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[turbofeet]

Morning
I currently use a RX-A3070 as my main amp for everything. My HTPC (where JRiver is installed) is connected to it via HDMI and films are Bit streamed and music will be processed by the DAC within the Yamaha (I believe).

I want to purchase a NAIM Unity Atom and use this for the front two Stereo channels using the Pre amp output (RCA).

This is fine for Analogue inputs (if I had any) on the Yamaha as it will pass it through to the NAIM to process but I want the NAIM DAC to be used when listening to music. Of course it will only process two channels.

I also need it to be as easy to use as possible for the wife and Kids. Currently it's just HDMI to the Yamaha and everything works as expected. I have JRiver set up to play music as 2.1 and to bitstream HD Content.

Using RCA for the front two channels means everything should work and they should all be able to watch films or listen to music just fine. For me I won't like this however as the Yamaha will still be acting as the DAC and I will be losing sound quality. They won't care

I was thinking of using the Optical out from the HTPC directly to the NAIM in addition to the HDMI to the Yamaha.

I then use your Automatic Zone switching to use HDMI when watching Media Type Video and use Optical when listening to Media Type Audio.

Only issue I can see with this is that I would have to switch the Audio Input on the NAIM between the RCA input and the Optical which I can see my wife complaining about.

Is there a better way to set this up?

The NAIM also has an HDMI ARC connection. Not sure if I can use that as a secondary HDMI out from the Yamaha. Appreciate this is meant for TVs so volume is Synced...

Anyone else with a similar setup? Perhaps I am over complicating it and should just leave it on RCA and manually switch zones when I want to listen to my music with proper Hifi...it is only to please me anyway.

Or perhaps I am missing something obvious!

Thanks in advance

[wer]

Hi Turbofeet.

You showed prudence in asking advice before you did this.  I'll be honest with you.  You're creating a convoluted setup, and your family is not going to thank you for it.

You've come to a crossroads: you say you want this to be as easy to use as possible for the wife and kids, but then you say you want to integrate a several thousand dollar toy that only supports 2 channels and put it in between the receiver and speakers of a surround sound system, all because you think you'll hear better sound from a new DAC?

I'm not dismissing your desire, I'm just pointing out the conflict: you can't have both.

If you really want to make things simple for your family, maybe you need to consider having two systems, one for family use, and one you can geek out on.

I'm into high end audio myself, so I get it.  But if your family does not, consider the trouble you're inviting.

If you insist on this way, and you insist on the Atom being the DAC and the Yamaha totally bypassed for two channel, then I would recommend using a speaker switchbox instead of putting the Atom in between the Yamaha and the speakers.  That might be simpler for your family to operate, and might avoid volume matching issues, because with your described config, both the Yamaha volume and the Atom volume will be active for the front speakers.  Adjusting two volume controls to match speaker levels won't be fun for anyone. Or you could switch the Atom's volume mode to fixed before playing movies, but do you want your family to have to mess about in the Atom settings menu? 

Plus that box used to have a bug that it could blow your speakers if you didn't mute it when switching inputs.  Very uncool.  Has that bug been fixed?

I'm not sure if your real goal is to upgrade your sound quality, or if you just want this shiny new box.  If you want to upgrade your sound quality, I think you'd be better served by upgrading your preamp and amp.  You could have a better DAC that way, better sound, and still maintain ease of use for the family.  If you just want the new box, then you'll have to think and chose the best path.

Just out of curiosity, what speakers are you using for the mains and surrounds?

Good luck.

[turbofeet]

Thank you for your reply.
Yes I come from a history of hi-Fi separates but always felt I compromised by replacing it all with a Receiver. I just want some decent Stereo Quality from my FLAC collection.

I've not heard of an issue with the NAIMs blowing speakers but I will certainly ensure it's on the most recent firmware.

I was already aware of the potential issue with having two separate volumes. I thought if connected via RCA that would be the only issue to be honest as everything would work fine without any kind of switching.

I could leave it like that and just use the optical when I wanted sound quality - manually selected by me.

Your speaker switching idea is quite a good one actually as the wife and kids would just continue as they do now and I switch it over for my audiophile needs.

It would have to be quite a decent one I think if it's connected to two separate Amps. You don't want a situation when both amps are sending a signal at the same time 

Can anyone recommend a decent one? One with Infra Red switching would be nice as I could program the Logitech to switch it between the different speaker sources.

I currently have Monitor Audio Apex 10 speakers as the Front Left/R. All of the rest of the surrounds are Monitor Audio Radius HDs with a relatively old KEF Sub. It's more a film watching setup rather than for music.

The front two will be replaced by Quad S-1 speakers. I will also get a REL T5i Sub to either replace the KEF Sub on the Yamaha or as an additional Subwoofer connected to the NAIM.

Cheers

[turbofeet]

This looks like it will do the job:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dynavox-AMP-S-Amplifier-Switch-Black/dp/B0047N09K2/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=speaker+amp+switcher&qid=1587378828&sr=8-2

Infra Red is not essential

Or even better:

http://www.homehifi.co.uk/S/tc-7220mk3.htm

[dtc]

I agree that separating the systems is the best way to go.  That is why many 2 channel pre-amps have home theater bypass settings.

