Help finding a pre-amp for SDA's...specific needs inc.

JNinja

Hey guys, does anyone know of a pre-amp that has: DIGITAL OPTICAL INPUT & REMOTE CONTROLLER , for under $200 or so (used is assumed). This will be for my setup with an Ashly FET-500 amp and SDA-2a's ....

I have looked and looked, and asked on other forums (i.e. audiophile) with no joy. F1nut said " didn't look hard enough", but he, nor anyone else have pointed me towards one...let alone suitable for this setup.
Any specific examples would be well received. Thanks

tonyb

Off the top of my head, under 200 bucks is gonna be a hard find. Most 2 channel pre amps in that price range are going to be vintage and not have a digital input. BTW, whats the digital input need for anyway ?

Personally I think your putting the cart before the horse. As long as your speakers are set up like they are, not much is going to improve the sound going forward.

boston1450

They do sell Digital Optical-to-RCA at Parts Express. IIRC they were reasonable.

tonyb

A HT pre will have digital inputs, and can be used as a 2 channel pre amp....like this....

http://app.audiogon.com/listings/solid-state-lexicon-dc1-2015-06-03-preamplifiers-20785-landover-md--2

Just my opinion, but the better course is to sell the speakers for something else. Spending more money on a pre amp won't get you much better sound with those SDA's positioned the way they are.

Schurkey

Preamp AND DAC for $200? Good luck. Either one separately, you'd stand a chance. That budget is likely going to lead you right back to another HT receiver, and you don't need those compromises.

At $400--$500 and up, options begin to appear.

JNinja

tonyb wrote: »

Off the top of my head, under 200 bucks is gonna be a hard find. Most 2 channel pre amps in that price range are going to be vintage and not have a digital input. BTW, whats the digital input need for anyway ?

Personally I think your putting the cart before the horse. As long as your speakers are set up like they are, not much is going to improve the sound going forward.

I NEED digital optical for my flatscreen, which is the majority of it's usage- music and movies.

When I'm having a 'musical night' I simply move a speaker across the living room.

Schurkey

JNinja wrote: »

I NEED digital optical for my flatscreen

I don't understand how a flatscreen requires a digital INPUT on the preamp.

JNinja

I don't understand, how you don't understand lol. It is an LG 47" and the only output that is useable for sound is digital optical. My old LG had both a DO and an analog headphone jack, but this does not.

vcwatkins

Audio out from cable/satellite box/BDP? Or is this through-the-air?

boston1450

I have a 55LG less than 6mos old & i used what i stated above for my little Onkyo receiver with no Optical on it.... My loving old Toshiba 46 had Audio Out. The LG doesnt........ Digital To Analog converter

Nightfall

I think you're going to have to either get an AVR or get a 2 channel preamp and a stand alone DAC. Getting either option for $200 though? I don't know. A $200 AVR is likely to not have preouts. If you save and get something better you can just run HDMI into it instead of optical.

What's your source for music?

boston1450

I use all my Denon gear on Movies. Amp-Preamp-DVDplayer. I run just the Video Monitor line to my TV & all the sound stays in the system-to the-SDA's... No sub needed............. For Television (because LG retards put speaker in back & sound svcks) i use my small Onkyo mini w/Advents/Polk p/subwoofer sending signal to the Unit i said about & then Optical cable to TV. Works for me

boston1450

Yall step aside. My 3.00 Onkyo system is a KILLER

Schurkey

JNinja wrote: »

I don't understand, how you don't understand lol. It is an LG 47" and the only output that is useable for sound is digital optical. My old LG had both a DO and an analog headphone jack, but this does not.

Why do you have ANY outputs from the flatscreen? I expect that the flatscreen should be getting INPUTS from DVD/BluRay, cable box, computer, etc. and have no outputs at all. WHAT are you "outputting" from the flatscreen? WHY is there ANY audio going to the flatscreen--the on-board speakers are sure to be crap.

My system uses a projector, not a flatscreen. The preamp/processor controls all audio, and the video goes direct from DVD player (via component outputs/inputs) or from laptop computer via HDMI, bypassing the pre/pro altogether. The pre/pro has video in and out using several connection methods, but I don't use any of the video switching.

Nightfall

Schurkey wrote: »

JNinja wrote: »

I don't understand, how you don't understand lol. It is an LG 47" and the only output that is useable for sound is digital optical. My old LG had both a DO and an analog headphone jack, but this does not.

Why do you have ANY outputs from the flatscreen? I expect that the flatscreen should be getting INPUTS from DVD/BluRay, cable box, computer, etc. and have no outputs at all. WHAT are you "outputting" from the flatscreen?

