Worth upgrading.....

gpender

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Hello chaps some advice if you would..... :)

I've been away for a little while and currently have been back on the forums contemplating a change around/upgrade....

My workhorse for the last 2.5 years has been a AV32r with 7.1 and DAB. For what it's worth this gets plumbed into a set of active Genelec monitors.....this has been perfect for me....

Now I like the idea of the DP. I'm not sure I like the idea of the TMREQ, but none the less, I like the results people have been getting with this feature. So given this, should I be making these upgrades or given that I'm not too far down the TAG path, might it be time to turn around and look at something completley different?

What sort of cost would I incur doing this upgrade and do you think since the buyout I might be throwing good money after bad?

Answers and opinions welcomed.

Cheers
Greg
 
What other processor even close to the price of a DP upgrade can you get that has the same capabilities? :) Answer: none :smashin: Proper parametric EQ is the most underestimated feature in the HC market and why? Because practically nobody else save three others have it :D
 
I'd agree with Thunder in all respects.....the single biggest digital upgrade I've made to my system in yrs was the AV32R/DP,having had an AV32R/Sp prior to that.

The ability to tailor the system to an individual room,and to get rid of most of the nasties relating to room interactions,has made it possible to listen to,and enjoy music in a room where it was OK,but nothing special before.

Highly recommended,if you can find one.
 
The upgrade is about £1600 quid.. + £200 if your proc is more than 18 months old.. call the tag helpdesk and they can email you the pricelist.

But theres only 90 days warranty on the new bits which is what put me off..

Matt
 
Matt Horne said:
The upgrade is about £1600 quid.. + £200 if your proc is more than 18 months old.. call the tag helpdesk and they can email you the pricelist.

But theres only 90 days warranty on the new bits which is what put me off..

Matt

How much! :eek:

That's not far off what I paid for the unit in the first place...except then I got 2 years warranty not 90 days......

Are the upgrades and prices detailed anywhere else other than on the receptionist's desk...I can't see them anymore since the websites have changed around......

Also what exactly does the second processor give me? I know you obviously need a DP unit to get TMREQ going and the benefits of that are self explanatory...but what other advantages does a second processor give me?
 
Price I was looking at was for the sp 96 5.1 to dp..not sure if the dacs made much difference...sorry the spreadsheet of prices I have is at work...
 
What else do you get with the second processor?
The later software that runs on them needs an additional licence for Pro Logic IIx which has better algorithms I’m told. It sounds better, even on a 5.1 system, so the licence was a good spend. I suspect the second Sharc might explain why music sounds more alive. Personally, I’d recommend that you wait until a DP comes up for sale, check its history and buy that instead.

90 day warranty!! If it’s true, its just more evidence that Audiolab is either not intending to target the high end market or they don’t understand that market – if evidence is needed. Mutter...
 
So flog the SP and buy a DP.......

I'm even more confused now............I just can't see enough tangible benefits from the DP to pay the upgrade costs...

There must be people that have recently done this upgrade and are now wondering why they did, or convinced is was the best move they've made. I'd like to hear from them :)
 
the 90 day thing was the same when Tag was here.. sure I asked about this when I first got my sp :)

Cheers

Matt
 
O.k so the more I think about this, the more I'm thinking I should get rid of it....

So what do we think a 2.5 year old, silver AV32r 7.1, with DAB worth?....

Cheers
 
Matt Horne said:
the 90 day thing was the same when Tag was here.. sure I asked about this when I first got my sp :)
But in the TAG days you could always reach someone. In a lot of cases, you coulld reach someone like Udo and get help and all sorts of crazy hours. Is Audiolab offering a 9-5 Mon-Fri yet?

The goods old days were not quite as bad as you remember them, Matt. On 11/11/02, Udo wrote and I quote"
warranty:
6 month Upgrade Warranty: FOC

Optional extended back-to-factort warranty:

AV32R less than 2 years:
1 year: 195
2 years: 345

AV32R more than 2 years:
1 year: 295
2 years: 595"

Sure, its extortionate compared to the 20 year warranty that comes as standard from Bryston but it was available and it brought you support from people who really did not their job and their product.
 
Ok.... but I've only had my tag a year or so :)..

When I rang the helpdesk last week it was answered very quickly and I had the price list within 10 mins via email.. no complaints from me on that call...

I just think its harsh to expect you to pay 2k and get such a limited warranty for such a complex product.. but then again.. can u buy DP's new now.. otherwise with the secondhand market theres no warranty...

Bryston is a exception to the warranty rule but then again the uk retail for their kit is hugely overpriced...
 
I never had the 5.1 192-BP done as I never got into DVD-A or SACD.....
 
ok so its a basic SP 96 dacs but with the dab module ?.

Well the normal SP's seem to go for between 5-600ish and the DAB was a 800 option I believe.. but it would come down to how important DAB was to a buyer.

If you are going to try and buy a DP I'm not sure that you would safe any money over upgrading your own machine.

Not sure what the going rate for a DP is.. but I doubt it would be less than 2K, they are still very sought after..

Matt
 
Greg

also going through this at the moment with my Tag and my Genelecs....

£1600 DP upgrade
£850 for DAC and bypass upgrade as well so 'my' upgrade would be thick end of £2.5k for the upgrade......

sent IAG an email last sunday asking for prices and they haven't bothered answering yet, same old IAG...:(

as the Tag is worth silly money now, £2.5k doesn't look so bad but the warranty thing worries me especially after recent service issues. None too impressed with them not answering either....
 
Tag now answered, arrived late friday night. LD AC3 mod now no longer :( Anyone have one spare?
 
Thought i would add something. Apart from the pristine DD/DTS decoding/replay abilities of the 32DP which for my money i really did/do prefer to the Arcam and Lex in the 3-4K bracket plain and simple, it has been an absolute joy and star performer for the simple reason: I have moved my kit 3 times (or 3 different rooms, soon to be 4 or 5) and every time TMREQ has just done it's job quietly and elegantly for every room. I now have a reasonable understanding of how my kit actually sounds on it's own merits with many of the common room influences greatly reduced. These influences can vary greatly from room to room.
It has been a joy to own and worked flawlessly to my expectations.
For me, it not having any optional switching of hdmi is not nearly a big enough problem for me to consider selling.

Steven
 
I think at this point.....though I'm sure the upgrade is "worth the money", I really can't spend 2.5K on something that only gives me a 90 day warranty!....

So personaly I'm going to carry on with my SP, give it another 8 months or so, and then spend big on an upgrade....sure it will be more than 2.5K and sure it might only be "as good as" the DP, but at least I'll have peace of mind and free from all this IAG nonsence, which just seems to be getting worse.....
 
Absolutely.
My example was only relevant to my own situation. At this stage in the game were i still using an SP then i too would shudder at a 90 day warranty on a 2k+ investment.
 

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