5.1 home system and sound system set up

[admin_exported]

Hi all. I'm pretty new to all this, and finally im in a postion to spend a little money on a good home theater / sound system. So, the speakers that im currently looking at for my 5.1 system are:

MA BR5s (FL + FR)

MA R45s (BL + BR)

MA BRLCR

MA BRW10

To this im planning on hooking up a Onkyo TXRS608 AV and a Panasonic P50G20b, which for my home theater system im happy with. My dilemna comes with the sound system. I have a good deal on the Marantz CD6003 and PM6003, but im in two minds whether i need the dedicated CD amp or whether to use the TXRS608 to power the CD player. The point being i want to use the same BR5s for my 2.1 sound system and not have seperate sets of speakers. Therefore i guess my questions are:

1. Do i need a seperate CD amp (the Marantz PM6003) for better quality CD sound, or just use the Onkyo as the CD amp?

2. How best can i switch between the two front BR5's (if i go with 2 amps), i could run two sets of cables to both speakers and manuallly connect them depending on the amp im using or use a switch (but i understand you lose sound quaity when using a switch?)

Anyway, thats my dilemna, any advise would be much appreciated!

Thanks

 

[richardw42]

I have the same 5.1 speakers as you (BR1 at the rear) and until recently had my CD player through my Marantz AV amp. Although there has been a definite improvement in cd sound through my stereo amp the av amp performed better than might be expected.

I'd say put your cd player through your Onkyo and see if you're happy it may be better at 2.1 than you think.

 

[Anonymous]

as above connect the cd to the av amp and if your happy with the sound stick with it , the dedicated stereo amp will sound better wether or not its worth the extra outlay thats down to you. as for speaker connections connecting the stereo amp to the av amp using the pre-outs means you would only need one set of speaker wires but there can be a problem with system matching between the two amps and some people prefer to keep stereo and av equipment apart but id try the cdp on your av amp first