What does unity-gain input (for an AV2/preamp) mean?
What I am confused aboutis how best to balance the differing requirements of CD versus DVD home theatre.I dont want to sacrifice quality of audio (ie my CDs)for 5.1 cinema like experience.Is there anyone out there who can offer advice

A good two-channel preamp will, due to its limited focus, best the performance of a surround preamp in the front two channels.

As far as surround performance goes, the NAC122x (and above models) preamp circuitry is bypassed when "unity gain" mode is activated; L R signals from a decoder/preamp (e.g., AV2) are (by-)passed directly from input socket to output without any intervening active circuitry.

On the other hand, the NAC112(x)/NAIT5 pass L R signal through preamp circuitry and volume control at unity gain (NOT bypass).

I mention this inasmuch as it would be ideal to exact the best performance out of BOTH two-channel and surround, typically with a NAC122x or above, when using an AV2 or other decoder/preamp with its own volume control.

basically the input will have a gain of 1, no amplification (the AV pre-amp will do all this).

quote:

Originally posted by robertw:
What does unity-gain input (for an AV2/preamp) mean?

when using unity gain the volume control on the preamp is bypassed and you still use the volume control on your av2 only.

bye,
michael

Thanks ..So will this work supercap to NAC 252 to NAP 250 to L/R and NAP175v to centre/back via AV2/DVD5.
My question is will the AV2 let the supercap/252/250 feed the L/R speakers ..Oh and there is a K9 sub to consider....

You set up the NAC252 / SUPERCAP / NAP250 just as you would for any two-channel system, and feed your two-channel sources (CD, phono, tuner, etc.) into the 252.

AV or surround sources are fed into the AV2, which feeds the NAPV175 for center (C) and surround (Ls / Rs) channels. The NAC252 AV input should be configured for unity-gain as per the owners' manual, and will pass the left (L) and right (R) front channels. A cable is provided with the AV2 to connect to/from the NAC252.

The subwoofer connects to the AV2 for .1 (LFE) channel use. If you also wish to use this for stereo bass reinforcement, contact your dealer for advice (much easier to do with a multiple-input subwoofer with presets, e.g., an n-SUB).

well a wealth of advice!Thankyou one and all!