Best pre/pro for under 3K?

If you really intend to use the "pre" functions as well as the "pro" functions, you must put the Bryston SP-1 near the top of your list. It can purchased at discount for about $2800 (contact me for more info). It has separate analog and digital circuits (the only pre/pro I know of where this is true), and is built with Bryston's usual excellence (and 20-year transferrable warranty). If you want to spend a lot less, I'd recommend the Adcom GTP-760. I have recently spent a lot of time listening to this unit, and I was VERY impressed with it. It can be purchased discounted for about $1350 (again, contact me for info). At a price of $1350, the GTP-760 is MUCH better than it has a right to be. There is a review of the GTP-760 by Anthony Cordesman in "The Perfect Vision" (current issue, I think).

I wanted to confirm that the review of the Adcom GTP-760 (by Anthony Cordesman) I mentioned in my last post can be found in Issue 35 of "The Perfect Vision". If you are seriously interested in the 760, you'll want to read the whole article. Cordesman, however, wrote a very positive review. Here's a few excerpted remarks: "Behind its front panel, the 760 is a far better product than its predecessors...It has warmth, depth, and good harmonic integrity. Unlike most of its competition, it is not lean or hard and it does not over-emphasize the upper mid-range....I found all 3 Dolby modes to work well an to sound considerably better than they o with most A/V controllers in the 760's price range ($1800)....Guess what: you don't get $10K sound quality for $1800...However, the 760 did very well even on extremely demanding soundtracks....Low-level detail and ambience was quite good, and there is a good feeling of space with properly set-up speakers. Dynamic contrasts were both exciting and natural, and truly exciting dynamics came through clearly, while many units in this price range soften or compress them a bit...At the same time, there was a nice sense of nuance. Subtler and slower changes in volume were handled well in all five channels...." Cordesman's comments pretty well summarize my own impressions of the 760 -- it's a lot of pre/pro at MSRP, and at its discounted price around $1350 it's a hell of a buy!!