First pre/pro and hopefully last

Hi All
Update: I have an eVo6 with a Arcam cd23T with ring DAC on the way from fellow Agoner's. I don't need 7.1 for my 20'x12.5' room, so what other Krells are good. One Agoner has the SSP75, and likes it very much, and said 5.1 is all I need. These units do get out dated very quickly, so the other option I am thinking of, is going with a Supratek or VTL 5.5 as my 2 channel preamp with HT bypass. The Heron speakers I have match up best with tube gear, so a tube preamp maybe the best option. Still on the fence. Will keep you updated.

Tim

Tim:

I'm really interested to hear what route you end up taking. If I go the pre/pro with very strong 2-channel peformance route, it's most likely going to be either a Theta CasablancaIII or the Krell HTS 7.1. But the two channel pre with a HT pass through is also a possibility. The Rotel I have is really quite good at HT, but I'd like to take the 2-channel performance up a notch or two. On the two-channel side of things, I would probably go with something from Audio Research.

BTW, I recently picked up an FMJ CD23T (along with a matching FMJ A22 integrated and FMJ T21 tuner) for my office system (ProAc speakers). That is a very nice player. You are going to love it.

Take care, Tom.

Krell HTS 7.1,By Far King of the Hill!

I can't say enough about the high quality 2 channel pre-amp with HT pass thru and a seperate processor. The pre-amp doesn't even need a specific HT passthru, you just need to be able to reliably hit the same volume setting. So any pre-amp with a digital volume display, or a notch on the knob will do.

Just set the preamp to the passthrough mode or volume, and calibrate the processor. Voila. Get a good pre-amp though.

The upgrade a cheaper processor as the times require. You'll the latest digital processing, and stellar two channel performance.

I do this today with a Boulder 1012 and a Meridian 568.

Tom
I went with a 2 Channel preamp with the pass through option. I just orderd a Supratek Chenin with that option. The system is coming together slowly. Here is how it looks so far:

Preamp - Chenin with remote and pas through
CDP - Arcam CD23T
amp - eVo6
L/R speakers - Heron i

Now for the prepro, cabling, interconects, and deciding if I will monoblock the fronts with something like VTL 450 sig., since Meadowlark speakers match well with tube gear. I will run the eVo6 bridged with the Chenin when it arrives, and see how it sounds. This is my first system, so I don't know the sonic difference between SS and tubes. I know one thing, I can't wait to here it for the first. I will keep you updated on the system as it develops.

Tim