Before my ICBM arrives...

...I wanted a little advice on the best way to hook it up for my system. I have a Pani RP91 DVD-A Player, Pioneer Elite VSX-26 (THX Ultra) receiver with the front channel pre-outs wired to 2 Arcam Aplha 8 power amps. Basically I use the receivers processing and it's center and surround amplification only, whilst letting the 2 Arcams bi-amp my front channels for music (and movies, of course).

I would like the Pioneer to remain my video media hub (DVD's, TV, GamCube) becuase of the convenience and THX post processing, but when playing DVD-A, CD's or Vinyl - I want the ICBM to kick in. My DVD player is connected via a digital Co-ax to my receiver's DVD input and also via the six channel output to the receiver's CD input.

Any of this make sense? My head hurts just thinking about it...

[This message has been edited by Absolut_Citron_&_Tonic (edited June 26, 2002).]

With the VSX-26 carrying some of the amplification duty, your best bet is to put the ICBM between the RP91 and the VSX-26. The other thing sometimes done with the ICBM (between pre-amp and amp) will only allow you to use the ICBM for bass management of your main speakers in your case.

Putting the ICBM between the Panny and the Pioneer will let you use the ICBM for DVD-A and CD (assuming the RP91 is your CD transport and you prefer the RP91's DAC to the Pioneer's DAC). It will not let you use the ICBM for vinyl.

Let me toss out some ideas (discard if they don't really match your case very well) -- you're bi-amping your mains, which makes me suspect that they are pretty stout, possibly full-range or close to it. In that case, how critical is bass management for two-channel sources? (Many people prefer to let full-range mains work alone for stereo sources like CD and LP, which is part of why I ask.) From what I can tell about your setup, the source that most needs the bass management is DVD-Audio (which is what originally triggered the creation of the ICBM in the first place). And without getting some additional external amplification, I don't know of a way to use the ICBM as bass management for your entire system...

Hope that helped at all. If it only made your head hurt worse (a distinct possibility), I apologize.

EDIT: If your receiver includes some sort of "amplifier in" connections, which some higher-end receivers do, you might actually be able to connect the ICBM to the pre-amp outputs of the VSX-26 and then go to the outboard amps for the mains and the "amp in" connections on the VSX-26 for the center and surrounds. I don't know anything about your receiver, so I don't know if this sort of hook-up is possible...

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

[This message has been edited by gonk (edited June 26, 2002).]

Priesh gonk, your advice helped. FYI - My front speakers are Mission 752 Freedoms. When I bought them - 5 years ago - they may have been considered full range then, but nowadays, with the emergence of super-subs below 20Hz and genuine LFE on movies and music, they cannot be considered so as they roll off -3dB at about 40Hz.

You're right in your assumption that DVD-A is my main concern, I was certainly underwhelmed with the results using the player's so called "Bass Management" feature. So I guess I'll slip it between the DVD Player and Rcvr and reap the rewards on CD and DVD. I was just curious to see if my bi-amping situation would help or hinder my case. I was hoping there would be an added benefit for having a not so typical arrangement.

Obviously it's biggest impact will be reproducing the missing lows of the center and surround channels, as well as the added bonus of finishing off the sound on the front two, so that's cool as it's what I was looking for in the first place. Add to that the fact that I haven't bought anything with a plug on it for six months, and my VISA card was feeling left out, and perhaps you'll understand my reasons for dropping a few hundered bucks on this little device...


AC&T

Here's a thought...What would be the upshot of connecting only the surround, center and LFE channels from the back of the DVD player to the ICBM. Then connecting the L & R pre-outs from my Receiver to the ICBM before the power amps? Am I right in thinking that this would give me the ICBM's benefit when playing DVD-V, DVD-A, CD on two channel AND surround, whilst also allowing me to utilize it for 2 channel vinyl. The only downside I see is no surround channel tweaking for TV and GameCube. But I think I can live with that if it gives me more vinyl goodness...

AC&T