Help on DVD and Home Theater Set Up


I have a traditional stereo with a pre-amp, and power amps. I listen to vinyl and CD's. Without losing my pre-amp for vinyl, is it possible to incorporate a DVD and the additional channels into my system to achieve a HT?
rfj
Yes, it is, but you might not want to. I have found that no matter how hard I tried, the home theater excess (amps, processor, DVD player, ICs, video cable, power cords, etc.) just got in the way of my great two channel stereo sound. I even keep my true home theater (DVD movies only) separate from my small home theater (VCR, satellite, etc.). I highly recommend you keep them separate. But if you have to combine them, you might want to check some of the older posts on this site. Many people have asked this question, and lots of recommendations have been made for pre-amps that allow you to pass through the surround sound signal. I'll let the fellow posters to this site who have this combined setup do the explaining, as they are more qualified than me.
All of us place a different degree of importance on this.I have a combined 80k system. 2 channel is of more importance to me. I have spent 30k in the last year;all for 2 channel.The sound and music in movies is so good to me ;I can't "settle" for a lesser sound when watching movies.I "need " the best my system can provide,for both venues.A great 2 channel;and you're most of the way for HT.
If you mean without changing preamps, the answer is not without significant hassle. There are preamps with what is called theater pass-through which make such a setup hassle-free, but most do not. Otherwise, you're having to wire things strangely, make sure volume settings are just-so, and being very careful or changing cables for different functions.

If you mean can you have a good two-channel system, including phono, conveniently in the same system as HT with the multiple channels, the answer is absolutely - there are many possible solutions described in a couple other recent threads that you might want to look up.

Rfj:

I "guess" you can do it, but it's going to be awfully difficult. If I had to combine both systems into one, then if I had to adhere to a budget (and let's face it, who doesn't), then more than likely, compromises will have to be made somewhere. And just like "Avguygeorge" has said, I have to have the best sound that "I" can attain from within "MY" budget when I am listening to music. I feel the same way when I am looking at a flick. I want the best sound attainable. And for me, that means TWO SEPARATE systems (one for music listening, and the other for watching movies). Nevermind that my Adcom GFP-750 has a "processor pass thru" loop. If the preamp is located in my living room, and my home theater is in my bedroom, then that feature is of little use to me. The advantage to the separate systems approach is this. I can concentrate solely on making optimistic choices when it is time to buy the components needed to make my system perform up to my standards and sound great at the same time, as well as staying within budget, which means that I tend to concentrate solely on one component and buy one component at a time. Even if that means I have to sacrifice some system enjoyment for a while. I know if I do that, then I know that once my system is completed, the reward will be greater than the sacrifice that it entailed beforehand. So in other words then, I try obtain the VERY best component attainable in the price range I set for myself, and then I continue to build my system using this VERY approach.

So, that's my opinion then. Two seprarate systems is the way to go.

--Charles--
RFJ......See my post under "home theater and music"....Had the same problem...came up with a unique solution...Macfan