Video Asylum

Posted by lwang (A) on April 24, 2003 at 20:20:48

In Reply to: best sounding 7.1 pre/pro for under $5000 ? posted by audioNeil on April 24, 2003 at 19:09:49:

They are top notch for HT with their proprietary 7.1 (EZ) and their Trifield surround mode is arguably the best surround mode out there. It expands the soundstage while at the same time making the imaging more accurate. All w/o the surround gimmick that plagues many popular surround formats. It also has ambisonic playback, which blows away any multichannel recording format out there.

The 561 is 7.1, but would require 2 meridian digital speakers to complete the side channels. That unit is $5k new. The 568 supports 7.1 analog output, and it doesn't have video switching. It doesn't have 5.1 input, so you would have to go via some 5.1 preamp route for your SACD. It is way above $5k new but could be had for less than $5k used.