High end pre/pro's. Are they worth it???

[wes]

Originally Posted by Captain Stereo

With all due respect to the Integra, which is PHEE-nominal for the price, the Classe SSP-800 is another league altogether. Throw True HD and DTS-HD out the window. It doesn't matter. The 800 is another league. I put both in the same system, substituting one for the other, all other things identical, and it just wasn't close. GENUINE quality always trumps the feature of the month, and specialty products built by high-end companies are just a different animal than mass market Japanese products, which can be very good for their price points. Puh-lease no doubters unless you ALSO have done a direct comparison.

PHEE? What does that mean also I am very interested in Dolby Didital tru HD and DTS-HD Master Audio. SO until a pre/pro is able to decode those formats I am not touching it!

[wes]

Originally Posted by The Kipnis Studios

Well, of course, 20/20 hindsight and all that. But even now no current HDMI equipped receiver or Pre/Pro will handle the new 2.0, and that will be the very first audio only version of HDMI! Prepare to make another upgrade.

I have not seen anywhere the HDMi 2.0 where did you find that there is no information anywhere?

[Captain Stereo]

Originally Posted by wes

PHEE? What does that mean also I am very interested in Dolby Didital tru HD and DTS-HD Master Audio. SO until a pre/pro is able to decode those formats I am not touching it!

"Phee" is when one tries to emphasize the "phe" in the word "phenomenal". I thought since "...nominal" came immediately after the "phee" this would be obvious. Sorry to confuse.

And if you want to buy a receiver that decodes TrueHD and DTS-HD instead of a pre/pro like the SSP-800 (which will do that in time), which will SOUND better playing back VHS Hi-Fi tapes with Dolby Pro-Logic to say nothing of standard DD and DTS on DVD and blu-ray, than a receiver playing the new formats on blu-ray, then that is your perogative. It never ceases to amaze that people will bypass genuine quality for the flavor of the month. While you're on your 8th receiver, which will need to be replaced when the HDMI spec changes, or a new surround format is introduced, or the new "must have" feature comes around, etc., owners of products like the SSP-800 will be laughing that their overall expenditure is lower and their sound quality is STILL better.

[kennyt]

Originally Posted by Captain Stereo

And if you want to buy a receiver that decodes TrueHD and DTS-HD instead of a pre/pro like the SSP-800 (which will do that in time), which will SOUND better playing back VHS Hi-Fi tapes with Dolby Pro-Logic to say nothing of standard DD and DTS on DVD and blu-ray, than a receiver playing the new formats on blu-ray, then that is your perogative. It never ceases to amaze that people will bypass genuine quality for the flavor of the month. While you're on your 8th receiver, which will need to be replaced when the HDMI spec changes, or a new surround format is introduced, or the new "must have" feature comes around, etc., owners of products like the SSP-800 will be laughing that their overall expenditure is lower and their sound quality is STILL better.

While I agree to a point, I must say, having had DTS-HD MA and Dolby True HD in my system, they can not be discredited. I am also a person who requires solid MC analog performance from my system, and as such, having gone through some of the 'mid fi' pre/pros, want, nay NEED a solid unit for analog!

This is becoming more important as I have gotten a TT now and have been recently smitten by the lure of analog..... From the shopping for it in the worlds largest vinyl store that happens to be seven miles from my home (www.musicfinder.com), to cleaning to the laid back presentation of the format, I am digging it!!!!!!!

KT

[Captain Stereo]

Originally Posted by kennyt

While I agree to a point, I must say, having had DTS-HD MA and Dolby True HD in my system, they can not be discredited. I am also a person who requires solid MC analog performance from my system, and as such, having gone through some of the 'mid fi' pre/pros, want, nay NEED a solid unit for analog!

This is becoming more important as I have gotten a TT now and have been recently smitten by the lure of analog..... From the shopping for it in the worlds largest vinyl store that happens to be seven miles from my home (www.musicfinder.com), to cleaning to the laid back presentation of the format, I am digging it!!!!!!!

KT

Kudos on the turntable and committment to analog! Excellent. And don't get me wrong, all things being equal, of course one would want TrueHD & DTS-HD MA. Of course, not all things are equal and THIS is where I have an issue with folks who harp on if something has this chip or that chip or whatever the case may be instead of focusing on things that fundamentally affect the performance regardless of the chipset. Very unsexy things like circuit layout, noise grounding and isolation, power supply robustness and quality, chassis rigidity and freedom from resonance and vibration, implementation of the chip being used. These are far more important than just having a name chip or 'x' feature, and this is where high-end units earn their reputation and make their name. If all you have to go by is that you have "Dark Chip 4" or "True HD" or whatever, what then do you have when the next thing comes along????......an obsolete piece of mass marketed electronics that has little value. Our SSP-800 replaced an SSP-600 (no HDMI, no new format decoding) and compared to the Integra DTC 9.8, it still WASN'T. EVEN. CLOSE. The 600 playing back garden variety Dolby Digital and DTS walked all over it sonically, even with the Integra playing True HD and DTS-HD. There you have it.

[The Kipnis Studios]

You know, before all this digital didgeridoo with competing standards and so on, pretty much all analog components easily handled Hi-Resolution audio sources, including magnetic tape, LPs, SACD, and even DVD-Audio with great aplomb.

Now . . .