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Using a receiver as a pre-amp...many questions

I have totem sttaf (8ohm, 88db sensitivity) l+r, a totem tribe II (6ohm,88db sensitivity) as center, and the totem storm sub. I use the system for both movies/tv and l+r and sub for music...music being the most important to me soundwise. My receiver is an integra 40.3. Ok so here come the questions...

In order to have the system sound good for anything (movies/tv or music) I feel like I have to turn the receiver up too high (around 68-75 out of 100)...otherwise the sound is flat/boring. Do people agree that this is a problem, or I should just turn it up and be happy? Keep in mind that once I do turn it up I am very happy with the sound it produces...overall I like what I have.

What I am thinking about doing is buying three red dragon audio m500 monoblock amps and connecting from the receiver to the amps. Should I expect this to improve the sound at lower levels, or the high volume need is just a function of the way my speakers work and nothing different will happen?

Another option I am thinking about is buying a two channel amp (I am thinking of tube hybrid) to connect to receiver, and using it to power just the l+r speakers to get possible improvement there.

Ultimately I would like to get away from the receiver altogether as everything I read says that a real pre-amp and amp improves sound dramatically...however all of my connections are HDMI (computer music, movies, and cable) and until someone starts making an HDMI dac then I think I am stuck with the receiver.

Sorry for so many questions but as you can likely tell I am a rather new audio person and need advise. Any comments on the questions above would be great...also setup suggestions that I may not have thought of would also help.
jpg1975
jpg1975 OP
18 posts
 
@Tls49...I like that answer, it should make my life easier

I think I know what I need to do now...thanks all for your responses!

I will start searching for a dac and integrated...
tls49's avatar
tls49
1,351 posts
 
Jpg1975, and you are welcome. Make sure the integrated has the HT bypass option, as some do not. Also, with your sub connected to the Integra, as it is now, it will not work when using the integrated only, however there is a way it can work for both.
bdgregory
1,712 posts
 
Jp . . . Tls has given good advice above. It did not occur to me that the Integra would not output digital sources to the tape outs. I think the direction you're going now can yield very good music results. The only thing I would add is this - Clearly finding an integrated with HT passthru is the best/most ideal solution, however it's not essential. You can achieve the same results by using any integrated and taking the "main outs" from the Integra into any line level input on the integrated. If set up this way it's necessary to set up your HT outputs with the volume level on the integrated set at a level you can repeat. For example, set the volume on the integrated at 12:00 when caligrating your HT settings. Then every time you use your HT, you set the integrated at 12:00, then your Integra volume level controls loudness adjustments as you desire.

One other option for you that can yield even better music performance and flexibility is to get separate preamp and power amp rather than an integrated. Many preamps have HT passthru. The downside of this option is it's likely to cost more, and it takes up more space.
jpg1975 OP
18 posts
 
Do you know of any integrated that is tube/ss hybrid and has home theater pass through, but not crazy expensive? I was interested in the one from Vincent brand but as far as I can tell there is no ht pass through. Also not there on the Jolida. For some reason I am very drawn to tube/ss hybrid. Bdgregory...I know you said that it is not a must to have ht pass through but the volume matching thing sounds like a bit of a pain I would like to avoid if possible.
bdgregory
1,712 posts
 
It's true that ht passthru is a significant advantage. While I wouldn't describe the volume matching as a pain, it's a serious inconvenience, or semi risky. When I used my Musical Fidelity preamp for HT PT, I set the volume knob at 12:00 which is the only location that was stupid simple to replicate. It worked great, and took no time at all to set up; However, when I switched back to Music - that setting was too loud, so I always needed to remember to change before cueing up music - something I always worried about forgetting to do.

As for Hybrid amps - I'm not familiar with any. One way to get a hybrid is to go separates like I do. I have a tube preamp and SS power amps. The thing I like about my setup is my music preamp isn't even powered on when I'm in HT mode. Some preamps accommodate this, and some need to be powered on (which isn't a big deal as preamps consume very little power when not processing.

You may want to post another thread with a title something like "seeking Hybrid Integrated Amp recommendations". You'll need to specify what your budget is since "crazy expensive" means different things to different people.
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