Anthem vs Krell vs Meridian

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.

Dbld,

I may need to do some more reading to better understand how the different PrePros generate 7.1 outputs from less than 7.1 inputs. I'm only familiar with DPLIIx and Logic 7. I'm still surprised, however, that Krell doesn't yet offer DPLIIx.

The Star Wars ES you mention may be the EX 6.1 format(?). As I understand, if the PrePro has EX processing, then it will send the 6th surround channel to the two rear speakers, but I don't know the details.

My bigger interest is generating distinct 7.1 outputs from 2.0 sources (movies or music) and 5.1 sources (movies or music).

I know different people have different preferences on listening in steroe vs MC, and 5.1 versu 7.1. Some are quite passionate about their preferences! In my own case, I much prefer listening to everything in 7.1.

Thanks
Bruce

I think we are on the same page with the ES stuff. Like I said, I just cannot remember the details.