Originally posted by NicolasB
Do you not rate the Bryston SP 1.7 at all? I've only had a few minutes with it, but first impressions were quite favourable.
Quite the opposite. I rate their stuff very highly. Bryston makes some great kit. I have always rated it up there with Tag as one of the greats. Crossover, pre and those dreamy 20 yr amps. AV processors I prefer elsewhere but not by much.
Now the interesting bit, when I first heard Tag amps vs Bryston. I preferred one in bass and treble and the other in the mid. Which way round was irrelevant now. Both were REAL quality however and I pushed these two along with Parasound as being top flight. It is up to other s to make their final choice.
I currently need two additional channels of much better amplication, so I have been doing much listening. I have had some great experiences but when I blind demo Tag vs Bryston I cant easily pick all these differences I though I heard beforehand. Quality wise they are very similar. Now I read all sorts of things on this site where some say brand X is brilliant and miles better than brand Y. I would be VERY careful here and try and get properly set up demos (well matched for level), because frankly there aint big differences with power amps, for many much more basic amp may be just fine like Rotel etc. Top player I would have down as Bryston, Tag and Parasound (there biggie is cool). Then there are pile of great audiophile stuff too numerous to mention.
As I cant pick between them I am having REAL problems deciding!
Originally posted by NicolasB
Was that a fair summary, then?
Would be interested in reading an updated version.
The old summary would be fine, it is still on the web site, I just couldnt find it. (I blame Velodyne owners).
Re an update, as you put it so nicely.
Lexicon MC1 Just the same, second hand prices crashed, look to £1800. DD /DTS is great (more jitter resistant) but feed a PCM signal and it is left well behind the competition (the screen I think). Again jitter.
568 to 568.2. A nice jump and is connected digitally by the meridain digital link to the dvda player. Class bit of kit, still struggle with the interface but I suspect that is just me. Trifield is as brilliant as ever and the more I listen the more I prefer it over Lexicon L7. It is my favoutirite of all these modes, though several are good now. Sound wise this really does little wrong but is above you budget I think. If you think long tern the 568 can be upgraded to 568.2 and the DVDA can be added later that is why I am mentioning it. Might need the 562 controller as well depending on your input number.
Tag. The new DACs are MUCH better but any old AV32R is upgradable for the stellar performance. 5.1 bypass is only really needed for DVDA and SACD. You will shortly have the upgrade option of the dual super SHARC processors. Room Eq, THX2, Dolby Headphone, bass management stuff (the serious quality toys from the AV192) would then also be available to you but you can start with the cheap basic unit.
The new ARCAM is a lovely piece of kit. It sounds a match for a Tag AV32 BP192 in just about every department, has more facilities. I doubt it will be as well support as Tag (no AV192R) but that is for the REAL enthusiast only. It has many things included but I am still interested how they will add DTS 24/96 without major mods to the circuit board.
I am not a fan of the Naim new processor, it sounds very processor to me and is a schizophrenic
Nightmare, especially for Naim! Weird but sane in comparison with AV1!
The baby tag is lovely and is actually much more upgradable than you think. It does allow shifting of the cost if buying new somewhat but in the end Arcam is probably better value.
Technical engineering wise, Tag is king for me. The best value is ARCAM.
Where the Tag (and Meridian) leave the Arcam behind is when you use the matching DVD player and have the jitter advantages. Arcam DVD feeding Tag / Arcam. Even contest. Tag DVD player feeding Arcam / Tag processors is an easy Tag win. (sync link advantage). Meridian in a similar position, perhaps even better now with DVDA
What wold I recommend for you. The Arcam new kit if you can afford it new, else welcome to the Tag owners club!
Does it help, to be honest you will enjoy any of these, they are all CLASS.