Eddav600fan
New member
hi im new my names ed nice to meet you all i have a question how do you hookup an amp to receiver with out preouts thank you
amp to receiver
- Thread starter Eddav600fan
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windhoek
The Phoolosopher
If you mean how to use a stereo amp to power the front speakers but still using an AVR as preamp, then this is the video you've been looking for. In a nutshell, you connect the preouts from the AVR to a Line-In on the amp and then set the amp volume at 12 o'clock, as it were. That should give you enough room to let the AVR use the amp as a poweramp without it actually having HT Bypass (Unity Gain) Input. I used to do this when I had a Naim Nait 3 which didn't have HT Bypass and it worked a treat. Using an amp with HT Bypass would always be my first choice but this is the workaround. Oh, and welcome 
Jim the Oldbie
My right elbow hurts.
Hi Ed, welcome.
Unfortunately there's no simple way to do what you're asking. In stereo, it might be possible to use line outs from your receiver, and control the volume with the amp input level controls, but this is just a giant pain for many obvious reasons. With multichannel, it isn't even worth considering.
The only way to retain the normal volume control & other functions on a receiver without preamp outputs would be to use an accessory from the car stereo world - a speaker-level to line-level adaptor, connected to the speaker outputs on your receiver. Like this for example:
Axxess ALOC80A Speaker-to-Line Level Adaptor at Parts Express
I haven't actually used one of these with a home stereo, but it should work. A couple of notes:
1) This is not an ideal solution either, since any noise or distortion from your receiver's power amp & speaker outputs will be passed along to the external power amp(s). But this may not be as big a deal as it sounds. Since your receiver's amp/speaker outputs won't be required to supply much current to the adapter (much less than an actual speaker load), they will probably run a bit cleaner in this setup.
2) You probably want to look for an adapter with a high power rating, since these adapters are likely rated for 4 ohm inputs - 4 ohm ratings are more common in car audio. Most home receivers are designed for use into 6-8 ohm loads, which is a higher output voltage. A higher power rating on the adapter should buy you some more headroom for dealing with this difference.
3) You might want to start out with a single stereo adapter and listen to 2-channel stuff through your bigger amps, to see how it sounds. If it works OK, then go back and get more adapters for additional channels if needed.
Good luck, and let us know how it goes.
Unfortunately there's no simple way to do what you're asking. In stereo, it might be possible to use line outs from your receiver, and control the volume with the amp input level controls, but this is just a giant pain for many obvious reasons. With multichannel, it isn't even worth considering.
The only way to retain the normal volume control & other functions on a receiver without preamp outputs would be to use an accessory from the car stereo world - a speaker-level to line-level adaptor, connected to the speaker outputs on your receiver. Like this for example:
Axxess ALOC80A Speaker-to-Line Level Adaptor at Parts Express
I haven't actually used one of these with a home stereo, but it should work. A couple of notes:
1) This is not an ideal solution either, since any noise or distortion from your receiver's power amp & speaker outputs will be passed along to the external power amp(s). But this may not be as big a deal as it sounds. Since your receiver's amp/speaker outputs won't be required to supply much current to the adapter (much less than an actual speaker load), they will probably run a bit cleaner in this setup.
2) You probably want to look for an adapter with a high power rating, since these adapters are likely rated for 4 ohm inputs - 4 ohm ratings are more common in car audio. Most home receivers are designed for use into 6-8 ohm loads, which is a higher output voltage. A higher power rating on the adapter should buy you some more headroom for dealing with this difference.
3) You might want to start out with a single stereo adapter and listen to 2-channel stuff through your bigger amps, to see how it sounds. If it works OK, then go back and get more adapters for additional channels if needed.
Good luck, and let us know how it goes.
Last edited:
windhoek
The Phoolosopher
Mmm, I thought Ed wanted to know how to do it when the AVR has preouts but the amp in question doesn't have a corresponding HT Bypass input - not when the AVR doesn't have preouts. In that case, another option to consider if your AVR doesn't have preouts is to use the headphone output to send audio to an input on your amp (live level or HT Bypass). That way you'll be able to use your AVR as a preamp and the stereo amp as a power. It's not the ideal solution in the absence of preouts but it's an option all the same.
Eddav600fan
New member
Ok I tried the headphone jack and the amp and it worked great thank you and it’s an easy way to do it thanks again guys
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