Low cost 2.1pre-amp?

[Caesar_Naykid]

Looking for a low cost preamp unit (sub 100?) that can receive L-R stereo (preferably RCA) and then output line level RCA stereo and sub (mono or stereo) with a crossover knob or switch.

Something like the Mini-DSP 2x4 could work but it's just for my garage so 500 it really high for the application and i don't need to do room correction / EQ out there, i just want to integrate a cheap sub with a small amplifier and some AVX bookshelf speakers with a low cost 100w x2 amp I already have out there to play while i work for 2 hours each week

Was hoping Schitt, Topping or Loxjie made something sub $100 but don't see anything
Any suggestions? All the "recommended" preamp reviews here just appear to have stereo in, stereo out and no sub out with crossover that I could find so far

 

[Sokel]

Behringer CX2310 Super X Pro V2

Crossover 2-Way stereo or 3-way mono mode, Additional subwoofer output, Linkwitz-Riley filter with 24 dB / octave, Sub-woofer frequency range separately adjustable, Individual output gain controls and output mute switch for all bands, 2 Balanced...

www.thomann.de

 

[Caesar_Naykid]

Behringer CX2310 Super X Pro V2

Crossover 2-Way stereo or 3-way mono mode, Additional subwoofer output, Linkwitz-Riley filter with 24 dB / octave, Sub-woofer frequency range separately adjustable, Individual output gain controls and output mute switch for all bands, 2 Balanced...

www.thomann.de

thanks, but lookin' for something with RCAs and not rack mount. I might just get a minidsp 2x4hd

 

[Sokel]

thanks, but lookin' for something with RCAs and not rack mount. I might just get a minidsp 2x4hd

No problem using XLR > RCA adapters and the "ears" can go off.

But if you want something smaller,yes,that's no good.
For your aplication though where SQ is not the primary goal there are a lot similar (and smaller) solutions.

 

[MCH]

100 eur, small, balanced though:

thomann t.racks DSP 4x4 Mini Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the thomann t.racks DSP four by four matrix DSP. It was kindly purchased new by a member and costs just US $99. I really like the form factor here and inclusion of brackets for mounting in cars and such. Inclusion of balanced I/O is much...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[TimW]

The Rolls SX45 does what you want I think.

 

[Caesar_Naykid]

100 eur, small, balanced though:

thomann t.racks DSP 4x4 Mini Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the thomann t.racks DSP four by four matrix DSP. It was kindly purchased new by a member and costs just US $99. I really like the form factor here and inclusion of brackets for mounting in cars and such. Inclusion of balanced I/O is much...

www.audiosciencereview.com

That's not bad looking thanks. wish it had an on/off switch but manegable and decent review.

 

[Caesar_Naykid]

The Rolls SX45 does what you want I think.

Not bad also. No power switch but has some knobs which i wasn't really considering before and in the price range.
SINAD looks good but not sure how to take this balance issue mentioned in the review.

Rolls SX45 Review (Analog Crossover)

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Rolls SX45 analog, 2-way crossover. It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $99. As you see, it is a compact box, powered by a small external power supply: I like the clipping indicator in addition to mono low frequency output to drive a...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[TimW]

Not bad also. No power switch but has some knobs which i wasn't really considering before and in the price range.
SINAD looks good but not sure how to take this balance issue mentioned in the review.

Rolls SX45 Review (Analog Crossover)

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Rolls SX45 analog, 2-way crossover. It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $99. As you see, it is a compact box, powered by a small external power supply: I like the clipping indicator in addition to mono low frequency output to drive a...

www.audiosciencereview.com

That channel imbalance was caused by the potentiometers as Amir mentioned. That means it will vary with knob position and unit to unit. That one unit may have been worse then average or maybe even better. No two potentiometers are identical but rolls doesn't seem to be using tight tolerance units.

 

[Caesar_Naykid]

That channel imbalance was caused by the potentiometers as Amir mentioned. That means it will vary with knob position and unit to unit. That one unit may have been worse then average or maybe even better. No two potentiometers are identical but rolls doesn't seem to be using tight tolerance units.

i was wondering if it might have been an issue with that particular unit, but i'm not experienced enough to know so wasn't sure. Thanks for eloborating on Amir's review.

