Quote:
|
Originally Posted by Brent_S
The 663 looks like a 661 upgraded with HDMI v1.3 and internal decoding of TrueHD/DTS-HD so all reviews of the 661, especially as a preamp, should apply to the 663. If you don't need hi-res decoding, look for a clearance sale on 661s.
|
Hmmm... Does the 661 handle PCM 5.1 over HDMI (decoded from the other codecs via PS3)? But anyway, the 663 seems cheap enough right now.
Quote:
|
The biggest preamp difference between the 805 and the 663 would be Audyssey room correction, IMO (ignoring the extra HDMI input). It's not a trival difference in some rooms...almost unnoticeable in others. The 805 also offers THX post processing modes...again, some love 'em, some hate 'em.
|
Hmmm... Yeah, I was wondering if the Audyssey setup would be that much better than Yamaha's own proprietary setup function. Don't care about the THX postprocessing modes.
Quote:
Just to tease you a bit. If you analyze this purchase for a little while longer, the Emotiva, Outlaw, and Sherwood-Newcastle prepros should be shipping...how many months has it been since you first started asking about the 805? 
|
Hehheh. Well, the thing w/ getting the Yamaha 663 is that it might make a good short term solution, if I eventually decide to upgrade to a real prepro, especially as more of them become available like you point out. For the price of the 663, my options become much wider in the future, eg. sell the 663 for a small-ish loss, keep it for some other setup around the house, give it away to family or close friends, donate it to a nursing home or something, etc. With something significantly more expensive, I'd probably be less inclined to upgrade all that soon afterward. And it sounds like the Onkyo 805 (and the Yamaha 863) really doesn't buy me much in terms of quality and the feature set I care most about (in the prepro section), if I understand correctly.
And to answer your (rhetorical) question... well, I guess it's been 2-3 months now.
Thanks for your input.
_Man_