Seeking amp help or thoughts, please :-
| Post removed |
PS Audio also makes 5- and 7-channel power amps based on the same gain cell/switching technology of the GCC-250. That doesn't solve your multi-channel preamp problem, but if you like the sound of a GCC-250 driving Kappa 9s, a multi-channel amp of the same technology and abilities will solve that part of it. I can't get onto the PS Audio site right now either, but here's a Stereophile review of a 3-channel version, which also shows what a 7-channel version looks like with the lid off. I know there are some excellent, highly regarded high-powered multi-channel A/V receivers. Call me old-fashioned but I'm still a firm believer of keeping all that transformer vibration and big capacitors on a separate chassis from the delicate digital and low-level analog circuits of the pre/pro part. So the next question would be how fancy and up-to-date a pre/pro would you need? If you get a PS Audio multichannel amp, you need a multi-channel pre/pro. But if you're content with last-gen audio decoding with a 5.1 or 7.1 analog input to accommodate future players, you can get a really good pre/pro for under $1K. For example, Outlaw Audio has marked down their Model 990 Pre-Pro to $699, and I can tell you that that's a good-sounding unit. It also has 7.1 ch analog inputs, so if you later get a Blu-ray player with internal processing (such as the new Panasonic DMP-50), you can play the new uncompressed surround codecs without buying a more current, way more expensive design. |