It's funny that probably the Rolls is more than adequate for my application but when i start researching products, it's hard for me to not start moving towards higher quality gear and next thing you know my budget explodes haha

 

[OldHvyMec]

ZPre3? I think they have everything you need and are actually pretty fun. Been a while. I use one with a C20 Mac to add a remote
via tapeloop. I like Parasound products too.

 

[Caesar_Naykid]

ZPre3? I think they have everything you need and are actually pretty fun. Been a while. I use one with a C20 Mac to add a remote
via tapeloop. I like Parasound products too.

looks pretty cool. appears to be around $500 for ZPre3 and that's quite a bit above the budget for my garage haha but still interesting to look at
I purchased the thomann t.racks suggested above. four channel DSP for $99 is solid and the review on ASR was decent

 

[peng]

thanks, but lookin' for something with RCAs and not rack mount. I might just get a minidsp 2x4hd

I am looking for a 2.1 preamp too and am using the minidsp 2x4HD already,, but the mini is not really 2.1. It seems to get 2.1, I have to go with an avr The Marantz NR1200 may work but I am not sure if it is truly 2.1 such that the subout channel can be pinged (by windows) separately via hdmi. The reason I want a real 2.1 is so I can use it with DLBC., PC standalone version.


Anyone know of something in the below $500 range, truly 2.1, or a 3 channel DAC that I can expect >75 dB SINAD.

The Motu M4 apparantly can work, just onder if there is another choice.

 

[Caesar_Naykid]

I am looking for a 2.1 preamp too and am using the minidsp 2x4HD already,, but the mini is not really 2.1. It seems to get 2.1, I have to go with an avr The Marantz NR1200 may work but I am not sure if it is truly 2.1 such that the subout channel can be pinged (by windows) separately via hdmi. The reason I want a real 2.1 is so I can use it with DLBC., PC standalone version.


Anyone know of something in the below $500 range, truly 2.1, or a 3 channel DAC that I can expect >75 dB SINAD.

The Motu M4 apparantly can work, just onder if there is another choice.

on the 2x4HD you can combine both L-R outs to a single out to do the sub
that should be fine for a stereo signal

i mean if you're talking about decoding dolby or something then you'll need a processor for that
i might have misunderstood what you meant but if you're just taking a stereo L-R signal in to the minidsp full range you can measure the mains and then roll them off where you determine your crossover point will be and put a low pass on the sub out

 

[TimW]

I am looking for a 2.1 preamp too and am using the minidsp 2x4HD already,, but the mini is not really 2.1. It seems to get 2.1, I have to go with an avr The Marantz NR1200 may work but I am not sure if it is truly 2.1 such that the subout channel can be pinged (by windows) separately via hdmi. The reason I want a real 2.1 is so I can use it with DLBC., PC standalone version.


Anyone know of something in the below $500 range, truly 2.1, or a 3 channel DAC that I can expect >75 dB SINAD.

The Motu M4 apparantly can work, just onder if there is another choice.

Do you need surround sound decoding? If you're just looking for a multichannel DAC to use with Windows and Dirac DLBC then you could use USB instead.

The miniDSP Flex HT has HDMI input and multiple channels. The Topping DM7 could be used with USB. There are many pro devices that could work but they won't necessarily have standard Hi-Fi features like a remote control and volume control of all outputs using one knob.

 

[peng]

Do you need surround sound decoding? If you're just looking for a multichannel DAC to use with Windows and Dirac DLBC then you could use USB instead.

The miniDSP Flex HT has HDMI input and multiple channels. The Topping DM7 could be used with USB. There are many pro devices that could work but they won't necessarily have standard Hi-Fi features like a remote control and volume control of all outputs using one knob.

No need for surround decoding, I just want Dirac bass control to be able to calibrate the subwoofer in my 2.1 system, and for stereo music only. The DM7 can work but I only need 3 channels. Unfortunately, I can't find any 3 channel dacs, a Topping DM3 would have been great but they don't offer one. The Flex HT is a good one too, but too much of an overkill for my need.

