Originally Posted by
eliwankenobi
Hello!
If you want a preamp, you could consider the Parasound P5 and the Emotiva XSP-1, now in its second generation. Both are well reviewd and both have bass management. A benefit of the Emotiva is that the home theater bypass also includes an input for subwoofer, where the p5 does not. This makes it more difficult to integrate you subwoofer with your pure audio setup AND your home theater. The Emotiva lets you have your 2ch setup with crossover to you subwoofer(s) and when in HT bypass, it just passes along whatever comes from the subwoofer signal and you only connect your subwoofer to one device.
Speaking of connecting, which ever preamp you choose would go in between you AVR pre-outs and your power amplifier. So the preouts for front Left/Right will go to the preamp and the output from the preamp goes into the power amps for your Left/Right speakers. In case of the Emotiva amps you do the same for the subwoofers. On both preamps, you also have enough inputs to include the analog outptus of the bdp103.
A note on the subs. I believe you have two subs? If so, you still want to use the summed subwoofer output. So what bass frequencies below the crossover point are split between your two subs and both play the same signal. Both subs playing the same signal is what makes them work together to even out the bass in your room. Otherwise they will both work more against each other than together. Besides, anything below 80hz we can't locate anyways, so it's not like a low 35hz signal on the left signal will be heard coming from the left sub.
Another note/drawback. Part of setting up a subwoofer properly to integrate with your main speakers is to have them time aligned with your mains speakers. This is very difficult to do. You'll always need somekind of DSP to setup proper delays so notes are all time-aligned and arrive at your position at the same time. There are devices out there like the miniDSP 2in x 4out boxes that would let you do just this. There is some setup involved, but it is just for the subs. Your main speakers would still be playing whatever they receive from the preamp.
I hope this helps.
Final note: most of what I mentioned here (specifically the subwoofer part), I learned from First Reflect himself (Rob H) and Tom Andry on the AV Rant podcast. Just search for AV Rant on YouTube and you'll find them quickly. The podcast is dedicated to answering questions for listeners about AV. And I recommend you or anyone ro check it out.
Ok I'm running too long now, bye!
Re: Help a New Forum Member Set Up a System That ROCKS
They also sell very inexpensive Chinese-sourced cables over at TartanCable.com . Same company. The BlueJeans brand is for American made cable stock, Tartan is for Chinese-sourced cables. Either way, great company and perfect cable performance for very reasonable prices.
). But if you have more money to spend, spend it where it will do you the most good. That would either be a pair of more capable subwoofers than the ones you already have, or on acoustic room treatments. You should spend your money in places where it will actually create a useful, audible difference, not on antiquated notions that some folks are still holding onto for no good reason. Like the separate amp, it might intuitively seem like a nice thing to have. And at the end of the day, it is your money and your happiness, so it's not like I can stop you if it's what you really want. And you WILL hear the sound change if you play your 2-channel recordings through a separate setup with no auto-EQ and possibly no subwoofers. It'll sound different for sure. It's just that it won't be as accurate and linear as what the 4520 could give you all by itself just by putting it in Stereo listening mode and keeping Audyssey and bass management engaged! So I don't get it, and I can't possibly recommend it as a good use of your money.