Diminishing Returns In A Hi-End Preamp/Processor?

Can anyone comment on the Analog bypass of the Integra 80.2,80.3 or Onkyo 5508 pre's. I love the way my current Avthem AVM 20 handles the stereo XLR and analog 5.1 inputs from my Oppo 95, but I would love to update to room correction but not at the cost of musical performance!

I confess that I inverted the question in my initial response. Based on my experience in multichannel and especially Anthem units the answer is absolutely yes there is a sonic difference between a $1,500 prepro and the D2v specifically. There's also a difference with the 50v, which is what I chose. The soundstage, clarity, ambiance, panning of sound and sheer dynamic impact are all different. If you are decoding in the Anthem there is yet more of a difference.

So in my opinion and experience, the multichannel experience improves in spades. It absolutely improves in spades (and granular configuration flexibility). The Anthem, for example allows you to specify direct or nipple for rears and surrounds, my Marantz (in my second theater) doesn't. My Anthem allows for more granular crossover and bass management settings and more advanced room correction than my Marantz. The soundstage, imaging, and dynamics are better on my Anthem.

The more expensive you get (in theory) the better the two channel and multichannel performance will be. If you look at the differences between the D2v and AVM50v it's not in the video but rather all in the audio. It's in te DACs and analog stage and A/D converters.

So if, for example I'm feeding analog multichannel or digital sources into the D2v then I should get better audio on all fronts. Is there a difference between my Oppo analog and Anthem decoding? You bet!

So if multichannel audio is important to you for music or movies you get better multichannel performance and control with more expensive. PrePros. The D2v?... It's a special product.

Jdub,

Analog Direct kills the digital cross-over and directs all bass to the main speakers. The Pure Audio (sic?) mode kills all video DSP. The idea is to re-create a minimalist 2 channel high-end system.

I found that it works pretty well. However, your main speakers must have sufficiently wide bandwidth (or your preferred program material must have sufficiently limited bandwidth) to justify killing the subwoofers or this mode will probably make little sense (to me anyway). If the bottom octaves don't matter - for either of those reasons - then it comes down to Audyssey or no Audyssey. I like the former in most every set-up that I've heard, but YMMV.

When I was comparing more expensive and less expensive pre-pros, I suspect that the performance of the DSP software dominated my own evaluation of the listening experience. I preferred Audyssey XT32 to "lesser" Audyssey versions, but not dramatically. The Meridian and Anthem alternatives did sound a bit different from high-end Audyssey equipped models, but in both cases, I found the delta pretty subtle.

My take-away: spend up for the XT-32, but not more than that.

As always, YMMV.

Marty

Thanks guys! Marty would you say the analog bypass is then on par or pretty close with the Meridian or Anthem's that minimal approach is important to me with out having to add another box (dedicated pre) unless nessasary ? My mains are capable of pressurizing my room quite well and they allow me to listen to 2 ch without a sub which is 90% of my listening habits, now if the Onkyo/Integra's have this covered with a great bypass, it can potentialy offer me the best of both worlds as Audessey XT-32 will open the doors to more flexibility for multich sacd and movies with the correction it offers.

Jdub,

You've asked the one really tricky question that I'm reluctant to answer.

Honestly, I thought that the Integra sounded very good in Analog Direct, and it impressed me as a "traditional" preamp. However, there were times that the Meridian (on direct A/B) sounded better to me. On other occasions, I thought they were closer. I liked the Anthem in analog mode, too. If I were planning to use the unit in this mode -ultimately, I concluded that I was not - I would have done further auditioning before buying. Once I decided that Analog Mode performance wasn't a real factor in the decision, I pulled the trigger on the least expensive XT32 unit out there (Onkyo).

Marty