parasound hca -2205a (1 Viewer)

[William Kaltenbach]

Hello community! My Name is Bill from Parker colorado and I'm a newbie when it comes to the higher end of home theater. My first question is this: I recently got a hold of a parasound hca -2205a 5 ch amplifier which is a big Step up from the kind of components I have now.Problem is that I am running a 7.1 3d setup now Sony str-dh845 reciever, re-coned infinity 102s in front, klipsch rsx-4s on the sides and rear and a dynaudio front channel in a 15 x 15 theatre's room. To make this work I need a new reciever with preouts and a two channel ampliflier.Am I chasing the rabbit by getting these new components to make the parasound fit in? Is this way too much for the speakers that I have? Meaning I need to buy a while new speaker setup too?I am very happy with my current setup but I'm getting a little greedy reading about these theaters. Can I invest in just the components or do I need to upgrade the speakers also to make it work?I'm thinking about selling it and just keeping what I have.I look forward to hearing your experienced opinions about this topic.

 

[schan1269]

Your speakers should match.Want an AVR with preouts, or would you rather have one of the

 

[William Kaltenbach]

That is what I'm afraid of, spending 1-2K on new speakers in addition to to the extra components I need to power them seems like an expense I am not prepared for. I feel like a chihuahua chewing on a cow femur. The AVR /w preouts seems like the way to go because otherwise wouldn't I still need a reciever? In addition to the pre-pro? I'm not sure my Sony would work with this new set up.

 

[schan1269]

No, your speakers should match, even if you had a $250 AVR. No. You have a 5 channel amp. If you buy a "receiver", You aren't using the onboard amps. Ergo, you buy a pre-pro.There is no AVR made (outside the Denon 4520, Onkyo 5010 or Yamaha 30x0) That will keep up with that amp. (What that means...you need 2 more channels to make 7. You could buy a pre-pro and another stereo amp. Or buy an AVR and let it run the Othet two. But...that Parasound is 220 watts per channel)

 

[schan1269]

Forgot...1. Pioneer VSX 1523(if any left) and its more studly brothers...SC75/77/79.2. Using knowledge gleaned from "I've been doing this 30+ years"...You probably could buy a 9 channel AVR with preouts and run your Klipsch off it. Go "wide or high" to make it 9.1...and buy another pair of speakers...anything(pretty much) not Klipsch to have the Parasound power up.Why?Venturing a guess your speaker setup has the gains all over the map...cause the efficiency of the Klipsch is much much greater than everything else.

 

[William Kaltenbach]

Does that mean that I can use my current reciever if I buy a 7.1 pre amp and a two channel ampliflier? How do I connect the pre amp to the reciever?(which imput/output?)Would the speakers be sufficient if they were matched? Matched by model or by maker?None of them are rated for that beast, is it okay if I don't turn it up or does that inevitably blow them first movie explosion? I appreciate your replies!

 

[schan1269]

I'll spell it out this time...AVR is...(receiver)Pre ampProcessingInput switchingPower.You bought an amp.Remove amp from the above list, You have a pre-pro...Pre ampProcessing Input switching No, you can NOT at ALL, use a receiver with a pre-amp.Receiver CONTAINS both amp and pre-ampNo, you can NOT use your existing Sony with this amp...at all.

 

[Jason Charlton]

Does that mean that I can use my current reciever if I buy a 7.1 pre amp and a two channel ampliflier?How do I connect the pre amp to the reciever?(which imput/output?)

What you seem to be misunderstanding is that when you combine a Pre-pro with a separate amplifier you don't need a receiver. A receiver is a pre-pro and amplifier all in one chassis.

What Sam was alluding to a couple of posts previously was that in order to utilize the Parasound AND complete the 7.1 experience, you need either: A pre-pro and two additional external channels of amplification, OR a higher-end reciever that has preouts so you can feed the first 5 channels from the AVR to the Parasound, leaving the final 2 channels to run off of the AVRs built-in amplficiation. However, since the Parasound is a whopping 220 wpc, no AVR is going to be able to output a comprable signal for your final 2 speakers.

Finally, the mishmash of speakers (specifically when it comes to their widely varying efficiency) is going to pose a pretty significant setup/calibration challenge when you start adding in all the new components.

Edit: Sam, beat me by mere seconds...

 

[schan1269]

And yes, you can use this Parasound with those speakers. That is why there is a volume knob.Match gets "hazy"...In pure theatre...all 7/9/11 speakers are exactly the same speaker.Meaning, if you had room...11 Klipschorn(My wouldn't that be awestruck awesome).But not all of us have that luxury. Then you stick to the same series.

 

[William Kaltenbach]

Thanks for the vocabulary lesson AVR was the one thing that I was sure of.The thing I didn't know about was the use of the pre-pro. I have a line on an Onkyo with the preouts and a two channel parasound amp, But, the pre-pro sounds like a better way to go, do the blu ray players and cd xbox etc then hook right in to this? Are they made for video processing as well as well such as 3d pass through?

 

[Jason Charlton]

Yes. This $600 model from Emotiva is HDMI 1.4 compliant, so it supports 3D.

 

[William Kaltenbach]

Sorry, I don't mean to waste your time. I researched it and found my answers, I always thought that a preamp was a Bridge from receiving and amplifier. And I was not aware of the term pre processing. Thanks for your patience, Cheers.

 

[William Kaltenbach]

Thanks Jason, That looks pretty cool.

 

[Jason Charlton]

Sorry, I don't mean to waste your time.Thanks for your patience,

No problem whatsoever. That's why we're here - to help. Good luck with your project and keep us posted as things progress.

Welcome to the forum!

 

[schan1269]

Yes. This $600 model from Emotiva is HDMI 1.4 compliant, so it supports 3D.

I need a new phone ( ;-^) )I can't link with this one.