What did you add to your 2 channel system to do HT?


My system is really two channel with components added to create a low budget home theatre system.  My LTA MicroZOTL preamp has a HT input that basically locks the level. Not a true pass-through like my conrad johnson had, but it works. Things I've added include:

Onkyo TX-RZ820 receiver which is only used for processing 

Adcom GFA555 amp for center channel 

Denon PMA600 amp for two surround speakers 

Sonus Faber center channel speaker 

PSB CS500 surround speakers

SVS PB12-nsd subwoofer (in addition to my REL subs) 

Sony Ubp-x800m2 Blu Ray

75 inch Samsung HD LED tv

Pretty low budget and mismatched.  I had the Adcom laying around, so I put it to use.  The system sounds good enough for the little bit of movie watching I do.  The Onkyo will do 7 channel, but only doing 5.1. 

I'm curious to hear what other people do to convert a two channel setup to multichannel? 

sls883

I wonder if the question of the asymptote applies more to to HT than to 2 channel listening.  I ‘m sure that a mega bucks processor et al will sound better for video than a Mid Fi AVR, but would the expensive gear be sonic overkill for videos?.  Even  the most glitzy sound effects can be competently handled by an AVR, and most soundtracks are meant to be background or ambience.  There aren’t to many Alexander Nevsky (Prokofiev) or The Last Waltz type movies out there, where the music was conceived as at least coequal to the video content.  Now if you watch a lot of concert videos, or Blu Ray’s of operas, you might prioritize the sound in a HT system.

@mahler123 I have a number of concert videos on DVD and Blu-ray.  A few of them have really good audio. Most don't.

You definitely wouldn't build a system like mine if your emphasis was on movies. Mine does OK for me, but it would be pretty lacking compared to a high dollar dedicated home theater. 

I need to get The Last Waltz.  Thanks for mentioning it. 

@mahler123 there is nothing to say that high end 2 channel sound and high end HT(or any level HT) can't coexist in the same room unless it is room treatments.  

In my system they coexist and the only shared components are the 2 channel amp and he front speakers.  

My 2 channel sound system stands alone.  No shared components when operating in 2 channel mode.

My HT system routes a preamp level signal to a second input on my amp to drive my front speakers.  So maybe the front speakers and amp cost 10x what the rest of the HT system costs, but they are there for the 2 channel system and certainly don't hurt the HT system, which sounds excellent.  So I don't consider that "overkill".  I use a Marantz Cinema 50 to drive the surround speakers and do the decoding for the front.  I have a large center speaker in the center of my rack that just sits there quietyly during 2 channel sound and is driven by the Marantz for HT.

I know my Marantz reciever reciever and 2000 lbs of floorstanding surround speakers and  subs would be considered mid fi by some HT enthusiasts but I find it to be pretty darn good.

Very happy with both systems.

Jerry

I'm watching Land of Bad on Netflix.  Lots of explosions.  Looks like a good movie. 👍