Improvements when using a decidated PreProc

Thanks all for the input. I am likely to upgrade but this information will help me keep my expectations in check.

I moved up from an Onkyo 805 to a Onkyo Pro PR-SC885P (same as Integra 9.8) processor, using the same external amps with both. The processor does sound better than the AVR. It has better D/A chips (Burr Brown), a toroidal transformer, separate analog and digital power supplies, VLSC circuitry, and other improvements in componentry. The upgrade will not make as much difference as when you added the external amps to the 705.

What you also get with the pre/processor over the AVR is another HDMI input and output, the option to use Audyssey Pro calibration, XLR input/output connections, HD Radio, improved second/third zone capabilities, and the HQV Reon video chip which is vastly superior to the video processor in the 705.

If these additional features are not useful to you, it would probably not be worth the cost difference to upgrade based on the improvement in sound quality alone. I thought that it was but YMMV.

Most likely not.

Personally, I would save your money or put it elsewhere (like better speakers).

The improvement you received by adding an external amp is because on receivers, the vendors cut corners and/or limit things on the amp end. After all, they need to fund all the money the have to keep spending when they add new features and functionality on the pre/pro side of the receiver.

IMHO, the combination of a mid-tier receiver + external amp will usually be better and a lot cheaper than a more expensive receiver.

George

George