Mixing old & new

[AllYourBaseRbelong2Us]

Hey, new member here. When I was about 9 years old I went with my father to the local ListenUp while he listened to and subsequently purchased a pair of new ML Sequel's, an Audio Research SP9 preamp, a Threshold s200 amp, and a nice Velodyne sub (now gone). Not a lot of hours on the equipment, in fact the Threshold guts are essentially new.

So I'm trying to figure out how to maximize what I have without spending too much money.
I like listening to music and watching movies.

Music source: Digital CD library via Apple TV

Movie Source: Digital movies via Apple TV or Blu Ray via PS3

I now own all the audio equipment above including:
Proceed HPA2 amp
Velodyne Servo FSX-12 sub
Denon 2801
(4) B&W 300's bookshelf speakers
(1) B&W CC3 center speaker

I was pushing the media through my 50" Pioneer Kuro 720 (HDMI inputs & RCA outs) but (from my understanding) it lacked an internal converter from 5.1 to 2 channel. From the TV the audio goes into the SP9, Proceed, then ML's. The dialogue was very hard to hear. I still have the Kuro but purchased a 54" Panasonic Plasma 1080 3D. It has an internal 5.1 to 2 channel converter but I had to get a digital to analogue converter. The dialogue is now great but the overall sound quality took a HUGE step back.

I want to utilize the ML's for movies and music but think I need to bypass the TV audio processing and go out the TV's digital optical port then into a (new) preamp, then...
...or sell some equipment to buy new parts?

I'm looking for creativity on ways to maximize sound quality from what I have. Going from CD player to SP9 to Threshold to ML's was beautiful. I'd love to run a 7.1 setup with the ML's as fronts (right & left) but am unsure what's needed...

Thanks in advance!

 

[Rich]

You've got a nice setup for audio, but you need to pass the audio signal straight through to the AR for music, while running it through the Denon for tv. I don't know enough about your gear or setup to recommend how to accomplish this, but it should be possible.

 

[Bernard]

I too have an ARC SP9 (mine is a Mk II). If you are handy with modifying electronics, I suggest that you replace the volume pot with a DACT stepped attenuator. It really improves the sound of the ARC. It's not cheap at $200, but is well worth it.

 

[AllYourBaseRbelong2Us]

You've got a nice setup for audio, but you need to pass the audio signal straight through to the AR for music, while running it through the Denon for tv. I don't know enough about your gear or setup to recommend how to accomplish this, but it should be possible.

The Apple TV's and PS3 have HDMI & optical outs and have settings to control the audio and video output.
The AR is analoge (only) and the Denon 2801 is pre-HDMI, but has optical.
I own two Apple TV's and could use one for music and the other for movies...but still unsure how to send HDMI or optical output to the AR. Is there a way to convert without losing quality?

I'm thinking the 2801 needs to be upgraded...

 

[AllYourBaseRbelong2Us]

I too have an ARC SP9 (mine is a Mk II). If you are handy with modifying electronics, I suggest that you replace the volume pot with a DACT stepped attenuator. It really improves the sound of the ARC. It's not cheap at $200, but is well worth it.

Not handy and not familiar with the upgrade. Can you explain further? $200 doesn't sound bad. It may be worth sending the AR to the factory for inspection, cleaning, etc prior to modifying. Another $250 or so.

 

[AllYourBaseRbelong2Us]

I picked up a Marantz 1504 for $299 and all is good (enough)...for now!
Running right & left channels through pre-outs.

 

[Bernard]

Not handy and not familiar with the upgrade. Can you explain further? $200 doesn't sound bad. It may be worth sending the AR to the factory for inspection, cleaning, etc prior to modifying. Another $250 or so.

The volume control in your ARC consists of a slider on a conductive plastic track. It is an inexpensive and inaccurate component that gets noisy with time; you hear the noise when you rotate the control to change the setting of the volume. Injecting a cleaning spray fixes the problem for a short time. I had that problem, which is what prompted me to change it.

The stepped attenuator that replaces the pot consists of a control that, instead of a slider, has discrete steps which select precision resistors resistors to set the volume. A benefit is that it improves the sound of the unit.

If you are sending the ARC to the factory, you should ask them to change and upgrade the power supply capacitors. As well, you may want them to change the captive power cord for an IEC inlet socket.

I expect that the service from ARC will be very expensive, albeit very competent.

They used to have a program to upgrade it to a MKIII, but I don't know if they still do.