Reverse speaker selector?

comfortablycurt
comfortablycurt Posts: 6,745
edited September 2009 in Electronics
Hey everyone,

So, I'm getting tired of swapping speaker cables around. I've got my 2 channel rig and my HT all in the same room, and due to the size, I've only got room for one pair of speakers in the front at a time. The SDA's have been spending the most time there lately.

Because of that, I've got to swap the cables on the speakers a lot. If I want to watch a movie, I've gotta hook them up to the AVR, and when I want to listen to music, I've gotta hook them up to my amp.

Can I use a standard speaker selector, and just hook it up backwards? Would I need to get a different kind of selector? Will I just have to deal with it?

Any help would be appreciated,

Thanks,

Curt
The nirvana inducer-
APC H10 Power Conditioner
Marantz UD5005 universal player
Parasound Halo P5 preamp
Parasound HCA-1200II power amp
PolkAudio LSi9's/PolkAudio SDA 2A's/PolkAudio Monitor 7A's
Audioquest Speaker Cables and IC's
Post edited by comfortablycurt on
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Comments

  • MillerLiteScott
    MillerLiteScott Posts: 2,564
    edited September 2009
    My solution was a HT bypass. But that only allows you to use 1 pair of speakers.

    Scott
    I like speakers that are bigger than a small refrigerator but smaller than a big refrigerator:D
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  • Face
    Face Posts: 14,340
    edited September 2009
    MillerLiteScott wrote: »
    My solution was a HT bypass. But that only allows you to use 1 pair of speakers.
    +1.

    The 2A's in phantom mode should make a better center than a mini-monitor.
    "He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." Friedrich Nietzsche
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  • ViperZ
    ViperZ Posts: 2,046
    edited September 2009
    No, you cannot reverse a speaker selector.

    Here is what you need (amp selector):
    http://houston.craigslist.org/ele/1361436440.html

    Niles makes good gear.
    Panasonic PT-AE4000U projector for movies
    Carada 106" Precision Series (Classic Cinema White)
    Denon AVR-X3600H pre/pro
    Outlaw 770 7-channel amplifier
    B&W CDM1-SE fronts
    B&W CDM-CNT center
    B&W CDM1 rears on MoPADs
    JBL SP8CII in-ceiling height speakers
    Samsung DTB-H260F OTA HDTV tuner
    DUAL NHT SubTwo subwoofers
    Oppo BDP-93 Blu-Ray player
    Belkin PF60 Power Center
    Harmony 1100 RF remote with RF extender
    Sony XBR-X950G 55" 4K HDR Smart TV + PS3 in the living room
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  • kcoc321
    kcoc321 Posts: 1,788
    edited September 2009
    How about an A/B selector BEFORE the amp connection, since it sounds like you are just using the SDA's as your fronts?
    Course it would require pre-outs and IDK if the 606 has those....

    I don't remember who, but I remember reading of someone here who had a simple DYI kit they were going to do for one.

    That is what I am looking at doing once I get all my components for my 2-channels rig.
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  • tonyb
    tonyb Posts: 33,080
    edited September 2009
    Why not combine the two,thats alot of speakers and gear for one room.
    HT SYSTEM-
    Sony 850c 4k
    Pioneer elite vhx 21
    Sony 4k BRP
    SVS SB-2000
    Polk Sig. 20's
    Polk FX500 surrounds

    Cables-
    Acoustic zen Satori speaker cables
    Acoustic zen Matrix 2 IC's
    Wireworld eclipse 7 ic's
    Audio metallurgy ga-o digital cable

