[Bill O'Connell]

 When folks ask me if our preamp has a home theatre bypass what does that actually mean? Or how do you implement?I have a rough idea but not really sure what they are looking for.
  Thanks,
 Bill

[satfrat]

I would say the bypass is a digital output that would pass along the digital input signal intact to a processor so it's DSP would process Dolby Digital, DTS, etc that would have been carried from the digital source like a DVD player. With a home theater bypass, the EE DAC would not only process audio music files, it would bypass the same digital input signal to another DAC, in this case a home theater processor's DSP Dac.
 
Then again I've never had a home theater bypass component so I could be all wrong. 
 
Cheers,
Robin

[srb]

They are looking for a "special" analog input to plug in the analog Left and Right channel pre-outs of their surround sound processor or receiver and bypass the preamp.
 
All of their analog sources connect directly to the preamp, and the surround processor's analog Left and Right pre-outs get plugged into a special "HT Bypass" input, which bypasses the volume control and allows the surround processor to control the HT volume.  It effectively connects the HT processor 'directly' to the power amp.
 
There are several ways it can be implemented:
 
1. As a pass-through input bypassing all active preamp signal paths
2. As an input configured to unity gain, bypassing the volume control only

This allows for a combination Pure Stereo and Home Theatre setup using the same 2-channel power amp and speakers.
 
Steve

[satfrat]

I was guessing,,,, 

[Nuance]

They are looking for a "special" analog input to plug in the analog Left and Right channel pre-outs of their surround sound processor or receiver and bypass the preamp.
 
All of their analog sources connect directly to the preamp, and the surround processor's analog Left and Right pre-outs get plugged into a special "HT Bypass" input, which bypasses the volume control and allows the surround processor to control the HT volume.  It effectively connects the HT processor 'directly' to the power amp.
 
There are several ways it can be implemented:
 
1. As a pass-through input bypassing all active preamp signal paths
2. As an input configured to unity gain, bypassing the volume control only

This allows for a combination Pure Stereo and Home Theatre setup using the same 2-channel power amp and speakers.
 
Steve

This.

[Bill O'Connell]

Thanks Steve,Robin and Nuance

[Nuance]

It really is quite a neat feature, Bill.  For those of us family men who've been forced to combine our home theater and music rooms, the HT bypass is a life saver.  No cable swapping or volume level matching; just power off the preamp or press the bypass button and the signal is passed unmolested to the HT processor.  It was probably invented by a married man. 

[srb]

No cable swapping or volume level matching; just power off the preamp or press the bypass button and the signal is passed unmolested to the HT processor.

I think you meant to say "and the HT processor signal is passed unmolested to the amplifier."
 
Steve

[ajzepp]

The concept of an HT bypass was something that came to my attention a couple of years ago. I spend more time with movies than I do music, BUT I'm more concerned with the quality of my music reproduction than I am that of movies. I had been using an Outlaw pre/pro at the time, which was nice for HT but had its limits with music. Anyway, I didn't want to build a second system, and that's when I started seeking another solution and learned about the HT bypass.

I immediately began researching 2-channel preamps and settled on a Mapletree Audio Line 2A-SE. I told Dr.P was I was after, he drew up the schematics and sent them to me for review, and the rest is history. To make a long story short, my music enjoyment increased ten-fold and one of my new favorite methods of relaxation was turning off the lights, sitting back in my favorite chair, and using my squeezebox remote to put on a private concert of some of my favorite artists.

I had to part with my preamp a few months ago due to health issues and bills, but now that I'm back on my feet and working, I've already placed an order for a successor to the Mapletree...a 10A from SAS audio labs....and the first thing I asked Steve at SAS was, "does it have an ht bypass?"