Digital Preamp NO video switching

Hbrandt.

"This guy was asking for opinions. I've had the Bryston, a Meridian 568, and the EADs in my setup."

I thought he was asking about which Processor did not have video switching and later specifically which EAD didnt have video switching. Sonics, video switching, ehh, whatever.

"I prefered the EAD significantly over the Bryston."

I guess that depends on one's definition of significant. I must have lousy ears. Because, I found all of the Processors (even the one's which you obviously you think sound poor) to sound quite good.

"If you've directly A/B compared them...I'd be interested in your opinion."

Actually I have, and they all sound very good. Nevertheless only one doesnt have video switching.

As a sidenote. There must be a serious outbreak of "cotton-in-the-ear" because, many, many movie studios, use Bryston gear to monitor and QC their finished products. I am somewhat surprised that they are capable of putting so much performance in those little disc's, considering how significantly poor their equipment performs.

Here is a list of some music and movie studios who suffer along with significantly underperforming gear. You might notice a few...Dolby, Lucasfilms, Chesky, Polygram, Captital, Chrysalis, Paramount, etc. etc.

20Hz20kHz Studios - Naples, Italy
360 Mastering - London
Abbey Road Studios
Advantage Audio - Los Angeles
Anne & Roger Dudley - UK
Anvil Post Production - UK
Arena Mobiles - UK
Athens Concert Hall - Greece
Baruch College
Basement Floor Prod. - USA
Battery Studios Mastering - UK
BBC Maida Vales 2,3,4 - UK
BBC Radio 1,2,3,4,5 - UK
BBCTV - UK
BBC Pebble Mill Birmingham - UK
Bearsville Studios - New York
BHF Sport
Bobby Fernandez - Los Angeles
Brian May - UK
Capital Radio - UK
Capital Records - Los Angeles
Capsiso - Kyoto Japan
Castle Sound - UK
Cavo Studio - Italy
Chesky Records
Chrysalis Todd A O Europe
Cinesonic
CityTV
Simon Climie - London
Complete Video - London
Crossroads Productions - Portland
Crystal Method-LA
De Lane Lea - UK
Debney Studio
Delos International - LA
Dennis Sands - Los Angeles
Dolby Europe
Dolby Laboratories - San Francisco
Earth, Wind and Fire - Maurice White - LA
Effanel Music - NY
Electric City - Brussels
EMAP on Air - UK
Essential Pictures - London
Final Stage Mastering - Nashville - USA
Fleetwood Mobile
Fountain Television
Fonoprint - Bologna, Italy
Garth Brooks - Nashville - USA
Goldcrest Productions - UK
Golden Era - LA
Granada Television - UK Heathmans Mastering
Herbie Hancock/ Pat Gleason - LA
Hisfolkshome Studios - San Jose
Hillside Studios
BBC Hippodrome
Imagica - Gotanda Japan
Imagica - Skinagawa Japan
James Newton-Howard - LA
Jay Peter Robinson
Jim Carrey - LA
Jon Astley
John Bake Studio
Joseph Magee - Los Angeles
Junior Boys Own
JTM Studio
JVC Aoyama Studio
Kink FM
Longman Publishing Group
Lucasfilm
Lynx Video
Magmasters - UK
Master Mix - Nashville
MasterMind Productions - WI
Masterpiece Mastering - UK
Maxis - Silicon Valley
Metropolis Mastering
Metropolis DVD Mastering
Metropolis Studio
Michael Farrow - LA
Mike Post - Post Productions - LA
Mixers Lab - Tokyo
Molinaire - UK
Muchmusic
Musicplant
National Physical Laboratories
NATS - London
Nautilus - Italy
Nova Sound - Atlanta
Nova Sound - Orlando
Nuphonic - UK
NFL Films
Olympic Studios -
London
Paramount Mastering- LA
Paul Hamblin - London
Paul Klingberg-LA
Perfect Pictures
Peter Frampton
Peter Gabriel - Real World
Peter Walsh
PhaseOne - Toronto, ON
Piccadilly Radio - UK
PlayR Recodring - Pheonix
Polygram - New York
Premier Global Productions - Nashville/Regina
Rak Recording Studios - UK
Ray Charles
Ravenworks -LA
Red Led Studios - Madrid
Respect Studios - UK
Robbie Robertson
Robbie Williams Robert Fripp
Robin Williams
Royal College Of Music
Royal Shakespeare Company
Sadie - UK
Scramble Sound - London
Seal
Shawn Murphy - Los Angeles
Skyline Audio Post
Solid State Logic - UK
Sony Broadcast - UK
Sony Mastering - NY
SoundMasters International - UK
Steve Levine - London
Steve Winwood - UK
Stevie Wonder - LA
Stewart Copeland - Los Angeles
Studio Delfine - France
SVC - London
Swoon Factory
TAP - London
Tape to Tape - London
Taylor Made Films
Tetsuro Oda Films - Tokyo
Thames Television
Threshold Studios - L.A.
The Cutting Rooms - Manchester
Tic Tac Studios - Japan
Tio Pete Studios - Bilbao
Tokyogenzojo - Japan
Tokyo Processing Laboratory - Japan
Townhouse Mastering - UK
Townhouse Recording Studios - UK
Trinity College of Music - UK
TVI - London
TVP - London
Uber Zone- LA
University of Nottingham - UK
Veronica - RTL (the Netherlands)
Will Owsley- Nashville
West Side Studio - Japan
Whitfield Street Mastering
Wonderland - LA

Distortion:

You don't have to agree with my opinion....but it is my honest opinion.

