Suggestions to power my new Sierra 2's? New vs Old Flagship, Seperates? PC Source.

[Mysticle31]

I just ordered some Sierra 2's and Subwoofer for my new rig. Now what do I need to power them and make them play?

I don't think I really need HDMI. My source is a computer/ipad/android phone/tablet that will play my blu-rays, Netflix, Spotify, MP3, FLAC, WiDi, Airplay..etc. I do have and old tape deck and and 8 track that I never use. I also have a record player or other gizmos I may want to plug in occasionally, but that is secondary.

Equipment:
I've been looking at top shelf pre-hdmi receivers like the Yamaha RX-V1 that I can buy used OR a newer XYZ receiver, OR various preamp/amplifier combinations. Suggestions? I would like to be able to control the volume from the computer either using the computer volume or using the computer to control the preamp/receiver. I could do this with an app that I write and and IR blaster if necessary.

I've read that as long as the amp power is good and clean, quality of the preamp matters more for sound quality. I don't want to feed my new speakers garbage.

Am I missing out on 3D HDMI? Any new codec's?

This is the plan.

AV Cabling:
1) HDMI Splitter such as the Monoprice HDMI Splitter
Splits to Projector and TV+Receiver
http://www.monoprice.com/Product?c_i...igLink-2470763
Splits to Projector and TV+Receiver

2) HDMI Audio extractor like the ViewHD Premium HDMI to HDMI extractor.
Extracts audio for receiver and sends video to TV
http://www.amazon.com/ViewHD-Premium.../dp/B00KBHX072


Preamp Options: (if I go separates)

I really like this, too bad it's sterio only, I think. Plus I think I can do just as good for less $?
Emotiva Stealth DC-1
https://emotiva.com/products/electronics/stealth-dc-1

This could be interesting if it fed a nice amp?
Essence Evolve HDMI Multi-Channel DAC
http://www.essenceelectrostatic.com/...i-channel-dac/

or this
Hifi360 HF-D1B AC3 DTS5.1 USB DAC
http://www.amazon.com/Hifi360-HF-D1B.../dp/B00A2QM0DW

or this
Creative Labs Decoder DDTS-100
http://www.amazon.com/CreativeLabs-C...ef=pd_sxp_f_pt

Speakerwire
I met a guy at the electronics store in line and he demoed his Vandersteins and various alphabet soup and DIY speakers. He talked about special cables that help bass and treble reach the speaker at the same time. He was some kind of signals engineer for an aerospace company. What should I run for my stuff?

He had some incredible sounding stuff. I was debating for while buying Ascend's or some used Vanders or whatever(s) high dollar speakers but chose the Ascends. Hope that was good

Thoughts? Thanks for reading!!


PS: I already have:
Denon AVR-2802 (90 watt x 6) has toslink + digital in
4 rungs down from flagship in 2002.
Sony STR-DE715 (100 x ?)
For some reason I don't like Sony receivers. This was is just an input selector for my PC's line in.
Sansui 7070 (60 x 2)
I like this old thing. Could it power some stereo sierras in my office? It's in great shape, I rebuilt it in the late 90s.

[Sivar]

Regarding cabling, click on the links in my signature. I would furl an eyebrow at anyone who says they are a signals engineer then says that special cables help treble and bass reach the speaker at the same time. I would expect that more from someone that is selling healing crystals.

Regarding pre-amp, many will disagree with me but I am increasingly convinced that separates aren't really worth the cost in most situations. Note that many receivers have preamp-out connections that bypass the internal amplifier; those receivers are often cheaper than comparable pre-amps.

My research agrees that the amplifier doesn't matter all that much for sound. I think the jury is still out regarding class-D amplifiers, which are fairly young and have different design trade-offs, but I have yet to see any evidence that modern class-B amplifiers differ much other than in output. Note that it is very common for receivers rate output power very liberally, though I would expect Denon's numbers to be reasonable. Not sure about the others one way or the other.

If it were me, I'd put my budget into the speakers and, if your existing receivers don't satisfy you, only then get something more powerful. Please don't fall into the trap that is easily set by the numbers: 200W output per channel (for example) does not product volume even close to twice as loud. Returns diminish remarkably quickly.

[Mysticle31]

I just picked up an Onkyo TX-SR876 (140 x 7) .05% THD (whatever that means) for 100 bucks. Well see if it ships! So that answers the equipment section. I's still like to see if anyone has any suggestions/experience with those other preamps and processors.

It's good to hear about the cable. Good reads. His cable was like 400 bucks, and I found some online for 1000s. Holy ****. It looks like some of them have circuity or little boxes on them?


Why do you say oops next to the UMC-1 preamp?

[Sivar]

Why do you say oops next to the UMC-1 preamp?

The UMC-1 was made at a time where most small manufacturers, including Emotiva, had problems with the finer points of HDMI negotiation.
My UMC-1 works fine, but it occasionally loses audio sync with the source (notable when it is paused for a long time) and, when unpaused, spits out noise instead of audio. Changing the source to something else and then back fixes the problem so it isn't too annoying.
The UMC-1 also processes bass differently than most receivers. That and a few other issues, most of which were fixed in firmware updates, make it fit firmly into the "not ready for prime time" category.