Separates folks, what are you using for a pre/pro?

[Railgun]

Exec version, have an Onkyo NR5008 that's come back from another service and it's now getting HDMI sync issues and network functionality is dead and want to start looking at separates.

Long version,

I'm on my second 5008 for the HDMI issue. It recently went back for a replacement board this go around, then a 3rd party repair co did some extra work for whatever reason, now it's getting sporadic HDMI sync issues and some interesting delays in rendering on screen things (eg volume adjustments sometimes lag up to 30 seconds before finally displaying and whatnot). Just today, the mute overlay ended up on the top left of the screen, when it belongs on the bottom right. Second to that, network connectivity is fubared.

Naturally, the 3rd party won't do much with regards to me getting it back to them and the box they sent it back to me in was a POS job, with nothing even close to the right packing material.

That said, I'm looking to expand my gear, initially with a video processor and let the Onkyo still amp things as that's OK for now.

I've never looked into seperates that much, and there seems to be quite a few choices there, so here are some gound rules...

-Not fussed with 4K scaling, but I won't say no.

-Would like to keep it in the realm of £1500/$2200. Don't worry about the exact price as I'll do the conversion and look at the shops on this side of the pond for an equivalent price.

-Size isn't that much of an issue at the moment as I can move things around to slot it in. I would assume it would be relatively low profile.

-Some things I've seen are somewhat modular, so I can upgrade to, say, HDCP 2.2 if it's not currently available.

-Display is a 50" Panny VT20. When 4K OLED is reasonable, that will be the next display.

To that end, I don't know what I don't know, so no idea of other requirements need to be laid out.

So...I'm up for suggestions.

 

[Anubis]

you can edit your own title BTW

 

[Railgun]

you can edit your own title BTW

That was my oversight. PM me next time as not to muddle the thread.

But thanks.

 

[nsafreak]

Video processors are rather interesting beasts and I typically see them only employed on very high end projector setups for the most part. For most folks the video processor that's inside of their TV/monitors do a very good job of processing & scaling the video signal being sent to them. You might want to consider just ditching the Onkyo for audio altogether and go with a pre/pro purely for audio and let your display handle the video processing on its own. For the processor side of the equation I would probably recommend something along the lines of the Emotiva UMC-200 or the NuForce AVP-18, both are very well equipped audio processors and should be able to handle your audio needs quite nicely. For an amplifier that's a bit up in the air since you haven't told us what you have in terms of speakers so I'm kind of spitballing it here. Ampwise I'd recommend the Emotiva XPA-7 or XPA-5 (depending on how many channels you're driving), other options would be an amplifier from either Carver, Sunfire Audio or McIntosh although new all of those are well out of your budget range (except for the Emotivas) you might be able to find something used.

 

[tential]

Video processors are rather interesting beasts and I typically see them only employed on very high end projector setups for the most part. For most folks the video processor that's inside of their TV/monitors do a very good job of processing & scaling the video signal being sent to them. You might want to consider just ditching the Onkyo for audio altogether and go with a pre/pro purely for audio and let your display handle the video processing on its own. For the processor side of the equation I would probably recommend something along the lines of the Emotiva UMC-200 or the NuForce AVP-18, both are very well equipped audio processors and should be able to handle your audio needs quite nicely. For an amplifier that's a bit up in the air since you haven't told us what you have in terms of speakers so I'm kind of spitballing it here. Ampwise I'd recommend the Emotiva XPA-7 or XPA-5 (depending on how many channels you're driving), other options would be an amplifier from either Carver, Sunfire Audio or McIntosh although new all of those are well out of your budget range (except for the Emotivas) you might be able to find something used.

I been holding off replying to this thread for awhile but got some time now and I completely disagree on what I'd get if I was the OP.

The route I went OP was the TX-NR709 Onkyo receiver. It powers my center channel and that's it. I then have a Crown XLS1500. I recommend ONLY getting this amp for your mains/rears (you can go bigger if you want though). I really like this one. It's very quite and very small and it gets the job done very well. Never has failed me while throwing a party which is the most stressful I've used them on. I don't see a reason to pay the "Home theater" price tag to have a "Home theater" marketing brand/finish to get a pre/pro system. Just get a professional amplifier like the Crown XLS1500. If you HAVE to display your gear to people that's one thing but if you don't then I'd get a rack, and mount it with the other stuff and hide it away.

