Any reasons not to do this?

[jester race]

Okay since I am a newbie to this whole mid/high end audio and live in a small 1 bedroom apartment and can not put a system in the bedroom I was wondering if I could put a seperate ht and 2 channel system in the same room. I will be putting it together piece by piece also i can not put acoustic treatments in the room (MAF) but I eventually will when I move out.

[Clive]

Hi Jester.
Is there a special reason why you want to have two separate systems at this time? Space?

In my experience, if you go with some really decent speakers for your mains and a really good receiver or pre-pro, you would be able to switch to two channel and get great results. Later-on when you've moved, you could then decide to build a separate listenning room. Maybe a Tube Amp? :T

[jester race]

well I originaly was going to have my ht and 2channel on the same system but some people have told me that multi pre/pros will probably not be as good as a dedicated 2 channel system and 2 channel is my priority but I still want an ht system. by the way for 2 channel i was probably going to get something from B&Ws 800 series and a used classe or something else at that level. or is this not a good idea since I can not get acoustic treatments at this current time?

[thyname]

I know many people that have a different setup (different power amp, pre/pro and different speakers) for stereo and a different one for HT. From my experience though, these tend to be rich people that can afford buying expensive stuff, and have big houses with dedicated Home Theater room or basement.

I was wondering if somebody more experienced in this forum can shed some light on the reasoning behind this "separation" issue.

[Burke Strickland]

When you get to point where you can afford the "higher end" (aka "more expensive") equipment and get into room treatment, you'll find that it is very difficult to optimize the "sound" of a room for both multichannel movie use and enjoyment of two channel music.

In the first, (multichannel surround), you'd typically want the reflections to be damped so the reverberant field is produced by the speakers and controlled by the processor rather than being produced from the "natural" reflective qualities of the room. In a room designed primarily for two channel music playback, you would typically want a somewhat more "live" reverberant quality (but not too "echoey").

So ideally, you might want two separate rooms for these two purposes -- but not always. I happen to like the Magnepan sound all around and that pretty much requires a "live" room. As one of our long time members here can attest, putting Maggies in too heavily damped a room "kills" their effectiveness.

Then we get to the equipment, and many "audiophiles" will insist that devices and components capable of playing DVDs are not up to their rarified standards for music playback. While that may be true at the very high end, in the range of affordability (aka budgetary sanity), :>) there are some fine performers that blur the distinction, such as the Denon 3910 which several reviewers have stated makes a stand alone dedicated CD player (even a very good one) unnecessary.

So it is possible to find some combinations of room acoustics and equipment that can handle both movies and music without unacceptable compromise.

What the heck, if you have the space for two complete setups in rooms independenty optimized for their designated purpose, have the money to spend on ultra high end gear where you might actually hear a slight bit of difference, and the inclination to do all that, go for it.

But if budget is a consideration, if space is a concern, and if you don't already have a library or CDs/SACD/DVD-A an d/or DVDs numbering in the hundreds or more, then it might make more sense to have a merged system and spend your money on something else (like building a library of movies and/or music albums).

Burke

[Andrew Pratt]

As one of our long time members here can attest, putting Maggies in too heavily damped a room "kills" their effectiveness.

ops:

[maddog]

Hello Jester,

I have been considering the the same thing as you, and for pretty much the same reasons as you list. Another reason is if you already have a mid-fi HT setup and you are looking to upgrade to a high-fi setup, it will cost twice as much to upgrade the entire HT setup as it would to get a separate 2-channel setup.

However, I think I am leaning against this right now for two primary reasons:

1. Although my den is big (19x26x10), it would be kind of crowded putting 2 sets of floorstanding main speakers next to each other. From my experience, speaker placement is one of the most important things for both 2-ch and HT. Ideally, you should have nothing large inbetween your two main speakers. So, they should be pulled forward from your TV. But that still presents problems if you have two of them on each side. I suppose you could sacrifice the HT mains and put them in line with the TV and have the 2-ch pulled in front. But that would be a pretty big sacrifice on the HT setup IMO. Of course, there is also the aesthetics of this. I am not sure if I would like the looks of two sets of mains and speaker wires in my den.

2. The other reason is that I know that if I were watching a film with a really good soundtrack, I would be wishing that I was hearing that on the hi-fi setup.

Anyway, that's just my thinking on this subject right now. Good Luck!

- maddog

[Andrew Pratt]

There are ways on melding 2 and multi channel systems together with very good results. The problem will always be the room as Burke correctly points out. That said given that most of us can't afford two systems there are things you can do to maximize your 2 channel experience in your theatres...first start with the front speakers and then the source once those are at a high level you're well on your way to enjoying 2 channel sound and a better home theatre experience as well.

[maddog]

There are ways on melding 2 and multi channel systems together with very good results. The problem will always be the room as Burke correctly points out.

So, Andrew, how would you position two sets of floorstanding main speakers considering that you should not have anything large inbetween them? And what if one or both sets are not shielded. How would you deal with that with regards to their positioning?

[Jack Keck]

Jester,

Check out http://www.hometheatertalk.com/Revie...my_system.html

This enthuiast has a 7 channel HT and stereeo in the same room. Granted the room is huge. He even has two IB subs, one for each system.

the forum at that site is great, too.

[jester race]

Okay if I blend my 2 channel and ht system can someone please recommend some pre/pros or recievers for use with say a 803S keeping in mind that music is the priority or would those speakers be overkill or pointless with my small room size with no ecoustic treatments.

P.S I have auditioned the B&W's but in a treated room.

[maddog]

Jester,

Check out http://www.hometheatertalk.com/Revie...my_system.html

This enthuiast has a 7 channel HT and stereeo in the same room. Granted the room is huge. ...

Impressive setup and huge room (and I thought my room was big). But I would not want that arrangement of 2-ch and HT mains. It's probably good for 2-ch, but the backs of the HT mains are practically right against that wall unit and what about all those reflections off the 2-ch mains in front of them. Just my opinion.

[JetFlyGuy]

I have a very highly damped room, and find that runing in stereo produces less than stellar results. (Room is designed for HT). The Classse/B&W's sound great for HT, but the deadness of the room is profound when the surrounds are off.

[Glen B]

I have been able to successfully combine 2-channel and HT in the same room and get good stereo imaging. The 2-channel speakers are positioned just slightly forward of the HT mains. My 2-channel equipment rack (not pictured) is located across the room.

[gostan]

The other option is to add a separate 2 channel preamplifier and use the front speakers for 2 channel and 5.1 in the same system. I demoed a VTL tube preamplifier with a HT processor passthrough loop and with the flip of a switch 2 channel sounds far improved over utilizing the analog bypass of the HT processor. I have already upgraded my entire set-up from so-called mid-fi to high-fi with N803's for the fronts.

Just another thought/take on the subject.