I'm happy for you that you love your Bryston gear. And I'm well aware that lots of studios have utilized Bryston gear. I have absolutely nothing whatsoever against Bryston gear. I've owned Bryston amps. And I've listened to lots of Bryston based systems.
And they do have the best warranty in the industry

But, the gentleman asked for some opinions about pre/pros. Yes, he specifically asked about video switching. I went through the same process he did in selecting a pre/pro....because I too wanted one without video switching. In fact, if I thought the Bryston sounded as good as the EAD I would have bought it hands down for that reason. I also discussed the matter with a very experienced audiophile friend who also owned the Bryston and swapped it for a EAD TM8800pro because of the difference in sonics.

The post specifically stated, "What do you think? The market does not seem to offer much and while I like what I read about the Bryston, I don't like the look of it and its cost."

I told him what I think.

I'm surprised you find it to be such a big deal for someone to state their opinion here. Isn't that what this forum is for?? Or is that my....distortion??

Harry

Its just that your opinion sounds very uninformed. Especially the "much better" part. But I digress, who am I to disagree, the "experienced audiophile friend" hath spoken.

Its no big deal, its just wrong. Whether that be by design or ignorance, it doesnt matter. All the processors mentioned sound good, are very capable, and top-notch performers. I am not saying EAD isnt, like you did Bryston and Meridian.

"What do you think I should have differently in the first place??"

If you really want to know. In you're own words.

This.....

"You prefer Bryston, i prefer EAD. That's what makes the world go 'round. I think lots of this depends on system synergy, speakers, room, personal tastes etc.

Instead of this.....

"But the sonics are MUCH better than the Bryston...and I think they are better than Meridian too."

Distortion:

I can't believe I'm dignifying this absurd thread any further. You seem to have quite a need to defend your Bryston. Why that is, I can only speculate. But, the reality is...that this forum is all about people asking for and getting the opinions of others. The thread asked for opinions about processors...and I gave my 2 cents.

You are now stating that my opinions are "uninformed" with no personal knowledge of how informed or "uninformed" they may be. In this regard, you show your own ignorance and arrogance. I've simply stated my opinions and my basis and rationale for those opinions.

I took a look at some of your own past threads...and noticed that, despite your criticism of me, you seem to allow yourself to state your own opinions rather freely. For example:

"01-15-04: Distortion
I dont want to get too far off my original tube question, but....
When I was using a Rotel Pre/Pro I had some upper midrange glare or harshness, when I upgraded to a Bryston processor it cleared up."

Here's another example:
"07-14-03: Distortion
Thanks for your recommendation of Classe Pre/pros. I gave them a try, but the Brystons dynamics and extension in bypass was superior, by my ear anyway."

I guess it's OK for you to state your preference for Bryston over Rotel or Classe....using words like "superior".....but it's NOT OK for me to state my preference for EAD using words like "much better". And of course I presume your view of the Rotel "glare and harshness" and the Bryston "dynamics and extension" was INFORMED but my view of the EAD was UNINFORMED. Right? You seem to have a vastly different set rules for others than you do for yourself!!!! You really do have a significant problem. i hope you read this post carefully so that you can see it for yourself as I am sure others can.

Also, I should point out that you also have a have a nasty penchant for misquoting. For example, you stated earlier:
"I guess that depends on one's definition of significant. I must have lousy ears. Because, I found all of the Processors (even the one's which you obviously you think sound poor) to sound quite good."

I NEVER said anywhere that any processors sounded "poor". In fact, I agree that most of the processors discussed are quite good. I simply stated my personal preference for the EAD. Needless to say...that's why I bought it. Particularly since I chose a processor with video switching even though I was hoping to find one without it (such as the Bryston). The point I was making, if you could have understood it, was that I chose EAD for sonics even though I would have preferred the Bryston because of the video switching issue.

Next time I'm asked for an opinion, I'll follow your advice and say...

"Gee....I understand you're looking for pre/pro advice....and I've listened to the Bryston and the EAD and several others....but before I tell you which one I think sounded "different" but not necessarily "better" to me....let me tell you that it's a free country...and there may be others (like Distortion) who like the Bryston a whole bunch better.....and it's really a matter of system synergy and other components anyway......and I don't want to offend any defensive Bryston owners (like Distortion)....because they would NEVER EVER state their opinion that they think their Bryston is better or superior.....but having said all of that....I happened to have liked the way the EAD sounded quite a bit more than the Bryston sounded......so much so....that I decided to buy a pre/pro with video switching even though I didn't need or want video switching. And please note that I haven't used words like better, much better and superior!!!!"

By the way...I think you've picked an excellent moniker.

Regards,
Harry

Better is OK, superior even.

See one of my previous post. I suppose It all boils down to how one defines "much better" or "significantly better."

I defend ALL products when they are being unfairly smeared. Bryston happens to be a regular target though.

"And please note that I haven't used words like better, much better and superior!!!!"

Well done, because that first post sounded as if any who had/have a Meridian or a Bryston might as well have a bowl full of turds.

Thanks about the moniker, it has been around for a long time, I still play the Guitar a little and I love my distortion.