Speaker Level to Line Level Conversions

N

ndiaz

Audioholic Intern
Hi Community!

What has been your experience regarding taking an AV Receivers speaker outputs & converting them into Line Level outputs?

I’m thinking of pursuing this in hope of having active speakers instead of passives using this device ( https://a.co/d/1XDkVNd )

Looking forward to thoughts!

Thanks!
 
highfigh

highfigh

Seriously, I have no life.
Hi Community!

What has been your experience regarding taking an AV Receivers speaker outputs & converting them into Line Level outputs?

I’m thinking of pursuing this in hope of having active speakers instead of passives using this device ( https://a.co/d/1XDkVNd )

Looking forward to thoughts!

Thanks!
This should be fine- but the Russound page shows "Not for use with digital amplifiers".
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
Hi Community!

What has been your experience regarding taking an AV Receivers speaker outputs & converting them into Line Level outputs?

I’m thinking of pursuing this in hope of having active speakers instead of passives using this device ( https://a.co/d/1XDkVNd )

Looking forward to thoughts!

Thanks!
That looks like a really nasty destructive device. AVOID. If you want to use active speakers trade your receiver for and AVP or one with preouts.
 
highfigh

highfigh

Seriously, I have no life.
That looks like a really nasty destructive device. AVOID. If you want to use active speakers trade your receiver for and AVP or one with preouts.
They work fine- let your ideas go that everything you don't like is crap- Russound sells a lot of equipment and have, for decades. People who know how to use these know that if they need one, it's a good option. It's not for audiophiles, just background.

I do agree with the last part, though- this is a bit of a band aid.
 
N

ndiaz

Audioholic Intern
They work fine- let your ideas go that everything you don't like is crap- Russound sells a lot of equipment and have, for decades. People who know how to use these know that if they need one, it's a good option. It's not for audiophiles, just background.

I do agree with the last part, though- this is a bit of a band aid.
Roger that

In all honesty, If price wasn't an issue, I would immediately go for a processor.

But to retain all my processing & features for $140 instead of $1k is tempting.

I do wonder how much will the signal degrade & how obvious it would be.

Do we know anybody that has implemented this & shared their expirience?
 
highfigh

highfigh

Seriously, I have no life.
Roger that

In all honesty, If price wasn't an issue, I would immediately go for a processor.

But to retain all my processing & features for $140 instead of $1k is tempting.

I do wonder how much will the signal degrade & how obvious it would be.

Do we know anybody that has implemented this & shared their expirience?
I haven't used any of those for full range, but I have used one that was sold by Jamo, specifically for sending a low pass signal to a subwoofer amplifier and it didn't cause any problems. I never drove it with high power, though.
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
Roger that

In all honesty, If price wasn't an issue, I would immediately go for a processor.

But to retain all my processing & features for $140 instead of $1k is tempting.

I do wonder how much will the signal degrade & how obvious it would be.

Do we know anybody that has implemented this & shared their expirience?
If you put that device at power those small resistors will burn out in a hurry. In addition they are carbon resistors, which in that usage will create noise. That device will downgrade the sound a lot and make your investment a waste of time.
 
BMXTRIX

BMXTRIX

Audioholic Warlord
What AV receiver are you currently using? What sources are you using with it? Most receivers have pretty solid integrated audio processing built in, so there is little in cheap speakers which isn't already built into receivers. Especially considering the economy of scale.

But, knowing more about your overall setup can help direct towards a best answer. The Russound piece should work, but it is a very limited device and will be fairly destructive to the overall audio, which really makes things much more difficult to discuss IMO.
Will it work? Yes.
Will it sound good? Less likely.
Will it sound worse than using RCA directly from the source? Absolutely.
Will it last a long time? Unknown.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
So what will you use with your receiver as a source for the active speakers ? Do you need the receiver at all?
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Ideally an AVP is the best solution.
That would depend on sources....an avr with pre-outs would generally be more cost effective, too. Depending on the overall system, might be other ways to go.
 
N

ndiaz

Audioholic Intern
Hi All!

I currently own a Denon 1600H running a 5.1.2 layout.

As you can tell, I’m looking into a cost effective solution to go with powered speakers while retaining the processing & features of the AVR.

$140 in converters vs $1000 processor.

I’m currently A/B ‘ing some JBL LSR 308’s vs my current speakers(Sony Core Towers) with Audyssey. Sound just “opens” with the JBL’s in comparison.

Don’t understand why there’s not a single under $1000 processor. But there’s plently of AVR under that price range & way lower.
Isn’t just a matter of replacing the Amp section with RCA/XLR outs?
 
TLS Guy

TLS Guy

Seriously, I have no life.
Hi All!

I currently own a Denon 1600H running a 5.1.2 layout.

As you can tell, I’m looking into a cost effective solution to go with powered speakers while retaining the processing & features of the AVR.

$140 in converters vs $1000 processor.

