New Processor

[BMW]

The new year is here and I am ready to buy a Processor. I have all the components for my new theater except the Processor. Parasound halo amps and PMC speakers in 7.1 surround. Onkyo Interga 80.2 or? I am looking for suggestions as it can be hard to find info, and reviews. Thanks
BMW

 

[GranteedEV]

The new year is here and I am ready to buy a Processor. I have all the components for my new theater except the Processor. Parasound halo amps and PMC speakers in 7.1 surround. Onkyo Interga 80.2 or? I am looking for suggestions as it can be hard to find info, and reviews. Thanks
BMW

I know it's technically a receiver but right now my choice would be the Denon 4411ci / A100 with the amp sections turned off in the settings menu.

 

[adk highlander]

I have recently updated my processor. I had the Onkyo PR-SC885 (same as Integra 9.8) and have changed to the Marantz AV7005.

Overall I am pleased with the change. I like the additional network functions that the Marantz offers (internet radio, pandora, built in iPod control) and the Audyssey dynamic eq and dynamic volume. It also offers firmware updates via the web.

The 885 had a few issues with the color space, runs very hot and updating the firmware was a real pain.

The latest models from Onkyo/Integra also seem to have issues with clicking noises from the relays when switching. If your gear is in a closet this may not be a big deal to you.

The Marantz has worked as advertised and does not seem to have any hidden issues. Also it is quite a bit cheaper than the 80.2 and much better looking.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

The new year is here and I am ready to buy a Processor. I have all the components for my new theater except the Processor. Parasound halo amps and PMC speakers in 7.1 surround. Onkyo Interga 80.2 or? I am looking for suggestions as it can be hard to find info, and reviews. Thanks
BMW

Too bad Parasound CANCELLED the release of their new Halo pre-pro (C3):

http://www.parasound.com/pdfs/C3.pdf

How many components do you have or plan to have?

You might just let your blu-ray player do all the decoding and send via analog to your current processor.

I wish someone would get a Halo P7 analog 7.1 preamp and let me know how it is.

If I only had one Universal Player that could decode all sound formats, I would just get a Halo P7 + Amp. There is no need for anything else in the future, except for a new Universal player if a new sound format comes out.

The Halo amp + P7 pre-amp (both pure analog) would never become obsolete. The P7 has two sets of 7.1 analog inputs.

http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=2PAHAP7

 

[BMW]

Thanks for the replies. It seems that it is kind of a tough world when trying to find a processor, especially in the 2k range. It seems silly to spend much more when everything changes so quickly. Somebody told me that Marantz had a new product? I did not see it on their web site.
BMW

 

[adk highlander]

The Marantz AV7005 is presently their flagship processor. This is the one I just purchased.

There is speculation on the internet about an AV8005 but nothing from the industry that states this product will exist.

 

[GranteedEV]

Thanks for the replies. It seems that it is kind of a tough world when trying to find a processor, especially in the 2k range. It seems silly to spend much more when everything changes so quickly. Somebody told me that Marantz had a new product? I did not see it on their web site.
BMW

the AV7005 is likely a sweet processor but I can't justify getting it if it doesn't even have Audessey XT32/SubEQ/Dual Discrete Subs.

Big mistep for a "flagship".

 

[BMW]

So, what do you recommend? While Anthem amd Arcam make great proccesors, they are 7k. Ouch.
BMW

 

[PENG]

Audyssey XT is good enough for me. I think I will eventually end up with an Oppo 95 so the lower grade DAC, inability of decoding DSD, SACD and 192kHz BR lossless codecs while implementing Audyssey is not a show stopper for me. As such, I opted for the AV7005 for its good look and low price. So it really depends on what features you can do without. If you need a full feature unit then the Integra 80.2 is probably the best buy for the price.