Steve...Ditto on the same problem..I stumbled on a possible solution.....I've been a big fan of Mac/Jbl combo over the years, and have had various amps/preamps...Now I wanted all that "surround" stuff, so I went out and bought a Mac 7205 5 ch amp, c42 preamp, and msd4 processor...For sheer sonic fidelity, I was sadly disappointed....So I sold my 7205, and went back to a combination of higher power amps for the 5 channels.......An improvement, but still missing what I had been getting from my good old 2 channel stereo. For music listening, which is 95% of the time, the processor seemed to be the weak link in the system.
In the "pro-logic" mode, the msd4 threw far too much stuff into the center channel, and the front l and r became, well, "muddled".......I figured I was destined to go back to stereo for my music listening......I had an idea, a very simple one, and ran it by the guys down at the stereo store....They said I shouldn't do this, so naturally, I went home and tried it immediatly.
Here's what I did. You guys tell me if I'm going to wreck my equipment...Basicly, I wanted the best of both worlds. The full richness of my stereo, plus the ambiance of the surround......Soooooo, why not combine both signals.? For starters, I inserted a "monster " "Y" fitting into the L and R input of my main front amp. Now I have 2 female inputs for L and R. From my c42 preamp, I took my MAIN OUT and ran it to one of the 2 "Y" inputs to my main front amp that I described. Then, from my msd4 processor, I took the FRONT L & R and hooked it to the vacant input on my "Y" connector.......So what am I really doing here---I'm mixing 2 signals to my front L&R....The best stereo signal, un-muddled by the processor, and the processors signal....My other channels, sub, center, and surround l and r were left undisturbed. MAN, WHAT A DIFFERENCE...I didn't get off that couch till well after 2AM....AND....My equipment didn't blow up like my "knowledgeable professionals" down at the stereo store said.......I preserved 100% of the rich, beautiful Stereo signal, AND the full "ambiance" of my surround...WOW !! And I was ready to chuck the whole system and go back to Stereo...Any comments?? Anybody else tried this?? By the way, I am able to operate the volume control on BOTH the pre-amp AND processor from my only remote...The one that came with the C42...So once I get the volumes generally matched manually, I use the remote......I'm ecstatic!! Macfan Al...Beautiful Lake Tahoe, NV
In the "pro-logic" mode, the msd4 threw far too much stuff into the center channel, and the front l and r became, well, "muddled".......I figured I was destined to go back to stereo for my music listening......I had an idea, a very simple one, and ran it by the guys down at the stereo store....They said I shouldn't do this, so naturally, I went home and tried it immediatly.
Here's what I did. You guys tell me if I'm going to wreck my equipment...Basicly, I wanted the best of both worlds. The full richness of my stereo, plus the ambiance of the surround......Soooooo, why not combine both signals.? For starters, I inserted a "monster " "Y" fitting into the L and R input of my main front amp. Now I have 2 female inputs for L and R. From my c42 preamp, I took my MAIN OUT and ran it to one of the 2 "Y" inputs to my main front amp that I described. Then, from my msd4 processor, I took the FRONT L & R and hooked it to the vacant input on my "Y" connector.......So what am I really doing here---I'm mixing 2 signals to my front L&R....The best stereo signal, un-muddled by the processor, and the processors signal....My other channels, sub, center, and surround l and r were left undisturbed. MAN, WHAT A DIFFERENCE...I didn't get off that couch till well after 2AM....AND....My equipment didn't blow up like my "knowledgeable professionals" down at the stereo store said.......I preserved 100% of the rich, beautiful Stereo signal, AND the full "ambiance" of my surround...WOW !! And I was ready to chuck the whole system and go back to Stereo...Any comments?? Anybody else tried this?? By the way, I am able to operate the volume control on BOTH the pre-amp AND processor from my only remote...The one that came with the C42...So once I get the volumes generally matched manually, I use the remote......I'm ecstatic!! Macfan Al...Beautiful Lake Tahoe, NV