I’m currently A/B ‘ing some JBL LSR 308’s vs my current speakers(Sony Core Towers) with Audyssey. Sound just “opens” with the JBL’s in comparison.

Don’t understand why there’s not a single under $1000 processor. But there’s plently of AVR under that price range & way lower.
Isn’t just a matter of replacing the Amp section with RCA/XLR outs?
I'm not sure what you are trying to achieve here. Those Sony speakers seems to be cheap and nasty speakers. Good speakers are not something Sony are known for.

Those JBL active near field monitors, are for small recording studios and production facilities. They are designed to be powered directly from a mixing desk and sit right in front of the engineer. They are not domestic speakers or for inclusion in an AV system primarily.

Active speakers are just starting to make inroads into the domestic market. The market is not yet geared that way, but hopefully that will come.

In theory an AVP should be cheaper than an AVR, and hopefully down the road will be. At this time the AVPs are based on the higher end AVRs. They ought to be cheaper, but because of economies of scale are not. However I note the gap is changing and there is now close parity between the AVP and the higher end AVRs, in fact I think some are now cheaper.

As far as active speakers, they are now increasing offerings, and good ones, but currently at the top end of the market.

At the current time we have the absurd situation of receivers with as many as nine power amps, powered from way undersized power supplies, and attendant reliability problems. The current situation is absurd from an engineering stand point.

I think the market will move to AVPs and active speakers, with the speakers connected to the AVPs via Cat6 or higher. We are some years away from that.

I personally have never used a receiver, only AVPs. I do use mainly active speakers in my AV room of my design , but the amps are external. So I understand your desire for active speakers, but the market is only there at the high end of the market at present.

I do have one last word of advice for you. Two good speakers is far preferable to a greater number of poor ones. So the best way to build a system is to start with two really good speakers and add speakers as funds permit.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Hi All!

I currently own a Denon 1600H running a 5.1.2 layout.

As you can tell, I’m looking into a cost effective solution to go with powered speakers while retaining the processing & features of the AVR.

$140 in converters vs $1000 processor.

I’m currently A/B ‘ing some JBL LSR 308’s vs my current speakers(Sony Core Towers) with Audyssey. Sound just “opens” with the JBL’s in comparison.

Don’t understand why there’s not a single under $1000 processor. But there’s plently of AVR under that price range & way lower.
Isn’t just a matter of replacing the Amp section with RCA/XLR outs?
How are you comparing the speakers now? Using zone or do you already have some converters? I've never used such converters but would expect a bit of deterioration using them. I've made a point of getting avrs with pre-outs for amp/speaker flexibility, tho.

As to low priced pre-pros, there's not much out there....the demand is relatively low and the economies of scale and all that (and licensing of Dolby, DTS, etc)....and a good avr with pre-outs works quite well if you want to use active speakers. Outlaw used to offer a relatively reasonably priced pre-pro but no longer does. Maybe if active speakers keep gaining in popularity the pre-pro situation might change but I wouldn't expect it particularly soon.

I was just listening to my 305s which I use with an old 2ch pre-amp in a spare bedroom/office setup. I've seen some home systems using the 308s, IIRC the infamous Arnie K used three for his L/C/R speakers. Wouldn't surprise me at all that they're much better speakers than the Sonys.
 
everettT

everettT

Audioholic Spartan
You can pickup a used AVR with full preouts for around $700.. example.
 
N

ndiaz

Audioholic Intern
Thank you for the thoughts!

I can’t help to think that it just takes one company making one inexpensive processor to open the market up for it.

I’m currently A/B’ing them by Airplaying to the Sony’s via the AVR & then switching to a Airport Express that feeds the JBL’s.

What I want to recreate is a set-up that mimicks what the engineer mixes the content on. Hence, the powered speakers.

I know that finding a passive center that performs really well comes with a price-tag & then matching them with passive L/R’s is adding to it. So this JBL line seems to be more cost effective.

I’m sitting 8’ away from the JBL’s.
 
everettT

everettT

Audioholic Spartan
Thank you for the thoughts!

I can’t help to think that it just takes one company making one inexpensive processor to open the market up for it.

I’m currently A/B’ing them by Airplaying to the Sony’s via the AVR & then switching to a Airport Express that feeds the JBL’s.

What I want to recreate is a set-up that mimicks what the engineer mixes the content on. Hence, the powered speakers.

I know that finding a passive center that performs really well comes with a price-tag & then matching them with passive L/R’s is adding to it. So this JBL line seems to be more cost effective.

I’m sitting 8’ away from the JBL’s.
There are companies that make cheap processors, some were even decent, that starts at around $1000 (which is cheap). When you consider the fixed costs that are involved before the design even begins, as @lovinthehd mentioned, like licencing, an AVR like the Denon 3800 is the cheapest full feature option when used as a preamp if spatial audio and the latest HDMI.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
There is one sort of new less expensive pre-pro option, the brand Tonewinner, their AT-200 and AT-300 models.
 
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