Anyway, my setup:
TX-NR709 (Refurbished ~$330)
Crown XLS1500 $350 (I love this amp).
INuke NU4-6000 $350 (I do not really dislike this amp. I knew it was loud when I got it. I'm too lazy to do the fan mod and too afraid I'll actually push it hard enough that I need the real fans in there in the first place. I feel either way this is a good line of amps to purchase. Eventually throughout this hobby, you'll find a place to hide your amps that isn't directly in the room hopefully (we all aspire to have a dedicated room I hope right?) So I feel it's worth it if you don't have a WAF. Otherwise, the CrownXLS1500 is perfect.

If you really wanted to spend though I would then get these:
http://www.avsforum.com/forum/155-d...237-lab-gruppen-fp14000-clone-amplifiers.html
They're LG Clone amps. But I'm also super cheap and like to get the best bang for my buck. I'd get these before I got the Emotiva amps. I think this is a far better bang for your buck. But I also like to dream big =D. I again don't think anything more than the Crown XLS1500 is needed.

What speakers are you using?

 

[richardycc]

currently using an Onkyo NR5007 as preamp with a few external amps, and a Krell Integrated amp kav-400xi with theater bypass for 2 channels. waiting for the Yamaha CX-A5000 replacement with ATMOS, hopefully it will come before Xmas, if not, probably a Marantz or Denon, as I am done with Onkyo. I just ordered 4 in-ceiling speakers today, so I am slowly upgrading my setup/speakers to ATMOS 7.2.4.

 

[truckerCLOCK]

Try another brand I had 2 Onkyos and both had issues. The first would overheat and shut down, the second lost all HDMI inputs. Go with a Denon or Pioneer, Sony...etc.

 

[Kaido]

My first two choices would be Emotiva & Outlaw Audio. Both companies offer amazing systems for the price :thumbsup:

 

[Kaido]

Also, Outlaw Audio just released a $599 5-channel power amp:

http://www.cnet.com/news/the-afford...pion-outlaw-audio-model-5000-power-amplifier/

They have a pre-amp for $549 as well & also sell the pair for $999, which is a pretty awesome deal if that's within your budget.

 

[LikeLinus]

Also, Outlaw Audio just released a $599 5-channel power amp:

http://www.cnet.com/news/the-afford...pion-outlaw-audio-model-5000-power-amplifier/

They have a pre-amp for $549 as well & also sell the pair for $999, which is a pretty awesome deal if that's within your budget.

That's a terrific deal for at outlaw amp. Thanks for the link.


For me, I'm running. Denon x4000 with (2) Crown DSI 1000 for my front stage and (2) Crown x1000 for my surround. It's worked great and I love it. I'm not sure I "needed" the amps because I'm running high sensitivity DIY Sound Group speakers, but they look great in my rack and I like the headroom and ability to adjust.

 

[Railgun]

Unfortunately, both Emotiva and Outlaw seem to be somewhat hard to get out in the UK. I'll keep looking as I've been looking at Outlaw products for a while.

With regards to video processing, I'd rather let a dedicated pro take care of any video processing if needed. I don't let the TV really do much. I let the receiver take care of most, if anything, but yes, you're right, it's an audio processor that I really need.

With regards to the speakers, currently they're CM5s and a CMC up front and some Klipsch KG 1.5s in the rear. Eventually, given enough physical room, the CM5s will retire to the rear in favor of CM10 S2s and a CMC S2. If I have enough room for some proper rears for a 7 ch setup, the Klipsch's will go there.

I'm OK with smaller, multiple amps as well instead of a catch-all 7+ channel amp.

I had thought about just finding another receiver and keep it simple, but it's just a matter of auditioning a few. I listened to a Pioneer LX88 last weekend, but I didn't take the time and it was at moderate-high volume. I need to listen to it at low-moderate volumes and ensure they give me the dynamics at low power I need/want.

