6 channel switcher?

Ok, couldn't wait till I could afford a universal player so I bought a cheap SACD player off ebay. (sony SACD entry level for about $130.) My question, is there a switcher out there that I can use to hook up both the SACD and dvd-a without having to move the 6 channel cables from machine to machine? All switchers I have seen just have three channel inputs for left, right audio and video. Any help and recommendations will be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

This question was answered on another thread but basically you need 2 swichers. You could put the mains and the center in one and the surrounds and subwoofer in another.

You don't want to use an audio/video switcher that you are referring to. These are stereo switchers with a third jack for video. The video jack is not designed to handle audio. It it will work, but you will be compromising the quality of the audio signal used with this jack.

If you want to take this approach (and many have) then you need three stereo switchers. Kind of a drag to use, but it works.

An alternative approach that I came up with (that many others have adopted, including a few folks here) is to use a high quality DB25 switchbox. These are computer switchboxes originally designed for sharing computer peripherals between computers (such as a printer). However, they work great as a multi-channel audio switcher as well.

These switchboxes are relatively cheap, but you'll want to make sure and get a high quality one with gold contacts for optimum performance. The only thing left is to get a few cables that connect the DB25 port to six RCA jacks. These are kinda pricey to buy, $95.00 each from www.msbtech.com but if you are handy with a soldering iron, you can "roll your own". Here is the THX spec for making your own cables: www.greatgig.com/quad/DB25pinout.htm

There is also this cool switcher available for $200.00: home.attbi.com/~shawnfogg/

I agree with Cai. I have tried the video switcher method and it is really not the best way to go. I found that if you don't want to spend the loonies on 3 DBX Route Selectors, that 3 Russound AX-6 (6 Stereo Inputs) switchboxes work great. They are excellent quality, and 3 of them side by side are about the height and width as my Tate unit ... with similar cosmetics. I got mine on eBay, and they were pretty cheap too. Having said that, when everyone has purchased 3 stereo boxes, some wisea$$ will come up with an excellent multichannel unit. Story of my life! Good Luck, Mike.

I really appreciate all the input, I figured that nobody would have a switcher made especially for my needs as not much of a market for it. The three switcher system sounds like the best way to go. After everything is working and sounding fine, probably end up not saving as much as I thought I would by not springing for the universal player. That's the way it goes.. Thanks again.

You might save a bit Gary, but a universal player will not sound as good as a dedicated player for each ... even a CHEAP SACD player. Look around this forum. I think the consensus is that inexpensive universal players DO compromise SACD performance. Sorry if I sound like a broken record, but I have heard it for myself. Mike.

I have had a Pioneer 45a for about 4 months now and I must admit that at the beginning the SACD was not very good but from the start the DVD-A was better than my Panasonic RP82. After a few months the SACD seemed to be mellowing as the player was being broken in. Now after 4 months I am very happy about all the formats being decoded in this player and I am very picky about sound quality. Just my own opinion. You need to listen to something and give it a chance over time before coming to any educated conclusion. You also need to get your speaker placement and settings on the player optimal. I have found this different for every player I have had. We all know that bass management and speaker placement have a lot to do with how good something sounds in multi-channel. At the beginning I was leaning towards DVD-A as being the better format but know after 4 months I give the nod to SACD as having the advantage in overall quality. DSOTM sounds awesome but lets talk about something else now. That was last weeks disc of honour.

I agree totally Guy, that burn-in is critical to sound quality. Knowing that you are a critical listener, I would really encourage you to A-B a true SACD player with your universal one. I think you will be amazed at the difference ... especially if you have a Pioneer that converts DSD to PCM to accomodate SACD playback. If you are impressed with SACD now ... do yourself a favour and give it a listen. Mike.

I am not sure about the DSD-PCM conversion thing. There are just as many posts around the internet that says this conversion is done than those that say it is not. Do you have proof of this or is it just all hearsay like the other posts I have read?
I appreciate what you are saying and you are no doubt correct that there is a difference. However, there is something to be said about a unit that "does everything" fairly seemlessly. I have sunk a fair bit of coin into this and if I A-B now and do find a vast difference (right now the SACD sounds close to the DVD-A so that is why I am probably happy with it) I will have to run out and get a SACD only player and all the switchboxes and all the cables to make "2 go into 1". I think that I will hold on to this unit for the rest of the year at least (so far at 4 months it has lasted longer than any other player I have had) and then see how things are at that point. maybe by then there will be a universal player that does everything equally well.

Yea I looked for a switch box, but they looked kinda cheap. I end up switching cables as anything else looks like it will:evil: degrade the sound

The switching cables thing is really not an option for me in my current configuration. I have my receiver and the player under my TV (36" tube) on the 2 shelves available in the TV stand. I have to pull the stand out to get in at the back (at the cabling) and all my cabling is around 3 feet in length. Because of the cable lengths I can't pull the player or receiver out the front of the stand. They are fairly immobile. So once I plug something in and push the stand back that is it until the next equipment change. The switchboxes and extra cables would be my only option in this scenario. Anyway I'm sticking with the Universal for now. I play everything out those 6 analog outputs. I only use the volume control on my receiver remote now. Every other button on the remote remains unused.

www.audioauthority.com

or

www.markertek.com

Nemo