Please help me decide on a pre/pro - anthem, EAD, etc. (1 Viewer)

[Brian OK]

I'm partial to EAD (owning an Ovation+) and you will be hard pressed to find a better 2-channel pre/pro that excels at HT too.

Problem lies in finding a used one in good shape and well cared for by someone. If you find a used O+, then it could run you between 1600-2000.
Just a stellar unit and if 5:1 is OK with you, then you will be delighted with the sonics.

Good Luck,

BOK

 

[Brian OK]

I'm partial to EAD (owning an Ovation+) and you will be hard pressed to find a better 2-channel pre/pro that excels at HT too.

Problem lies in finding a used one in good shape and well cared for by someone. If you find a used O+, then it could run you between 1600-2000.
Just a stellar unit and if 5:1 is OK with you, then you will be delighted with the sonics.

Good Luck,

BOK

 

[Kincade]

Thanks Brian. So it's only 5.1 then? Is it upgradeable to 7.1? I've heard a lot of good stuff about that receiver.

So it looks like the encore/ovation and the soundstage are out of the running.

Are there any of the receivers below that meet my criteria?

*Anthem AVM20

*EAD Encore/Ovation/8000pro (latter of which seems to cost too much for my budget)

*B&K ref 30/50

*Aragon soundstage /stage 1

*Sunfire theater grand I/II, III seems to be too expensive

*Sherwood P965

*Rotel RSP-1068

*Outlaw 950

Thanks to all of you for your help so far! Please keep it coming!

 

[Kincade]

Thanks Brian. So it's only 5.1 then? Is it upgradeable to 7.1? I've heard a lot of good stuff about that receiver.

So it looks like the encore/ovation and the soundstage are out of the running.

Are there any of the receivers below that meet my criteria?

*Anthem AVM20

*EAD Encore/Ovation/8000pro (latter of which seems to cost too much for my budget)

*B&K ref 30/50

*Aragon soundstage /stage 1

*Sunfire theater grand I/II, III seems to be too expensive

*Sherwood P965

*Rotel RSP-1068

*Outlaw 950

Thanks to all of you for your help so far! Please keep it coming!

 

[CurtisSC]

FWIW, I am very happy with my Sherwood/Newcastle P-965, and would be happy to try and answer any questions you might have.

 

[CurtisSC]

FWIW, I am very happy with my Sherwood/Newcastle P-965, and would be happy to try and answer any questions you might have.

 

[Kincade]

Curtis,

I've actually looked at that one too. Tell us what you think about it? I've heard good things. Did you compare it to any others?

 

[CurtisSC]

Kincade,

I did not do any comparison. I did a lot of research, and actually know two folks "in the business" that recommended it to me. One of the being a vendor that can sell much more expensive brands (I did not buy from him), that claimed that sonically it compares to other pre/pros costing more than double.

I had been using an HK 525 as my pre/pro. Compared to it, there is no comparison...lower noise floor, more depth and detail(not brightness). I use it with ATI AT15xx amps.

I am extremely happy with it except for two things. The manual is not very good, and the on-screen menu is not very intuitive.

With the promise of firmware upgrades, one being auto-calibration and eq, I believe this is a steal in the pre/pro market.

 

[Mike Keith]

You should be able to get a B-Stock unit for the same price as I got in you're area. Logic 7 may work with 5.1 but DPL2x will not, right now the Halo does not have it but it is on the list of upgrades for the next Firmware rev. In addition, there is some inside news that I cant divulge right now that is a major hardware upgrade that will allow the C1/C2 to have all the latest goodies, of coarse it will not be free though. Anyway, I believe that the Halo's are some of the best sounding Pre/Pro's on the market for under 6K.

 

[Mifr44]

Just to be clear, both Logic 7 and DPLIIx can take 2 channel sources to 5.1 and 7.1, and 5.1 sources to 7.1. DPLII can take 2 channel sources to 5.1 but not 7.1, and it can't do anything with 5.1 sources.

With a 5.1 setup, DPLIIx performs just like DPLII.

Michael

 

[Kincade]

Curtis - I've been reading about the Sherwood - looks like it has everything I need. The only thing I'm worried about is resale - but I suppose it couldn't be any worse than any other product. I wish there was a place to demo it here. :frowning: FWIW, i'm using the AVR7200 right now - which is basically a 525 with much better amps. I would think it would be about the same step up. Where did you get yours?



Michael - thanks for clearing that up, seems like there is a lot of confusion about that!

 

[Kevin T]

as far as recommending a good two channel pre, i'd definitely look toward tube for two channel. the rogue 66 and the audio research sp-16l are two that i know for sure have ht bypass. here's a pic of each (they're both available in black or silver):

rogue audio 66:
[url=http://www.rogueaudio.com/images/enlarged/66FRONT.JPG] [/url]

audio research sp-16l:
[url=http://www.audioresearch.com/images/SP16.jpg] [/url]

an alternate to tubes you might wanna consider is the sonic euphoria plc. it's received rave reviews and sounds like a winner. it's a passive pre and looks stunning in my opinion:

sonic euphoria plc:
[url=http://www.soniceuphoria.com/plcleft.jpg] [/url]

kevin t

 

[CurtisSC]

Kincade,

I bought my P-965 Brian Bunge of Rutledge Audio Design....Link Removed

 

[Will d s]

Go with the Anthem avm 20. You should be able to get a very good deal on one, and you won't be disappointed with the quality.

 

[Rob Tomlin]

I'll second that!

If you can get a B stock as mentioned, or extend your budget just a tad, I really recommend considering the Parasound C 2.

I love mine. Frankly, it is the pride of my system!

 

[Kincade]

Ok, here goes again... Browser crashed the first reply.

If I decide to keep my rig a dual purpose, 2channel/HT, here is what I have it narrowed down to:

EAD is out. Too expensive.

A bunch of posts on audiogon say that the B&k is more compressed and dark than the others, and a very high noise floor. And it's 5.1. Out.

Outlaw - it's out. Not because it's bad, but because I think it's more dated, and that I can get a used newer receiver for a little more that will be infinitely better.

Rotel - a bunch of posts on agon and the internet about a high noise floor and recurring buzzing problems. Out.

But, i'm adding the Parasound C2 in there. We'll see if I can get it for a decent price.

So, the finalists are:

*Anthem AVM20
*Aragon soundstage /stage 1
*Sherwood P965
*Parasound C2
*EAD 8000pro
*B&K ref 30/50
*Outlaw 950
*Rotel RSP-1068


Still don't know about the Sunfire theater grand I/II/III - I cant find any dang information on them!


Curtis - thanks for the tip. I'll drop brian an email.

Rob and Will - thanks for the suggestions!

Kevin - I'll give those a look. I just can't help but think that one of the above choices might give me the best of both worlds, and save me some money and space over a dual system. Thoughts?

 

[Levesque]

If your adding the C2, then why not the new Anthem Statement D1?

I own one since 2 weeks, and WOW! The D1 can go head-to-head with the C2 w/o any problem, and it did cost me 1/2 the price of a C2!

Hardware and firmware upgrade path from a company that did provide it for the AVM20. HDMI, firewire and video transcoding by the end of this year...

 

[Kincade]

If you know anywhere I could find a D1 for anywhere around $2k, i'd love to know where!

 

[Rob Tomlin]

I must congratulate you on what you have narrowed your choices to!

I closely considered 3 out of the 4 you listed above (didn't research the Sherwood). Of the other three, they are all excellent, but, as you know, I would give the nod to the Parasound C2.

 

[Drew_W]

High noise floor for the Rotel? Can you post a link to this discussion ?