Interested in getting any comments about AC. They hang thier hat on reliabilty. Looks like the new prepro and amps will be winners.

Hey Peter [CMAX] tell us that your next Greek moon over Miami will use an AC processor so folks will chime in :)

The video is PixelWorks I think. The built in CAT5 converters/balums looks interesting.

You're talking the company in Oregon? I've got one of their real time analyzers a few years back off eBay. It looked a bit beat up, but works fine. I've used it for about 5 years, no issues. Ditto with their car stuff. I bought one crossover on eBay that didn't work, but it was a bad solder joint. I repaired it, and it keeps on running in my truck. I didn't like their subwoofer eqs from a bunch of years back ('turn up the bass eqs until you hear the speakers make cracking sounds (cone hitting the end of the travel), then back the eq off a bit', or so their instructions approximately read.

yep thats them! i looked at the back panel of the Maestro M3 prepro it is almost identical to the Arcam AVR888. They also use the same DAC and Video chip. Not sure about the DSP engine.

You really have to wonder why a company significantly deviates from what they are good at doing. I haven't seen the pre/pro, but if it's a rebadged Arcam (is it?), or even if it's their own design, why are they going into high end HT when the history of their business is car audio and test equipment pieces.

I guess one reason is that the car industry has flatlined according to friends in the industry and from the dead floor I saw at CES in January. Still, I'm not sure that the high end HT market would be my first choice, I'd figure they'd refine the areas that they know best.

They have been in HT for a few years [ not many ]. The Maestro M3 replaces the Maestro.

JL Audio wass also a 12V company first.

Then there are crossovers like: Pioneer, Kenwood, JBL, McIntosh and I'm sure more.

The tail end of the MS is very close to the Arcam 888 but I don't know who is copying who. It does look like a shared platform though. On another thread one end user of the 888 pointed out even the owners manual and OSD was very similar if not identical in many setup areas.

Im an 888 user.

I've just had a look at that unit and it is certainly way, way, too close to the Arcam AV888 to be accidental. Its a complex, and very unique, layout.

One look at the manual convinced me further.

Finally,the OSD screens, and there are plenty shown, totally seals the deal.

Cold,

Same DACs and Video processor. I will just guess the DSP platform is the same as well. Again a guess but a good one...

Makes you wonder.

I was thinking about picking up Audio Control. Looking better all the time. The downside is all the sub $4K products like the new Integra 80.1 [coming soon], Cary Audio C11a and Parsound C3 [coming soon] will a $6K pre-pro sell?

I've been using audio control baluns, EQ's etc, for a few years. They are a good natured company, with a great warranty. I have used their 16ch amps and they offer a ton of tweaks. If you need a source, I can supply their products.