Denon 5803 in two channel mode vs. dedicated Pream

[George]

<font color='#000000'>In the never ending quest for audio nirvana one does ? silly things. I'd like some advice here.
Any personal experiences with the AVR 5803 vs. the Proceed PRE in stereo?
I currently own the 5803 and came across a used Proceed PRE in very good nick. A thought was due to its loop input, it could sit downstream to the denon for the front two channels, while my dedicated CDP is hooked up to the Proceed and then to the power amp(Proceed HPA 3).
I guess the real question is &quot;Is the two channel sound of the Proceed better than the two channel sound of the Denon?&quot;
Also is there such a world of difference between high end separates and high end receivers.
Thanks,
George.</font>

 

[goodman]

<font color='#000000'>I don't know the answer, but I have a question for you: Can you tell the difference with the Proceed HPA3 powering your speakers compared with the amps in the AVR-5803? &nbsp;I love my 5803, but I am wondering what a Theta Dreadnaught would do hooked up to the pre-outs on the 5803! &nbsp;Any one &nbsp;have experience with a separate amp and the 5803? &nbsp;As you may have guessed, my interest in an upgrade would be primarily for music reproduction.</font>

 

[George]

<font color='#000000'>I run the pre outs into the HPA 3 and then into B&amp;W CDM 9NT's. I do believe I am getting a bigger soundstage and definition to the sound. The lower end does seem more present. I do hope I am not imagining the difference because of what I paid. But I must say it is not huge. The law of diminishing returns. You pay quite a bit to get a small improvement.
It also allows the power across the other channels to be substantial, when in home theatre mode.
I suggest you find a good dealer and demo the dreadnaught @ home and make your call.
Any experience with the Proceed PRE?

?
George</font>

 

[petermwilson]

<font color='#000000'>Hi George,
No I don't have any experience with these 2 although I do have an upgraded 5800 running 4ohm Totems all around and they sound excellent although they might sound better with more amps.

I think that run in Pure Direct mode you will not find another amp on the planet that will give you significant improovment with your speakers.

The speakers you are using are excellent but are not so hard to drive that they would benefit greatly from more amps.

Yes I think you'll find a Marginal difference with any high caliber amp. &nbsp;My feeling is that you would hear a small difference not a huge improovment.

George, even if I had both units right in front of me, it would still be just an opinion.

Peter m.</font>

 

[George]

<font color='#000000'>I think you might have helped me make a decision. I do not have the option of listening to them both to make a call as the PRE is 15ooKms away.
How would you rate the new Lexicon MC 8 in terms of two channel stereo?
George.</font>

 

[petermwilson]

<font color='#000000'>Hi George,
I just googled reviews of Lexicon mc8 and the first thing that popped up was a forum discussion at Audiogon comparing the leex to a Bryston 7. &nbsp;It was mentioned that the Lex seems to be brirght and edgy in 2 ch compared to the Bryston but was great for HT.

You might want to google it yourself or better still go to a dealer with some of your favorite pieces of 2ch music.

As I said before I use the 5800/03 in 2 ch Pure Direct for RedBook cds as well as dvd-a and sacd. &nbsp;I also have my computer connected from the analogs out of the sound card and through WindowsMediaPlayer 9 I am able to play any of my HDCD's wich sound fantastic.

I also have a Panasonic rp82 dvd/cd player that upsamples redbook cds from 44.1 to 88.2 on the Denon which again sounds fantastic.

I'm not sure what your looking for here George but the Denon does sound great in 2ch. &nbsp;There may be something out there that sounds (if you have a very trained ear) a touch better but you could spend a lifetime looking instead of just enjoying.

Peter m.</font>