Diminishing Returns In A Hi-End Preamp/Processor?

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

That's good enough! I' shall try to compare the two in this regard first, sounds like it may be close enough to get the job done, only problem I see now is getting my hands on a Onkyo 5508 but they are hard to find, any word on the 5509 hitting the States soon? I may have to pony up for the 80.3

Marty,

Is Audessey XT-32 active in the Analog Direct mode with the Integra or Onkyo processors? The Cary Cinema 11a does volume control and converts unbalanced inputs to differentially balanced outputs, but mostly turns off other processing in bypass mode.

Using analog input eliminated the pops, clicks, and delayed starts I experienced with HDMI when playing discs, but that may be just a problem with the Cary implementation of HDMI.

When I auditioned an Integra 80.1, I relistened to the same discs on my system with the Proceed PAV/PDSD within 10 minutes and concluded the sense of "air" and transparency was missing with the Integra, so i bought the Cary. In retrospect, there were so many differences in the auditioned system and my system, my judgement was hopelessly confounded.