    Kitchen

    Sonos zp90
    Grant Fidelity tube dac
    B&k 1420
    lsi 9's
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  • vc69
    vc69 Posts: 2,500
    edited September 2009
    Curt, we are facing the exact same issue. I am totally happy with my 606 for HT, but totally unhappy with it for 2 ch. Bought a TFM-35 and looking at some pre-amps (probably tube). As such we just need a way to select which amp is feeding the front L/R at any given time. I'm hoping somebody comes up with a good suggestion. I have used Niles stuff before and was happy. Perhaps that is the way to go.
    -Kevin
    HT: Philips 52PFL7432D 52" LCD 1080p / Onkyo TX-SR 606 / Oppo BDP-83 SE / Comcast cable. (all HDMI)B&W 801 - Front, Polk CS350 LS - Center, Polk LS90 - Rear
    2 Channel:
    Oppo BDP-83 SE
    Squeezebox Touch
    Muscial Fidelity M1 DAC
    VTL 2.5
    McIntosh 2205 (refurbed)
    B&W 801's
    Transparent IC's
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  • comfortablycurt
    comfortablycurt Posts: 6,745
    edited September 2009
    MillerLiteScott wrote: »
    My solution was a HT bypass. But that only allows you to use 1 pair of speakers.

    Scott

    That would be the ideal solution, but my current pre doesn't have HT bypass. The next few that I'm looking at trying don't have it either...so I'm trying to find an alternative solution.
    Face wrote: »
    +1.

    The 2A's in phantom mode should make a better center than a mini-monitor.

    Well, I've got a CSi5 coming pretty soon. I've tried it in phantom mode, and I didn't really like it. It didn't seem to be as accurate. The Mini-Monitor really does a surprisingly good job of blending with the 2A's.
    ViperZ wrote: »
    No, you cannot reverse a speaker selector.

    Here is what you need (amp selector):
    http://houston.craigslist.org/ele/1361436440.html

    Niles makes good gear.

    Hmm...that looks like a possible solution. I'll have to look into that. Thanks for the suggestion.
    kcoc321 wrote: »
    How about an A/B selector BEFORE the amp connection, since it sounds like you are just using the SDA's as your fronts?
    Course it would require pre-outs and IDK if the 606 has those....

    I don't remember who, but I remember reading of someone here who had a simple DYI kit they were going to do for one.

    That is what I am looking at doing once I get all my components for my 2-channels rig.

    No pre-outs on the 606 unfortunately. I don't really see how that would work anyway...
    tonyb wrote: »
    Why not combine the two,thats alot of speakers and gear for one room.

    I only have one pair of front speakers at a time. I also have Monitor 7A's and RTi8's, but they're in a different room and not hooked up at the moment. I only have the SDA's up front right now, pulling double duty.
    vc69 wrote: »
    Curt, we are facing the exact same issue. I am totally happy with my 606 for HT, but totally unhappy with it for 2 ch. Bought a TFM-35 and looking at some pre-amps (probably tube). As such we just need a way to select which amp is feeding the front L/R at any given time. I'm hoping somebody comes up with a good suggestion. I have used Niles stuff before and was happy. Perhaps that is the way to go.

    Hopefully we'll be able to figure something out.
    The nirvana inducer-
    APC H10 Power Conditioner
    Marantz UD5005 universal player
    Parasound Halo P5 preamp
    Parasound HCA-1200II power amp
    PolkAudio LSi9's/PolkAudio SDA 2A's/PolkAudio Monitor 7A's
    Audioquest Speaker Cables and IC's
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  • kcoc321
    kcoc321 Posts: 1,788
    edited September 2009
    comfortablycurt wrote: »
    No pre-outs on the 606 unfortunately. I don't really see how that would work anyway...

    well it maybe be mute for your setup, until you have pre-outs, but here is what I was thinking.
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  • Systems
    Systems Posts: 14,873
    edited September 2009
    kcoc321 wrote: »
    well it maybe be mute for your setup, until you have pre-outs, but here is what I was thinking.
    Assuming the AVR has pre outs it would be simpler just use one of the open aux inputs of the preamp, then set the pre's volume at a pre determined level when using that input for HT.If it's a good neutral sounding pre then adding it's gain circuitry to the HT signal path should have negligable effect on sound quality.I use this approach and IMO it works great .
    Testing
    Testing
    Testing
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