Will 3.1 work on a 5.1 AV amp- Cambridge Audio 340R

[Jackm219]

Hi all,

I am in the process of upgrading the kitchen setup. I have picked up a 340R second hand but don't have the space for 5 speakers and a sub. I was intending to use a 3.1 setup. My question is will the receiver output accordingly to the 3.1 speakers even though it is a 5.1 amp. If so, will the sound output I choose be regulated for those 3 speakers and a sub- I.e. The signal going to the rear speakers when I select Dolby digital will redirect to the other speakers and I wouldn't 'lose' any sound.

Any responses much appreciated

regards

 

[Leeps]

Depends on what the source is, and the settings chosen on the amp. In basic terms it will work, yes, but whether it will work well might depend on how fussy you are. I'll base my comments on how my AV receiver works. Yours will likely have similar options but they might be called different things.

If your source is in stereo (whether music or TV), and you select Pure Direct, then the AVR will only play what it's been given. 2 channels in, 2 channels out, so only your front L&R speakers will be used.

If your source remains stereo but you choose Direct, Extended Stereo (or equivalent), then the 2-channel source will be sent to all available speakers including centre and sub.

So far nothing lost as you only had 2-channel sources to begin with.

Now let's think multi-channel such as a Bluray. Now you will typically have a 7.1 source. I'm running a 5.1 set-up, so I believe that my AVR down-mixes the 7.1 to 5.1, but in this instance it's still sending all rear information to the rear speakers and all the front information to the front speakers. If you only have a 3.1 set-up then yes, in this instance you will lose out on the information that would have been directed to the rear channels. That certainly used to happen on my old stereo only system when I ran Blurays (my Bluray player at the time was set to downmix to stereo, but I still lost the surround rear details).

That's my understanding based on my AVR. When using a multi-channel AVR, it's always a good idea to pay attention to your source material to understand what's happening in your system. Beyond that I'd recommend having a look at your AVR's manual under the section of sound processing modes and reading up on how each option will process the incoming signal.

 

[bigboss]

Hi all,

I am in the process of upgrading the kitchen setup. I have picked up a 340R second hand but don't have the space for 5 speakers and a sub. I was intending to use a 3.1 setup. My question is will the receiver output accordingly to the 3.1 speakers even though it is a 5.1 amp. If so, will the sound output I choose be regulated for those 3 speakers and a sub- I.e. The signal going to the rear speakers when I select Dolby digital will redirect to the other speakers and I wouldn't 'lose' any sound. 

Any responses much appreciated 

regards

 

When you run speaker setup, you can choose how many you have. As Leeps mentions, most AVRs will down mix automatically.