AV system upgrade

Sorry forgot to mention my system includes a CDXII/XPS2

Bye ..

Rael

Rael,
No, all new Naim preamp have an "AV socket" including the 252.

Please don't use a speaker switch, you will kill the music.
For the other room, find a used Nait, preferably with a remote control (3R or 5) and an InfraRed repeater: You will be able to adjust the volume from the other room.
Visit you Naim dealer, he will explain this.

Emmanuel

All opinions are my own, and reflect those of the organisation i work for, even if not stipulated.

Emmanuel,

Thanks for your comments ref multiroom application, things have moved on a bit in that I have now on order a 252/300/SCII to integrate with my existing CDXII/XPS2/AV2/NAPV175/(NAP300 replace the existing NAP150).

I have a main AV / Music room and a secondary music room which I tend to use at night, so I would like to listen to music in the secondary room to greatest effect ( i.e preferably utilising the 252/300 in both rooms although I reslise this may not be possible. ) using the above equipment.

My question is how can I effectively use all of my existing equipment inc. the redundant NAP150 to have music in both rooms, preferably ( although this may not be possible ) using the NAP252 and/or the NAP300 driving both sets of speakers to best effect.

Can I use the AV2/NAP150 for the secondary room and the 252/300 for the main music room. I am unsure of the right direction to take !!!

What else would I need to purchase to set-up a multiroom with my existing equipment.

Your comments are much appreciated.

Thanks Rael

quote:

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My question is how can I effectively use all of my existing equipment inc. the redundant NAP150 to have music in both rooms, preferably ( although this may not be possible ) using the NAP252 and/or the NAP300 driving both sets of speakers to best effect.

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- by Rael
Real

It's not a complete answer but if you accept you do not HAVE to use Unity Gain coming from the AV2, you can always independently adjust the "front channels" using the NAIM remote it gives you more flexibility.
I have used this approach myself with non-naim AV processing because I wanted the benefit of NAIM pre-amp processing which gets kind off lost using the "unity gain" which turns the pre-amp into a sort of passive component.
You do get some benefit from seperately balancing the volume to your front speakers aswell, especislly if you want to re-balance the front-rear balance on multichannel formats, by taking the pre-outs for the fronts thru a correctly made rca- din Chord cable (available to order).
You could consider this as a way of driving the 150 from the 252 as well as the 300 WITHOUT doing the speaker switch thing which Iagree is not recommended for quality.
If you insist on a speaker switch visit:
www.lektropaks.co.uk, they have those sort of items in their catalogue.

Good luck

GEOFFP

Rael

Sorry web link is:
http://www.lektropacks.com/

GEOFF P

Rael,

The only way of doing this without a speaker switch - nasty thing! Bad Bad boy - is to switch the speaker cables when you want to use the 2nd room.

geoff, there are several downsides of doing the separate volume thing. You have to adjust the sound every time you want to play a DVD, making it very un-user friendly. Every time you switch back to another two-channel source you're likely to blast your ears since stereo sources tend to have higher gain. Finally, the purist would argue that in fact you are introducing an extra element by doing this! When you use the unity gain feature, you cut out the volume pot and possibly some other components so you should theoretically get a better sound since you're still going through the processor first.

Regards,
Frank.
All opinions are my own and do not reflect the opinion of any organisations I work for, except where this is stated explicitly.

So Frank -
What you are saying about the advantage of unity gain (and not passing through the volume control on the NAC) sounds like it has merit, but am I correct in thinking you mean that only if you are using an AV2 as the "pre amp"?
OR
Are you saying that the output from the pre-amp section on a non-naim A/V processor used to feed a NAP via a NAC unity gain input is going give a better quality signal than taking the analog ouputs direct from a DVD on-board DSP, feeding them into the NAC direct and using the NAC to pre-amp the signal as normal feeding a NAP?
I don't disagree with your comment about the hassle of volume readjstment for film DVD's and a you're point about relative volume levels is well taken, so some care on the part of the user is required.
I was really thinking more about the situation that applies to SACD and DVDA music where the processing has to be done by the source and output as multichannel analog (because of paranoid concern with copy protection).
In these circumstances the A/V processor is really only acting as a multichannel pre-amp and doesn't even do any bass management which has to be taken care of at source.
What I have found listening to DVDA and SACD is that multichannel balance for a pure music signal is much more personal and often needs re-balancing to suit you're own listening taste. This where my idea comes into play.
Also often there is a high quality DSD or 96Khz/24 bit stereo track available. Feeding that thru the same signal path as you would use for "normal" stereo surely has merit above the A/V preamp-unity gain approach.

Let me know what you think

regards

GEOFFP