Centre Speaker from RCA Preout?

Chronic

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I'm wondering if I can take the RCA preout on this amp and use an RCA 2 to 1 cable to feed the R/L signal into the single centre speaker input on the same amp?

Id also be splitting the preout to send the signal to a subwoofer. Its all running out > in so presume it should be ok but as I'm running back into into the same amp have some doubt.

I've attached a picture of the rear of the amp for reference reference.

Many thanks
 

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Sorry to ask, but the obvious question is, ‘why would you want to do that?’

Maybe if you explain what the amp make and model is, and what you’re trying to achieve, it might help forum members contribute something useful. Do you have a stereo amp only, or is this part of a multichannel system?

My gut instinct is to say no straight away, but I’m puzzled as to why you’d want to do this.
 
Hi there, it's an Arcam P90 a 3 channel amp, Stereo + centre speaker. I'm feeding it with a stereo signal but would like to make use of the 3rd channel and set up a centre speaker.
 
No offense, but that’s a really bad idea.

You need a discrete centre channel signal to run a centre speaker.

If you only have a stereo signal, you achieve the impression of a centre image within the soundstage by placing your left and right speakers correctly. When that happens, your stereo image will give the impression that the vocals are coming from between your left and right speakers.

Feeding a combination of the left and right signals into a centre speaker would sound dreadful, if it didn’t damage your amps up in the process.

By all means consider using a subwoofer in your setup, but centre speakers are the sole preserve of a multichannel system with a 5.1 or above signal, feeding a multichannel amp (or pre-amp/processor into power amp(s)), where there is a separate signal for the centre channel information within the mix.

So typically, a movie soundtrack that would carry much of the dialogue of the movie.

If the signal is stereo, you need to play it in stereo, or use a multichannel AV receiver that has the capability to upmix a stereo signal into a multichannel one. Generally, such upmixers don’t work especially well anyway so I couldn’t really recommend that.

If you really want to introduce a centre speaker, then you need a multichannel AV receiver with pre-outs or pre-amp/processor with its own discrete centre channel output, not a stereo amplifier. Then you would run that single RCA cable into the centre channel input on your power amp.
 
Hi there, it's an Arcam P90 a 3 channel amp, Stereo + centre speaker. I'm feeding it with a stereo signal but would like to make use of the 3rd channel and set up a centre speaker.


Not really possible without using a pre amp processor. The centre channel would either need to be derrived from a discrete source that includes such a channel or it would need to be created by a processor. The centre channel would basically be created by the processor by only taking the mono aural audio from the front left and right channels. You've no means by which to either combine the left and right channels or process them to create a pseudo centre channel.

Also note that if wanting to connect an active sub then you'd need to use both the left and the right pre outs to left and right inputs on that sub. You cannot use a Y connector to mix the output from the pre outs.
 
Ok thanks i understand that's ideal, I just have a centre speaker unused and wondered if I could use it. I'll instead keep it for spares as it uses the same tweeter and woofer as my other speakers.
 

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