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New HT - Separates Upgrade Options?

Building new house/7.2 HT with new 110" screen & tbd projector; bringing separates from old house, but need to be able to switch hdmi sources to proj and believe I want room correction for the 7.2. Plan for 50/50 HT/2-ch with edge to music quality, but also good video. Plan to retain Acoustic Zen Adagio (2 towers & center), McCormack DNA-500 stereo amp (balanced XLR inputs) and probably Proceed Amp-5 (125x5ch bal XLR; 10 yr old & needs new Pwr switch); current Lexicon MC-8 has no video switching. This setup in old house had more forward/bright presence; would like something more musical, but retain detail and imaging/soundstage.

Currently thinking about oppo-93, Martin Logan surrounds (FX-2 sides and Helos 20 rears) and tbd pre/pro with Bal XLR (<$3K price point). Heard good things about Audio Control M3 (Arcam 888 clone with unique features and good writeups), but would have to purchase used. Would appreciate your thoughts on pre-pro (options to consider), oppo-93 (better choice?) and if I decide to get new multi-channel amp, recommendations. Finally, other than seller history, any precautions for buying used on AudioGon?

Thanks in advance!
dryheatguy
kr4's avatar
kr4
3,676 posts
 
1. Oppo 93 is a good choice.

2. I do not know the AC M3 but the roomEQ in the Arcam 888 (an otherwise able performer) is cursory.

3. For 2 subs and roomEQ, you should consider only prepros with Audyssey MultEQ XT32 as it can handle two separate sub channels and none of the other built-in EQs can do this, afaik. That means either the Integra 80.2 or the Onkyo 5508 if you require XLR output.

Kal
dryheatguy OP
2 posts
 
Thanks Kal. Some of the writeups I have seen on the 80.2 and 5508 are not high on the 2-ch sound quality, but offer kudo's to the HT and MC sound. Suggestions for a pre-pro with better 2-ch, while not sacrificing video?
kr4's avatar
kr4
3,676 posts
 
There is no difference between 2-ch and multichannel at all. The differences are between "direct" which passes the signal through unchanged (except for VC) regardless of the number of channels and non-direct which processes the digital inputs and which takes advantage of the DSP capabilities. It is those capabilities which endow it with its best performance, imho, because your rooms acoustics and speaker/listener positioning do not change regardless of the number of channels.

I have no other suggestions within your price range.
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