That is a very good 'best of both worlds' configuration, which I use myself. I don't know how you have the stereo preamp hooked up with the 950, but I run the left and right front outputs of the 950 to an 'aux' left and right input of my stereo preamp, so I can bypass the 950 that way.

And it shows….Norman you mentioned HT multi-surround was a new area. Thereby prob. topics covering unfamiliar territory.
I loved….the Outlaw manual, for multi-channel operations and in general I thought the manual was close to as good as it gets…Just Outlaws manual alone walked me through calibrating, - hooking up interconnects….stuff I’d never attempted for myself before. I moved speaker terminations around on the amplifer last night without even electrocuting myself....amazing.
You should see my manual for the Sony RM-AV2100….I had to read it through twice, (still made no sense at tal!!!) gave up and start pushing buttons anyway…AFTER I pushed buttons a bit then it slowly dawned….oh that’s what they must be trying to say what a weird way to put it!

It's a true Outlaw community manual...Outlaw let us play editor on the forum BEFORE the manual was released…. (uh….maybe we did not do so good?! )

Hopefully it will be updated. I downloaded the PDF and it's covering a more complex device, but a lot of basic info is left to be guessed at. In some ways the 1050 manual is actually more complete. The B&K and Rotel manuals are IMO quite a bit better. The Anthem manual is almost scary.

Since it's an internet only product and this forum is provided I suppose that should be counted as a plus.

Soundhound, I send the CD signal directly to my pre-amp using the CD/DVD unit's analog RCA outputs, and the DVD signal from the same unit to the 950 using the CD/DVD unit's optical output. Using "Y" phono jacks, the pre-amp and the 950 both feed to the amp that powers my main speakers, so the only trick in this otherwise straightforward cabling arrangement is not to have the pre-amp and the 950 powered up at the same time. (If I eventually make that mistake, I very much doubt that any harm will be done, but it sure won't sound pretty). The 950 is sitting on top of my stereo pre-amp so has been easy to remember so far.

SLL, I really didn't need a manual for doing the interconnects. Its pretty straightforward (I think) for anybody who has been accustomed to separates - just read the labels on the jacks. I'm still finding the mode stuff confusing. No doubt its in part just the difficulties of adjusting from a straight-analog system with no menus, remotes, etc. In that vein, perhaps there is assumed knowledge in the design of the manual that the rest of you already had. Or perhaps I'm just not very bright. But I find the 950's UI to be far from intuitive, and the manual in that regard neither as clear nor as helpful as it might be, but also certainly better than some manuals I've tried to wade through.

All in all, its more like using a piece of software than audio equipment, and just like complex software I'm sure I'll learn my way around with practice.

Norman:

Having parallel feeds of two outputs using a "Y" adapter is not a good idea, even when one of the pieces of equipment is off. Even in the 'off' state, there can still be some interaction from the inactive circuit devices in the output stage, causing at the very least some additional distortion, and useless loading of the active device. If you want to use a "Y" adapter, solder an approximately 10K ohm resistor in series with the hot (center) lead of each leg of the "Y". This will isolate the two pieces of equipment and prevent interaction. The only downside to doing this is that you must keep the interconnect length _after_ the "Y" to no more than about 3 - 6 feet at the most, to avoid high frequency attenuation from the capacitance of the cable and the 10K ohm impedance created by the "Y" adapter.

Hello,

Long time lurker, first post.

soundhound,

If the triple crossover and trims and such are active during 5-STEREO or 7-STEREO processing, could you use a CD with pink noise or a sine sweep to check the crossover points and LFE/Sub behavior? That would save the kilobuck purchase, or at least delay it a bit...

Soundhound, haven't noticed any problems but HAVE worried about the very issues you raise with the Y-cables.

BTW, all my equipment is in a compact custom cabinet so no interconnect exceeds 3' except for the component video output from the 950 to the television.

Once I've settled in with my current interconnect system, I'm inclined instead of your 10K ohm (I assume 1/2 watt would be adequate?) solution to add a high quality DPDT toggle switch to my existing home-made control box which routes amplifier signal to three different listening areas. What are your thoughts on that alternative?

I wouldn't use either of the 5 or 7 stereo modes, or _any_ other of the DSP modes (PLII, etc) to test response of the system. The reason for this is that there is de-matrixing going on to extract and 'synthesize' more channels from a CD which is a 2 channel source. This processing can, and will effect your measurements.

If you are in fact just setting the crossover from main speakers to subwoofer, this can be done with a sweep test or discrete frequency test. There are some useful test signals on DVDs like Sound & Vision's Home Theatre tune-up, the Avia Guide to Home Theatre, and possibly some others. I find the Sound & Vision DVD very useful, but I don't know if it has a frequency sweep.

What solution were you thinking of buying for a KiloBuck?

A DPDT switch would work fine - JUST DONT DO THE SWITCHING WITH THE VOLUME UP!!!
You could get quite a noise burst if you aren't careful. Alternately, you could get a 'make before break' DPDT switch. This type of switch makes the new connection before cutting off the old one. Essentially this type of switch parallels the outputs just like you have them with the 'Y' adapter currently, but only for a split second as the switch is thrown. This type of switch avoids the pop that can arise when using a typical 'break before make' switch, like a garden variety toggle. You might have a hard time finding a 'make before break' switch: Digikey Electronics (1-800-DIGIKEY or www.digikey.com) might carry one.

OR, you could just to to RadioShack and pick up 4 10K ohm 1/4 watt resistors, and solder them into your "Y" adapters and be done with it.

I thought this issuse was resolved along time ago?? Scott (Outlaw) posted what occurs from the start/just seems some will never believe a word this co. says? Anyone have a copy of the old post for Norman?