Recommendation on Preamp

[spykids777]

Hi,

I currently have 803 Diamond speakers with JL Audio Fathom 113 Sub. I am waiting for my Classe 5300 Amp to come in from being backordered. Currently I am using the Denon 5308CI preamp/processor. I was looking at the Classe SSP 800 which woud be a wonderful combination with my Amp but I have about 70% HT and 30% Audio listening. Hence Video processing including upscaling is very important. Currently the Denon is able to upscale everything into 1080p and does a very good job for display on my 60inch Kuro Elite. From what I have read about SSP 800 the Video processing is not the best. Any recommendation as to something else which would give me the SSP sound quality with good Video processing - or am I expecting too much or should I wait on the pre-amp maybe till Classe comes out with a preamp with better Video processor including HDMI 1.4? Any ideas? How about the Denon AVP-A1HDCI Pre-Amp - use that for the Video processing and use the Classe 5300 Amp for the Audio part? Or should I sit tight with the Denon 5308CI?

Thanks

[Txgrizzly]

i am looking for a pre myself as i just bought the Emotiva UPA-7 and am thinking of going with their UMC-1 to go with it but would like to hear from people about the video thru it before pulling the trigger.

[stuofsci02]

spykids777,

At the level of equipment you are talking about, I would simply scrap the idea of doing video processing in the pre-pro.. Most high end audio companies are giving up on the pre/pro route since the protocols change so often... This week it is HDMI 1.4 and DTS/Dolby True HD Master Audio decoding. What will it be next week?

IMO (and I am sure others will disagree), it is a great option to simply plug straight to your TV with the HDMI from the Blu-Ray or DVR etc. Then get a good pure analog pre-amp with HT bypass that you can use for stereo listening. Then for movies/TV the options are huge for Pre/Pro and you won't need to spend a fortune (maybe something like the new Marantz pre/pro etc.). This may actually be better for movies and TV...

A Harmony Remote can be used to make sure everything switches with the press of a button.

I think the only person this does not work well for are those who listen to a lot of Multichannel music SACD/DVD-A since you would then be using the Pre/Pro for that, but even then it can still be quite fantastic.

Cheers,

Stu

[Chris D]

Agreed. No need for "video processing" in today's pre-pros, other than maybe upconverting/transcoding a standard-def video input, like an old school DVD player. That feature's pretty common now. Biggest thing you need is video SWITCHING capability, and the pre-pro's ability to do passthrough of that video. Of course, every time a new spec comes out, the new unit has to be certified as to whether it can pass all the features of the spec, like enhanced color space.

On pre-pros, the biggest thing is the AUDIO, being able to decode the audio stream that is fed to it, especially high res over HDMI 1.3 or higher.

I do use my pre-pro for ALL audio sources, including fine 2-channel and even multichannel SACD and DVD-A. Works great, but then again, I've got a great pre-pro. (Parasound Halo C1)

[Theresa]

I have the Emo UMC-1 and the video processing is very good. I do most video processing with my AMD/ATI video card but I think the processing is just as good with the Emo. Sound with the Emo is better than many other pre-pros and high end receivers or so I'm told since I was using an old Yamaha until I got it and it had no real video processing and its highest res was sd.