I have an AVP in my reference sytem, as well as a Mark Levinson #38 Pre with my mods. I have compared the AVP to passive line-stages that I built to see how good it was. The interesting thing is that the stock AVP is actually very close to a line-stage. It is not quite as detailed, but is actually more dynamic with most amps than a passive linestage. The amount of detail that is lost is actually quite small. However, my modded ML#38 blows it away in spades. It has all the detail of the passive linestage and the dynamics of an active pre. I would reccommend getting a better active line-stage for 2-channel audio.
Upgrade AVP or buy outbd DAC for improved 2 ch.
I am upgrading the analog section of my integrated HT system(Aries 2 TT; Aesthetix Rhea phono stage).I would also like to improve the sonics of my digital playback. I am debating whether to upgrade my Proceed to an AVP2 and play the Rhea through the analog bypass or bag the Proceed altogether for 2 ch and go for a tube preamp such as the Aesthetix Calypso and a stand alone DAC such as an Audiomeca or a Chord 64. Am I selling the DACs in the AVP2 short? The AVP upgrade is $2500. If I went to a full function preamp as opposed to the phono stage alone and got a used Audiomeca or Chord, that would probably run me a little over $3000. The Janus, Aesthetix full function tube preamp in fact has a HT bypass which would allow the signal from the Proceed to pass through the circuitry of the Janus during video playback. This has been a vexing problem and any help would be appreciated.