New Pre - Pro Sherbourne pt-7020c4

I don't know the new unit but did own a PT-7010A surround processor and 7/2100A 7-channel amp from them a few years ago and can tell you that all things remaining equal, the recommendation from your friend is a good one. Sherbourn has always built extremely good performance for the dollar with rock solid quality that performs extremely well. They offer as many or more of the same features found on much higher priced HT equipment. Their support of formats, both input and output, their customer service, etc...were all first rate when I had their equipment. The 7020c4 offers all the most desirable input and output formats from what I can see together with a known and very performant video scaling and switching section capable of 'Deep Color' HD and virtually everything you could want at a reasonable price. They also offer full 192kbps compliance at a much lower price than alot of their competition.

On balance, I did find better "high-end" audio output quality for pure 2-channel playback and better post-processing options (THX-related) for home theater in a Classe SSP-600 and subsequently SSP-800 however my needs were Home Theater plus 2-channel audio and I also made changes in my amplification after 2 happy years with the Sherbourn equipment so my switching out over time was based upon other factors and came to a much higher price tag.

Thanks for the detailed response.

I am also looking for high level 2 channel performance. Do you think the PT-7020c4 would offer that? I am currently using a Pioneer VSX 92 receiver as my pre-pro and I feel the 2 channel suffers. That is one of the main reasons I am looking to upgrade.

Would I be better off buying something higher end but used?
Do the processors become antiquated quickly?

Again thanks for the info.

Yes, processors do become antiquated relatively quickly in relation to the other equipment. Amplifier technology tends to hold fairly steady as does speaker technology too. Receivers and processors tend to take the largest technology shift hit.

Agreed with Internetmin with the minor exception that today's processors would be a safer bet than some of the older ones in terms of what standards they support and are worth having moving forward. I cannot speak to the 2-channel quality of the 7020c4 however with my 7010A I can tell you the 2-channel was not adequate to my needs which led me to the Classe units (much better than anything I'd heard in balanced bypass (XLR) however ultimately I found myself buying a separate 2-channel preamp and using it (HT bypass) for the front 2 channels in my HT and as a standalone pre for 2-ch listening.

I'd second a newer model for the same reason. I've also become a big believer in automatic room EQ and those systems seem to keep improving. I use an Onkyo with Audyssey pro 32XT (it's strictly a 2.2 channel system for music only). I'm not sure if the Sherbourn offers this (it looks like manual EQ only), so that's one think I'd certainly think thru before pulling the trigger on that unit.

Marty

One additional item.... at this point in time, if you're talking about audio in a processor, then I personally would feel comfortable jumping in. The sherbourne appears to have good DACs and HDMI processing of the lossless codecs.

I don't see anything new--radically new, that is--on the horizon other than ethernet and streaming--that would cause a radical technology shift in the audio realm. Most of the newer stuff also have some sort of room correction. That to me, has been one of the most positive and radical things to come along in the past several years.

The appears to have its own room correction that I saw from their site. Haven't read any reviews on it or experienced it, so I can't comment on it.

HDMI 1.4 and 3D are here with 4K video is on the horizon. The Sherbourn doesn't support 3D but that's no big deal in my opinion. 4K is coming but the question is really when. The Integra has anticipated this with some 4k scaling in the 80.3. But there are no 4k displays yet.

So, my point is that technology is always changing and at some point you have to jump in. From what I see in the 3-5 year range, I think there is enough "stability" to feel comfortable jumping into something now without having a radical shift that would render your system obsolete overnight.

One additional item.... at this point in time, if you're talking about audio in a processor, then I personally would feel comfortable jumping in. The sherbourne appears to have good DACs and HDMI processing of the lossless codecs.

I don't see anything new--radically new, that is--on the horizon other than ethernet and streaming--that would cause a radical technology shift in the audio realm. Most of the newer stuff also have some sort of room correction. That to me, has been one of the most positive and radical things to come along in the past several years.

The appears to have its own room correction that I saw from their site. Haven't read any reviews on it or experienced it, so I can't comment on it.

HDMI 1.4 and 3D are here with 4K video is on the horizon. The Sherbourn doesn't support 3D but that's no big deal in my opinion. 4K is coming but the question is really when. The Integra has anticipated this with some 4k scaling in the 80.3. But there are no 4k displays yet.

So, my point is that technology is always changing and at some point you have to jump in. From what I see in the 3-5 year range, I think there is enough "stability" to feel comfortable jumping into something now without having a radical shift that would render your system obsolete overnight.