 

[Caesar_Naykid]

No need for surround decoding, I just want Dirac bass control to be able to calibrate the subwoofer in my 2.1 system, and for stereo music only. The DM7 can work but I only need 3 channels. Unfortunately, I can't find any 3 channel dacs, a Topping DM3 would have been great but they don't offer one. The Flex HT is a good one too, but too much of an overkill for my need.

you should just be able to use only 3 channels of the MiniDSP 2x4 HD. in the routing tab (i have an older model, might be slightly different in the newer firmwares) you just assign input 1 to output 1 (left main), input 2 to output 2 (right main) and both input 1 and input 2 to output 3 to get the combined L-R out the single output 3 and run that RCA to the sub then just don't use output 4. Imo that would be easiest but also could send input 1 to output 1 & 3 and input 2 to output 2 & 4 then using external "combiner" Y cable, or some subs have a Left in and Right in and then you'd just connect output 3 to the L and output 4 to the R on the sub (which probably just combines them inside to mono)

I run the L-R combined on my MiniDSP balanced all the time for a solo sub with two mains.

.. or,.. combine both inputs to output 3 and also output 4 and then get a second sub which is popular sometimes


Of course, that might not include Dirac, but you should be able to use REW to get some measurements, create correction EQ curves and then you can upload those into the MiniDSP, but otherwise you could do the same thing on the Flex if you like that model because it has Dirac, just use outputs 1-3 only

 

[TonyJZX]

this thread is kind of amazing to me in that I looked at the CX2310 and its one of those things... how the hell does Behringer do this for the money???

a full size 1ru rack with full XLR for less than $150????

but then you look at the manual and realise you need to really commit to the use of this thing... I get a migraine just looking at it

can people really get this thing running in a domestic environment without some kind of professional training?

 

[Sokel]

this thread is kind of amazing to me in that I looked at the CX2310 and its one of those things... how the hell does Behringer do this for the money???

a full size 1ru rack with full XLR for less than $150????

but then you look at the manual and realise you need to really commit to the use of this thing... I get a migraine just looking at it

can people really get this thing running in a domestic environment without some kind of professional training?

It's the first electronic crossover I ever used,mostly out of curiosity,10-15 years ago.
It's way easier than it seems,almost intuitive if you know what you want to do.

Mind that it's a full 3 way with a fair set of controls,great tool back then for learning and measuring at that price.

 

[peng]

you should just be able to use only 3 channels of the MiniDSP 2x4 HD. in the routing tab (i have an older model, might be slightly different in the newer firmwares) you just assign input 1 to output 1 (left main), input 2 to output 2 (right main) and both input 1 and input 2 to output 3 to get the combined L-R out the single output 3 and run that RCA to the sub then just don't use output 4. Imo that would be easiest but also could send input 1 to output 1 & 3 and input 2 to output 2 & 4 then using external "combiner" Y cable, or some subs have a Left in and Right in and then you'd just connect output 3 to the L and output 4 to the R on the sub (which probably just combines them inside to mono)

I run the L-R combined on my MiniDSP balanced all the time for a solo sub with two mains.

.. or,.. combine both inputs to output 3 and also output 4 and then get a second sub which is popular sometimes


Of course, that might not include Dirac, but you should be able to use REW to get some measurements, create correction EQ curves and then you can upload those into the MiniDSP, but otherwise you could do the same thing on the Flex if you like that model because it has Dirac, just use outputs 1-3 only

Thanks, and I am doing that already just to set crossover with Dirac, but that is not the same as using DLBC. I tried using the 2x4HD and REW to EQ the bass, the effects were not as good as Dirac.

It's not urgent, as I do have the mini to set XO, and Dirac does RC/EQ full range. I can wait until someone like Topping, SMSL or minidsp to wake up and offer a 3 channel preamp/dac for a real 2.1 system, that the 2x4 really isn't, it has only 2 inputs.

I don't prefer devices such has the Flex, because I use the PC standalone versions on 3 systems.