Help with old processor!! Krell HTS 7.1 (1 Viewer)

[raf1510]

Hey guys! I'm new here!! I'm looking to get back into setting up my old home theater and connecting a streaming device and a bluray player.

My setup:

• Krell Hts 7.1 AV preamp
• Krell DVD Standard
• Krell Kav-3250
• Krell Full Power Balanced 600.

Speakers:

• A pair of B&W Signature 800
• A pair of B&W Nautilus 804
• B&W asw-2000 Subwoofer
• KRELL LAT C-1000 CENTER

As I'm on a really tight budget I want/need to keep what I have. Any ideas on how I could connect an Apple TV (or something else) to the Krell HTS that doesn't have HDMI input? Getting a new processor is really out of my league right now. Any easy/cheap alternatives?

Thanks!!

 

[JohnRice]

What is your TV? Because the best solution will probably be connecting the streaming device and BR player directly to it and passing the audio from the TV to the Krell with the optical output on the TV.

 

[raf1510]

I haven't decide that yet. I was thinking about getting a projector maybe. How would that matter? Thanks!!!!

 

[raf1510]

What is your TV? Because the best solution will probably be connecting the streaming device and BR player directly to it and passing the audio from the TV to the Krell with the optical output on the TV.

I haven't decide that yet. I was thinking about getting a projector maybe. How would that matter? Thanks!!!!

 

[JohnRice]

I haven't decide that yet. I was thinking about getting a projector maybe. How would that matter? Thanks!!!!

It will definitely make a difference, since projectors aren't designed to do hdmi switching. If you get a TV that is capable of passing Dolby Digital from an hdmi input to the optical output, that will be the simplest solution. You'd connect your sources to the TV, then pass audio from it to the preamp through optical. If not, you'll need some type of hdmi audio exctractor, and an hdmi switch if you have multiple sources. That can be done, and those things are actually fairly inexpensive. You might just have to try more than one to get what works.

What you do NOT want to do is convert the hdmi video to analog so it can go through the preamp. That will result in a massive degradation of image quality and invite all sorts of hdmi handshake problems.

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

If not, you'll need some type of hdmi audio exctractor, and an hdmi switch if you have multiple sources. That can be done, and those things are actually fairly inexpensive.

My experience with HDMI extractors is that they strip the audio signal of discrete 5.1, and you are left with 2.0 stereo. I found this to be the case with budget models as well as pricey professional-grade fare from Crestron.

I found myself in Ricardo’s situation a few years ago, having successfully (and stubbornly) resisted HDMI gear for maybe 10 years or more, amid countless threads on the forums about handshake concerns, lip-sync issues and AVRs with fried HDMI boards. I had an excellent top-of-the-line Yamaha AVR that I liked just fine, thank you very much. And I could enjoy blu rays via component video and coax or optical audio.

My wife dragged me into the 21st century when she migrated our TV watching to a Roku. After experimenting with a few HDMI converters, I eventually had to resolve myself to the “new reality,” that if I wanted to watch this programming with 5.1, I was forced to upgrade my front end. Fortunately, I’m still able to utilize said Yamaha AVR’s excellent amplifier section, using it as a stand-alone multichannel amp in my current set up.

HDMI – what can I say? I always regarded it as a blinky POS format utilizing shockingly cheap, poorly designed connectors. The benefit of actually hands-on use didn’t change my mind. The only thing the platform has going for it is utilizing a single cable over the previous analog standards requiring multiple cables.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

 

[JohnRice]

My experience with HDMI extractors is that they strip the audio signal of discrete 5.1, and you are left with 2.0 stereo. I found this to be the case with budget models as well as pricey professional-grade fare from Crestron.

I found myself in Ricardo’s situation a few years ago, having successfully (and stubbornly) resisted HDMI gear for maybe 10 years or more, amid countless threads on the forums about handshake concerns, lip-sync issues and AVRs with fried HDMI boards. I had an excellent top-of-the-line Yamaha AVR that I liked just fine, thank you very much. And I could enjoy blu rays via component video and coax or optical audio.

My wife dragged me into the 21st century when she migrated our TV watching to a Roku. After experimenting with a few HDMI converters, I eventually had to resolve myself to the “new reality,” that if I wanted to watch this programming with 5.1, I was forced to upgrade my front end. Fortunately, I’m still able to utilize said Yamaha AVR’s excellent amplifier section, using it as a stand-alone multichannel amp in my current set up.

HDMI – what can I say? I always regarded it as a blinky POS format utilizing shockingly cheap, poorly designed connectors. The benefit of actually hands-on use didn’t change my mind. The only thing the platform has going for it is utilizing a single cable over the previous analog standards requiring multiple cables.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

Yeah, hdmi is plagued with problems, but I've found I can avoid them by not expecting it to do more than the bare minimum it is designed for. Which is, passing audio and video to the destination, and that's it. I don't use ARC or CEC or expect anything else from hdmi. Also, when I got 4K capable stuff, I replaced every single one of the hodgepodge of hdmi cables I owned with certified 18Gb Monoprice ones. That was a few years ago, and 48Gb were only just appearing, and were quite expensive. So, hdmi has always worked perfectly for me as a result.

 

[raf1510]

It will definitely make a difference, since projectors aren't designed to do hdmi switching. If you get a TV that is capable of passing Dolby Digital from an hdmi input to the optical output, that will be the simplest solution. You'd connect your sources to the TV, then pass audio from it to the preamp through optical. If not, you'll need some type of hdmi audio exctractor, and an hdmi switch if you have multiple sources. That can be done, and those things are actually fairly inexpensive. You might just have to try more than one to get what works.

What you do NOT want to do is convert the hdmi video to analog so it can go through the preamp. That will result in a massive degradation of image quality and invite all sorts of hdmi handshake problems.

Thanks for the help John!!!!

 

[raf1510]

My experience with HDMI extractors is that they strip the audio signal of discrete 5.1, and you are left with 2.0 stereo. I found this to be the case with budget models as well as pricey professional-grade fare from Crestron.

I found myself in Ricardo’s situation a few years ago, having successfully (and stubbornly) resisted HDMI gear for maybe 10 years or more, amid countless threads on the forums about handshake concerns, lip-sync issues and AVRs with fried HDMI boards. I had an excellent top-of-the-line Yamaha AVR that I liked just fine, thank you very much. And I could enjoy blu rays via component video and coax or optical audio.

My wife dragged me into the 21st century when she migrated our TV watching to a Roku. After experimenting with a few HDMI converters, I eventually had to resolve myself to the “new reality,” that if I wanted to watch this programming with 5.1, I was forced to upgrade my front end. Fortunately, I’m still able to utilize said Yamaha AVR’s excellent amplifier section, using it as a stand-alone multichannel amp in my current set up.

HDMI – what can I say? I always regarded it as a blinky POS format utilizing shockingly cheap, poorly designed connectors. The benefit of actually hands-on use didn’t change my mind. The only thing the platform has going for it is utilizing a single cable over the previous analog standards requiring multiple cables.

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt

Thanks for sharing Wayne!