Hi all! I have been using a Gold Note DS-10 DAC/Preamp as my source for my Nait 50. I use the digital out toslink from the TV to the Gold Note and watch TV using the Nait 50 for power to my speakers. I use the Gold Note to stream Tidal for my Music.
I do happen to have rear in-ceiling speakers that I have never used. I also have in-ceiling speakers in my bedroom and living room I have never used.
I’d like to setup home theater with the Nait powering the front two speakers and I’m planning on getting a Niles multichannel amp to power the zone 2 in-ceiling speakers which would be the other two areas. The AVR would have pre amp outs for front left and right channels as well as pre out for zone 2.
I’m confused on how to set this up and keep the Gold note as the source for the Nait. I’d also like the Gold Note to be the source for zone 2.
From what I can figure out so far, this isn’t possible. I’d just have to set the AVR pre out front left and right to go direct to the Nait on a separate input. Any ideas?
If that’s the case, I’ll still use the Gold Note for 2 channel listening and just change the input on the Nait 50 when doing so.
I know I could put the Gold Note as a source into the AVR but that would compromise 2 channel listening I would think.
Thanks!
Vic
The gold note has balanced xlr output as well as the rca you will have connected to the nait 50, so (assuming both are active or can be switched) you could find a power amplifier with balanced input and use that separately from the nait 50 for another room/zone. If anything, balanced for this is better as it allows for longer interconnect leads.
The other input on the nait can be used for preamp output from the avr.
In both cases, you have 2x preamps ie avr volume or gold note volume, plus nait 50 volume, but you can’t avoid that using an integrated with the gold note dac/pre or an avr.
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Ok. Thanks for the reply. It doesn’t seem to be easy to find “affordable” amps for the Zone 2 rooms with balanced XLR inputs. It’s probably easier to buy a normal multichannel amp and use a balanced XLR to unbalanced RCA converter. The cable run will only be about 3-4 ft.
Other option would be to split the system using the same Beresford amp/speaker switch that @Dan_M has shown on a few other threads.
Basically your Nait 50 and the AVR front left/right go into it, and then output 1 goes to your main speakers and output 2 could go to the “zone 2” speakers.
Do all the ceiling speakers (rear, bedroom, living room) all end up in the same place as the hifi? A lot of apartments around me have the ceiling speakers for the other rooms cabled to a closet and only the surround ones to the living room.
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All the cables actually are located where my main system is so this could work. Will have to think about this.
I actually have zone 2 (living room) and zone 3 (bedroom). The disadvantage I would think would be no whole house option.
I do think I could use something like an NAD CI 980 to power zone 2 and Zone 3 which would be fed by the Gold Note output. I could use the TC-7220 switch for the rear in ceiling speakers with the NAD and AVR surrounds (in-ceiling) going into the switch. This would let me use all ceiling speakers fed by the Gold Note and powered by the NAD for whole house music, or if I’m using the AVR, use the switch so that the AVR controls the in-ceiling in the main room for the surrounds.
Hi, @Taylormade
Sharing a bit of experience I hope saves you some issues.
I had a lovely NAD CI-9120 running 10 ceiling speakers in three rooms. Each room has a volume knob in the wall.
I blew up the NAD when I fed it Line Out instead of Pre-amp Out. I thought they would be approximately the same, since I leave the pre volume set to ref -0. I was mistaken, and there was a warning in the NAD instructions, too.
I replaced the 75 lb NAD with a much lighter Rotel C8 I like very much. Nicer controls on the Rotel, if a touch leaner sounding. The Naim CI-NAP-108 was announced only a few weeks after I installed the Rotel. Probably would have chosen the Naim, but no regrets. The Rotel is really nice, and the front-panel display/control is a + for the Rotel.
Good luck with your project.
Nick
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Yikes. Thanks for the input. I’ll keep that in mind when hooking it up! The NAP-108 is more than I want to spend for in-ceiling speakers. The Rotel does look like a nice product too. Will have to consider that. I suspect the 980 is class D as its weight is 12.6 lbs. The Rotel is 36lb. The NAD is also less expensive.
My ceiling speakers came with the house — Niles typical rounds, and were originally driven by two channels off my old Denon AVR-4800 thru a Niles splitter, which didn’t sound bad. About what I expected from Niles ceiling speakers.
Moving to the NAD lifted all rooms to sounding “better than they should”.
Nick