2. home-theater
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2 channel priority in HT Processor...who's is best

Thank you for input, guidance and help.

I have:

Sunfire TG IV processor

Pass Labs X-1 Preamp

2 channel system is PS Audio Classic 250 amp into ML Prodigy via the Pass preamp

HT is two Sunfire 400 x 5 amps into 3 pair Script I and one pair Clarity.

Sources are primarily Logitech Transport, Oppo 95, Video signal from cable company via HDMI.

I like to utilize the Prodigy in the HT system, and also incorporate the HT system into multi-channel listening sessions (via OPPO 95), music is PRIORITY...movies secondary.

I have no HDMI switching capabilities, but use a 61" Mits DLP tv and for movies and NFL i have a Mits HC 4900 projector to Firehawk.

I would like to get a pre-processor that can replace BOTH the Pass and the Sunfire and allow me to have a single point of control over the whole system. Other components i would like to replace would be the PS Audio DAC III i use off the Logitech Transport. It seems that The Classe (800) seems to allow different configurations to be stored, which would be wonderful, but after spending a good deal of the last 48 hours reading the forums, it seems that the INTEGRA 80.3 may be a good (and $6000) less costly alternate.

Do you know of any pre-processor that can deliver 2 channel as good as the Pass X-1, with HDMI pass or switching (two outputs required).

Classical reference is symphony we go to 8-10 times per year, some jazz, some rock, no rap. Just about anything well recorded.

Thank you so very much!

Loren
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Showing 3 responses by dbphd

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dbphd
1,623 posts
 
Loren, I recommend you try Evolution Audio & Video in Agoura Hills. Also there's a well known dealer off Topanga Canyon Road just north of 101, but I can't recall the name. If you cal E A&V, I'm sure they'll tell you the name.

I think Kal has recommended the preamp with processor passthrough route in the past, because processor technology changes frequently whereas preamp design is pretty stable. Something like an Integra 80.3 with a good preamp might be a smart, if more complicated, choice. I didn't go there because of the complication, and instead went with the buggy Cary 11a because I got such a good deal from a private source on a great sounding processor.

db
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dbphd
1,623 posts
 
Edorr, KR4, and Soix

I'm thinking of the solution suggested by Edorr and Soix, and from time to time by Kal. If the XLR output of a SACD player were passed through a preamp and input via analog XLR to an Integra would the sound I hear be that of the preamp or the Integra? That is, would the Integra simply act as a cable to get the analog signal to the amp? I assume, but am not sure, that the Integra has such pass through capability via its XLR inputs and outputs.

In my case, I already know I like the stereo sound of my Sony XA5400ES passed through a Proceed PAV to Proceed amps via XLR, but I also want to be able to process multichannel surround and lossless codecs via HDMI. Given that I have a PAV sitting in my closet, replacing my Cary 11a with an Integra 80.2/3 would be a cost effective solution. I might also replace my Oppo 93 with an Oppo 95, so I could continue to use the XA5400ES in the living room. Both the HT and living room systems are controlled by Logitech Harmony Ones.

db
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dbphd
1,623 posts
 
I couldn't recall the name Shelley, but I recall it as a major dealer of hi-fi gear in western LA in the 50s.

As far as I know, the Cary Cinema 12 treats 88.2 LPCM as DSD, and thus with no bass management. That's the only bug in my 11a that really bothers me. I can live with the occasional clicks and pops that never occurred with the Proceed PAV/PDSD. OTOH, surround sound with the 11a can be enthralling.

db
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