thecutter Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 Which pre/pro has the best musicality. Onkyo seems great for Home theater as is the Denon, but which will also do great with 2 channel music? I will mate the Pre/pro with two Emotiva amps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 One with a source direct function that passes the signal to the amp with no processing at all, other than pre-amping. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted September 30, 2008 Share Posted September 30, 2008 I forgot we went over this already. A high quality pre/pro will sound great with your cd's if you let the pre/pro do the processing. Take an optical or digital coax cable to it. Your problem before was using analog out from your cdp which made you think that analog direct sounded bad, when it was the dac in your cdp doing the work. With digital in, the pre/pro will do the processing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vital Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 Get something cheap and wait for the Emotiva pro to come out. The UMC-1 looks like it's going to be really nice and it should be here this year and the XMC-1 should be really sweet but it's going to be awhile. Other than that I prefer HK to both Denon and Onkyo myself but they are all capable receivers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frzninvt Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 Go listen to a NAD T175 or T163 they put musicality and performance first and less into all the cute-sy extras and add-on's. Function before form. They have special 2-channel function and operation if so desired. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vick's Pit Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 I second the NAD call. Great sound compared to many of the regular receivers out there. I have heard rumor of NAD coming out with the updated versions of the T175 and the M15 also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Adams Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 Man......it is SO hard not to suggest B&K, but I will have to say that if you're budget is limited - go with NAD. It's not the cheapest, but ain't the most expensive and is very flexible. OTOH, Outlaw Audio ain't too shabby either. And the Emotiva stuff always gets great reviews. If you can spend a bit more, I say go with B&K or Anthem as they seem to offer a bit more when it comes to putting at bay planned obsolescents since their stuff allows for both software & firmware upgrades. Hell, so does Outlaw Audio. Something maybe to consider is that unlike many companies, B&K employees their own engineers and therefore develops their own processors. So when you call for assistance, you're getting someone who knows the product and the design. Ask me how I know this.......... Good lord......what a can of worms this post could open up. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bhenry Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 I agree with Tom. Check out B&K, you won't be disappointed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CECAA850 Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 Recomendations could be narrowed down with a projected budget. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest " " Posted October 2, 2008 Share Posted October 2, 2008 used prices 10,000 - Mcintosh C-1000 3500 - Mcintosh C-2200 1000 - Sonic Frontier FL-2 (best value in my book) 500 - Jordia and Cary Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dougdrake Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 The Integra 9.8 ( and its sibling Onkyo Pro PR-SC885) seem to get good grades for plain ol' audio also....(not to mention their HT prowess). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
skonopa Posted October 3, 2008 Share Posted October 3, 2008 If you can spend a bit more, I say go with B&K or Anthem as they seem to offer a bit more when it comes to putting at bay planned obsolescents since their stuff allows for both software & firmware upgrades. I see they finally came out with the new Reference 70 pre/pro! I think, after the first of the year, it will be time to retire this, admittedly nice, but starting to get long in the tooth, Denon AVR-3802 that I was using as a pre/pro for the past several years. From what I was reading, that thing friggan looks sweet. Tried to see if there were any reviews, but could not seem to find any. Would be nice to finally get a pre/pro that matches my amplifier. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hifi jim Posted October 5, 2008 Share Posted October 5, 2008 The Cary Cinema 11 is a great analog pre amp and wonderful processor, now available with the new codecs. $3k new, $1.8 used. Bryston makes some very musical processors such as the SP2. If you are not looking for a 5.1 input, then it is hard to beat the value of the used Meridian processors such as the 565 and 561 selling for as little as $500. I owned the 568.2 for a couple of years and may consider buying one again as their prices fall. Amazing detail and sounds very much like their incredible cd players, refined and musical. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mmiles Posted October 6, 2008 Share Posted October 6, 2008 C11a has the new codecs and should ship this week. MSRP is $3500. The Integra DTC 9.8 does not trip my 2 channel trigger at all. If you own this unit get a Cary SPL-03 ($3000 msrp) or a used BAT VK31se (used about $2400 - $3000) and be done with it. The McIntosh MX series has a good 2 channel section but only a fair to good Dolby IIx surround processing. A Parasounc C2 (used $1500) is maybe the best of both worlds but no HDMI 1.3 and no hidef audio codecs (neither does McIntosh...). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted October 7, 2008 Share Posted October 7, 2008 His budget must be higher than that! Let's see some real suggestions! After all, no vinyl all cd suggests musicality from the get-go right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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