[freeturkeys]

ok basically i have everything that is in my sig plus a pair of psb alpha a/v's... pretty much everything except my amp and my cd player are hand me downs from my dad so its kinda mix and matched.  I will also be acquiring a 27 inch mitsubishi tv from my dad and i have a significantly powerful computer which i have not used since i got my laptop... the computer's vitals are as follows:

ATI All-In-Wonder 9600 128mb videocard (with s-video input and output)
Soundblaster Live! 5.1 soundcard
AMD Athlon XP 2400+ processor
512 mb ddr400 memory
various other do-dads but thats the important stuff.

one thing i was considering doing is keeping the pm7000 int amp and adding a 5.1 pre-amp and the teac 3 channel 30 watt amp i have seen people talking about in other parts of this site... i would use the teac for the center and rear's and the pm7000 for the left and right.  but then volume control would always be an issue.... would the best bet be to sell the pm7000 (along with the tuner and the cd changer) and buy a 5.1 reciever? idk i am very confused.  basically i want to take the most cost effective route to home theater using as much of the stuff i already have as possible.  i am not particularly attatched to my cd player as right now my primary source of music is the pc... the tuner is nice but if i switch to a reciever it would have a tuner too.... ok one last question... how much do you think i could sell the pm7000, st6000, and cc3000 for? all are in 9/10 condition.  thanks and sorry for the long post.

[mcgsxr]

Hey, welcome to the Circles Freeturkeys!

A couple of comments for you, about your questions, and config.

1.  I honestly have no idea what your gear is worth, so I cannot help there.
2.  Why are you thinking of adding a 5.1 pre?  Aren't you thinking of using the PC as the source, and pre and processor?  Isn't that the point of HTPC, to use the soundcard as the pre and pro?  IF that is the case, and I may have misunderstood you, then I would buy the Teac, and flesh out your surround sound, as you suggest.  Heck, I would sell the Marantz gear and buy 2 Teacs - oh wait, I DID that...
3.  Right, since you use the PC as music source, and I assume it has a DVD drive, it can be your pre/pro.  The 5.1 card has outputs for 6 channels right?  Tie those to the Teac and Marantz peice, and set the volume on those once, using the volume on your PC thereafter.

Make sense?

Mark in Canada.

BTW, there is a PC/HTPC Circle around here, where others, likely more educated than I, might be able to help you also...

[freeturkeys]

how do i get to the htpc circle? and also, how good is the teac 3 channel amp? its only 100 bucks, is this really cheap for a power amp (all previous experience of mine has been with integrated amps/av recievers) i had not considered the possibility of using the computer as a pre/pro, the only thing i am unsure of is how i could get the 5.1 capability of my tivo to work through the computer.  would i have to add another device to handle the optical input? that is really the only device i have that isnt stereo... also is there a quality tv tuner card that recieves fm as well? if so then i could sell my tuner and my cd player to get a little cash to do this... i am on a tight budget and i was hoping to be able to accomplish this with the stuff i have (or by selling/trading the stuff i have).

[J@ck]

I feel your easiest way is getting a JVC or panny digital receiver. A good AV-Pre will be quite expensive.

[mcgsxr]

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?board=46 is where you can find the PC based Circle here - you have to scroll down ALL the way to the bottom (where they keep the important stuff! ).

As for your compatibility concerns with TIVO etc, using the PC as the pre/pro I have No idea - not my bag - ask down there...

As for how good the Teac is - depends.   I like it a ton.  I sold a Sugden integrated that I had owned for 10 years, after I bought a pair of these little guys - right out of the box, they impressed ME with inner detail, clarity etc.  After ~130 hours of break in, the sound is balanced top to bottom in my system, and I like it.  That said, there are those who have tried digital amps, and did not like them...  Depends on what you like about the sound that you have, versus what you would like to have.

Read my reviews on the Multichannel and Critics Circles, about the Teac versus my Teac, could lead you in a good direction - might not though, you have to do your homework right?

In any case, for the $$, you cannot go wrong, in my books.

mark in Canada

[freeturkeys]

is there a such thing as an inexpensive preamp that can handle digital signals?

[mcgsxr]

I guess there is such a thing - since you like Marantz gear, here is a piece on ebay that might do the trick for you.

Good luck,

Mark in Canada

http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=14974&item=5725640637&rd=1