Equipment Recommendations - The Home For New System and Upgrade Advice

Joe Mac said:
It depends how you are using it. To use the preamp as a preamp for your arcam then then yes.

If the preamp/power or integrated amp are almost an entirely separate system for music only but sharing the same front speakers? Then you’d need them to have a HT bypass input. The scenario would work the same as how I described above.
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Right but where does the power connect to the Arcam for home theatre applications? One of the RCA ins? I know we figured this out before but I'm blanking on it
 
Mather said:
Right but where does the power connect to the Arcam for home theatre applications? One of the RCA ins? I know we figured this out before but I'm blanking on it
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The pre out for whichever channel it’s sharing duties on. I’d imagine that’s Front Right and Left into the pre/infegrated HT bypass input or just an into a power amp.
 
Mather said:
But wouldn't my speakers then need to be connected to the Arcam and not the separate pre amp?
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I’m confused as to what you’re trying to achieve now…

The way id see it is that I probably wouldn’t be using just a separate preamp on its own to control inputs and volume for your arcam because it doesn’t have a pre in.

I’d either have a sepersfe pre and power or integrated for music which had a HT bypass input or I’d use a 2 channel power amp for just the front speakers. For both of those I’d be connecting to the pre out for Front Left and Right.
 
Mather said:
I know I've been over this before but where would I connect the 2 channel pre/power to on the 550? Don't I need a pre in for that?
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What exactly are you thinking of doing?

If you are adding a stereo pre amp or integrated, you would connect your stereo components to the new pre amp/integrated, you would connect the Arcam to the designated “HT Bypass” input on the new pre amp/integrated, and then from the preamp to a separate amp or from an integrated to the left and right main channels (your JBLs). The Arcam doesn’t have the ability to easily be used as just an amp (it can be done, but it’s a bit convoluted and can create potentially bad scenarios), so if you are looking at a new preamp you’d also need to buy a new 2+ channel amplifier for at least your mains.
 
Right okay. What I want is a separate pre and power for a 2 channel system with all my music connected to that system, but then my AVR borrows the L and R for home theatre.
 
Mather said:
Right okay. What I want is a separate pre and power for a 2 channel system with all my music connected to that system, but then my AVR borrows the L and R for home theatre.
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So if my speakers and all music stuff is connected to the new pre/ power amps, where does the HT bypass from the new 2 channel amp connect to the Arcam?
 
Mather said:
Right okay. What I want is a separate pre and power for a 2 channel system with all my music connected to that system, but then my AVR borrows the L and R for home theatre.
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You would then want to look for a pre/integrated with a Home Theater Bypass Input. You would connect your Blu-ray/streamer/cable box, etc., and subwoofer to the Arcam. Then from the Arcam’s left and right pre-out to the new pre/itegrated, which you’ll also connect the stereo components to.
 
SnowmaNick said:
You would then want to look for a pre/integrated with a Home Theater Bypass Input. You would connect your Blu-ray/streamer/cable box, etc., and subwoofer to the Arcam. Then from the Arcam’s left and right pre-out to the new pre/itegrated, which you’ll also connect the stereo components to.
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Ok cool, and from the new pre integrated what connects to the new power amp?

I don't know separates, never had any
 
Mather said:
View attachment 223919
Aiming for this as the power amp... Benchmark AHB2.
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Ah, so just an external 2-ch amp (a good one too!). All you would need to do is connect RCA’s from the Arcam’s front left and right preouts to the Benchmark’s inputs, then move your left and right speaker cables to the Benchmark’s terminals, and then rerun Dirac on the Arcam. No need to worry about HT Bypass as you are not introducing a new preamp, you’re just delegating the amplification from the Arcam’s amps to the Benchmarks.
 
Mather said:
View attachment 223919
Aiming for this as the power amp... Benchmark AHB2.
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Monster!

Any power amp should be fine, it’s just to make sure that the preamp you get to go with it has that dedicated HT bypass input or the ability to change one of the normal inputs to a HT bypass. I know there are a good few out there that do that now, PL and PS Audio are two that I know for sure but there will be plenty of others as well.

Edit: or you could just forgo the preamp and do what @SnowmaNick is saying as well!
 
Joe Mac said:
Monster!

Any power amp should be fine, it’s just to make sure that the preamp you get to go with it has that dedicated HT bypass input or the ability to change one of the normal inputs to a HT bypass. I know there are a good few out there that do that now, PL and PS Audio are too that I know for sure but there will be plenty of others as well.
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I think @Mather would have his head explode from audiophile nervosa with a PL. Tubes man, think of the tubes!
 
Joe Mac said:
Monster!

Any power amp should be fine, it’s just to make sure that the preamp you get to go with it has that dedicated HT bypass input or the ability to change one of the normal inputs to a HT bypass. I know there are a good few out there that do that now, PL and PS Audio are too that I know for sure but there will be plenty of others as well.
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Looking at a potential Audio Research LS28.

Audio-Research-LS28SE-Preamp-01.jpg
 
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