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Stereo Guy - Need advice on HT integration

I have a pretty good 2 channel setup around Avalon Time speakers driven by Joule Electra valve amplifiers.   Source is primarily vinyl from SME turntable and Apple lossless digital media from time to time.  I now want to add HT capability for those times to watch cable, or satellite feeds as well as from my Apple computer. I have passed my previous stereo preamp on so am looking for advice on how to tackle this problem.  I don’t to spend much on the HT side of things, maybe a Marantz receiver style of unit.  But  I don’t want to give up the Joule amps but want to keep the system simple.  Any ideas?
mcleodsd
auxinput
2,920 posts
 

You don't need a receiver.  I think you will want to get a HT Processor.  The Marantz AV7703 or AV7704 will do great at that price point.  What is the your budget?

None of the HT Processors will have a phono preamp built in, so you would need to get a separate phono preamp if you wanted to continue to use your turntable.

willemj
1,036 posts
 
All you need is to use the digital outputs from your TV, (UHD)BD player or set top box into a decent DAC and you are done as long as two channel HT is fine with you. In fact, you can even do this using the inbuilt DACs of your sources, provided your tv etc still have a normal analogue output.That is what I do, and I think a high quality stereo system will beat a medium quality multichannel system every time. This way, the only expense is some basic rca cables.
jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
Are you planning to use your Avalon Times driven by your JE amps as front mains in your HT setup?

If so, I would suggest looking for a nice stereo preamp that has a HT processor throughput (many good ones do), and using a HT receiver for your surrounds and sub HT needs.
When I was doing this, I found this MUCH more satisfactory then any SSP that I tried. I never found any SSP to sound musical on two channel stereo music, not even "high end" brands like Classe, Mark Levinson, Krell.

For me, the best sound in stereo was achieved  using a stereo preamp for 2 channel audio purposes, then just adding a HT Receiver accessed through the stereo preamp HT Processor loop.

Good luck!
mcleodsd OP
7 posts
 
Thank you everyone for your input - much appreciated.
jmcgrogan2.  Yes, this the kind of solution I was hoping for.  I should have mentioned that I was looking for a 5.1 HT system.  I have the other speakers and subs but no other amplifiers.   As to whether the JE are used in HT I’m not sure.  It might not be suitable but sounds fantastic in 2 channel.  If i got a stronger 5.1 receiver/processor capable of driving Avalons in HT mode i would have come up with a way to switch inputs to the speakers.  What HT processors with HT pass through do you recommend?
bdgregory
1,712 posts
 
it's your preamp that needs HT passthrough, not the HT Processor. What the Passthrough does is take your front L/R outs from your HT pre/pro into your stereo preamp which sends it to your front (Joule) amp. If your preamp doesn't have passthrough you can use a spare input from your preamp for this purpose, but its less ideal.

Your notion of driving your Avalons with 2 different power amps and switching between them is the least ideal way of all IMHO.  
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