Good Processor


I know this has been discussed before and have read most of the posts. However, I haven't seen one that addressed this question. For good stereo what is a better option? Going with an older high end pro like a meridian 861 version 2.8/4 or Halcro 100 OR buying a newer unit such as the Integra 80.2/3. If I purchased the Integra it would be easy to setup with little in cables given the HD audio formats. With the older units I would be processing HT in my Oppo and using the 5.1 output into the processor.
jamesw20
David,

I have 93, 95, and 105 Oppos -- I plan to give the 93 to my mother. If you want to use analog from the Oppo, then the 95 or 105 are superior to the 93 and 103, and the improvement is noticeable. It seems to me that the 105 is the best sounding of the three, but I bought it (to replace the 95) for its HDMI and asynchronous USB ports to accommodate a DirecTV HD-DVR and Mac Mini. The 95 will replace the 93 in the living room setup.

The sound of high-quality SACD played on the 105 is remarkable similar to that of high-qualty vinyl played on the Thorens TD 124 with SME Series III arm with SME 30H cartridge. Both sound superb to me, with excellent timbre and soundstage detail.

db
I replaced my Oppo 105 with an Oppo 103 due to the analogue in the 105 lacking midbass and dynamics. The 103 now feeds hdmi video and my Emotiva UMC-200 replaced the 105. Wow did it replace it. Immediate dynamics and midbass were noticed just out of the box without calibration and with manual settings of speakers, trim, levels. Emotiva UMC-200 is a clear winner with a small price tag to boot. Absolutely high-end...
I am a Audyssey Pro instaler. Audyssey Pro is superior to XT32. It is another world. Audyssey also works for the most part in the low freq. But it is a lot more than only ajusting the room acoustic. It improves the focus, dynamics and the sound as well. With Audyssey Pro I can adjust the stage as well. We develop our own way of doing measurements. This way is even superior to the way Audyssey discirbes. It is much more dynamic than XT32. There is so much more authority. Resolution is a lot higher compared to XT32. I got the best integration wiht my subwoofer and speakers. Which I set to 120 hz. It is even better than room acoustic systems sub brands own. Like Velodyne. The control is very good, but the integration is not of the level I would want. With Audyssey Pro you get fully 'stealth'integrartion. With the Velodyne own roomacoustic system it is not stealth. Because instruments and voices are much better focussed wenn you use Audyssey Pro compared to there own system.
@Jdlynch, I chose the 103 only for HDMI video. I then 2.1/5.1 multichannel in to the Emotiva UMC-200. I though the analogue of the 105 was too thin and lacking male mavodo/mid bass. The Hdmi input switching was qwercky too. The UMC-200 is definitely more dynamic, detailed, not excessively bright sounding in the highend as the 105 right out of the box. I have roughly 25-50 hours only on the Umc-200 and it only gets better.....