Ayre K-5?

[Bob]

Jon,
What do you know about this pre-amp that Ayre will be releasing? Charles Hansen says that it has a processor pass thru. Does that mean that it can be used with a av processor without having to switch interconnects to the amp from one to the other? If so, I like the idea out of laziness but, would think that if it is in any way connected to the av pre-amp there would be some degradation of the signal. Which would defeat the purpose of using a more musical pre for music and a av processor for movies.

[Brandon B]

Pass throughs usually have the main L&R from the AV system coming into the pre as another input. Your high quality sources are connected directly to the pre which then goes on to your amps etc. So the signal should be identical for your high quality sources.

This arrangement means the only signal degradation would be in your AV signal (if any) by having the Ayre in the chain. Given the quality of the Ayre, I don't think that is (remotely) an issue.

The only other concern would be introducing possible ground hum to your pure 2 channel rig by connecting it to the AV system with cable/satellite etc. and their occassional problems.

I have a setup like this (although not with an Ayre :cry: ), and it works nicely. THe inputs are switched by relays, so when the AV pass through it not engaged, it is not connected to the system in any way other than grounding at the chassis.

Is the Ayre a 2 channel only, or does it have 5.1 inputs for SACD or DVD-A?

BB

[JonMarsh]

The processor pass through routes the output connection for the front left and right channels of a Pre-Pro to the outputs. This is essentially the same thing the Sony EDP9ES did, except in reverse, in that it then routed the stereo inputs from a conventional preamp to the outputs.

Since there are a lot of Pre-pro's without convenient analog bypass, I think this is a sensible addition, and one which shouldn't compromise the sound in normal two channel use, as Charlie switches both the hots and grounds (because it's a inherently a balanced circuit he uses, all the way through, even on unbalanced inputs).



Regards,

Jon




Earth First!
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[Lex]

Nice post Brandon. With the quality of both components Bob, I would guess there would be little to degredate here.

I can relate to the occasional ground loop hum through interconnectivity. I've always believed it starts in my HT, but since my amp is connected to both (I use amp switching now), but you know, I just got to thinking, I maybe don't have to do it this way. But it would introduce my Classe as analog pass through to the HT. But come to think of it, that might not be such a bad thing anyway. Thanks for getting me to thinking. I would much rather flip a switch on the Classe remotely than change the amp dip switches. What the heck was I thinking? LOL.

Hmmm, I don't know though, perhaps the classe would only accept line level, not pre-amplified signals, and since I have multiple HT sources, this might not work at all, unless I run cables for each of 2 DVD players and use the DACs in the players. Hmm, not sure how many inputs I have on the Classe either.

Lex

[Bob]

Jon and Brandon,
Thanks for the info. I beleive that my processor doesn't provide a true analog bypass function. From reading the manual I beleive that while the analog direct function bypasses all the processor functions and, of course DACs, it still sends the signal through the volume control.
I guess I will just have to switch over the interconnects when going from music to movies.