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DAC or Preamp controlled by DirectTV remote

Need some help with what I thought would be a common situation. I have a Panny 65" plasma with Direct TV , Apple TV and Panny Blue Ray as inputs.
Sound is presently through B&W 801 II driven by Aragon amp & preamp.
Would like to buy a DAC/preamp or integrated with optical input that can be controlled by the Direct TV remote.
This remote can be programmed to control many brands including Bel Canto, NAD, HK, Cambridge , Classe etc.
Have tried Aragon, B&K, EAD, Sunfire & others without success.(older models)
Don't want surround. Just good clean old fashioned stereo controlled by the simple DTV remote.
Any Ideas??
The B&W's require LOTS of power so a preamp with optical in seems easiest.
plus...am I assuming too much that the 3 inputs to the TV come out of the optical out on the TV as a steady signal NOT controlled by the volume control??
Tired of all the remotes lying around.
Thanks for any input!!
jmlbmw
jmlbmw OP
3 posts
 
OK... Leaving out the remote control obsession, my main goal now is making sure what I buy will work in my system.
Yes, Goldprintaudio, I've narrowed down my choices to either Bel Canto DAC or the NAD M15 or NAD M51 HD. The Bel Canto seems best but the NAD M15 has pass thru HDMI to take the sound signal out of (6 of them) compared to relying on the Panasonics optical out to feed the Bel Canto DAC or NAD M51. I've talked to Panasonic about the signal generated optically and it can be Dolby or PCM (??) and am concerned about decoding abilities of both units. Also think I don't want or need the extra complexity of the surround circuits in the M15.
So.. the bottom line question now is will 3 HDMI signals going to the Plasma TV, and being switched in the TV, generate a compatible optical output to a Bel Canto or NAD 2 channel DAC. And, is the signal generated by these DAC's strong enough to generate higher volume levels as they are not ""full blown" preamps. (or are they??)
Again.Thanks for any ideas/suggestions. I've been messing with this for years and don't want to put another "brick" in my pile of processors in the closet which now includes EAD, B&K, Sunfire & ACT3.
last_lemming
632 posts
 
I have a M51 DAC and its pretty amazing. It had no problems driving my Vincent SP331 amp or my CIAudio D200 MKii amps. Its has one of the best digital volume controls out there and can decode just about anything from PCM to SACD. Check out the NAD site for the downloadable manual and specs. If you do some digging you'll find a few personal reviews on the internet and they gush over it. Not many reviews as yet since it's pretty new. I did a review here on 'gon if your interested. Also the unit has balanced and unbalanced outputs. I would say it is a preamp, but you only have one analog out.
jmlbmw OP
3 posts
 
Thanks again to all & an update. After much study, have settled on a Marantz AV7005 at least temporarily as a financial alternative so to speak. Ideally, a higher end PrePro such as NAD M15HD or Classe etc with 4 or more HDMI ports would be my choice but the $$ just isn't there it seems. I will try operating the Marantz with the Direct TV remote but might just try the Harmony as all have suggested plus use the TV as a monitor only. Have been lax in keeping up with the audio world for many years but this episode has rekindled a 50 year affair with the field.
It's gonna cost me I think. I'll post later on results.
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