Good Processor

I drink seldom alcohol by the way. Here the differences between Pro and XT32

- sound of Pro is a lot more natural
- low freq are more tight, go deeper and are more defined.
- instruments and voices are better focussed and more 3d.
- there is more depth, you can hear more decay of recordings.
- they way we measure we can make the stage wider and deeper. There are recordings were I did hear new instruments. because I made the stage wider. I even did not hear these instruments with my Pass Labs XP-20.

We did a Pro measurement last Thursday. Before the measurement we listen to some cd's. After the measurement we listened to the same music again. Audyssey Volume and EQ do a lot in resolution. We measure at a different height and different place what Audyssey says. This is superior to the results Audyssey normally can get. We will never say how we measure. Onkyo wants to arrange a meeting for me witht the people of Audyssey. I never will share this, I am not stuppid! In a few weeks I wil give a presentation with XT32 and Audyssey Pro for Onkyo. The end results with pro is superior. Clients have such a big smile on there faces after the measurments. I did test a lot at many different ways of doing measurements. I am a perfectionist. Good it never good enough. I am only interested in the best. I want to invite Pass Labs to bring in a XP-20 ( which I owned for 2 years) and compare it with Onkyo PR-SC5509 with my pro measurement. I use a Pass Labs X250.5 ( this year I wil update to 600.5 or XA100.5 again) The results in stereo are better. Stage is wider and deeper compared to XP-20. individual focus is a lot better. 2nd and 3th voices are more clear compared to what I had with the XP-20. I have email contact about this with Pass labs.

"Audyssey Volume and EQ do a lot in resolution."

So, you are speaking of SUBJECTIVE resolution. That was not clear from your original post and, especially with regard to DV and DEQ, quite debatable.

Kr4,

I use analog from an Oppo 105 and Sony 5400ES to a Cary 11a. The inputs of the 11a are set to bypass. A DirecTV HD-DVR uses the HDMI port of the Oppo, a Mac Mini the asynchronous USB port. Video from the Oppo goes directly to a projector.

I've been reading the reviews of the Parasound Halo P7, and it seems a perfect match for my setup. It also has a phono stage for my Ortofon SME 30H. The preamp would output to Proceed HPA 2 and 3 amps and a Velodyne SMS-1 via balanced lines,

Does replacing the Cary 11a with a Halo P7 seem as though it is unlikely to result in sonic degradation? The system is used for both music and HT.

db

It is just about what I can hear. Wenn voices and instruments are better focussed and more separated it is more easy to follow. Let's go back to the XP-20. What it does compared to less expensive pre-amps is making a bigger and wider stage. This let you hear better separation of instruments and voices. The biggest flaw I encounterd with Audyssey is the loss of dynamics. So I wanted to see how I can limited this flaw. Wenn you can measure more dynamics you will win in quality. Better sound, beter focus and better separation. This has nothing to do with the EQ and Volume of Audyssey. It is just about collecting more information. Like Audyssey pro gives you more information compared to XT32. You hear the improvement easilly. Maybe it is not perfect, nothing is perfect. Either are we! I spoke a few weeks ago with the people of Trinnov. On paper it goes further than Audyssey Pro. I need to hear it with good stuff before I know what it is capable of. I hope to hear it in Munic next month.