Using a Pre Amp with an Onkyo 875 AV Receiver

[jetjohnson]

Hi

I just wondered if anyone on here was using (or had thought of using) a pre amp with their Onkyo AV Receiver (mine's a 875) I love the Onkyo for it's sound overall especially with movies, SACD, DVD-A, and CD but I'm wondering if using a different pre amp would improve vinyl replay.

I know the Onk has pre amp out's so I guess it's possible?

 

[ALTANPSX]

Yes it is possible. You have to use anlogue interconnects from pre to 875 pre-outs.

It depends on the cartridge you are using I think. As far as I know as a 876 owner, 876 supports only MM cartridges. If your cartridge is a good MM or you are planning to use MC one(you shoud buy a phono stage), IMHO buy a phono stage. Your beggining point could be Musical Fidelitiy phono stage, or Project tube-box. If you are not using a good cartridge, or not planning to use mc do not bother to spend your money.

 

[jetjohnson]

Thanks for that ..I guess my elderly Oracle Delphi 1 and accompanying Zeta tonearm would still be regarded as pretty high end whilst my new cartridge is a £109 Goldring 2200 MM so not really a high end cartridge (although it sounds fine to my ears right now). So you are mebbe's right that spending a significant sum (which I don't currently have!) on a new pre amp wouldn't make a lot of difference ...then again would my Marantz CD 85 SE benefit slightly from a new pre-amp? I have seen some pretty nifty looking chinese built valve pre-amps going for around £100 (ish) on ebay but I'm not sure about compatibility with the big Onk's power amp!?

 

[ALTANPSX]

I think you will not have any compatibility problems. But again IMHO onkyo 875 will be better then 100(ish) pre-amps. You are using a decent avr(I have 876 by the way).

 

[jetjohnson]

I guess I'm after a bit more "analogue sounding" (?) warmth to my vinyl source really but as you say the 875 does sound pretty good anyway (esp with movies) .....mebbe's I'll leave well alone!

 

[Messiah]

jetjohnson:Hi

I just wondered if anyone on here was using (or had thought of using) a pre amp with their Onkyo AV Receiver (mine's a 875) I love the Onkyo for it's sound overall especially with movies, SACD, DVD-A, and CD but I'm wondering if using a different pre amp would improve vinyl replay.

I know the Onk has pre amp out's so I guess it's possible?

I expect it is possible but not sure if there would be much gain. If you connect the Pre-Outs to a Pre-Amp, how are you going to power everything?? You would need to to get a seperate power amp (which makes connecting it this way pointless) or you would need to feed the signal back into the Onkyo (again this seems like a waste of time.)

The Pre-Out sockets are really designed to utilise an external power amp or you can connect up a stereo amp. You would see much better results getting a decent stereo amp to utilise with the Receiver. I can explain how this connects up:

To do this your AV Amp must have pre-outs for the front left and right channels

1. Connect the front pre-outs on the AV Amp to a spare input (excluding phono) on the stereo amp. (Maybe Aux)
2. Ensure the left and right front speakers are connected to the stereo amp. (May seem obvious I know!) and leave all other speakers connected to the receiver.
3. Select the input on the Stereo Amp that the AV Amp is connected to.
4. Set the volume on the Stereo Amp to a memorable position. A lot of people recommend the 12 o'clock position.
5. Run the speaker calibration set up.

Now that this is set up you can enjoy the best of both worlds!

When you want to watch a movie you need to ensure both amps are on and the input the receiver is connected to is selected. Then set the volume back to the 12 o'clock position and enjoy! (Remember to return the volume on the Stereo Amp back to it's normal position before you switch inputs!!)

To listen in stereo you just need to use the Stereo Amp. (Ensure your stereo components such as a CD player/turntable are connected to the Stereo Amp and not the AV Amp). The AV amp is left off.

 

[jetjohnson]

Cheers ...I did think using another amp for vinyl was possible but was confused just how to set it up! ....now all I need is a suitable amp .......?

 

[Anonymous]

Hi, You can buy a preamp with "HT Bypass". Primare pre30, bel canto pre3, rotel rc1580, and many others have got a dedicated HT Bypass. You can connect directly from your onkyo`s preouts to the inputs of the new preamp. make sure you buy a preamp with a phone line in . You can connect your CD player and turntable to the new preamp, for a better 2 channel playback as opposed to connecting everything to your AV receiver. Hope this helps.

 

[jetjohnson]

Cheers that's sounds ideal ...I'll check out the pre amps you've mentioned.

 

[Messiah]

That still brings you back to my post. How do you power the system???

 

[daveh75]

Indeed, a Pre amp is gonna be of no help on it's own!

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Iïm new here and just wanted to say that I really loved this clear explanation!

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Messiah,

An excellent description!! I looked long and hard for someone to explain this online.

Would you still have to "assign Pre amp" in the receiver (in my case a denon 3805)?

If so, there is an option of 0 db or 40 db.......What would u suggest?

many thanks,

span.

 

[Messiah]

spanishfly:
Hi Messiah,

An excellent description!! I looked long and hard for someone to explain this online.

Would you still have to "assign Pre amp" in the receiver (in my case a denon 3805)?

If so, there is an option of 0 db or 40 db.......What would u suggest?

many thanks,

span.

Depends what you are trying to do??

The option of 0db to -40db is the volume level you will be outputting via Zone 2.

So can you just clarify what you are trying to do....

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Messiah,

I didnt mean to hijack this thread but iïve been wanting to add some bits of gear to my existing stuff for some time now but no one could quite tell me how!

My gear. Denon 3805

audiolab 8000 a

meridian cd player

normal tosh dvd player

speakers are German made nubert "nuwave 10" 4 ohm :27-22 000 Hz + 2 -3 dB.

My plan was to connect the audiolab to the L/R speakers and get the benfits of the audiolab (over the denon) esp regarding stereo sound with the meridian. Iïve even started listening to movies in 2 ch. just thru the audiolab.

The denon is unplugged and resting!!! and I think that the sound in 2 ch. is much crisper and better defined than the denon was in 5.1.!!

wanted to use the pre amp section of the Denon.

Does this make any sense or even answer your question???!!!

thanks,

span.

 

[Messiah]

Yeah it makes sense.

So you can connect it how I explained above but make sure you use the main front pre-outs on the Denon to the Audiolab. (The volume adjustment relates to the Zone 2 outputs)

Then everything for standard stereo (CD player etc) is connected to the Audiolab and all sources for home cinema are connected to the Denon.

 

[Anonymous]

cool. thanks again.

now this is maybe just silly, but by adding another 2 ch amp eg for the rears, would that help anything in any way ie take the load of the denon or even somehow use it (the other 2 ch) to power the centre (can 2 ch be used on one speaker???!!??)..

would this work by using ur method described above except using surr back or indeed centre pre amp connections?

Main problem is I dont want to throw anything away ie 2 ch amp etc.

span.

 

[Messiah]

spanishfly:

Main problem is I dont want to throw anything away ie 2 ch amp etc.

The 2 channel amp will be powering the fronts for stereo and surround duties. Do you have another 2 channel amp??

If not then then the Audiolab will power the front left and right and the Denon will power the rest.

To be honest I see no real gain in another 2 channel amp for the rears/centre in this situation unless you are going for a full on upgrade and will be using the Denon for pre-amp duties only......