Processor Recs Revised


I have narrowed my choices to the following:
Meridian 561
Meridian 565
Krell HTS
Theta Casanova

I really can't decide which I want to get, it will be used though. I listen to probably 85% music. DD and DTS are imporant to me. The processor will be running:
Fronts: B&W N804's
Center: B&W HTM2
Rears: B&W CDM1NT
Sub: Atlantic Tech 272
2 McIntosh MC162's for the fronts
1 Acurus 3x200 Amp for center and rears.
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Ever think about the naim AV2? If 85% music, it might be worth looking at. While it does not have video switching, it does have the analog pass for SACD.
The MC-8 is a little out of my price range. I have a Rega Planet 2000 for CD and Sony S7700 DVD Player.
If you have any interest in deriving 5- or 7-channel surround from two-channel sources, the Meridian is undoubtedly the way to go - Meridian and Lexicon really do this the best. A lot of people on this site scoff at the notion of surround anything, but there are avid fans of this.

You don't mention a source - if you have a high-quality source with analog outputs, you'll probably want to buy one of the procs with analog pass-thru. I don't think the Meridian has this. If you're using a transport into the processor and the processor for the D/A conversion, I can't comment - I haven't heard the units to compare.

At the risk of expanding rather than refining your list, and that you might have already considered and discarded as a possible choice, have you looked at the Lexicon MC-8? You can get these fairly discounted, they're a very modern and expandable architecture, they're the absolute leader (IMHO) in the movie surround sound, they have two and six channel analog pass-thru. Lots of good stuff. I'm a very happy owner of the MC-12.