Only using 2 speakers with an AV Amplifier

I currently have a fairly good Pioneer CD player connected via an old
Pioneer hi-fi stereo amp to a *pair* of KEF speakers. However, tonight
my amp blew up and I'm thinking I need a new one...

At some point in the future (next year) I will certainly buy a DVD
player and want surround sound TV, so it *seems* like a good idea to
buy a Dolby 5.1 (or whatever) AV receiver/amplifier, use it for now as
a simple stereo amplifier, and upgrade to the full home cinema thing
next year with more speakers. Also I'd like to avoid having 2
parallel/duplicated/redundant systems in the living room, one for
video and one for music.

My question to you home-cinema experts out there is: Will a 5/6
channel AV reciever/amp actually function as a reasonable 2 channel
stereo audio amp with a CD player? (Budget guide, approx $350) or is
this a fundamentally flawed idea?

Thanks in advance

Rob

I've been doing just that for a few years using my Kenwood. I run in
"bypass" stereo for listening to regular CDs and FM and either 3
channel or 5 when watching a DVD.

(Rob Inhood) wrote:

I currently have a fairly good Pioneer CD player connected via an old
Pioneer hi-fi stereo amp to a *pair* of KEF speakers. However, tonight
my amp blew up and I'm thinking I need a new one...

At some point in the future (next year) I will certainly buy a DVD
player and want surround sound TV, so it *seems* like a good idea to
buy a Dolby 5.1 (or whatever) AV receiver/amplifier, use it for now as
a simple stereo amplifier, and upgrade to the full home cinema thing
next year with more speakers. Also I'd like to avoid having 2
parallel/duplicated/redundant systems in the living room, one for
video and one for music.

My question to you home-cinema experts out there is: Will a 5/6
channel AV reciever/amp actually function as a reasonable 2 channel
stereo audio amp with a CD player? (Budget guide, approx $350) or is
this a fundamentally flawed idea?

Thanks in advance

Rob

On 11 Aug 2003 14:41:16 -0700, (Rob Inhood)
wrote:

I currently have a fairly good Pioneer CD player connected via an old
Pioneer hi-fi stereo amp to a *pair* of KEF speakers. However, tonight
my amp blew up and I'm thinking I need a new one...

At some point in the future (next year) I will certainly buy a DVD
player and want surround sound TV, so it *seems* like a good idea to
buy a Dolby 5.1 (or whatever) AV receiver/amplifier, use it for now as
a simple stereo amplifier, and upgrade to the full home cinema thing
next year with more speakers. Also I'd like to avoid having 2
parallel/duplicated/redundant systems in the living room, one for
video and one for music.

My question to you home-cinema experts out there is: Will a 5/6
channel AV reciever/amp actually function as a reasonable 2 channel
stereo audio amp with a CD player? (Budget guide, approx $350) or is
this a fundamentally flawed idea?

Thanks in advance

Rob

Hello,
Many so-called 8 ohm speakers are actually closer to being 6 ohm
speakers. And an increasing number of Home Theater speakers are 6 ohms
anyway, so receiver designers are aware of this. Any competently
designed receiver shouldn't have a problem.

(Rob Inhood) wrote in
om:

I currently have a fairly good Pioneer CD player connected via an old
Pioneer hi-fi stereo amp to a *pair* of KEF speakers. However, tonight
my amp blew up and I'm thinking I need a new one...

At some point in the future (next year) I will certainly buy a DVD
player and want surround sound TV, so it *seems* like a good idea to
buy a Dolby 5.1 (or whatever) AV receiver/amplifier, use it for now as
a simple stereo amplifier, and upgrade to the full home cinema thing
next year with more speakers. Also I'd like to avoid having 2
parallel/duplicated/redundant systems in the living room, one for
video and one for music.

My question to you home-cinema experts out there is: Will a 5/6
channel AV reciever/amp actually function as a reasonable 2 channel
stereo audio amp with a CD player? (Budget guide, approx $350) or is
this a fundamentally flawed idea?

During receiver setup you can "tell" it that you have only two speakers
and it will route all information from multichannel sources to those
speakers. And it will play two-channel sources (i.e. CDs) properly.

The best thing to do, of course, is to shop somewhere that will let you
try out a receiver in YOUR living room with YOUR KEF speakers and return
it if it isn't providing you with the sound you want.

(Rob Inhood) wrote in message . com...
I currently have a fairly good Pioneer CD player connected via an old
Pioneer hi-fi stereo amp to a *pair* of KEF speakers. However, tonight
my amp blew up and I'm thinking I need a new one...

At some point in the future (next year) I will certainly buy a DVD
player and want surround sound TV, so it *seems* like a good idea to
buy a Dolby 5.1 (or whatever) AV receiver/amplifier, use it for now as
a simple stereo amplifier, and upgrade to the full home cinema thing
next year with more speakers.

Makes sense to me. Just put your new Dolby receiver into stereo mode.
You can listen to DVDs in stereo mode until you get the extra
speakers.

I'll add that at least in the US where I am, Dolby receivers are
incredibly cheap, so you get a ton of features for very little $$$.

BTW, almost all Dolby receivers now have Dolby Pro Logic II, but do
make sure you get that. It's very effective for providing surround
effects with stereo audio such as CDs, VHS tapes, TV broadcasts, etc.

Also I'd like to avoid having 2
parallel/duplicated/redundant systems in the living room, one for
video and one for music.

My question to you home-cinema experts out there is: Will a 5/6
channel AV reciever/amp actually function as a reasonable 2 channel
stereo audio amp with a CD player? (Budget guide, approx $350) or is
this a fundamentally flawed idea?

This will work fine. I think Dolby receivers start at $150 (maybe
less?), so at $350 you probably have a lot of choice. Or you could get
a $150 Dolby receiver now, then put the leftover $200 towards a pair
of rear speakers.

BTW, Consumer Reports (consumerreports.org) and Sound & Vision
magazine (soundandvisionmag.com) both reviewed and really like the
Panasonic HE-100 receiver, which I think is priced somewhere around
$200-$250. The HE-70 leaves off a few small features and costs less
too.

I happen to have looked at the manual for the following JVC CD/DVD
player and receiver and noticed that when connected to stereo
speakers, the receiver automatically defaults to stereo:

http://www.jandr.com/JRProductPage.p...uct_Id=3709840

I haven't heard any of the above. I suggest that whatever you buy, you
only shop and buy locally so that you can try out each receiver for
yourself. Ergonomics are important because modern Dolby receivers have
so many features that they can be a little confusing to use.

Thanks in advance

Rob

Rob Inhood wrote:
I currently have a fairly good Pioneer CD player connected via an old
Pioneer hi-fi stereo amp to a *pair* of KEF speakers. However, tonight
my amp blew up and I'm thinking I need a new one...

At some point in the future (next year) I will certainly buy a DVD
player and want surround sound TV, so it *seems* like a good idea to
buy a Dolby 5.1 (or whatever) AV receiver/amplifier, use it for now as
a simple stereo amplifier, and upgrade to the full home cinema thing
next year with more speakers. Also I'd like to avoid having 2
parallel/duplicated/redundant systems in the living room, one for
video and one for music.

My question to you home-cinema experts out there is: Will a 5/6
channel AV reciever/amp actually function as a reasonable 2 channel
stereo audio amp with a CD player?

Yes, it certainly will.

--
-S.