I have a decent 2 channel system consisting of the following:

Sony 222ES SACD MC CD Player
HK 3475 (110W/chnl receiver)
Bohlender Graebener 520 DX Ribbons
Parts Express powered Titanic sub

My HT is in another room, this system is for music only.

Anyway, I heard a SACD MC demo the other day and I am hooked! Gotta have it. I started looking for a pre or receiver that will allow me to listen to both 2 channel stereo and MC. Here are my questions:

1. I intend to buy 2 good surround speakers, do I really need a center channel speaker too?
2. I am using a powered sub so I don't want to use any bass management. I want the sub on at all times for both 2 channel and Multichannel. I would like to continue to power it from the main audio outputs (speaker level) as the amp sums the channels to mono. Can I do this? I don't want the sub going off when I play 2 channel (most of the time).
3. My HK has pre/amp inputs and outputs so I would like to use the more powerful HK amp to power my BG ribbons. Any problems?
4. Can I use the analog inputs to handle my Sony MC SACD player?

Looking to maintain the best quality 2 channel sound while adding multi-channel capability. Anything else that I need to worry about?

Thanks a lot for your help!!

Hi Jane.

1. If you will be listening to high-res multi-channel sources (DVD-Audio and SACD), you will need a center channel -- the current players generally lack the ability to offer a "phantom center," and the 5.1 analog inputs on most everything (possibly excepting some of the high-end pre/pros) are a pure pass-through, so there is still no way to produce a phantom center. Without that speaker, you will be losing more than 20% of the information on the disc. Since this is a music-only system, though, you don't necessarily need a purpose-built center.

2. I may be misunderstanding a bit here (it is the end of the week, my brain cells are about done in). You want the powered sub fed from the main speakers at all times, not from a separate sub/LFE output. In this case, you will need to provide some means of transferring the .1 channel on your multi-channel SACD's to the left and right signals. The 1050's analog input will not provide this sort of function (again, short of a few high-dollar HT pre/pros, there's nothing beyond volume control on the 5.1 analog inputs). Your 222ES may have bass management for SACD that will allow you to set the sub to "off," but I'm not sure. The Outlaw ICBM does support this, as well, I believe, if your SACD player does not.

3. I don't see a problem there if the receiver has pre-amp inputs.

4. The 5.1 analog input can be used for multi-channel SACD very easily. That's exactly what they are intended for.

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gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review

Thanks for a great reply.

>>2. I may be misunderstanding a bit here (it is the end of the week, my brain cells are about done in). You want the powered sub fed from the main speakers at all times, not from a separate sub/LFE output. In this case, you will need to provide some means of transferring the .1 channel on your multi-channel SACD's to the left and right signals. The 1050's analog input will not provide this sort of function (again, short of a few high-dollar HT pre/pros, there's nothing beyond volume control on the 5.1 analog inputs). Your 222ES may have bass management for SACD that will allow you to set the sub to "off," but I'm not sure. The Outlaw ICBM does support this, as well, I believe, if your SACD player does not.

Maybe I am making this more complicated than it needs to be. I have a powered sub and I am a bass freak. I have heard that bass management will kill the sub outputs when you listen to 2 channel audio (which will be most of the time for me). I just want to listen to the sub 100% of the time for stereo and multichannel. The sub is self powered and accepts both speaker and pre level inputs. How would I hook up the sub with the Outlaw 1050?

Thanks in advance!

Bass management may or may not kill the sub signal, depending on how it's set up. Most home theater subs are powered subs hooked up to the sub/LFE output of the receiver or pre/pro; that output gets the .1 signal (when the .1 channel is used, for DVD's, DVD-Audio, and SACD) as well as any re-directed bass from the full-range speakers. If your main speakers are set to "large" (as many people choose when using nearly full-range speakers from a 2-channel system), then nothing is re-directed to the sub and the sub is "dead" for 2-channel listening. If the mains are set to "small," however, then the receiver's bass management kicks in and the sub/LFE channel will be active with 2-channel material. DVD-Audio and SACD are a bit of an exception, however, as 5.1 analog inputs typically bypass a receiver's bass management (the Outlaw 950 includes some analog bass management, and I think the Lexicon MC-12 and MC-8 pre/pros also do something along those lines). At that point, you are dependent on either the player (and the 222ES may have some functionality along these lines, I'm not sure) or a separate bass manager like the Outlaw ICBM .

Either approach could be used in your case (speaker or pre level inputs).

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gonk -- Saloon Links | Pre/Pro Comparison Chart | 950 Review