Which processor?

Posted by: Dazren on 28 September 2007

I am looking to start building an AV system around my current two-channel naim system. I have decided on power amps (V145 for centre and 250 for rears) and speakers (Wilson Benesch) but am undecided on the processor. The obvious choice would be an AV2 but my only concern is that it does not support the new hi-def formats (e.g., DTS HD Master Audio, DTS High Res Audio, Dolby Digital Plus and Dolby TrueHD) nor THX formats. I know that the AV2's software is fully upgradeable but does anybody know if it can be upgraded in the future to accept the new hi-def formats and others that might arise?

I presume that a new AV3 would support the newer hi-def formats and perhaps be upgradeable with power supplies too which would be perfect. I am leaning towards just getting an AV2 (as I hear that most Blue Ray/HD-DVD players will be able to decode hi-def audio and output via 5.1 analogue) and then later upgrade to AV3 if one is launched.

I would be very interested to hear any ideas/thoughts/recommendations/experiences that anyone might have.

Thanks,
Dazren
Posted on: 09 October 2007 by tonym
Unless you're an expert in such things, (in which case you probably already have a dedicated processor) I strongly recommend that you buy from an experienced dealer. Sure, you could probably get things up & running but IMO even at best you'll just not achieve the potential of which the device is capable.
Posted on: 09 October 2007 by JonR
OK thanks for the info, guys.
Posted on: 09 October 2007 by {OdS}
tonym: I wouldn't call me an av expert, but I like to try to sort things out myself, with the help of a good old manual Winker Besides, the closest reseller to my home is a few hundreds miles away in Germany... But I'll agree with you: nothing beats the experience and a few good advices.
Posted on: 14 October 2007 by General Skanky
Tony, how's the 139?
Posted on: 15 October 2007 by tonym
quote:
Originally posted by General Skanky:
Tony, how's the 139?


'tis a lovely bit of kit, probably great as a stand-alone player, but the difference between it and my Oppo/Lumagen in terms of picture quality isn't discernible.

I'm sure its ability with CD replay is pretty good (never tried to be honest!) but it isn't going to be as good as my 555. It's packed with some very sophisticated video processing and upscaling, but I don't need that either.

I've more or less decided to either go for Blu-Ray, maybe HD DVD, or just wait & see what happens! (i.e., undecided!)

If you'd like a demo, my E-mail's on my profile!
Posted on: 15 October 2007 by {OdS}
tonym,

In case you decide to go HD and need to throw your HDQ away, let me know Winker

I'd gladly come for a demo. You only live in 652 miles from my home, or 11hrs and 10 minutes from my home, according to Google. Which is not SO far!
Posted on: 15 October 2007 by tonym
Bad news OdS! The Lumagen is happy to process HD video too! Razz

You can pop in anytime - there's a big field out the back where you can land your helicopter...
Posted on: 15 October 2007 by {OdS}
Yes right, I thought a Lumagen would be a perfect choice to downscale 1080p to 720p on my plasma screen. Sadly, the HDP (which I'd choose) doesn't support 1080p/50-60 in. Only the Radiance can do that, but at quite a price! So, I'm still stuck at the same point: cheap HD player with limited upsacling ability? Pricy DVD player with good upscaling capacities? External scaler, sadly without support for 1080p? Or simply keep my good old system as it is and buy tons of cheap DVDs with the money I didn't spend on an upgrade??!

Good point about the field. I won't use the Falcon this time I guess, then.