I have had the 11a for about a month, and I am very glad I purchased it. Before purchasing it, I auditioned a Parasound Halo P-7 Multi-channel preamp for a couple of weeks, and then conducted an A/B comparison between the two.
I was very impressed with the Parasound Halp P-7, as it was a major upgrade in SQ over the Onkyo PR-SC885p that I had owned for 2+ years. There are many more features in the Onkyo, but with two different 7.1 inputs on the P-7, I did not miss the lack of video processing. I chose the Halo P-7 because the analog performance is the most important aspect of an AV preamp, as I now have one system for audio and video. I was very happy with the performance of the P-7....enough that I was planning to purchase it.
The Cary is more expensive, but it also features HDMI inputs and high quality DACS and DSP. I liked the P-7 so much, that I expected the Cary's analog section to be similar (at best), since a significant portion of the preamp is dedicated to digital processing. That is, once you get a clean, quiet, musical, and engaging signal throuh an awesome preamp, it is difficult to imagine anything being much better.
Well, the Cary's analog section was significantly better than the Halo P-7. In addition, the DACs and DSP in the Cary are outstanding, so this is one helluva great A/V preamp! My wife said that she was tired of the Onkyo - she found that she didn't want to listed to it anymore. With the Parasound, she was much happier and listened to some of the CDs I put on. With the Cary, she started playing her own CDs again. I have been with my wife since '85, and this is the first time she has exhibited listener fatigue. We are both MUCH happier with the Cary, and we independently felt it was well worth the price (vs the Halo P-7 and the Onkyo). FYI, with the latest FW upgrade, there have not been any connectivity issues at all.
Good luck!
Dave
I was very impressed with the Parasound Halp P-7, as it was a major upgrade in SQ over the Onkyo PR-SC885p that I had owned for 2+ years. There are many more features in the Onkyo, but with two different 7.1 inputs on the P-7, I did not miss the lack of video processing. I chose the Halo P-7 because the analog performance is the most important aspect of an AV preamp, as I now have one system for audio and video. I was very happy with the performance of the P-7....enough that I was planning to purchase it.
The Cary is more expensive, but it also features HDMI inputs and high quality DACS and DSP. I liked the P-7 so much, that I expected the Cary's analog section to be similar (at best), since a significant portion of the preamp is dedicated to digital processing. That is, once you get a clean, quiet, musical, and engaging signal throuh an awesome preamp, it is difficult to imagine anything being much better.
Well, the Cary's analog section was significantly better than the Halo P-7. In addition, the DACs and DSP in the Cary are outstanding, so this is one helluva great A/V preamp! My wife said that she was tired of the Onkyo - she found that she didn't want to listed to it anymore. With the Parasound, she was much happier and listened to some of the CDs I put on. With the Cary, she started playing her own CDs again. I have been with my wife since '85, and this is the first time she has exhibited listener fatigue. We are both MUCH happier with the Cary, and we independently felt it was well worth the price (vs the Halo P-7 and the Onkyo). FYI, with the latest FW upgrade, there have not been any connectivity issues at all.
Good luck!
Dave