Upgrade advide needed

[Richard]

Well I've decided to hold off on my projector buy until encryption mess is sorted out and besides my Pioneer HDTV will do fine for a while so I need advice on what upgrade path I should take on the audio side should I a)get a Lexicon DC-2 and amps or should I b)get a Denon 3802 and some very good amps. any advide guys

[Lex]

Richard, hmmm, interesting delimma. I wish I could say I could get by with an HDTV, lol. But alas, I hit the upgrade wall.

I digress. Of course, I can tell you about Lexicon. Never a BAD decision for a true home theater affectionado. But I must tell you, that for 2 channel music, it will be somewhat lacking with what you CAN do for a bit more money. Remember, the DC-2 is a rebadged DC-1 basically. Using similar DACs and such. Only when you get to the MC-1 level does the audio begin to get refined quite a bit. At least, that's the best information I have.

I am not familiar with the Denon. But I hear if you wait a bit, you may be able to buy Denon at Walmart! Ack! I wouldn't have believed it. but I hear it's already in California WM. Those Californians, are they always the front runners?

Remember, don't discount the idea of buying used either to save money. You just MIGHT pick up a great value in an MC-1 from someone wanting to upgrade to the new MC-12. At the very least, there will be reconditioned MC-1s available somewhere down the line from the trade program.

Goodluck,
Lex

[Ken McDaniel]

Richard, I think you need to take a close look into two areas: your wallet and amount of patience. The Denon AVR-3802, albeit an excellent reciever for the money, is nowhere near the sophistication of a Lexicon DC-2.

If you decide to wait it out, Outlaw is releasing their 950 Preamp sometime before Christmas. At $950 it's cheaper than both the Lexicon and Denon. If the 1050 was any indication of how good this will be then it's a no-brainer. Combine that with their around-$1800 7-channel, 200 watt amp (yet to be released) and I think you'll have a legit combo that retails for less than the price of the Lexicon alone. Remember that Outlaw's first amp, the 750, compares very favorably with damn near anything. Rotel, B&K, Parasound, and ATI also make very competive 5 channel amps in the same price range.

If you look at Lex's combination of Lexicon multi-channel and Classe stereo, then picking and saving a little could prove fruitful. What kind of speakers do you have?




Ken

[Andrew Pratt]

what are you main objectives and do you consider yourself a music buff or video buff If you're building a HT and aren't to worried about music the DC2 is a great processor (with the newest software) but its 2 channel abilites are somewhat lacking. Also remeber that the DC2 doesn't have the ability to handle SACD or DVD-A since it doesn't have 5.1 analog inputs. The Denon on the other hand is liekly better suited to music but even there I've added a MSB Link DAC to my 3300 and it made a huge difference ...also added external amps since I needed more power. I have to agree with the recomendations above that if you can wait for the Outlaw that might be the read winner of the bunch. Also I've heard that Rotel is comeing out with a pre pro thats supposed to do all the tricks and still be affordable. I certianly hope they do b/c I quite like Rotel gear.

[George Bellefontaine]

I can only say that I replaced my Yamaha A3090 (the top of the line at the time) with a Denon 3801 and couldn't be happier. The thing is with the 3801 (or 3802 now) you can always add an outboard amp later and use the Denon as a controller.My main reason for replacing the Yammmy(which was only 3 years old) was to get DTS and the 7.1 sound arrangement.




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[Richard]

Thanks for the replies so far. As far as the rest of my equipment goes it is servly lacking. I upgraded my tv to HDTV a little over a year and half ago because I had back surgery and knew I would have a lot of time with nothing I could do so I figured get a HDTV. My receiver is Sony 30 ES and my speakers are well let's say mismatched I have old Kenwood mains, Infinity center channel and Boston Acoustic surrounds with a Kenwood sub. I watch moview the most with occasional music listening. My plans were to replace the receiver first and then the speakers with possible Norh 4.0 video package with 4.1 prisms for the side surrounds. I've read about Outlaws new pre-pro and if it's like their other efforts I think it will be great and I will definitely add it to the list.DVD-Audio and SACD I don't know much about right now but I think for SACD you need 5.1 bypass if I'm not mistaken and they haven't decided on a connection standard for DVD-Audio. The MC-1 might be possible once the feeding frenzy for the MC-12 starts to hit the streets and the flood of MC-1 becomes available. Hopefully I can remain patient and wait until then and maybe the Outlaw 950 will be out early and I hold off my auditioning of the 3802 because if I hear that before the Outlaw and Mc-1 drops in price I may just buy it without waiting and maybe I would end up regretting it.