pre/pro vs. receiver (1 Viewer)

[John Doran]

i have been given the impression from recent postings that not only are pre/pro's better than receivers, but they are much better.

what is it that makes them so much better? why, for instance, is something like the outlaw 950 so much superior to, say, the denon 5803?

 

[John Doran]

S/N Ratio (ref. 2.0 Vrms A-weighted)

also, what does this mean?

thanks.

 

[Philip Hamm]

I wouldn't say better, but more neato, definitely. I recently upgraded from an older flagship receiver (Onkyo Integra 919THX) to separates (Sherwood Newcastle 9080 pair) and honestly I don't know if the sound is really any "better" (definitely not worse), but it sure has a neato tactile look and feel compared to a receiver.

 

[John Doran]

thanks for the response, philip.

so if i switch from using a denon 5803 as my pre/pro, to using a separate pre/pro, will i notice a difference?

and if i do, what is it that makes the difference?

and i still don't know what "S/N Ratio (ref. 2.0 Vrms A-weighted)" means.....

 

[Brian Corr]

John,

What you also have to consider are the amps. I think just about any 5 channel amp in the $1500-2400 range would sound better than the 5803 by itself.

Example: Take the outlaw 950 pre/pro with a parasound 2205 and a Denon 5803. I would bet the 950/parasound sounds better and has more impact than the 5803 by itself. Now compare the 5803 with the parasound amp to the 950 with the parasound amp. Here you are only comparing the processing because the amps are the same. I'll bet the "sound" is very close. There may be differences and you may prefer the sound of one over the other, but both are going to give a high quality sound. It's just a matter of how it sounds on your speakers and which sound you prefer. Of course, the denon has more "features" than the 950.

But you can do this comparison with any amp/pre/pro compared to the 5803. The 950 and a parasound 2205 will come in under 3 grand where as the 5803 will cost at least 3 grand with a hefty discount.

I haven't done this exact comparison but have experimented in my own system with an external amp and a denon 5700.

Needless to say, I'm selling the 5700 and getting the 950 and a 5 channel amp. I am betting that the 950 will be an improvement over my 5700.

 

[John Doran]

S/N Ratio (ref. 2.0 Vrms A-weighted)

i remain hopeful that someone will be able to tell me what this means...

(i know what S/N Ratio means...)

someone? anyone?

 

[Brian Corr]

It's a reference for testing the signal to noise ratio.

You will get a different s/n ratio with different voltages. So they are using 2 volts as a standard for comparison.

Definition of RMS 1

RMS (or root-mean-square) is a fundamental measurement of the magnitude of an ac

signal. Its definition can be both practical and mathematical. Defined practically: The rms

value assigned to an ac signal is the amount of dc required to produce an equivalent

amount of heat in the same load. For example, an ac signal of 1 Vrms will produce the

same amount of heat in a resistor as a 1 Vdc signal. Defined mathematically, the rms

value of a voltage is,

Erms = ãAVG(V 2 )

This involves squaring the signal, taking the average, and obtaining the square root. The

averaging time must be sufficiently long to allow filtering at the lowest frequencies of

operation desired.