What is the best way to add a 5:1 system

db . . . it will work fine. I have a PAV that I use for Stereo (amazing stereo pre) and I moved it to my HT, using my Lexicon MC-1 for 5.1 input to the PAV. It worked fine, but because of ventilation issues in my HT rack it over heated so I had to move it to another system.

Thanx much for the tips. It will be a while before this happens, but thought I would get a vision for it should look like. Sounds like I will need a processor and another amp with 3 channels, or would it be easier to have one amp for the 5:1 and the 402 strictly stereo? That is how most of my time is spent.

I would go with your best/most favored amp for stereo and add another 3 channels of amplification for the surround. depending on your configuration you can get a 3 channel amp for the ctr/rears, or if you're like me and like to use short speaker cables, get a mono amp for the center (somewhat matched to your 402), and a pair of mono's or a stereo amp for the rears. If you get a 3 channel amp you'll need long speaker cable runs to your rear channels. Of course alternately you need long interconnect run.

The problem with getting a 5 channel amp for 5.1 is you need to swap cables, which is a big pain.

Hey Bd,

Good suggestion. I had thought about the cable switch concern and was wondering, since I already have a high power selector box for selecting combinations of front, rear and an outdoor set, if there is a way set up something to select the current set up or a 5:1 system with 5 channel amp that could be arranged w/o the cable swap. Essentially two discrete systems sharing selected speakers with selector boxes instead of swapping cables, which I agree is a real pain!

I figure if not, then a 3 channel amp plus the MC 402 would work, but I do listen to much of my music with front and rear and wish to keep that ability.

regards,
rr

Regardless of what I wrote in my previous post, I actually use my Proceed Amp 3 for LCR, with 14' XLR lines running from the PAV/PDSD pre/pro to the amps. The amp sits between the LR speakers and behind the center speaker. In stereo mode, of course, the center amp is inactive. The Amp 2 sits next to the rack and drives the surrounds.

I have no idea what a used 3 channel equivalent of the MC 402 might cost on Audiogon.

db

rr,

Well, I see a MC 303-3 on Audiogon for $7K, so bd's suggestion of buying a mono amp for the center looks attractive. I assume your B&Ws are inefficient and require lots of power.

db