Home Cinema Poisoning my System?

I will probably be "flamed" for saying this, but I think you can combine 2-channel with home theater to good effect. Admittedly I started with multi-channel. But every upgrade was geared toward improving the 2-channel music experience. The two areas that, to me, seem to require some thought are preamp/processor and power amplification. Home theater requires extra circuitry compared to a traditional 2-channel preamp. Perhaps it is because of this that a preamp in the same price range as an A/V processor might sound better. But, many A/V processors have a "direct" mode that bypasses the digital circuitry for 2-channel listening. Some of the "big" names in 2-channel audio are beginning to offer A/V processor/preamps; they aren't cheap at $7000 - $15000. I did read a review from a guy that used two or three Audio Alchemy DLCs (a highly regarded 2-ch preamp) with a dobly digital processor to construct a home theater system. So, it is possbile to build one from 2-ch. components. Next, power amplification. You can either buy a multi-channel amp, three stereo amps, or five/six monoblocks (with a corresponding price increase). To me this is the easiest to solve. If you like your current 2-ch amplifier (be it stereo or monos) just buy more :); of course cost and space may be prohibitive. Again, some of the "big" names in 2-channel are offering five/six channel amps (some for quite some time). With respect to speakers there seem to be differing opinions. Yes, the speakers need to be matched (which usually means from the same manufacturer). But whether or not using "main" loudspeakers for center and rear is better than using speakers designed for center and rear I couldn't say. There is of course the issue of equipment placement...a monitor between the loudspeakers can destroy imaging. But, if have enough space the monitor can positioned welp behind the loudspeakers. Well, I guess I've written enough. Sorry if this post was too long.

buy a preamp that has a processor loop - plug yer processor into it & when ya swithch the preamp to this input, it defaults all the preamps' controls to that of the processor, so yer processor can run yer main speakers, as well as the surrounds. when yer listening only to 2-channel audio, the main speakers don't have to be run thru the processor's electronics. there are many preamps that are now set up to do this - linn, vtl, sonic frontiers, adcom; i'm sure there are many others.

doug

Same dilemma. I chose to combine the two as well. I now have a killer A/V system with what I would call killer 2-channel and 5.1 audio as well. No real magic to accomplish this. Like the previous post, I have Martin Logan ReQuets as my mains too. Killer sound for both operations. Here is the route I took (good luck): Martin Logan Requests (mains) Martin Logan Cinema (center) Polk F/X 1000s (rears) Bryston 7Bs (main amps) Bryston 3Bs (rear & center) Parasound AVC 2500 Pre-amp. (you can bypass the DACs with an upgrade. Naim CD5 for cds Pioneer Elite dv 37 for DVD I also have two subs, one to round out the Logans bass on 2 channel etc. I also have a Sunfire True Sub hooked to LFE out that only plays during movies. That was the only actual "split" I had to make to get great performance in both modes.

Cwlondon: Yes, the ideal would be to use 3 identical speakers up front. And one the these days, we may get a substantial quantity of well-recorded multichannel sound that makes good use of that center channel. The trouble, of course, is that a central tower speaker (or a bookshelf speaker on a stand) would have to go in exactly the same place that home theater places the video monitor. Hence the small horizontal design of center-channel speakers.

Two years ago I sold my separate stereo preamp and modest receiver based ht system. I wanted to simplify (reduce the number of components & speakers) and also wanted to take advantage of the quality that my l/r mains could bring to ht. I'm currently using a Meridian 561 pre/pro and a 508.24 as a transport. This combination sounds very close to the 508.24 used with an analog preamp (SF Line 1 used prior to 561). My mains are Thiel CS7.2s, my center channel is from Aerial Acoustics (CC3B), and my surrounds are Paradigm Ref ADPs. They're not matched but everything blends well for HT. I have a front LCD projector so there is no problem with a monitor between my Thiels, and I move my stand mounted center out of the way when I want to listen critically in Direct two channel mode. I'm considering the addition of an analog preamp that has a HT throughput so I have more options to upgrade my digital 2 channel front end and possibly improve the sound at the same time. If I could do it over again I would have spent less money on a high end pre/pro and used the difference to get a better preamp w/HT throughput. If you do blend your SL3s into a HT system I would consider ML's 'Cinema' center.