SSP & Pre/Pros that support HDMI Audio MPCM - Page 9

The Emotiva looks like a real bargain.

Have never heard how any of their products sound, though.

That's a shame, only 2 HDMI inputs

Eric,

I just want to thank you for the EXCELLENT thread! I have learned a million and one things from this thread! I desperately need a new "separate" preamp to compliment my Anthem PVA5 as my NAD T163 died on me. The information I have learned here has been invaluable!

Regards,

Slight correction, or maybe not so slight: that press release is dated April 17, 2007.

(And, based on the evidence we have, the press release turned out to be highly inaccurate, because there have been long and continuing delays in final release of the CS4970xx family of Audio DSP chips to consumer electronics manufacturers!)

Great thread Eric. Has anyone tried the onkyo and really compared it to an older higher quality processor like the Meridian 568.2 or 861? I am a 100% home theater guy and was wondering how the onkyo in lossless would compare to say a Meridian 861(high bitrate DTS) while watching the same movie in bluray? Also, How many rack spaces is the Onkyo?

Don't want to sidetrack this excellent thread , but this doesn't make sense. An HBR codec simply compresses the lossless version into something smaller. The only way there should be any difference in sound quality would be if there's a sampling freq or bit length difference. I.e., 16/44.1 vs 24/48 for example. ??

In that case, I 100% agree with you.

Page 37 implies that Audyssey is not operative with Dolby TrueHD or dts-HD. If so, that is very unfortunate.

Really nice looking piece of equipment. Is that the same decoder that's used in the Oppo 983? Anyone know the chipset?

Very interesting. If you just take a quick look at the features and specs pages, you would not notice these limitations.

Appreciate you pointing this out. Please continue this helpful service!

Thanks
Bruce

. I had high hopes for that unit.

Since the pre-pro situation is still pretty slim pickings I think I'm going to go with one of the Blu-Ray players with analog outs that are due in the not too distant future. That should tide me over until there are more pre-pro options.

Im looking into the Marantz seperates but noticed that the Classe sp-800 is coming out as well. Its alot more pricey!! , Do you guys think the price of the classe justifies its performance? This will be my first introduction into seperates and i want to be wowed with my new purchase.

Im dissapointed that the Marantz doesnt use Audyssey processing with high def audio playback.

I find it disappointing that there is no room equalization capability in the Classe pre-pro and I am uncertain if it can decode both kinds of lossless HD audio--somebody correct me here if incorrect. Classe means quality, but for its price, it should have some kind of room equalization and IF it is missing lossless HD audio decoding, that would also be a shame.

OTOH, there is not much else out there other than the Onkyo, Denon AVP (a rumor that no more units will ship to the US until June...), Marantz and now the Classe when it comes to pre-pros that do HDMI 1.3

MikeSp

I think the NAD T175 has some kind of limitation for Audyssey depending on what the resolution of the signal is too.

I *wish* NAD and Marantz would see the benefit of giving the option to downres the signal to then allow Audyssey to be used.

And from what i read in the avsforum , They should be equal in sound quality but some people say that the bitsream done by the pre/pro has a slight edge!!! Is that true?

Or would the PCM signals along with this 64 bit TI chip working together create a better experience than a bitsream signal with 32bit chip capabilities

It is supposed to have a parametric EQ which would require some knowledge and care in its use, as opposed to an autoEQ feature.