My system uses a projector, not a flatscreen. The preamp/processor controls all audio, and the video goes direct from DVD player (via component outputs/inputs) or from laptop computer via HDMI, bypassing the pre/pro altogether. The pre/pro has video in and out using several connection methods, but I don't use any of the video switching.

A lot of flatscreen TVs have audio outputs. He's running all his video sources to the TV and then using the TV output to his stereo so all sound goes to a single input. It's less than optimal, for sure. Most TVs that do this can't do Dolby True HD and DTS-HD and down convert the signal.

boston1450

Man. You guys know you HT im just so happy i get sound to my speakers carry on

JNinja

Schurkey wrote: »

JNinja wrote: »

I don't understand, how you don't understand lol. It is an LG 47" and the only output that is useable for sound is digital optical. My old LG had both a DO and an analog headphone jack, but this does not.

Why do you have ANY outputs from the flatscreen? I expect that the flatscreen should be getting INPUTS from DVD/BluRay, cable box, computer, etc. and have no outputs at all. WHAT are you "outputting" from the flatscreen? WHY is there ANY audio going to the flatscreen--the on-board speakers are sure to be crap.

My system uses a projector, not a flatscreen. The preamp/processor controls all audio, and the video goes direct from DVD player (via component outputs/inputs) or from laptop computer via HDMI, bypassing the pre/pro altogether. The pre/pro has video in and out using several connection methods, but I don't use any of the video switching.

I don't understand you...I think you have your inputs/outputs mixed up. My TV output goes into digital optical into input on my receiver- that way I can hear what the TV is playing ... ?

There is nothing input into my TV, but an external hd....there is no "audio going to the TV"...

I'm sorry but your post is very confusing.

JNinja

Nightfall wrote: »

Schurkey wrote: »

JNinja wrote: »

I don't understand, how you don't understand lol. It is an LG 47" and the only output that is useable for sound is digital optical. My old LG had both a DO and an analog headphone jack, but this does not.

Why do you have ANY outputs from the flatscreen? I expect that the flatscreen should be getting INPUTS from DVD/BluRay, cable box, computer, etc. and have no outputs at all. WHAT are you "outputting" from the flatscreen?

My system uses a projector, not a flatscreen. The preamp/processor controls all audio, and the video goes direct from DVD player (via component outputs/inputs) or from laptop computer via HDMI, bypassing the pre/pro altogether. The pre/pro has video in and out using several connection methods, but I don't use any of the video switching.

A lot of flatscreen TVs have audio outputs. He's running all his video sources to the TV and then using the TV output to his stereo so all sound goes to a single input. It's less than optimal, for sure. Most TVs that do this can't do Dolby True HD and DTS-HD and down convert the signal.

I agree it is less than 'optimal', but it's convenient to me. I'd prefer to stream from my Macbook, but for now I go from external hd to tv to stereo...simple.

txcoastal1

This can't go directing into an amp from TV but you can use this as an input directly from TV optical to DAC (below) then to any preamp or AVR input


http://www.amazon.com/FiiO-Digital-Analog-Audio-Converter/dp/B005PWPUW6

txcoastal1

DSkip wrote: »

http://www.amazon.com/Portta-PETDTAP-Digital-Optical-Converter/dp/B005DIRI6I/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1435022567&sr=8-1&keywords=digital+audio+to+rca+adapter&pebp=1435022573134&perid=1TTJNSTY33P8J88YNVP0

I hope one digit is cheap enough. Now spend the other $190 on a used preamp.

Haha my DAC is bigger than yours

tonyb

JNinja wrote: »

I agree it is less than 'optimal', but it's convenient to me. I'd prefer to stream from my Macbook, but for now I go from external hd to tv to stereo...simple.

Simple, but not optimal. Using a TV for sound is about as good an idea as taking a leak into the wind.

Your receiver you have now has digital inputs doesn't it ? I'm just not seeing what your hoping to gain by adding a sub 200 buck pre amp.

F1NUT made the comment probably without knowing the budget first. Unless you want to go with a older HT pre/pro. Also, your missing out on the newer codecs for movies and music. DTS HD master audio is stunning for both....and you can't get that with digital inputs/outputs other than hdmi.

Schurkey

JNinja wrote: »

I don't understand you...I think you have your inputs/outputs mixed up. My TV output goes into digital optical into input on my receiver- that way I can hear what the TV is playing ... ?

There is nothing input into my TV, but an external hd....there is no "audio going to the TV"...

