please help with stereo and home theater integration!

[marsupial]

Hello,



Okay so to start, my original system was an extreme entry-level setup consisting of a denon avr790 receiver, 5.1 speakers, tv, media players, and a computer. I used this setup to do everything from watching Blu Rays, to playing Xbox, to streaming movies and music from my laptop.



Loving music but not the quality of my setup, I decided to make my first foray into mid-fi 2 channel listening. So, I bought a mytek stereo 192 dsd dac / preamp, kef q900 loudspeakers, and an emotiva xpa-2 power amplifier. This has been outstanding for music listening, but it has completely broken my surround sound capabilities, and I have been watching movies through my TV speakers lately.



So here is what I did:



I ordered a MARANTZ av7701 AV preamp, which will be here TOMORROW. My idea was to run the Left and Right pre-out lines to the analog inputs of my mytek dac/pre, which would be set on bypass mode when using surround. Then, I figured I would send the center and surround pre-out lines from the MARANTZ to the analog 5.1ch inputs on my denon receiver...



HOWEVER!!!



My denon receiver sadly has no such analog inputs. and the MARANTZ has no digital outputs at all. So I am stuck : (



My initial idea was that I could utilize the ZONE 2 HDMI OUTPUT of the marantz, and connect that to one of the HDMI inputs of the DENON.. If I did this, could i just use the TV AUDIO option on the marantz to send the full digital audio signal through hdmi to my denon?



My other idea was to browse craigslist for a cheap AV receiver with 5.1ch analog inputs, and use it to drive my center and surround speakers. It should be said that my center channel speaker is a polk audio center that I bought at best buy for like 200$, and the surround speakers are crappy sony bookshelfs, of unknown origin.. So, I don't need a lot of amplification for these.



IDEALLY i would simply buy a 3 channel amplifier, and get some additional KEF speakers to complete my surround setup.. but with the 2 channel system I've already bought, plus the additional marantz av preamp (1700$), I cannot afford any more equipment for a while.



Does anyone have any suggestions? I have found a cheap old sony receiver on craigslist for 40$ with 5.1ch analog inputs,... should i buy it? Or can I somehow use the denon?



ANY HELP WOULD BE GREATLY APPRECIATED!!



Thank you very much

[drtrey3]

Hey Marsupial, welcome! One thing that really, really helped my surround listening was getting the same family of speakers all around. It made a HUGE difference in how immersive and enjoyable surround music and movies are. My surround speakers are tiny things, but they use the same tweeter as the front and center and that is huge. You can certainly use a receiver for amplification, that is what I am doing till I get the funds to upgrade. But save your money cause better amplification really does help as well. You will get lots of good advice and people helping you here, it is a cool place. Glad you made it, hang out with us!

Trey

[yves]

Your Denon does have analog 7.1 inputs. (They are labeled "EXT. IN"). Also, your Marantz does have digital outputs. (They are labeled "HDMI OUT").

P.S. - If using the analog inputs of your Denon, I recommend that you switch the Denon to DIRECT. This will bypass Audyssey and bass management of your Denon, but you will be able to use the Marantz' similar looking features for that. Whether the analog inputs of your Denon can sound better than its HDMI input is entirely up to you to decide, but switching the Denon to DIRECT, when also selecting the Denon's analog inputs as the Denon's source, will use the internal DAC of the Marantz. Whereas selecting the Denon's HDMI input as the Denon's source will use the internal DAC of the Denon.

[marsupial]

wow, i feel sooo stupid right now : (... you are absolutely right, my denon has analog 7.1 inputs! problem officially solved : ). thank you so much for the replies

-Pete

[yves]

Dec 19, 2013 11:40:21 GMT -5 marsupial said:

wow, i feel sooo stupid right now : (... you are absolutely right, my denon has analog 7.1 inputs! problem officially solved : ). thank you so much for the replies

-Pete

I have updated my post.