Advice for a novice

[nfshirley]

Hello

I am a little confused as I don't really understand Home Cinema! I need some serious guidance.

My current setup is:

A half decent hifi set up with your typical CD player (Marantz), amp(Cryus) and speakers(Mission). I also connect a Logitech Squeezebox to the Cyrus Amp as well. I am all fine with this and enjoy the setup.

I then have an old Yamaha DSP-E492 AV Processor which uses the Cyrus amp to power the front two speakers and powers a centre and two rear speakers itself.

I connect SkyHD and a DVD player to the Yamaha over analogue (red and white audio only cables) to provide surround sound and I connect SkyHD and the DVD player to a TV via HDMI and to a projector over S-Video.

My questions are:

1. If I replace the Yamaha with a Homes Cinema Amp, how would it connect up? Would it need to use the Cyrus amp for the front two speakers and if not, how do I connect the two front speakers which are used for hi fi to a Home Cinema Amplifier and to the Cyrus Amplifier?

2. Would I connect the SkyHD and the DVD player to the new Home Cinema Amplifier over HDMI and then HDMI out from the Cinema Amplifier to the TV (and a new projector in the future)?

3. If yes to the above, why does one connect the video to the Home Cinema Amplifier, why not just the sound?

Any help, advice, guidance will be greatfully received, along with any recommendations for a Home Cinema Amp for my setup.

Thanks

N

 

[Andrew Everard]

1. If I replace the Yamaha with a Homes Cinema Amp, how would it connect up? Would it need to use the Cyrus amp for the front two speakers and if not, how do I connect the two front speakers which are used for hi fi to a Home Cinema Amplifier and to the Cyrus Amplifier?

You wouldn't need to use the Cyrus for the fron two speakers, but I can see why you'd want to. Just make sure any AV amp you buy has preout connections, and you can use these to connect into the Cyrus, so the Cyrus amp is still powering your front speakers. You don't then connect the the AV amp's speaker outputs to the front speakers, so in effect the new AV amp is working like your existing Yamaha surround processor.

2. Would I connect the SkyHD and the DVD player to the new Home Cinema Amplifier over HDMI and then HDMI out from the Cinema Amplifier to the TV (and a new projector in the future)?

Yes, but due to the fact Sky currently only outputs stereo over HDMI, you'd nedd an extra digital audio connection - an optical or electrical cable - between the Sky HD box and the AV amp.

3. If yes to the above, why does one connect the video to the Home Cinema Amplifier, why not just the sound?

You don't have to, but it does simplify switching: you have just one cable from the amp to the TV - plus another to the projector if that's what you want to do (so you really need an AV amp with two monitor outputs, or an HDMI switchbox) - and then you leave the TV on the same HDMI input all the time, and the AV amp does all the sound and vision switching in tandem, so changing sources is a one-button job.

Any help, advice, guidance will be greatfully received, along with any recommendations for a Home Cinema Amp for my setup.

Probably worth checking out the AV amp group test in the current, October, issue of the magazine, available in the shops now or as a Zinio digital download.

You don't mention a budget for a new AV amp, but I'd seriously consider the Yamaha RX-V1067, which has all the connectivity you need – preouts, two HDMI outs – and is very highly rated around these parts. It's now a (just) discontinued model, but I've seen it available for as little as £550, against its original £850.

 

[nfshirley]

Andrew, thank you so much, that all makes perfect sense now. Much appreciated and I'll be sure to grab the next issue to have a look at the group test.

 

[Andrew Everard]

Andrew, thank you so much, that all makes perfect sense now. Much appreciated and I'll be sure to grab the next issue to have a look at the group test.

No probs – have edited the end of my reply to provide a specific amp suggestion to meet all your needs.

 

[nfshirley]

Just checked back and very thankful I did, thanks Andrew for the recommendation. I bought the issue and had a look through all the AV amps on test as you mentioned but unfortunately I couldn't make out if any of them had a set of pre-outs to allow me to hook up my Cyrus 6XP amp.

I have just blown most of my budget on some Spendor SA1 speakers for my hi-fi but will keep my eyes open for the Yamaha to see if one comes up at a bargain.

Really appreciate your help. Thank you.

 

[f1only]

Depends where you live & if it's in stock, £499.95 for that Yamaha RX-V1067 if Titanium is your colour at RS Clicky, or Black for £50 more here.

Regards ..