pre-amps what are they, can i use an old DD reciever as one and how do i? (1 Viewer)

[TonyD]

i've seen alot of mentions of pre-amps and i really don't know what that is.
what does a pre-amp do?
i thought i have seen posts, here that people use old recievers as a pre-amp.

i currently use a denon 3300 as my main.
i have an older DD sony receiver that i only use when i want to watch DD laser discs.

so can i use this a pre. and how would i go about doing it?

thanks.

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Tony,

The amplifier section of a receiver is what the speakers connect to.

Everything else in the receiver is the pre amp section. The components all plug into the pre amp. The pre amp has the volume and tone controls, as well as Dolby Digital decoder and A/D-D/A converters.

i currently use a denon 3300 as my main. i have an older DD sony receiver that i only use when i want to watch DD laser discs. so can i use this a pre. and how would i go about doing it?

The Sony has an RF demodulator that delivers 5.1 Dolby Digital sound from the laser disc. Assuming the Denon doesn’t have an RF demodulator, it would have to have a 6-channel analog input to accomplish what you’re trying to do.

Alternately, you could pick up an outboard demodulator and connect it between the laser disc player and the Denon. A search on “RF demodulator” on eBay will always pull up a few. They can usually be had for about $125

Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt