Anything better than Proceed?

All good responses. I find my Krell HTS and Krell amps with all Aerial speakers to be outstanding on surround and stereo. The HT world is in a constant state of change, so I think it's important to ensure that you also have a good stereo setup; I'm currently using a Meridian for that. Still, I can see changing the preamps within a year.

That's great news that the Perpetual tech upsampler works well with the Cal SSP-2500, I will try one. I was considering the 2500 series dvd player since it also upsamples but really wanted to hold out for one that did dvd-a as well. Do you won the video switcher?

I have a Cal Audio 2500, and can say that its DA for straight stereo is much better than I exoect it. I am comparing it to a tweaked Wadia 270 w/Wadia 27ix and the Cal audio has a Perpetual Technology upsampler in front. The Wadia combination is better, but no that much better, and the price difference is a lot. For movies I believe you will be hard press to find a better unit. As far as upgradability I question any companies ability to keep up with technology.

i own the system you have in question. In my personal opinion it sounds unbelievable. If you only are going for home theater and music is not that great of a concern I would also audition the krell setup. There is definately a little more exitement there but I listen to alot of music and the krell hurts my ears after a while.For the money the only thing close for both i think is the meridian and the new 568 is 1500 more and has no video switching. The AVP is simpler to use than any other piece I have ever owned or setup. The fact that the front three channels are balanced is also great, especially for music. The amps have limitless power I run a set of revel salons and I still think the speakers limit the power of the amp. The HPA's have great detail and soundstage. For a while I thought that the system wasn't sounding the way I wanted to and I was thinking about changing processors but before I did I talked to mjy sales rep and he analyzed my room acoustics and fixed some inherent problems in it and that was night and day the sound is what I wanted in spades. In my opinion go with an AMP5 and spend the rest getting your room fixed it makes that big of a difference.

You might try giving McCormack a try.

Hello Mizendo: I have the AVP and AMP 5 and much like you, spent a lot time researching a "perfect match". I do not know how "considerbly" better other brands can be, but one thing is for certain -- Proceed will NOT disappoint you. This is such a subjective arena and the variables are pretty much endless. After lugging 125 lbs amps to the basement several times, I do not know what gave up first, my ears or back (just kidding). Make it fun, go with trusted/dedicated brands, try, try again, and do not forget the cables. Did you not just ask about PSB's in a different message? If so, the Proceed in conjunction with PSB speakers will give you a terrific HT experience. Let me know if you have any questions about that particular match. Have fun and good luck.

For the amps, you have to check out the new bat VK-6200. Much better sound than the Mark Levinson amps imho, which are a step up from Proceed...see www.balanced.com.

I auditioned the AVP and HPA3 in my home and it was slightly better than what I had at the time. Several months later I bought an EAD Ovation Plus processor and EAD PM 2000 amp which was about the same money but a substantial upgrade. IMHO Proceed gear is overpriced for what you get.

The Cal Audio Labs SSP-2500 is considerably better than the Proceed AVP being much more advanced with newer chips and faster processing as well as superior sonics. I sold my Avp and purchased one. You will not have video switching but the Avp does not switch component or Hdtv signals anyway so this was not a factor for me. The Cal retails for about 400.00 more that the Avp but you get a Pronto remote with it. If you need video swithcing you will have to buy the companion video switcher. I assure you the Cal will outperform the Avp on 2 channel analog pass and surround sound. As for the amps, I do not think the Cal amps are that much better than the proceed ones. I use Aragon amps with my unit. Check out Widescreen Review for a review of this av pre-amp. Cal is not as well known but once you hear the unit you will not be happy with any other processor.

I have the hpa2, have not regreted that decision in the least. Great bottom end with lots of power, I could only imagine how the combo would be for H.T.