I am close to deciding between Kef Reference 205/2s or Revel Studio2s and need to decide on electronics to go with them. The 80.3 has excellent DACs, XT32 and it's USB reads the digital files in IPods - my collection is primarily in Apple Lossless. I will likely go with an Oppo 93 and bring things in digital and let the prepro do the conversion. Does not make sense to me to bring in analog then do digital processing. The negative is the 80.3 draws 1.2 amps or 130 - 140 watts of heat. The AV7005 only draws 60 watts which is a big plus for me. The AV7005 has lesser DACs and only XT. However the 80.3 SQ seems to get mixed reviews (treble) but the AV7005 seems to get high marks consistently and you can get a great deal right now on it. For the near future I will have 7.1 with front heights.
I plan to get a three channel amp in any case, but the other option would be to get a Denon AVR 4311 CI and run the four surrounds with it. Plus is XT32 and good internal amps but not sure how good the DACs. I could even use my existing Onkyo TX-NR1008 which also has good internal amps, but only XT. Don't consider my 4310 CI as an option.
So should I go the full prepro route or go with a receiver and save buying a 4 channel amp for the surrounds. 50/50 mix between 2 channel and HT. More concerned on music SQ than HT.
I plan to get a three channel amp in any case, but the other option would be to get a Denon AVR 4311 CI and run the four surrounds with it. Plus is XT32 and good internal amps but not sure how good the DACs. I could even use my existing Onkyo TX-NR1008 which also has good internal amps, but only XT. Don't consider my 4310 CI as an option.
So should I go the full prepro route or go with a receiver and save buying a 4 channel amp for the surrounds. 50/50 mix between 2 channel and HT. More concerned on music SQ than HT.