surround sound receiver speaker switching.

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I am looking to replace my surround sound receiver and Stereo amp with a single surround sound amplifier. This would be used to power my current 5.1 speakers and my additional stereo floor standing speakers. I have up to £550 to spend and I will also be replacing all 8 speakers within the year. Which amp has the ability to switch via a remote control the speaker configuration?
So, if I was to change the layout of my living room I could easily switch to using different speakers to reconfigure the 5.1 without relocating the speakers..

 

[Anonymous]

Nigel Thud:I am looking to replace my surround sound receiver and Stereo amp with a single surround sound amplifier. This would be used to power my current 5.1 speakers and my additional stereo floor standing speakers. I have up to £550 to spend and I will also be replacing all 8 speakers within the year. Which amp has the ability to switch via a remote control the speaker configuration?
So, if I was to change the layout of my living room I could easily switch to using different speakers to reconfigure the 5.1 without relocating the speakers..

Are you saying that you want to keep the floorstanders and the separate 5.1 speakers and switch from 5.1 to stereo? I'd suspect you'd need an amp with 2 sets of main front outs that can be individually switched. I'm not aware of any.
You'd regret combining amps believe me, better to keep both and pre-out.

R

 

[Messiah]

I would agree that you would probably regret combining the two. But I guess this depends what you own??

As for the speaker switching, you can get receivers that have assignable settings for the rear surrounds so that if you are using a 5.1 set up and not 7.1 the additional rears can be assigned as Front B. However, I do not know if any receiver does this by remote.

 

[Anonymous]

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The 5.1 crosses the room diagonally due
to restrictions imposed by the 40" LCD and the sofa/settee. Also,
the 5.1 uses very small satellite speakers which are fixed. Being a
through lounge, I have plenty of room at one end for my floor
standing stereo speakers. The stereo power amp no longer works, so I
will connect the existing preamp to the line level of an integrated
amp to listen to my records. However, when I have guests around I
often relocate the TV between the floor standers. It would be nice to
have the option of surround sound using the satellites as rears. I am
aware that this is ambitious, however, it would be convenient to
choose speaker set up from a remote. As I now watch movies more often
I will be sacrificing the sound quality for convenience.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Nigel Thud,

Hope you'll bear with me on this one, new to the site and dont know how to put this question

to the whole forum.

About 4 years ago bought a Yamaha DSPAX757SE AV Amplifier, am soon going to be investing in a Large Flatscreen TV,Blueray DVD and some Surround Sound Speakers.This amp has no HDMI Ports. When mentioned to a local Electrical Outlet was told no problem we'll sell you a switching unit for £200, where as Comet said I could just use the optical output. Help Please,

Dansettey

 

[Messiah]

Dansettey,

Click HERE to post your question and click NEW TOPIC

In future just click on forums and then the subheading of where you want to post.

 

[Messiah]

Nigel,

To clarify, If you move the TV between the floorstanders are the rears and centre still in the right place for sufficient surround duties??

If this is the case then a receiver with A/B switching will work fine for this but again I am unsure of remote switching. Will have to investigate manuals online I think.....

 

[Anonymous]

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The 5.1 front left speaker will then
become the rear left and the rear left will become the rear right.
Positioning the TV between the floor standers creates a superior set
up for sound but is not suited to the living space, so is only done
for short periods. The TV has only the center speaker fitted which
requires a fly wire to the speaker, HDMI and power cables. The TV is
attached to an Audica show stand which also hides the 3 cables,
allowing for excellent mobility of the TV.

 

[Messiah]

Basically you are swinging the TV 90 degrees. In that case you would have to manual switch the connections around. I don't think there is any receiver that can do what you want!

 

[Anonymous]

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So it looks like I will have to
accept defeat on assigning channels via a remote control. Assuming
that I will run 5.1 + 2 Channel stereo and switch between them, which
amp would give the most value? I have so far found the following at
discount prices: Denon
AVR1909 -£420, Sony STRDA2400ESS -£400, Onkyo TXSR606 -£400 and
the Yamaha
DSPAX763
-£330. Also consider that I am replacing the 5.1 speakers but may be
restricted on the budget/size, Jamo A102-HCS5 5.1 for around £200 is
the smallest I could find..

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks Messiah

 

[Messiah]

Nigel,

Well I have not heard these Receivers but the Yamaha to the Award this year so maybe go for this one.

As long as you realise that you will have to switch the cables around on the back of the amp each time you move the TV around. As long as this does not get too frustrating you should be fine.

 

[Anonymous]

I have given up on the idea of 5.1 surround when placing the TV between the floor standers. I will stick to the current system layout and just switch beetween the 5.1 and the stereo speakers with the amp's onboard AB switching. With regards to which amp to buy, I can't help thinking that the Denon or even the Sony would be better value than the Yamaha DSPAX763, as they both retail for more, and can be purchased with a greater discount. Also, I have just seen the Yamaha DSPAX863SE for £540. I should really spend this extra money on the 5.1 speakers, however, I have yet to find small enough units that would justify the more expensive amp.

Thanks in advance, Nigel.