lotaz
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Posts: 70
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Post by lotaz on Sept 12, 2018 23:17:49 GMT -5
I currently have a TA-100 running through an A-300 Into RF7 IIs. I set it up to be 2.0 I really love it, great set up and was just what I was looking for.
Well tonight I received a surprise birthday present. My wife bought me a matching Cherry wood RC64 II. Now my dilemma, how do hook it up or am I going to end ip buying another amp? What would be the cheapest way to proceed here other than using my old Sony surround sound receiver?
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Post by stads77 on Sept 13, 2018 6:43:51 GMT -5
Well, it’s a strange question because I assume you realize in order to use your center channel it will require a processor rather then stereo preamp and therefore another amp channel, unless you decided to buy a receiver (processor and amps in one). No way to just, “ use the speaker” in your current setup.
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Post by macromicroman on Sept 13, 2018 7:14:18 GMT -5
You could just send the new speaker to me and be done with your problem.
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lotaz
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Posts: 70
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Post by lotaz on Sept 13, 2018 8:29:17 GMT -5
Thats what I was afraid of.........it was a nice present but is going to end up costing to get it going.
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lotaz
Minor Hero
Posts: 70
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Post by lotaz on Sept 13, 2018 8:50:41 GMT -5
So it looks like if i go emotiva i would need $700 for the processor then an a-500 amp at $500. That would be the cheapest i could get away with. Darn it.
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Post by garbulky on Sept 13, 2018 9:20:29 GMT -5
I currently have a TA-100 running through an A-300 Into RF7 IIs. I set it up to be 2.0 I really love it, great set up and was just what I was looking for. Well tonight I received a surprise birthday present. My wife bought me a matching Cherry wood RC64 II. Now my dilemma, how do hook it up or am I going to end ip buying another amp? What would be the cheapest way to proceed here other than using my old Sony surround sound receiver? If your Sony receiver has preamp outputs you can connect the left and right RCA preamp outputs to your TA-100's analog inputs. Then connect your center speaker to the Sony's center speaker output. However it's got a small learnign curve. First is when you want to listen to movies - set the TA-100 to 100% or whatever volume appears balanced to you with the center speaker. And then leave it there. Then use the Sony processor to turn the volume up and down while leaving the TA-100 alone. This means that you have to be responsible for a few things. 1. When you watch movies switch to the receiver. 2. Switch to analog input on TA-100. 3. Then turn the volume up to 100% on TA_100. More importantly - 1. Once your done with the movie reduce the volume on the TA-100 way down. If you or your wife forget this part then you will be in TROUBLE as your resulting sound will be very very loud. 2. Switch back to your regular listening input. 3. Control volume with TA_100. |
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Post by rbk123 on Sept 13, 2018 9:37:20 GMT -5
So it looks like if i go emotiva i would need $700 for the processor then an a-500 amp at $500. That would be the cheapest i could get away with. Darn it. Well..... I have an MC700 and I would never pay, or recommend someone pay $700 for it. If you must go with it, just monitor the forum, or ebay, for a used one. They are, and should be, cheap since they can't accommodate HDMI 2.0b which is pretty prevalent. However there are lots of great processors for cheap that don't do 2.0b, so you don't have to limit yourself to the MC Same for the amp - you can get UPA's, and Gen1/2 XPA's for that price range. I believe there was a UPA-1 out there for like $175. If you go with an amp that has 3 channels or more, you can offset the cost by selling your TA-100. If you're Sony has pre-outs, you can do as Gar suggested but I'm not sure what value the TA-100 would add anymore. You could just connect the Sony's 2 channels to your A-300 instead of the TA-100. Since you have it, hook it up both ways and see if you can hear a difference. |
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lotaz
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Posts: 70
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Post by lotaz on Sept 13, 2018 12:51:52 GMT -5
My old Sony receiver in the garage does not have pre outs unfortunately. These are good ideas though and I will keep a look out for used items
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Post by creimes on Sept 13, 2018 15:44:08 GMT -5
Sell the TA-100, get a used MC700 and there is a used A-500 here on the lounge for sale. I purchased a used TA-100 for $300 shipped last winter for an idea of what one might sell for used, but the more you could get the better, and if 4k HDMI isn't needed a used UMC-200 or Sherbourn PT-7020 or PT7030 would be a great option.
Chad
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Post by garbulky on Sept 13, 2018 17:56:31 GMT -5
BTW, I would not reccomend an MC700. Ghastly slow switching.
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lotaz
Minor Hero
Posts: 70
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Post by lotaz on Sept 17, 2018 11:07:01 GMT -5
BTW, I would not reccomend an MC700. Ghastly slow switching. Unfortunately I may have to go back to a receiver. I have a STR-DN1040 that I may just have to pull out of another room and use it. I will use the RF82 IIs for the 2.0 set up. Not what I was looking for but it will be a temp fix till I can get some money together. |
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lotaz
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Post by lotaz on Oct 11, 2018 16:49:30 GMT -5
I bought a Marantz SR7012 and will just use that. Its unfortunate that the MC700 isnt a better unit. I really wanted to stick with Emotiva but doing a 3 channel amp and their good processor was out of reach. I know the TA-100 will get used just not sure what i will do with the A300. Anyway i do appreciate the help and recomendations.Feel like i went backwards from my original goals but still will have a decent set up.
