I have owned the ACT-3 for a year and a half and I feel that it is the best bargain in pre-pro's for the person that is making the jump to seperates from a receiver. You need to make sure you are getting the ABM model because the noise floor is lowered and threre is no buzzing. It all had to do with a ground, apparently. The ABM feature is really nice. 2-channel is ok, but I feel like I would be getting a better presentation with a good Conrad-johnson or other nice tube preamp. The remote is only useful for the Prepro itself because not a single one of my components worked on it. I bought a $60 sony unit and never looked back. I have considered the upgrade to 7.1 and new DAC's for $950 but the way I look at it, I can pick up a California audio labs ssp-2500 pre-pro for about the same price overall. I am confident that the CAL would stomp on the Acurus. The DAC's in the ACT-3 are very good. A little bright on top, but very dynamic. The transport makes a huge difference as I can attest to. When I switched to a cheap NAD from my Yammie DVD as the transport I was floored by how much better the NAD was. The NAD's DAC's are a little soft, but match my NHT 2.5i's brightness a little better. I am now looking for a good tube CD player. All of this high(well, mid) end stuff is a delicate balancing act. I have heard cheap systems that sound better than much more expensive systems because of good component matching. The Acurus is a great way to get into the high-end and know you are getting a great product. I bought the Acurus 200X5 and promptly sold it. I now use a Citation 7.1 for the fronts and a little Adcom for the rears. The Citation is the ABSOLUTE best deal in low priced amps. Just my 2 cents - Tom
Review: Acurus ACT-3 Surround Pre
Category: Preamps
Ok here are the facts. The Acurus ACT-3 has had mixed reviews. Look out on the net and you will hear all kinds of good and bad. I took a chance on this unit used because of the unbelievable deal Modial has right now with their upgrade program. Let me just say, even without the upgrade this unit is great. I love the simplicity of this unit. It is easy to set up, straight forward to use and a real upgrade it sound from my Yamaha rv793 receiver. I have had this unit for a month now and I have no problem with hums or high sound floor. I payed about 400 for this unit, if you factor in the $950 cost to upgrade to a 7 channel configuration it still beats everything else hands down. I mean try to find a 7 channel pre/pro with the upgraded dac and other features offered in the upgrade for only $1350.
if your looking for a good quality pre/pro that can do stereo sound really really good(the upgrade adds a two channel audio pass through that allows you to use the unit as a simple pre amp for audio) this unit is the best deal. If your looking for something with all the bells and wistles that add no real value then I would pass on this unit.
Modial passed on the onscreen display because it effects the video image, they passed on having 500 different DSP modes because, well DSP is crap. The units look is clean, the sound is clean, and the price and upgradability should make this unit a no brainer.
Associated gear
B&k av5000
B&W 6 series 3 speakers
rbh sub
Similar products
B&K reference 30
Ok here are the facts. The Acurus ACT-3 has had mixed reviews. Look out on the net and you will hear all kinds of good and bad. I took a chance on this unit used because of the unbelievable deal Modial has right now with their upgrade program. Let me just say, even without the upgrade this unit is great. I love the simplicity of this unit. It is easy to set up, straight forward to use and a real upgrade it sound from my Yamaha rv793 receiver. I have had this unit for a month now and I have no problem with hums or high sound floor. I payed about 400 for this unit, if you factor in the $950 cost to upgrade to a 7 channel configuration it still beats everything else hands down. I mean try to find a 7 channel pre/pro with the upgraded dac and other features offered in the upgrade for only $1350.
if your looking for a good quality pre/pro that can do stereo sound really really good(the upgrade adds a two channel audio pass through that allows you to use the unit as a simple pre amp for audio) this unit is the best deal. If your looking for something with all the bells and wistles that add no real value then I would pass on this unit.
Modial passed on the onscreen display because it effects the video image, they passed on having 500 different DSP modes because, well DSP is crap. The units look is clean, the sound is clean, and the price and upgradability should make this unit a no brainer.
Associated gear
B&k av5000
B&W 6 series 3 speakers
rbh sub
Similar products
B&K reference 30