Mixing Tenor hybrid with SS multichannel for HT ?

Mike thanks for your very helpful suggestions. As I don't have any equipment now (the reno probably has almost 2 months to go),

If I went with the DCC2, it doesn't appear to have a HT pass-through input or unity gain input. Is that correct ? I wonder if the Audio Aero Capitole MKII has a HT pass-through on it's preamp section ?

i don't know for sure.....but i believe the DCC2's analog input can be used as a pass thru. yes, it would go thru the gain stage of the DCC2 but that would be easy to figure out. you could do it a couple of different ways.

you could simply preset the front channel volume levels on your processor to allow for the DCC2 to be adjusted to 'full volume'. this, in essence, would be unity gain. the danger of this approach would be if someone 'forgot' to turn it down when using the DAC in the DCC2.

you could also adjust the gain settings on your processor for the normal levels of the DCC2....this would be a safer approach. i think the DCC2 has numeric values for volume.....so it would be an easily managable issue. any sonic penalties of 2 gain stages would be trivial with HT sources anyway.

either way it should work just fine integrated with an HT processor.

the AA Capitole has no 2-channel analog input (at least not that i am aware of--mine did not have it).....so it would not work as well (and not perform as well in 2-channel).

Let me share a thought process during my decision of trying to determine a configuration.

I currently have the Meitner DCC2 for listening to music. I was thinking about going to a DAC6/Switchman and feed the music signal through it to utilize a single volume control. The problem is that, for music, the DCC2 directly to an amp is better than inserting any other preamp between the DCC2 and the amps. Since music is my primary interest and HT is second I did not want anything between the DCC2 and the amps. Consequently, either I would have to switch the cables between preamps and amps each time when switching between listening to music and HT or think of an alternative.

If you run the HT pre/pro into the DCC2 then the highest volume of the HT front L and R will only be as loud as what the DCC2 is set to. Which may not be correct volume for the movie being watched. The potential of setting the DCC2 up to volume 99 while the HT is playing and then switching to music source on the DCC2 and blowing something up comes into play.

For right now I am thinking of having a passive switch which would act like a Y-connector. But I will have to listen to it and see what it does. As always, the tweaking of these systems is sometimes trial and error.

If there are any other thoughts on this I would even appreciate input.

you guys are great !

yeah, the 99 volume scares me (a disaster waiting to happen) ... how much does a Jena switch box go for ? are there other high-quality switchers that are cheaper than Jena that are unlikely to degrade the output ?

On my DCC2 the volume level is "input specific" and retained for that selection. For example, if you have the analog input set to "99" for the HT pass through, when you switch to a digital input, the volume also changes to the last value selected for that digital input. There really is no danger is setting the DCC2 input to "99" for HT pass through and accidentally blowing your system up if you switched to a digital input on the DCC2. Even the digital inputs themselves retain a separate volume level for each input- AES/EBU, Coax, Fiber, etc.

What I plan to do is set my levels in my HT processor for the rest of the system and then raise the volume on the DCC2 until the main/front L&R levels are the same as the surround channels. Once adjusted, I'll just leave that volume setting on the DCC2 to that value, and everytime I select the analog input it will be set for me. This way I keep all the internal levels on my HT processor the same.

I hope this helps.