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Post by rbk123 on Oct 11, 2018 17:33:15 GMT -5
How does your new setup sound?
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lotaz
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Posts: 70
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Post by lotaz on Oct 13, 2018 10:55:40 GMT -5
I just finished setting it up last night so I still need time to play with the Marantz receiver. But initial thoughts are that for movies and TV the receiever works great. Its very versatile. I now have more than just my computer for external music. Set up is really easy
Now for the one thing I dont like as of yet, the TA-100 with the A-300 blows it away for 2 channel music. Thats using the same Emotiva CD-100 and the U-turn turn table etc.
Like I say I just got it up and going last night and I need more time to play with all the settings. I am hoping I can get it to sound better. Its not terrible just not what I had. Maybe in the future I use it as a processor? Who knows but for now I need to spend a lot of time playiny with it.
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lotaz
Minor Hero
Posts: 70
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Post by lotaz on Oct 16, 2018 14:50:37 GMT -5
So after having the receiver for a while here is what I am going to do. It's so frustrating that one nice gift from my wife has been such a pain. I wish a HT receiver could play 2.0 music well. In reviews people were saying the Marantz did both well.
The solution I have come up with is to have both systems in my cabinet. The Marantz is great for movies and TV but the TA-100 and A-300 are better for 2.0 music. So I decided this weekend I will set up the Emotiva system and just have 2 sets of speaker wires to the RF7 II's. Change them out when I want to listen to music and change them back for TV and movies and be done with it.
I will say this, the SACD's running through my old Sony Blu-ray into the Marantz sound pretty decent
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lotaz
Minor Hero
Posts: 70
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Post by lotaz on Dec 31, 2018 13:00:25 GMT -5
So after having the receiver for a while here is what I am going to do. It's so frustrating that one nice gift from my wife has been such a pain. I wish a HT receiver could play 2.0 music well. In reviews people were saying the Marantz did both well. The solution I have come up with is to have both systems in my cabinet. The Marantz is great for movies and TV but the TA-100 and A-300 are better for 2.0 music. So I decided this weekend I will set up the Emotiva system and just have 2 sets of speaker wires to the RF7 II's. Change them out when I want to listen to music and change them back for TV and movies and be done with it. I will say this, the SACD's running through my old Sony Blu-ray into the Marantz sound pretty decent So I finally got a cabinet that would hold both systems. I got everything set up and I am very happy with the end result. Yes I have to switch the speaker wires depending on which unit I am listening to, bit of a pain but only takes a minute to do.
I tried to make the Marantz work, tried 2.0 then I tried 2.1 I can say it was ok and maybe for most people they would have been fine with it. Once I got the Emotiva system hooked back up there really isn't a comparison. The Marantz is great for movies and TV sound, I really like the way it works as a surround sound processor and amp.
Anyway I have a great start to the new year happy as can be with both set ups. 4k movies are great and the Emovita systems kicks booty!
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KeithL
Administrator 
Posts: 9,938
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Post by KeithL on Dec 31, 2018 14:31:52 GMT -5
A few suggestions.......
(Let's get the mandatory "Now, if you could afford an XMC-1, or an XMC-2, it would do a great job at both" out of the way first ....  )
Now......
1)
You COULD use or make a manual speaker switch.
YOU HAVE TO BE REALLY CAREFUL THAT THERE'S NO CHANCE OF CONNECTING BOTH AMPS AT THE SAME TIME. For that reason I would be really careful about any sort of commercial speaker switch unless you know what's inside. However, if you're into building stuff, get yourself a pair of DPDT bat switches, and use one to switch each speaker between the two amps (a single 4PDT switch would work but they're hard to find).
2) Even better - although more expensive..... They do make relay-based speaker switches that can be switched by the trigger output on one of your amps... And one or two that even sense when signal is present. (Just make sure it's intended to switch two amps to one set of speakers and not just the other way around.)
So after having the receiver for a while here is what I am going to do. It's so frustrating that one nice gift from my wife has been such a pain. I wish a HT receiver could play 2.0 music well. In reviews people were saying the Marantz did both well. The solution I have come up with is to have both systems in my cabinet. The Marantz is great for movies and TV but the TA-100 and A-300 are better for 2.0 music. So I decided this weekend I will set up the Emotiva system and just have 2 sets of speaker wires to the RF7 II's. Change them out when I want to listen to music and change them back for TV and movies and be done with it. I will say this, the SACD's running through my old Sony Blu-ray into the Marantz sound pretty decent So I finally got a cabinet that would hold both systems. I got everything set up and I am very happy with the end result. Yes I have to switch the speaker wires depending on which unit I am listening to, bit of a pain but only takes a minute to do.
I tried to make the Marantz work, tried 2.0 then I tried 2.1 I can say it was ok and maybe for most people they would have been fine with it. Once I got the Emotiva system hooked back up there really isn't a comparison. The Marantz is great for movies and TV sound, I really like the way it works as a surround sound processor and amp.
Anyway I have a great start to the new year happy as can be with both set ups. 4k movies are great and the Emovita systems kicks booty!
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