Hello everyone. I've had my CA 540R for more than a month now and I still love it, despite its small quirks. I recently had the notion to add a Nad 2 channel THX amp to power my front 2 speakers to lessen the load on the CA 540R and I am encountering a new problem. I can no longer mute my system (when the phone rings etc.) when using the new amp. I press the mute button on the remote and "mute" shows up on the display, but my front speakers do not go quiet. Is this normal or is this true for all systems?
Markus, I can't help you out with your problem, but I do have a question for you ;). I was thinking of eventually getting a stereo amp to power my front mains as well (I currently have a NAD T742 rated at 50w x 5) but am concerned about how the use of a different amp for the center speaker will affect the front soundstage for HT. I really don't want to fork out the money for a five channel amp. Any comments? Thanks.
It seems that the 540R mutes only it's high level outs and does nothing to pre-outs. This could be a common problem and maybe CA already knows about it, but also it might be just your unit. I think you should contact your dealer and ask if it can be fixed.
Smitty,
If getting an addition power amp, it should be at least from the same producer so the tone will remain the same. If you get a small NAD you should be fine. A lot bigger problem for the soundstage is if you have a different center speaker than you mains. Three identical fronts is the only totally problem free solution.
Thanks for your comments. I don't have identical fronts but the center is the same make/series as the mains. So, I needn't worry about the center volume being a lot less that the left and right, presumably that's what calibration is all about?
Thanks landroval - I contacted my distributor today and the Cambridge Audio technician is on holidays so it may be a few weeks before I get an answer.
As for my fronts now sounding different from my center channel, this is true. I do notice a difference however I was planning on getting another Nad amp from audiogon for my center channel. I can say that my fronts do sound more detailed and open with the new amp since the CA540R doesn't have to drive as hard. I think if I could have purchased CA amps, I would have been fine.