Tim,
I have a number of Proceed units, including a PAV/PDSD pair that does surround sound but not lossless. I still use that pair with an Amp 2 in a secondary system.
One solution might be using the analog output of an Oppo 95 or 105 as input to an AVP-6. The Oppo processes lossless codecs, and has excellent analog output. You would take HDMI video from the Oppo directly to your monitor or TV. The 105 has an HDMI input, so if your needs are simple enough, many would argue for taking the output of the 105 directly to your amps, eliminating the processor for sonic purity.
I input analog from a 105 to Cary Cinema 11a inputs set to bypass. HDMI video goes directly to a projector and a monitor. I need a processor for HDMI from a Sony 5400ES and analog from a Parasound JC-3 phono stage. I use Proceed HPA 2 & 3 monsters in the main system. |
Tim,
I am using the PAV/PDSD for 2.1, because location in the living room makes 5.1 impractical.
To retain Proceed quality sound in a modern fully functional processor, I think you need to step up to a Classe SP-800 or Bryston SP-3. I got a great deal on a Cary Cinema 11a, and the Cary sound had received a rave from Michael Fremer. But the Cary digital is buggy. I use the unit mostly as an analog switch with its inputs set to bypass. Only a Sony XA-5400ES connects via HDMI, and that comes with clicks and pop when a disc is started or a track selected. An Oppo 105 and Parasound JC-3 connect to the Cary via analog. The Cary connects to Proceed HPA 2 and 3 amps via XLR.
db |
Tim,
We live in Montecito, a small town adjacent to Santa Barbara, CA.
When I was planning to replace the PAV/PDSD in my main setup, HDMI was most in my thinking. Now I could do without it entirely. The analog of an Oppo 105 into a vintage device that acts as a switch and passes through sound cleanly is all I need. If it weren't for the phono stage, I might go directly from the Oppo to the Proceed HPA 2 & 3 monsters, because the 105 has digital inputs, including HDMI, and is doing all the processing. The Cary does convert RCA to XLR, which for me is a plus because the amps sit between the speakers, distant from the sources.
db |
Tim,
My PAV/PDSD pair has been trouble free for well over a decade. It does not process lossless codecs, but does 5.1 surround with excellent sound and bass management. If you can take HDMI video to your monitor/TV, I'd use that rather than component video.
db |
Tim,
I should have mentioned that the PAV takes balanced or unbalanced analog stereo and passes its output unmolested through the PDSD. The PDSD takes coax or optical digital sources. Output from the PDSD is balanced or unbalanced.
db |
Tim,
A cable that looks rather like a phone line links the two, and they need to be linked to function. If you buy a pair, make sure it comes with that cable. We used our PAV/PDSD for both music and HT audio. I think you would be pleased with the sound quality these units can deliver.
db |
Tim,
The PDSD has analog inputs that take the analog audio from the PAV and pass it through to the amps. Without checking the manual or pulling the PDSD, I don't recall if the cables are balanced or unbalanced. The control cable that connects the two units does just that. I think the menu runs in the PAV as does the volume control. There was a reason MSRP for the pair was about $10K in 1990 dollars. It was a sophisticated design aimed at being upgradeable by adding or swoping cards before Harmon came along. Madrigal provided great support. I once dropped the Amp 3, forgetting how front-heavy they are with the 3 big transformers. Madrigal repaired it and even paid the shipping costs with no charge to me. The HPA 2 and 3 at about 100 pounds are too heavy for me to lift, so I don't risk dropping them.
db |
One of the things I have not tried is connecting the analog outputs of the Oppo 95 or 105 to the pass-through inputs of the PDSD. The 95 is connected to the PAV via XLR in the living room system, so I suppose it would be trivial to connect the unbalanced stereo to the corresponding inputs of the PDSD. If that works, I assume an entire 5.1 connection would work as well. I'll give it a try tomorrow.
The Oppo could process the modern lossless codecs and pass the output through the PDSD. The Parasound JC-3 could connect to the PAV via XLR, the Sony 5400ES via coax or optical digital. IIRC the sound through the PAV/PDSD is at least the equal of that through the Cary Cinema 11a. That would seem to suggest I needn't have bought the Cary, given that I have a spare PAV for the living room if I moved the PAV/PDSD to the main system.
db |
I connected analog stereo output from our Oppo 95 to the LR main input of the
PDSD. The sound is splendid. The volume is controlled by the PAV, so the Oppo
volume can be set to fixed -- initially I had the Oppo volume control turned
down because I thought the PAV volume control might not function in this
configuration. Given that stereo works so well, I assume 5.1 will as well.
Last night I thought about how I might reinstall the PAV/PDSD in the main
system. I could connect the Parasound JC-3 to the XLR input of the PAV, the
Sony XA 5400ES to digital coax or optical inputs of the PDSD, and the Oppo 105
to the 5.1 analog pass-through of the PDSD. The Cary could go into the living
room and connect to the Oppo 95 and DirecTV HD-DVR via HDMI. In the living
room, an Amp 2 drives a pair of KEF 102/2s and the PDSD drives a Velodyne
HGS-10.
db |
There may be a flaw in my plan: If I use the PDSD pass-through for input from the Oppo 105, there may be no way to get analog output from the PAV for the phono stage.
db |
Tim,
The living room system is 2.1, because the arrangement doesn't make surround speakers practical. I connected the Oppo 95 stereo to the LR mains of the 5.1 pass-through of the PDSD, and the sound was splendid. That setup has only the Oppo as a source. But if I migrated the same idea to the media room where there are 3 sources, two disc players and a phono stage, I'd run into the limitation I wrote about in my previous post.
I'll try connecting the Oppo to the analog XLR input of PAV and connecting the output of the PAV to the PDSD, but what I may have liked so much in the previous setup was the direct pass through of the Oppo to the amp. I can go through the PAV or directly to the PDSD pass-through in the living room setup.
db |
I connected the balanced output of an Oppo 95 to the PAV, and set the output of SACD to DSD in the Oppo menu. It sounded bad. Then it occurred to me that the PAV preceded DSD. I reset the SACD output to PCM, and superb sound returned. I suspect DSD would be fine from the Oppo to the PDSD pass-through, but the PAV can do analog bass management and the little KEF 102/2s can use the help of the Velodyne HGS-10 sub in the low end.
db |