 

[BarkingGhostar]

It is good to see how Emotiva has forced the amplifier market toward less expensive amplifier gear. I own a couple of XPA-5 units, which I got 2-3 years ago during an Xmas sale. Now the Outlaw hits the market with a less expensive multichannel and that is good news.

 

[exar333]

Pre/Pro separates IMHO make more and more sense nowadays. With HDMI specs changing regularly, new audio and video features rolling-out all the time, and better and better features out each year it makes a lot of sense.

You can keep your speakers and amp the 'constant' and just plug-in the new pre. That is what I have moved to, and it's been great.

 

[Anubis]

I use my Onkyo 818 for the Pre part, and to power the surrounds

use an Emotiva XPA-3 for the LCR

pro amps for subs

that outlaw pre is a really good deal,

I generally like the Emotiva stuff but their Pres have been riddled with issues and they cost far too much for what they are

 

[gar655]

Exec version, have an Onkyo NR5008 that's come back from another service and it's now getting HDMI sync issues and network functionality is dead and want to start looking at separates.

Long version,

I'm on my second 5008 for the HDMI issue. It recently went back for a replacement board this go around, then a 3rd party repair co did some extra work for whatever reason, now it's getting sporadic HDMI sync issues and some interesting delays in rendering on screen things (eg volume adjustments sometimes lag up to 30 seconds before finally displaying and whatnot). Just today, the mute overlay ended up on the top left of the screen, when it belongs on the bottom right. Second to that, network connectivity is fubared.

Naturally, the 3rd party won't do much with regards to me getting it back to them and the box they sent it back to me in was a POS job, with nothing even close to the right packing material.

That said, I'm looking to expand my gear, initially with a video processor and let the Onkyo still amp things as that's OK for now.

I've never looked into seperates that much, and there seems to be quite a few choices there, so here are some gound rules...

-Not fussed with 4K scaling, but I won't say no.

-Would like to keep it in the realm of £1500/$2200. Don't worry about the exact price as I'll do the conversion and look at the shops on this side of the pond for an equivalent price.

-Size isn't that much of an issue at the moment as I can move things around to slot it in. I would assume it would be relatively low profile.

-Some things I've seen are somewhat modular, so I can upgrade to, say, HDCP 2.2 if it's not currently available.

-Display is a 50" Panny VT20. When 4K OLED is reasonable, that will be the next display.

To that end, I don't know what I don't know, so no idea of other requirements need to be laid out.

So...I'm up for suggestions.

Get the least expensive AVR that has pre-outs and use your 5008 to power your mains, front three or all.

Something like the Denon X4000 which can be had for less than $700 (in the US).

 

[Muadib]

My Onkyo PR-SC885 processor has been rock solid. It's been about 5 years, so I'm getting in the mood to upgrade, but will probably wait until I get a 4K set.

 

[sdifox]

my home theatre is still in boxes

rocking my ancient marantz av9000 outlaw 750 combo

 

[exar333]

I use my Onkyo 818 for the Pre part, and to power the surrounds

use an Emotiva XPA-3 for the LCR

pro amps for subs

that outlaw pre is a really good deal,

I generally like the Emotiva stuff but their Pres have been riddled with issues and they cost far too much for what they are

Same here. I am using 2x XPA-1Ls for my fronts and the Marantz Receiver only powers the center (at the moment). Will be adding the XPA-5 to power middle + surrounds (4) when the wife and I get the new house this year.

I REALLY like Marantz/Denon pre/receiver options. They offer some great features like XT32 Audissey and other features on reasonably-priced options. Make sure to get a good signal processor and plenty of pre-outs (if a receiver) and use your amps. You can get a lower-powered (read: cheaper) receiver and not use the power supply at all, or maybe just for surrounds. You will hear the difference with dedicated amps, and 'good' amps can be had for a decent price. They never become obsolete either.

 

[iRONic]

I use my Onkyo TX-SR805 for the Pre part, and to power the surrounds.

I use a NAD 925THX for the LCR.