[MParrott]

I'm Matt. I live outside of Houston Texas, and I'm just now getting close to having a respectable setup.

I need help y'all. I have some really nice components, and I'm seeking balanced audio zen. But because I don't really know what I'm doing, and don't want to ruin my components, I'm scared to experiment.

My goal is to have my cake and eat it too. I want stellar, spacious and balanced stereo when I'm chilling with Kind Of Blue on the TT, but kick ass theater sound when watching Oblivion on BRD.

Here are the components I have to work with:
McIntosh MA 6500
McIntosh MC 275 VI
Denon AVR 3313 CI
Denon DBP 1611UD
BSR 4000 XR Graphic EQ
Garage 1217 Project Sunrise II headphones/pre amp
Technics SL-D202 Turntable
TDK SP-XA2002 Turntable
Cambridge Audio Topaz CD10 CD Player
Cambridge Audio DACMagic

I'm open to other products, but only have $500US to play with. In fact, I'm selling some stuff on eBay to get that offset (BUMParrott). Maybe I should post here as well?

I'm currently considering the DACMagic with the volume knob as a Preamp between my sources and the MC275, but don't think that gets me to my goal.

I've also looked at a passive amp from Tortuga Audio in Florida.

I also think the Denon and MA6500 can be used as preamps? I know the Denon has preouts, but I tried feeding those (l and r front) to the MA6500 and must have done it wrong because they were washed out by the other channels and I had to turn the MA6500 way up.

Help! Please! What combination should I use and in what configuration?

[charmerci]

Welcome. This is a great site with lots of smart and very knowledgeable people.

My .02 is to kind of simplify your set up.

I would hook up your music system this way.

TT/CD player/DAC > Mc 6500 > pre-amp out > MC275 > speakers

and then separately

BR player > AVR > speakers

Use dual banana plugs to exchange plug ins between the two systems (with power off, of course.)

But a question arises - Do you want to listen to music in 2.1/5.1 configurations?

When you fed the pre-outs from your Denon to the McIntosh integrated which inputs did you plugs them into? Why not into the 275 amp?

[MParrott]

Thanks for the welcome. This is exactly the kind of help I was seeking.

To answer your questions:
Do you want to listen to music in 2.1/5.1 configurations? It depends. If I'm digging deep into some 180 gram vinyl I would use 2.1, but if I'm reading the paper or setting my digital collection to random, 5.1.

When you fed the pre-outs from your Denon to the McIntosh integrated which inputs did you plugs them into? This is where I went wrong, and I fixed it last night. I had the preouts from the Denon going into the Tuner input. I changed that to the tape in on the ma6500 and then the tape out on the 6500 ran to the Denon's CD input. This allowed me to use the ma6500 to drive the front L&R channels and still use the Denon's level setup.

Why not into the 275 amp? That may well be what I end up doing. But I love the look of the ma6500 and I'm guessing it has a higher build quality for some of my analog components.

I think your suggestion makes perfect sense. I did make a speaker switch so that I could use the front L,R and sub channels with either system.


I'm just not sure which method is best. My current plan is very complicated. I tend to agree with you, simpler is almost always better. But what do you think of this:

SOURCES-
Computer to DACMagic
CD and BRDP Digital to Denon
CD and DACMagic Analog to ma6500

OUTS AND INS-
Denon Front Left and Right Preout to ma6500 Tape Input
ma6500 Tape Out to Denon CD Input
ma6500 Main Out to mc275 unbalanced inputs



How else could I improve sound while preserving ease of use?

[Bob in St. Louis]

I'm currently using a Denon AVR 3313 CI in my system too. The phone input is neat, but sounds horrible. In fact, I haven't figured out how to make the machine NOT sound like crap regardless which audio input I use. For home theater use, it's a wonderful unit, but ALL of my music sounds unlistenable regardless of which input jacks I've tried.

Sorry for the buzzkill. Trust me, I'm very sorry. 

There is a neat little app I use that's quite a bit of fun (Android).
Check it out; https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=de.pskiwi.avrremote&hl=en
I set the tablet on my lap while a movie is playing and I can adjust the levels and "stuff" for all the different channels on the fly.

Bob

[charmerci]

Well, it looks like you have the system set up well enough. I only have a simple stereo system, don't do surround.


Though I don't know why your Denon is connected to the Mac at all. I think that set-up is running the Denon pre-amp into the pre-amp/amp of the Mac adding an unnecessary layer.

[WC]

Are you able to run two connections into your subs? You can send all the music inputs to the Mac preamp and run the Mac tube amp off of it. To power the front left and right with the tube amp from the Denon just run the preamp outs into one of the inputs on the Mac preamp and you are set. Just make sure you set a consistent volume level on the Mac preamp. It would be slightly easier if you just used amp in on the Mac integrated, since you wouldn't need to level match the input. I simplified my system by just using the AV receiver for all 5.1 and 2.1 sources. You could also do that by just going from the Denon to the Mac tube amp. I would go analog in to the Denon for source inputs for better sound quality. If you want to use the tape outs, it may work, but check the specs on the Mac integrated since it may not output the a full range signal. The tape outs on my Yamaha amp are like 550 mV instead of a 2V line output. So when I run the tape out to my AVR I have to increase the volume significantly.