separate system for just music?


Is it a common practice to have a totally different system for your music vs. hometheater? Right now I have only one system that i use for both but recently I've been playing with the idea of getting a very nice amp for just stereo music. I have lots of speakers and can easily dedicate a pair just for music. If i bought a nice amp, and only want to use a cd to play the music, what else do i need to complete the system? Do i need a preamp? I have so far, speakers and a cd player. What else do i need to complete this? an amp and preamp? i want to make it as simple as possible. thx for your help.
monterey

Showing 1 response by dbphd

First, I doubt a separate system for music is common practice, but I haven't seen any credible surveys to support that conclusion.

Second, unless you plan on a separate room for music, speaker placement is like to be a greater consideration than amp selection. I can imagine a set up in which in-wall speakers are used for HT and a pair of free standing speakers for music.

The only advantage of separate systems that I can envision is HT processing seems to be changing more rapidly than music processing, and replacing high-end HT processors that have become obsolete can get expensive. I'm happy living with a bit of obsolescence in a single system, but if my preamp supported pass-through I'd probably add an Integra processor -- doubt I want to deal with level matching issue from just plugging a processor output into an unused preamp input.

db