I have an OPPO 205 analog out going to preamp. I don't need anything with a DAC. Just simple analog pre and an amp.
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Aux : There is a Parasound P7 on eBay for around 1k. Possibly B stock, but says it's under warranty. I'm thinking about getting that and maybe another Krell KAV-500 which I currently own for my other setup. Price for both around 2k. Would that be better than outlaw and monolith? on a completely separate note: Is there a way to connect an OPPO 205 main HDMI out to two different TV's at the same time without sacrificing quality? |
Yes, the Parasound P7 is definitely better than the Outlaw 976. I googled for it. Rather than trying to buy a b-stock from ebay, why not just buy a new one from Audio Advisor for the same price ($999). They are currently having a 56% off sale on the P7 and you can have your choice of either silver or black. I suspect that the P7 may be discontinued very soon. Vendors typical do this type of sale right before the product is dropped. Your Oppo 205 does have two HDMI outputs. Even though the second output is labeled as "Audio Out", it will still output a full audio/video signal. The difference between the outputs is the processing: HDMI OUT (Audio Out): This hdmi output will send raw unprocessed audio/video as it is read directly from the disc. No processing or enhancement is applied to this output. HDMI OUT (Main): This hdmi output will also send audio/video, but it includes any processing or color adjustments that you make in the oppo menu for video adjustment, such as picture adjustment, DVD 24p conversion, de-interlacing, color, hue, noise reduction, etc. So, you could use both hdmi outputs if you wanted. But if you just want to use the MAIN output for two displays, you will need an HDMI Splitter. The best 2-output splitter that I know of is the Gefen GTB-HD4K2K-142C-BLK. You can get it for about $179 from BH Photo or Adarama. If you upgrade the power supply adapter to a Teradak/Zerozone 5V linear power supply, it will improve the video quality as well. You could get a cheap Monoprice Blackbird splitter for $85: https://www.monoprice.com/product?p_id=21613 Monoprice has had an iffy history with it's hdmi products. Some work out, but some are not reliable or don't work. It's cheap, though. |
As far as the amps, it's difficult. The Monoprice Monolith is currently going to be the most transparent, cleanest and highest resolution of the three. It has excellent and very full midrange tones. However, it could be a little hard edged in the highs (especially with your Focal metal domes). The Parasound HCA is going to be very smooth and very refined. Very natural sounding, but not as transparent. Rolled off highs and it's not going to be as exciting as the Monoprice. The Krell KAV-500 might be better than both of these. Much more refined, transparent and "truer" sounding than monoprice. More resolution and exciting than Parasound. It is a 20 year old amp, though, if this concerns you. I see one on audiogon for $1400. If you can get one in good condition for $1k, it might be really excellent. I have no idea when these will start failing due to dried out capacitors and other parts that may fail over time. |
https://www.schiit.com/guides/choosing-amps-preamps
Home Theater Integration, $0. Okay, all you "home theater bypass" guys. All of our preamps offer true home theater bypass. Just plug in your processor's front channels to any input, select Passive mode, and turn the volume all the way up. Presto! 1:1 home theater bypass, with only a relay in the signal path. |
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