Will these HT separates give me good 2chl sound?

[Jeffk]

I continue in my search for the best combined HT and 2 channel set-up. In previous posts, in response to how best to maximize 2 channel sound (better 2-3 chnl amp or use parallel integrated) many of you thought I should go with a separate integrated amp side-by-side with my Pioneer 49tx rvcr and B&W N803's/HTM1/DS7 set-up . I almost did it. Then I started to think about the possible family confusion with multiple equipment. Here's my new question: if I up my budget to $5k used, can I get excellent 2 channel performance similar to a stand alone integrated in the same price range? My choices (at least what I think I can get used within my budget):

Amp: Bryston 9B, Parasound A51, McIntosh 7205 (possibly 205), Theta Dreadnaught, Simaudio Aurora, Bel Canto evo6

Preamp:Bryston SP2, Classe SSP300, Parasound C1/C2, Cary Cinema 11, Simaudio Stargate, McIntosh 132 (or a steal on a Lexicon or meridian).

Basically, will these combinations get close to where I will be with a standalone Plinius 9200, Bryston B100, Mac 6900, Simaudio Moon I7, etc, or at least a Krell 400xi or BelCanto s300i???

Eager to hear your opinions, especially Kal and RebelMan, who have had many of the HT units I've mentioned above. Am I getting close to 2 channel bliss with these HT pieces?

Thanks much...Jeff

[Kal Rubinson]

So, is your 2channel analog? If so, you need to concentrate on the analog passthrough function.

Kal

[Antus]

consider the system as a whole, i can come up with some options

option 1: One 5 channel amp. (for example, CA5200) and use your Pioneer as preamp and processing.
advantages:
1. you can upgrade to a high end preamp-pro later when all the DD TrueHD, DTS master and other "new" codec become available and u will have a state of the art HT/2Channel system.
2. U can use CA5200 to biamp the 803 plus a center channel. and use ur existing amp for HT use. From my experience, B&W speakers do sound better when bi amped.

option 2: one 2 channel preamp and one 2 channel amp. (best if amp have XLR and RCA input) so u can connect pioneer to RCA input and 2 channel with XLR)
advantages:
1. when listen to 2 channel, u only need to turn off the Pioneer and u will have a pure analog 2 channel system. switch to RCA input and turn on Pioneer and u have excellent front RL for movies.

personally, i don't like the idea of 2 channel preamp with HT pass through. u will need a lot more cables and potential degrading of sound. (i think good cable make a difference. to have "pass through" you are looking at 12 or even 16 cables!!)

another option: trade in your N803 for a 803D. it will offer quite a big difference if you are thinking of spending $5000 range.

[Kal Rubinson]

(i think good cable make a difference. to have "pass through" you are looking at 12 or even 16 cables!!)

2channel pass through means only 2 additional cables.

Kal

[Jeffk]

Kal: sorry I forgot to mention, but front end will consist of Pioneer dv47a universal player (though I don't have much of a collection of sacd or dvd-a) and a sonos-via-BelCantoDac2, so I will be coming out analogue from both sources, although, if the dac in one of the pre/pro's I mentioned in my post is good enough, I guess I could go digital. But this would be highly dependant on the pre/pro's dac quality, and I would probably want to keep passthrough options open if I decided to upgrade CDP/DVD/SACD later. Hope that makes sense. So, having heard many of them, what do you think of my suggested list (please feel free to add another suggestion if you feel it's warranted)? Can they come close to the integrateds I listed, assuming these are a good sampling of "best-in-breed"?

Antus: thanks for the suggestions. I don't want to have many separate boxes, and I want to keep at least my front amplification the same (and preferably all chnls in single 5 channel amp). This is both to minimize number of pieces and also to maintain sonic consistency for multi-channel listening, be it movies or music. So option 1 is really where I'm going, but I want to upgrade the music SQ completely, so I want the pre/pro now too. I don't really care about the new codecs, at least not now, and I don't care about video switching or processing. I plug in direct to tv.

Look forward to more opinions and similar experiences. Thanks..Jeff

[Antus]

yes, i totally agree 5 channel amp make more sense.

the preamp section of top end receiver are actually really good. especially when you use pure analog direct and bypass all the processing. If you are using a "regular" cd/dvd player, i will tend to think the preamp may not be the limiting factor in many cases.

another way to improve sound quality is to upgrade the crossover inside the speakers. B&W use some inexpensive capacitors, inductors and resisters for the N8xx series. upgrade caps to Mandorf silver/gold or silver/oil will make fairly big improvement and replace the inductors with copper foil type helps (although not as much as caps)