2 inputs in power amp? (1 Viewer)

[Hartwig Hanser]

In the ongoing discussion of the merits of A/V preamps for stereo music it is often recommended to get a seperate stereo preamp for music.

Now, my question is: How can I use the same power amp and main speakers? For this, I would have to have 2 inputs into my power amps, e.g. vie a Y-formed adapter. Is this feasable? Can the amp be destroyed by connecting 2 inputs (of which only one would be feeding a signal at a time, of course)?

 

[Saurav]

You connect the output of the AV preamp to one of the inputs on your stereo preamp. Your 'critical' music sources go straight to that preamp, and its output goes to the amps for your front speakers. For HT, set the stereo preamp's volume level for 'unity gain', or enable 'HT Bypass mode' if it has one, many modern preamps do for this precise hookup scheme. Or just deal with 2 volume controls
You can use Y adaptors to split signals, never use them to combine signals. Yes, that can cause distortion, if not outright damage.

 

[Frank_S]

Can the amp be destroyed by connecting 2 inputs (of which only one would be feeding a signal at a time, of course)?

I would recommend contacting the amp manufacturer before doing this. There is also a chance that you could forget to only have 1 source on at a time.
I have 2 preamps in my system and whenever I want to watch a movie, I just swap out the 2 interconnects.

 

[Hartwig Hanser]

Thanks for the answers.

Saurav´s Idea seems to be a good one. I am toying with the passiv preamp from Creek (OHB12) as preamp for music. Any comments on this?

Frank,

swaping the interconnects is no option, since they are not easily accessible in my setup.