What processor competes with best preamp?

I second the PRIMARE P30. Got one... love it. I'm all LINN activ except for the Primare. Bypass mode really does the trick. Not a lot of fancy stuff, just good clean sound. Check Simuko.com.

Stehno,I was curious.Why do you use a pre/pro with a 2-channel amp? My guess is so you can play DVD's but I was curious why you don't want center channel or surrounds.Thanks,Sherod

About 2 years ago, I was thinking about going down the home theater path. I stumbled across the Primare P30 and couldn't believe it's sonic qualities with my 2-channel system. I was never that impressed with home theater anyway and I was immensely impressed with my 2-channel. Yes I do have a Sony DVP s9000es for the occassional movie, but it's still 2-channel.

As for not wanting surrounds and and center ch? I've heard some expensive surround systems over $50k and was never impressed with their sound. Not to mention, that purchasing more speakers, cables, and amplifiers would not be cost-effective to me. Not to mention having my room filled with this eyesore.

Bottom line is that I am a firm believer that if you aquire the appropriate 2-channel system and set it up properly, it will sound absolutely wonderful with movies also. It may not give you the complete surround sound some dream of, but if the movies is that good and your 2-channel system is that good, you'll never miss the other channels anyway because your senses are probably already consumed.

IMO -John

That makes sense to me.I feel much the same way.Thanks for the input.Sherod

Here Here!

Stereo Theater RULES!

Good thing my dvd player has Dolby Digital 2.1 and 3.1.

At time, I split the center pre-out from my dvd player into the left+right inputs on my TV and use it as center speaker.

But, full range stereo sounds just fine to my ears even in theater applications. It's all about speaker placement.