasonable" solution. Thank you for the advice.

Bill
 
Bill

I am not a HT kind of guy. I had a faze about a decade ago when I bought all dedicated components and set up a pretty good HT system with a dedicated SSP, a high quality two channel amp for the fronts and a Rotel three channel amp for the center and surround. That required a dedicated rack to support all the equipment. When after four or five years I figured out I wasn't really using it that much, I sold all that gear off and went to a Pioneer Elite AV Reciever. Is the sound quality the same as the separate components, no but it does take up less room and the equipment rack went away. If I was to get back in to separate AV components now I would buy the processor I recommended and their cheapest 5 channel amp. A reviewer on one the sites tested the two bottom line Emotiva components against a $2500 top of the line Denon AVR and the less than a $1000 Emotiva separates won hands down.
 
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