Having lived with a somewhat similar system (manual switch for home theater bypass), just realize that at some point you are going to leave the switch on the Naim setting and the family member is going to have to switch it when nothing comes out of the mains when using the Yamaha.  The only foolproof way to do this is to have the Logitech be able to set everything for each option.

So, here is long shot option. I believe the Naim uses an RF remote, which means the Logitech can not control it. But, if their are IR codes for the Naim and if there are codes to select each individual input, then you could use the Logitech to set the Naim to the correct settings.  My guess is the Naim does not accept IR codes, but a quick email to them might be in order.  Even then, it would also have to have codes for each input.

There used to be speaker selector switches with IR, but I am not sure if any are available anymore. IR is so old fashion.

Niles makes good speaker switches, although I do not like the in and out switches. They can get noisy over time.

Good luck.

[turbofeet]

I agree that separating the systems is the best way to go.  That is why many 2 channel pre-amps have home theater bypass settings.

Having lived with a somewhat similar system (manual switch for home theater bypass), just realize that at some point you are going to leave the switch on the Naim setting and the family member is going to have to switch it when nothing comes out of the mains when using the Yamaha.  The only foolproof way to do this is to have the Logitech be able to set everything for each option.

So, here is long shot option. I believe the Naim uses an RF remote, which means the Logitech can not control it. But, if their are IR codes for the Naim and if there are codes to select each individual input, then you could use the Logitech to set the Naim to the correct settings.  My guess is the Naim does not accept IR codes, but a quick email to them might be in order.  Even then, it would also have to have codes for each input.

There used to be speaker selector switches with IR, but I am not sure if any are available anymore. IR is so old fashion.

Niles makes good speaker switches, although I do not like the in and out switches. They can get noisy over time.

Good luck.

Thanks.

Yes I was looking at the NAD M10 as well which allows you to connect an IR sensor to it and map IR commands to any command. I thought I could set the volume up/down with the same IR command as the Yamaha. Thus you turn up the volume on both but that would rely on them having similar steps in volume - doubtful.

All a bit messy though isn't it plus that device won't sound as sexy as the NAIM

I think I have to be quite careful about Amp switching too.

Have a look at these instructions:

http://www.beresford.me/S/home_htm_files/TC-7220MKII.pdf

It implies it would allow both amps to be on at the same time. No way you would want that.

This seems like the logical solution:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Dynavox-AMP-S-Amplifier-Switch-Silver/dp/B0047N09K2?th=1

People report switching amps while music is playing with no ill effects! Has to be wife/kid proof.

Having two sets of speaker outputs from that Beresford does appeal to me. I use one of these anyway currently to flow music to the kitchen from the Yamaha. Kitchen and lounge (both open plan together):

https://www.qed.co.uk/switching-units/ss-20-2-way-parallel-speaker-switch.html

I could continue to use this. Do you think this kind of splitter reduces sound quality?

Any other suggestions are welcome.

I certainly appreciate the first comment too even if it wasn't quite what I wanted to hear.

Cheers

[wer]

Based on the speakers you're using, I'm guessing an important factor in picking those little A10s is that your wife wanted something small and nice looking?  That's valid.  WAF is a serious quality to consider for hifi enthusiasts that want to remain married.

But I wonder if those speakers have the resolution to truly be revealing about what DAC you're using.

So again it comes back to the question of do you want to improve your sound quality, or do you want the box?

I'm a firm believer that systems should be upgraded in the following order:
First: Speakers
Second: Amplifier
Third: Preamp/Processor
Last: Other components

The room itself makes a massive difference in how your audio sounds. But many people, because they have families or live in apartment style dwellings, have limited or no capacity to modify the room for audio or have a dedicated listening room.  So let's set that aside.  Excepting the room:

90% of the sound quality of a system comes from the speakers.

For the money you'd spend on that Atom, you could upgrade your main speakers to Monitor Audio Gold 200, KEF R7, or Bowers & Wilkins 703 S2.

Maybe your wife won't accept these, because they're too big.  Fair enough.  But do you need a component if you can't hear the difference?  I have Halo JC1 Monoblocks driving my mains, but I would never buy them to power those A10s; that would be silly.  If you don't live near a track, you don't need racing tires on your Ferrarri.

So again, if the goal is to improve your sound quality, there's food for thought.  If the goal is to get the box, you already know what you need to know.

Good luck.

[turbofeet]

The room is not that large 5m x 5m and also because I have kids I need to wall mount the speakers. Fingers poking tweeters comes to mind.

I am therefore restricted on size. I have gone for these Quads as the detail/treble is exceptional.

I will use the REL sub to get some extra bass if needed but that NAIM should make those sing!

I think that combination should sound exceptional.

The NAIM definitely has the appeal of Shiny new box for sure but I will buy the speakers first.

Perhaps just that change will satisfy me!