So apparently you're using the TV as a pass-through for the audio. The combined video and audio signal (HDMI?) from your computer goes to the TV, the TV separates the two, displays the video portion, and provides an optical (Toslink?) digital output for the audio. You can't get audio OUT of the TV unless there's audio going INTO the TV. The quality of your optical (Toslink?) digital output will be dependent on the electronics inside the TV that convert the electrical (HDMI?) signal to a light-based transmission.

I have no idea how you're going to get decent audio out of this for $200 unless you get a fabulous score off of Craigslist or something similar. There are dozens of pre/pros that will accomplish what you need, (Toslink input, DAC, preamp, with RCA or perhaps XLR output to amplifier(s) but it's unlikely that you'll buy one for the budget you've laid out. $500--up would be more realistic.

dpowell

JNinja wrote: »

I don't understand you...I think you have your inputs/outputs mixed up. My TV output goes into digital optical into input on my receiver- that way I can hear what the TV is playing ... ?

There is nothing input into my TV, but an external hd....there is no "audio going to the TV"...

I'm sorry but your post is very confusing.

So you are just watching over the air TV with no Cable/Sat TV box then. that's the only way it makes sense that you would want to use audio out on your TV. That said, you are probably looking at an AVR to get an optical input unless you are willing to pay more $$ for a stereo preamp with a built-in DAC. The Parasound P5 for instance has what you are looking for but you are easily looking at $900 to $1,000 for one. My advice is to look for an older Yamaha receiver that has the optical inputs. They tend to have a more natural musical sound quality to them. They can be found on Craigslist all the time. I picked one up for my barn system for $25 a few years back.

Emlyn

A B&K Reference 30 or Reference 50 would sell for around or below $200 on Ebay. Those are AV Preamps/Processors, but they do have a few optical digital inputs and are good for two channel listening as well.

On my recently purchased Sony 4K TV set the only audio output is digital optical. It is useful when running audio from the TV's apps that are included including Netflix and Amazon Instant Videos. Output is up to Dolby Digital quality, same as it would be from a cable box.

Nightfall

I would avoid the Yamaha RX-V's. If you want to go Yamaha this is the minimum model I would start at - $379 refurb

http://www.accessories4less.com/make-a-store/item/yamrxa1000bl/yamaha-rx-a1000-7.1-networking-aventage-av-receiver/1.html

Then you could get something like the Western Digital TV, plug your hard drive into it, and go HDMI to the AVR of your choice. Take the TV out of the audio equation.

tonyb

Yep....TV and audio processing aren't exactly a match made in heaven.

I know we are getting off the beaten path, but to up your game as far as sound quality goes, there's more to this stuff than just adding gear willy nilly. You have the Marantz, the Ashley amp, and the SDA's so far. Depending on what you want to accomplish, lets work with what ya have.

If your satisfied with just digital inputs, the Marantz will work fine for that. If you want to explore the newer sound codecs that Blu-ray offers, you'll need to up your game a bit. If not, no biggie, keep the Marantz then, especially if your going to do one system for both movies and music.

Cables can offer some solid improvements too but seeing that you have the sda's positioned neck and neck, I wouldn't waist my time. I think you have to think hard if these are the right speakers for you in the space you have available.

We're here to help, but I think some of us are confused as to what exactly your trying to accomplish, for what purposes.

JNinja

Thanks guys....for clarity:

-I am running an external HD w/ muisc videos & movies to my TV
-The TV goes to AVR

My purpose is that I understand that running a 2-ch system may be better in using a pre-amp rather than a AVR

I like the speakers a lot, and again they don't play much in the position pictured- so moot

I don't really understand what a DAC does, or why a pre-amp might be better than current AVR....

Nightfall

So your only source of music is music videos off a hard drive? No FLAC files of just music?

A DAC converts a digital signal into an analog signal that can be amplified and sent to your speakers.

What is your current setup now? I saw that you got an Onkyo P-301 but that doesn't accept optical so that can't be right.

gmcman

You can find some B&K Reference 30 and 50 preamps at a good price lately, they have a decent amount of toslink and coak digital inputs.

JNinja

Nightfall wrote: »

So your only source of music is music videos off a hard drive? No FLAC files of just music?

A DAC converts a digital signal into an analog signal that can be amplified and sent to your speakers.

What is your current setup now? I saw that you got an Onkyo P-301 but that doesn't accept optical so that can't be right.

Hi Nightfall, on my hard drive I have 320K MP3 files & FLAC files....

My current setup is a Marantz SR7300 with Ashly FET-500 amp and SDA-2a's

Ron Temple

Source to AVR, AVR to TV...let the AVR process everything...unless the 7300 doesn't have HDMI.