Help needed! Integrating a surround amp into stereo setup?

[Claus]

Got a PS3 and would like surround sound.... so ......I am not afraid to ask in here :)

If I want to keep my front stereo channels playing throught a stereo amp, how do I connect up a reciever to do the rest?
Is there some feature I have to look at when getting a reciever, that provides this option? Does it have a name or lingo term?
Thanks for your patience!
Claus

[Diapason]

Thanks for asking this, Claus. I'd quite like to know the answer myself.

[Fran]

I think you need a thing called a "home theatre bypass" switch on your hifi/stereo preamp I think....

[DaveF]

Take the Left and Right pre-outs from your Receiver and connect them to a pair of inputs on the stereo amp assuming you have an extra pair of inputs on the stereo amp. Normally your CD player/TT will be connected to the other input. If your stereo amp does not have a Home Theatre pass-through mode, then you'll have have to match the volume controls on both the receiver and stereo amp.
Just be careful when switching back to CD on your stereo amp just in case you have the volume dial up high after watching a movie.

[Claus]

Thanks guys. I will see if I can find something suitable with pre out on the second hand market. I only need a front speaker as I have my old DM303s to use as side/backs and will just run my main speakers as full range instead of using a sub. My couch is up against the back wall is this a big deal in terms of placing the side speakers? Cheers,
Claus

[Claus]

Just ordered a Yamaha Rx-V667 from Germany. Seems very good for the price. Now I just need a decent center. Let me know if you have one ;-)

[Fran]

I've seen the odd one or 2 on adverts lately...

[Claus]

Just a little update for those interested.

I got the the Yamaha very quickly from Germany and at a very good price - HiFi-fabrik.de were very easy to deal with.

I am very impressed with how easy the amp is to set up: Just connected the pre-out to the AUX in on my MF amp and set the volume to 12 o'clock, connected the mic and hit the auto setup. This was a little too low so I moved the volume to 3 o'clock. This was too much so I ended up on 2 o'clock which was perfect. I had to tweak the surround levels a little and change them to "small". I also got a phase warning on my fronts because of their dipole design. I put on Toy Story 3 and was blown away by the sound! It also works amazingly well with PS3 games. Another little surprise was a Sky Arts concert in 5.1 which really sounded like being there. I would describe the sound of the Yamaha as very forgiving and leaning towards warm. I have not found any need for a sub yet - but then again my front speakers do go quite low. I am using one of my PMC DB1 speakers as a center at the moment, and it works ok, but I am still looking for a center speaker, so if anyone has one sitting around don't be shy. I met Noel and he promised he would keep an eye out for me in his shop.

Altogether I am happy with this setup for what it does at the price. I was hoping to get better quality dialog in films, which I got along with the surround effects "bells and whistles" for games and action movies as an added bonus.

[DaveF]

Good stuff there Claus. I had a Yamaha some years ago and I found it very easy to integrate with other equipment too.