Best Pre-Pro especially considering 2 channel


analog sound: I'm thinking of the Krell Showcase, B&K Ref50, Sunfire Theater Grand III and if they are worth it the Krell HTS 7.1 or new Lexicon MC-8. I feel any of them would be excellent with HT but my concern is with high end sounding 2 channel analog. Is there a big difference between the Krell HTS and showcases analog section? Any comments and suggestions are appreciated and welcome.
Thank you.
paulslnyc
I've owned the Soundstage, Sunfire TGII, Bryston SP-1, and Anthem AVM-20, which were all terrific sounding two-channel units in their own ways and ranked in the order listed. But the best sounding two channel I ever got out of a pre/pro was with the EAD Ovation Plus. It doesn't feature analog bypass or component video switching, but I thought I'd give it a nod anyway...

Good luck in your search...

P.S. You might want to check out the Cary Audio pre/pros as well...
i don't know what everyone else is talking about. i've got the ref 50 and i become more pleased each day that i purchased it!
No offense, but who buys bryston preamps these days?

A good number of the recording studios that record, engineer, and ultimately market the music that you and I buy.

And a few guys who like the sound and appreciate the warranty.
Who buys Bryston - Mi Casa Studios in LA and they r responsible for New Line Cinema Platinum DVD releases, like Lord Of The Rings, James Bond Warner Bro DVD special Edition ,Chicago, Terminator3,Hulk etc.
Response to Keithr:

One of the problems with the high-end audio hobby, as I see it, is that we tend to pass along less-than-accurate comments that often have no objective or first-hand basis. Instead, we merely assert our own opinions or biases as fact.

In the interest of providing factual, useful information to our Audiogon readers, your comment about "who buys Bryston preamps?" needs to be addressed. Therefore, it may be helpful to our members and readers to note the following points:

A number of major recording stars with in-home studios use Bryston equipment, as do many of the major studios. Here is a partial list:
Sony Mastering Studios (New York)
Abbey Road Studios
BBC Radio and BBC TV
Capitol Records (LA, Calif)
Chesky Records
Dolby Europe
Herbie Hancock
James Newton Howard
Stevie Wonder
Ray Charles
Master Mix, Nashville, TN
Peter Gabriel
Polygram Studios (New York)
IMAX Theaters (worldwide)
A more complete list can be found on the following Bryston web page: http://www.bryston.ca/newsletters/42_files/vol4is2.html

Further, a substantial majority of the hit films of the past several years have been recorded and/or mastered using Bryston equipment. (The various Bryston newsletters -- see their Web site at www.bryston.ca -- have a laundry list of these films.)

As Videohydra notes, Mi Casa Studios has recently chosen the Bryston SP-1.7 for use in mixing the DVD soundtracks for major films (see Bryston's current newsletter for more info: http://www.bryston.ca/newsletters/73_files/vol7is3.html).

One of the major audio equipment reviewers for TAS, Robert E. Greene, also owns a Bryston BP25 as his long-term reference preamp.

Last point, directed to the originator of this post: Bryston now offers an excellent, outboard video switching unit. In designing the SP-1 and the current SP-1.7, Bryston deliberately chose NOT to offer on-board video switching due to its negative effect on the audio frequencies. Their new video switching unit adds that capability.

So, in short, a LOT of people and professional recording studios use Bryston equipment. Infact, I know of no other high-end audio manufacturer whose products are more widely used or accepted than Bryston's.