An odd idea


Got a question for all of you . . . .

I've been battling with the problem of optimizing 2-channel performance without compromising the coherence of my HT setup. I only have one room which is usuable for A/V gear, and it's loaded to the gills with speakers for HT.

I'd like to upgrade my amplification for 2-channel, but don't want to have to buy SEVEN channels of "good stuff," since that's a healthy chunk of cash and I'm happy with the HT performance of my Rotel gear.

So here's the question -- anybody ever tried hooking up one set of speakers to two different amplifiers? I'm thinking of a modified shotgun biwire cable, run backwards -- single end to the speaker, split ends to two different amps. Obviously you'd have to make sure you NEVER had both of the amps turned on at the same time . . . .

It seems to me that this would be preferable to using a switcher box, because that would put an additional "thing" in the signal path, where the split speaker cables would not.

Of course, my understanding of electronics would fit into a Vibrapod, so there might very well be a screamingly obvious reason why this would be a disaster in the making . . . .

Would this work? If it did, it would allow the use of completely different amps for 2-channel and HT without having to worry about the interaction of one with another, same for preamps.

I'd really appreciate any feedback anyone had here . . . .

Thanks!

Pat
tsrart
If you run the output of one amp into the output of another amp your going to smoke the amp even if it is off. Had a friend that had the same idea as you using a Rotel 6 channel amp and an aragon 8008bb. As soon as he turn on the aragon amp (the rotel was off) the rotel went up in smoke. Cost over $300.00 to repair the rotel. Best thing to do is to have two sets of speaker cables and just reach behind the speakers and swap cables.
I had the same problem that you did. I run Infinity IRS V on the front, IRS betas for surrounds and an IRS Gamma on the center. I use different amps for the front and back. The difference is sound field is VERY negligible. I could make the sound totally seamless either by upgrading all my speakers to IRS V and better amps, which isn't something I can afford, or I can downgrade my mains to equal the quality of my surrounds, which is also something I am not willing to do.

Any system that plays a large percentage of music would do well to upgrade the mains at the expense of the other channels.
One nice thing, I guess, is that with using two sets of speaker cables as an option, I can always go ahead and try the amp in the HT system, and then use the cable swapping maneuver if I'm not happy with the cohesion.

Thanks for the suggestions!

Pat
Prpixel --

Ouch! Remember that Vibrapod worth of electronics knowledge I mentioned earlier? THANKS for the warning . . . I will relegate that idea to the same dustbin as Communism -- "It SOUNDS like a good idea, but . . . ."

Mrpoindexter --

Thanks for the input -- like you, buying 8 channels worth of Aragon or McCormack isn't really an option, so it's good to hear from someone else who has successfully integrated "good" with "really good" and not had any issues.

Thanks again to all!
One of the regulars on this forum who is also an electrical engineer can correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that having your speakers connected simultaneously to two amps -- even if one of them is turned off -- may produce an undesirable electrical interaction. The electrical signal coming in from one set of speaker wires can still feed down the speaker cable going to the unplugged amp (assuming both sets of speaker wires are connected to the same binding post), which can lead to anomalies in the resistance/impedance, and may even produce undesirable EMF (electromotive backforce) similar to the current produced by the rearward movement of a speaker cone.

In short, even if one amp is always turned off and you NEVER make a mistake of leaving both amps on, this is probably a very BAD idea from both an electrical and audio viewpoint. I'd recommend doing what I do, and what others above have suggested: use a 2-channel amp for your main speakers, and a separate 5-channel amp for your center and surround speakers