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harshness said:

I have to say that I don't understand your boggle. These pieces are mostly straightforward and reasonably well labeled.

The trick today is finding analog audio sources. If the impedance of the speaker output isn't labeled, assume 4-8 ohms.

Unless you have a special application, I'd probably stay away from the Sonance VCA 1 as it requires considerable thought, begs for some obscure speaker configurations and is perhaps the oldest piece here at 30 years.

Don't be put off by the 47 ohm legends on the RCA inputs as that's standard for line level analog audio.

The "signal processor" ins and outs on the Luxman receivers are for adding an analog equalizer or effects processor to the system. They are very similar to the pre-out and main-in connections but apply to all inputs.

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HipKat said:

I guess my biggest concerns are one of or more of the amps and the SS Decoder.

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harshness said:

There's no magic in amplifiers (other than getting them to turn on an off). They take a line level signal in and pump out speaker level. The only real design work involved is making sure the speaker impedance matches the output impedance.

Vintage Surround Sound decoders aren't of much use since Dolby Digital is what most all content is going to be encoded today. Vintage decoders typically dwell in the left, center and right channel domain and depend on an analog multiplexing scheme that is long gone. Some of the fancier ones offered simulated "surround" but it was all based on analog schemes.

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HipKat said:

So I get the line level in and out, but not sure where those lines are coming from on the receiver, or is it pre-out to line in and line out to main in? And then connect the speakers to the amp instead of or with the Receiver speaker connectors?

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harshness said:

Those aren't anything you need to concern yourself with. Speakers should be connected to the binding posts (I use banana plugs). You can choose whatever input you want other than "PHONO". If you do need to use that input (because you have so many analog sources), make sure you slide the switch to AUX. PHONO inputs often have an amplifier on them so that they can handle the lower voltages of turntable cartridges.

As I said above, the pre-out and main in are more or less the same as the Signal Processor in and out. Unless you have an equalizer or an effects processor, leave them alone.

Analog is like plumbing or DC circuits. Its mostly either line level or speaker level and as long as you don't try to cross them up, you're golden.

Finally, unlike RF, you do NOT need to terminate unused connectors.

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harshness said:

There needs to be some sort of pre-amp between any source and the amplifier to give you control over line levels (and ultimately over volume). That could be the pre-out from the Luxman, a mixer with RCA jacks or a conventional preamp.

As I said before, getting the amps to turn on and off is often the trick -- especially if you use very efficient speakers -- as a certain "volume" level (voltage) from the preamp is required to "wake" the amps and keep them awake.

These modular systems can be a whole lot of work (which is why fully integrated Audio/Video Receivers rule the day for most) but as I said, they're conceptually straightforward.

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