Splitting preout

Think about using some car radio, speaker level to line level converters.

If you split the Front L-R preamp outputs to the Center and Surround channels, they won't be getting the signal meant for Center and Surround, but only the signals for Front L-R. So technically you won't be hearing surround anymore.

 

I'd look into what Speedskater is suggesting, or you can sell your receiver and get an Emotiva Pre-Pro. Since you already have a power amp, this is technically not at all that expensive to get.

I would suggest that it would be a LOT easier to get a receiver that can handle your speakers without needing an external power amp. The other option would be to get a power amp that has optical preamp in (or a separate premp that does that) so you can port the 5:1 across. There are a few receivers that have analogue 5:1 out, but they aren't cheap. I suspect you're trying to save money here. I don't see how you can do that.
Edited by bigshot - 11/27/12 at 1:30pm

 

Since he already has a poweramp, maybe $500 for while this Emotiva is on sale isn't too bad. Not sure if any of the more mainstream brands have any receivers with preouts at that price range.

For $500 he could get a mighty fine receiver and not need the power amp at all.

 

Without knowing speakers, listening habits, and distance that seems like a pretty big statement to make . . .

 

Thing is he has it, and with receivers, they get upgraded because of the pre-pro section and not necessarily the poweramp, which is usually far from the best designs on the lower models. Plus lots of nicer receivers with beefy amps end up getting upgraded too soon by some people when some newfangled tech (trend) shows up for the pre-pro section. I've seen quite a few pre-HDMI1.3 higher model receivers get sold much cheaper than usual just so people can use just one digital cable for both audio and video, unfortunately I was hobby-wise broke at that time to capitalize on it.

Amazon had a great 5:1 Yamaha AV receiver with 100 watts a channel last week for $300. That should work great for a 5:1 setup, and it probably has better features than a preamp would.

Well as a pre+pro it's not just a preamp, it's also processor, so it's technically a receiver without the amp for anyone with space for a separate amplifier and needs to have cleaner, higher current amplification that doesn't share the power supply or even power cable of the pre+pro section, especially when you're driving five speakers off it.

 

In any case, what Yamaha model was that? The specs on this pre-pro doesn't seem limited on its own.

Yamaha receivers give pretty good bang for the buck. This is the one that was on sale last week...

 

http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-RX-V671-7-1-Channel-Network-Receiver/dp/B004QR56SE/

 

This is the version of it that just came out...

 

http://www.amazon.com/Yamaha-RX-V673-7-2-Channel-Network-Receiver/dp/B007JF85WE/

 

They do but it depends on what your expectations are. Borrowed a 357 before and it was either too thin or too bloated on anything I hooked up to it, but of course that was when the 3xx and 4xx lines were around $450 and you can get the entry-level Denon for the same price. These days though if that 6xx went for $300 I'd get it too.

However since he can't get the same deal now, and he already has a 5ch poweramp, getting a dedicated pre-pro is still a good idea. When upgrade time comes, he can just get a new pre-pro, maybe get another stereo amp from the same series (or at least the same manufacturer) and run 7 channels.

 

Then again, the receiver might be able to drive just 3/5 speakers with the mains on the poweramp, so the best solution may be to not spend on anything at all. The gain on the L-R preouts usually can be adjusted just in case they're too loud.

The Yamaha sounds exactly like the Dennon. Amps in this range are pretty much all clean and flat. The only differences between them are features and power rating.

 

Power rating is important, as many don't support 4 ohm loads.  Without knowing the speaker impedance over frequency, distance, and desired listening levels it seems like a bad idea to suggest HT receivers like that.  You don't know the speakers so it could clip a bunch and go into overload protection for example.

The Yamaha supports 4 ohm. I'm running it biamped into two sets of speakers and there's power to spare.