Anthem vs Krell vs Meridian

Michaelmk,

Is your MC system 7.1? Or do you plan to go to 7.1 at some point? If so, then you'll want to have DPLIIx and / or Logic 7.

Krell PrePros only have DPLII, not DPLIIx, and DPLII only suppports 5.1.

AFAIK, the other PrePros mentioned have DPLIIx, or in the case of Lexicon both DPLIIx and Logic 7.

FWIW, I evolved from 5.1 to 7.1 and found 7.1 provides a much better surround envelopment.

Thanks
Bruce

Bruce - the Krell HTS absolutely does support 7.1, even through the analog inputs, just not DPLIIx. It does Dolbly and DTS "ES" processing for the two extra surround channels, plus some other variations for those extra channels...I just don't remember the details.

Freemand – I think you listened to the Showcase. There is a good difference between the showcase and the HTS 7.1...thus the price difference.

FWIW - Krell is supposed to come out with an Evo pre/pro sometime.

Dbld,

As far as I know, there are no 7.1 sources available. The high def DVD specs allow for 7.1, but I'm not aware of any 7.1 discs having been released.

From the information on the Krell website, I don't know how Krell PrePros can take a 2.0, or 5.1, or 6.1 input and generate a 7.1 output. DPLIIx and Logic 7 have a proven capability to do that.

By 7.1 output, I'm not referring to sending a mono signal to both rear speakers, or duplicating the side surround signals in the rear surounds. Instead, I mean generating distinct signals (am not saying discrete by the way) to all 4 surround speakers.

Having the ability to accept 7.1 analog inputs is nice, and if / when there are high def DVDs with 7.1 audio, and the players output that over 7.1 analog outputs, then I can see how the Krell PrePros could do 7.1 as a MC preamp. But I'm not aware of any 7.1 analog feeds available today.

There is Krell Music Surround, but I can't tell from the website if that generates 7.1 outputs, and I have not seen any reviews or comments on how well that performs.

Thanks
Bruce

Bruce - The HTS 7.1 does do some sort of distinct processing for the 7.1 output with 5.1 source material. In addition, it recognizes 7.1 source material [albeit rarely available – like Star Wars I think] as “ES” processing [or something like that] for those extra channels. To be honest, I have one of these things and I used to understand all this off the top of my head, but I just cannot remember anymore. Once I set it up more than a year ago, I really don’t mess with it anymore. I am reasonably certain this is not simply sending the same surround signal to all four surrounds, or even just lefts and rights. It does something to distinguish between the surround channels as mid and rears. I would remember that…in disappointment.

Regarding the 7.1 analog input, I am with you on this…I too know of no 7.1 analog output from any source.

But what is nice about having a 7.1 analog input is those installations that use di/bi-pole speakers on the sides and direct radiating [?mono-pole?] speakers in the rear [like my system]. I can use all of these speakers for movies [particularly those with the "ES" designation], and yet be able to play multi-channel SACD/DVD-A material without the side di/bi-pole speakers.

Still, my point is more that right this moment a source like blu-ray is more capitalized upon if the analog outputs of the player are used…and yes, the one I had only had 5.1 outputs.

FWIW – to me – multi-channel music isn’t all that its cracked up to be, but that is still another thread.

Do you follow all of that? :-) Just imagine how I’d write if I had some alcohol!

I would also add that I wouldn't shy away from Meridian just because it digitizes all inputs. This used to be a hang-up for me. But if it sounds great...who really cares HOW they get it to sound great...just as long as it does.

Really, all these pieces should be demo'd before committing. They are all the top of the heap. Feature sets could very likely be the deciding factor over sound quality. I am sure they all sound pretty darned good.