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Next Gen Prepro update

3K views 8 replies 5 participants last post by  cfraser 
#1 ·
As many of you know, Etonics (SN parent company) discovered while manufacturing Onkyo and Denon AVRs that the 3 audio chip design available at that time compromised audio quality.

So most higher end mfgs decided to hold new models in R&D until better chip designs were available. The Cirrus 49700 chipset is finally in production which means that there should be enough volume for the following to unveil their next generation prepros at CEDIA with immediate shipments to follow:

These companies include:
Arcam
Anthem
Krell

NAD and B&K will be swapping out boards in their T175 & 707 prepros for existing customers.

Sherwood Newcastle P972 & Outlaw (rumoured to be SN clone) will not be using this chip - although the SN R872 will. They will be using 2 two new TI Aureus chips due to the intensive processing power required with Trinnov.

All of the above will be using the new HDMI 1.3 chipset which will eliminate most hardware incompatibilities.
 
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#2 · (Edited)
Add to that list Emotiva with their UMC1 coming June/July and the higher end XMC1 after that sometime. Emo is using the Cirrus 49700 chipset in the UMC and more powerfull one in the XMC, not sure it has been revealed as of yet.

Superb build quailty, great customer service and sound amazing, I am assuming they will anyway as my DMC1 is simply kick a$$ and cost me half of what local dealers wanted for comparable performance.

I'm waiting for the XMC, as a previous generation owner I get 40% off!! So for around $700 bucks shipped I get my next gen pre/pro:D
 
#4 ·
From what I understand, the chipsets used were designed before the introduction of many of the newer codecs. They do not have the architecture and processing power to fully implement all. So certain programming decisions were made to get around the hardware limitations.

Engineers at higher end companies such as Arcam and Krell immediately heard the differences in SQ on their products that were in the R&D stage. As a result they decided not to go ahead with new products until new chipsets were available. Nothing could be worse for their businesses that have new products that produced inferior SQ to their existing products.

Companies who get the bulk of their sales from entry and lower mid quality faced a different decision. SQ is not as critical for them. Since they have a mass merchandise distribution model, retaining shelf space and retailer inventory turns is critical for them.

NAD and B&K have taken a different approach: separate decoding - introduce new models without all the new toys and upgrade units in the field later.
 
#5 ·
Here we are nearing the end of May and I've heard talk that the new chip sets are being made available for manufacturers to test and implement into their product lines. I'm waiting for Outlaw Audio to release a new prepro with this chip set, but they haven't come up with a release date yet.

Emotiva is in the same boat, and they were saying June, but that doesn't seem realistic now.

Denon is releasing the 2809 for July, but it doesn't look like they will be including the new processor for this one.

Once these things come to market, then the inevitable firmware upgrades will come. I'm hoping it won't be as bad as the last season with the 3 chip approach, even Denon had to tweak repeatedly.
 
#7 ·
Two days ago on the Outlaw Audio forum they announced they are dropping Cirrus as a chipset supplier. They announced they are hooking up with TI, just as was related by Shear force. Wow dude, you have some crystal ball! Apparently several other manufacturers are still waiting for Cirrus as well, including Emotiva.

I only hope that the Trinnov technology trickles down to Outlaw as well. It wouldn't compete directly with SN products since they only have receivers I think. Outlaw expects their new pre/pro will come in around the $1400 level, 200 less than current products from Onkyo and sister Integra, the current price leaders for this segment.

Now if they can only bring them to market without need of the obligatory firmware fixes.
 
#8 ·
There have been a number of rumours for a while that the new Outlaw prepro would be a clone of the Sherwood Newcastle P972. Looking at the Outlaw website update, it certainly seems to be confirmed now.

The question is: Will it include Trinnov (and the ability to download new Trinnov profiles from the SN website as they become available and to upload ones own settings to view online)?

If it doesn't, the extra $100 ($1500 vs $1400 usd) for the SN P972 will be worth it.
 
#9 ·
So what pre-pros or AVRs with a decent pre-pro section look good to people?

It is pretty obvious to me that all the major manufacturers are doing an M$ and letting customers do the debugging. There is zero chance that any full-featured pre-pro will work 100%. Doesn't help that source/display manufacturers are playing the same game.

I am tired of release dates getting pushed back over and over. We can guarantee the eventual release day will not be the first day of a properly-working device, but the first day of debugging. So the pre-pro/AVR must be available now, and preferably not just come out.

So I will not even consider a pre-pro from a company like Anthem, way too slow with updates in the days when it was "easy", they haven't a prayer these days. Or the resources. And yes, I do own some Anthem gear, but I am realistic too... Don't want to pay Anthem $$ again in this rapidly changing/unstable arena. Outlaw is slow too. Afraid I'm going to have to go with a biggie who has a market share that makes it worthwhile to do updates in a timely way.

Thanks for any suggestions. If it's an AVR, it would be real nice if it wasn't a cooker with no speakers connected, like some are.
 
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