Video Asylum

I've seriously considered a multichannel analog pream

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This Post Has Been Edited by the Author

In Reply to: RE: My (aborted) pre/pro upgrade also would have re-digitized my MC SACD analogs... posted by oscar on December 06, 2007 at 19:58:37

I have a Lexicon processor now. It's front-ended by a "real" preamp for the two front channels, through the preamp's processor unity-gain loop.

The Lexicon is an excellent processor, and even has "real" multi-channel analog pass-through, but it's still primariliy a digital device. When I switch from two-channel to multi-channel music I get lots of benefits from MC, but there's a noticeable loss in transparency and clarity. The Lexicon sounds somewhat more closed-in, and there's a slight "grain" to the music which I theorize is created by all the digital circuitry in the processor section.

The problem is that if I go all-analog, I lose the capability of connecting devices that don't have multi-channel analog outs (a gaming console, for instance), and I'm left with the limited processing capability of the decoders built in to my source devices. I have yet to find a player that does a better job on Dolby Digital or DTS than the Lexicon.

It's a real pickle, to be sure.

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