2. home-theater
  3. 1257256153

confused with HT bypass

a fish out of water here, hopefully you guys can help me. i have 2 completely seperate systems in my living room, a 7.2 HT system and a 2 channel system. i did it this way
because i was told that this was the only way to configure it (i'm pretty clueless with HT). but having 4 main speakers, 2 subs, a TV stand and an audio rack in my front room are making things rather crowded to say the least. then yesterday for the first time, i finally REALLY looked at that little switch on top of my supratek preamp called the 'home theater bypass' (DUH). so now i'm trying to figure out if my two systems can share my 2 channel mains and if so how to do it.
To clarify, here are the system highlights. the pre/pro is a denon AVR-1910. this unit has no pre-out so would have to be upgraded. possibly complicating things is the main
speakers i want to use are emerald physics cs2.3's and require biamping and DSP. amps are 2 bel canto S300's.
So let's see if i have this straight in my head. i would go from my new pre/pro's preamp out using only the L and R main pre out into the HT bypass channel on my supratek. this would allow the pre/pro to still control the center channel, surrounds, and subs. the mains signal would pass through my supratek's HT bypass without altering it. obviously i would have to have the bel canto's powered up to get power to the mains as the pre/pro for the mains would only be acting as a preamp and would not be supplying power to the mains, correct? the biggest problem i see is how do i level match the mains bel canto's with the pre/pro's amps controlling the center/surrounds? do i use the trim controls in the pre/pro? would i have enough gain/cut to do this? does the behringer DSP (or the upcoming DBX unit) allow for altering the gain? would i have to 'tell' the denon that i am bypassing the main speakers or would simply using the main pre-outs do that for me? thanx in advance for any help. i would be happy to clarify as best i can if anyone needs more info.
ratso1

Showing 3 responses by dbphd

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dbphd
1,631 posts
 
Kal,

I don't understand why an XLR out from my Proceed PAV to the pass-through of an Integra 9.9 isn't the way to go. As I understand it, the Integra pass-through does just that. If I take the LR pre-out to the PAV, don't I lose the benefit of Audyssey as well as having to juggle volume control? Maybe I misunderstand what pass-through without processing means; maybe the pass-through does include an amplification stage.

I wonder if anyone makes a switch with two sets of XLR inputs and one XLR output. I'd like 1.3 HDMI, but don't want to lose the sense of transparency I so enjoy with my PAV/PDSD. Maybe with HDMi from a Sony XA5400ES to an Integra 9.9, I'd have no need for analog. Sure wish there was someplace near Santa Barbara where I could hear the Sony or the Integra.

db, slow learner
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dbphd
1,631 posts
 
Kal,

Thanks for the reply. The brevity of your explication makes some of your comments difficult for me to follow. I thought I had read that the Integra has pass-through capability, but if it doesn't that pretty much ends my plan of using it with my PAV. Pass-through-without-processing means just that with the Proceed PDSD; the analog output of the PAV is simple passed to the amp.

I've been retired as director of a research center for more than 15 years, so please forgive me if my abstract reasoning is not up to par.

db
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dbphd
1,631 posts
 
Kal,

Thanks for the explicit reply. The Proceed PAV does not have HT passthrough, so if I decide to go with an Integra 9.9 it will be on its own. I'll keep the PAV/PDSD until I'm convinced I wont be disappointed in the sound of the Integra.

Like me, my audio components tend to be vintage: The LR speakers are KEF Reference 104/2s crossed at 80 Hz to a Velodyne HGS-15 that is controlled by a SMS-1 sub manager; the KEF 104/2s, 102/2s, and 200 are driven by Proceed Amp 2 and Amp 3.

Again, thanks for the help.

db
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