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Amp and Processor

I apologize in advance for making this post so long.  I'm in a two channel system now with a PS Audio BHK Preamp, BHK Monoblocks, and Focal Sopra 3s.  The right Focal 35 inches from the wall and the left Focal is open ended.  The width of the room is 15 feet.  The Focals are 20 inches from the back wall,  The ceiling is 8 feet high.  I know the speaker placement is not ideal, but I have constraints.  I am using an OPPO 205, PSA Audio Direct Stream DAC and PS Audio Direct Stream Memory Player.  The music is bright and disappointing.  Aside f rom that, I'm thinking of going to a Home Theater system with Focal Sopra 2s, Focal Sopra 1s and a Focal Center speaker.  I will no longer use the PS Audio gear or Focal Sopra 3.  I'm looking for a relatively high end processor and 5.1 channel amplifier.  For the amplifier, I'm thinking of using a Krell Chorus 5200 XD.  I'm stuck on the processor.  I'd love to get the Bryston SP4, but it may  be out of my budget.  I've also looked at Anthem and Marantz.  I still want to hear excellent stereo sound.  Any suggestions?
daj2832
millercarbon's avatar
millercarbon
12,531 posts
 
You're going the wrong way. Do yourself a favor. Disregard all the advice on what to get. Go and listen. Hook one of these things up and listen to it- at home and with your gear! Do this and I promise you will understand why and thank me. Because no surround made at any price is as good as what you already have. The Home Theater market takes the 2 good channels of stereo and replaces it with five crap channels of dreck. If you compare you will see, its not even close.

Sorry, but its all lies. Wasted a whole year of my life trying to find a good processor. They do not exist. They get away with this because a) people are distracted by the video and b) compare against other surround gear. But since all surround gear is crap and they never compare against stereo then they never even have the chance to understand its all crap. Their crap HT sounds pretty good compared to all the other crap HT and besides oh look 4k.

But hey, don't take my word for it.  Go and listen. You will see.
erik_squires
15,925 posts
 
 You haven't mentioned your room acoustics. They will do a lot for your current system and make the HT experience amazing.

Don't forget the floor space between and behind the speakers. They can add a surprising amount of harshness to the mid and top end. Blankets make cheap test tools here. :)

Buying a high end HT processor is really tricky, because it's heavy on digital engineering resources. There have been several HE manufacturers who got into the space, and a couple of years later were out. Even Theta seems to have abandoned any serious R&D in this area (correct me if I'm wrong).

Anthem and Krell seem to have found the formula to keep up with the latest standards. I'm using an older Anthem 50 and there's nothing wrong with it. It certainly sounds MUCH better than older mass market imports and the Emotivas I had (bleah!!), but I switch to my Luxman integrated for music.

lalitk's avatar
lalitk
5,110 posts
 
@daj2832,

Grab a used Marantz AV8802A and call it a day. It’s a excellent processor and just as good with stereo sound. 
gillatgh's avatar
gillatgh
381 posts
 
@Millercarbon, don’t mean to burst your bubble but your advice is completely wrong and biased. Speaking from my experience, HT systems set up properly can and do sound superb in an audio friendly environment. Naturally as with all things audio the equipment and synergy matters. Going low budget on the processor/amp/source will disappoint I agree.
A high quality processor will and does equal comparable 2 channel only audio reproduction.
FWIW took me many years, dollars and education to get to my HT and audio nirvana but I got it. My HT is great with both worlds.
There is nothing like a concert DVD playing in 5.1 that puts you at the concert. In the 2ch world this is impossible.  Modern HT is not your Daddys HT anymore it’s much more than that. It’s immersive.
I think you just might not have heard just how good it can be.
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