New Classe Delta amps and stereo pre amp

@mike_in_nc thank you! Well, considering the Classe is a 10k unit, I think a proper multichannel processor to be bypassed through the preamp would be a better solution. Do you recommend the Anthem so far? I considered the Bryston SP3 as well.Classe is owned by the japanese now so it is very likely they changed everything and kept only the name for marketing sake.

@gallus - Classe is owned by Sound United, which I think is based in North America. It's the factory assembling the Delta series that is in Japan.

Do I recommend the Anthem STR Preamp? I think it's a great choice if you want its feature set: a stereo DAC-preamp with ARC room correction, digital tone controls and digital crossovers for mono or stereo subs. It is as transparent as any DSP I have used (many, including the Weiss EQ1, a fixture of high-end mastering studios). I think that ARC does a fine job of automatic RC and provides a good deal of flexibility for manual tweaking. The software does have a few minor bugs, but Anthem has been whacking away at those.

The DSP is done at 192 kHz, and finally, we have a consumer preamp with DSP that is truly transparent -- at least in my very quiet room through my Janszen electrostatic speakers.

I have not used the phono stage, and the STR might not be the best preamp for a vinyl fan who wants to keep everything analog. That can be done with the STR, but you lose all the DSP features, which are one of its strengths.

The user interface of ARC is quite good, and the interface of the STR, also. I like that (for calibration) you can connect the mic to a laptop, which connects to the STR through your home network. This greatly reduces the fuss involved in calibration.

I hope that helps.

Great info, @mike_in_nc ! What attracted me on the Classe is the analog bypass, disabling all digital filtering. I just tolerate the digital artifacts for theatre purposes, but that’s me -  maybe due to my lack of good experience

I heard these at AXPONA last year with a pair of Magico S5 or S3 speakers. One of the best rooms. These amps are great!!

@gallus - The Anthem also lets you bypass digital conversion of analog sources. From the manual:

CONVERT ANALOG
By default, analog inputs are converted to 32-bit / 192 kHz using a high-quality A/D converter to allow Anthem Room Correction, bass management, distance calibration, bass/treble controls, listening modes, and rumble filter. If this setting is changed to No, signal processing is bypassed and only level adjustment remains.

Since I no longer have analog sources, I haven’t compared the STR to competing units strictly as an analog preamp. It is outstanding as a digital one, controlling two subs and two mains with RC for the bass.

I hope you have fun with your project!