Originally Posted By: bobm
Originally Posted By: renov8r

I do not like or trust pretty much any mainstream AV reciever these days. Most have way too little sheilding, way too optimistic a power rating, fair too little attention to the basics. Low quality components that literally leak signal and have poor physical and thermal stability.

Interesting, I have searched for Magazine reviews that could back up a claim like this for years in either Sound & Vision or Home Theater lab results. I am not an expert at interpreting the results but I see similar readings (most outstanding according to the review techs) in most AVR’s and Pre/Pro at all price levels.

I recently replaced my Outlaw 950 with a Yamaha RX-A700 (cheap AVR) and I don’t think I am missing anything. In addition, I cannot tell the difference between the internal amp in the AVR vs my external Outlaw amp when using the A700 pre-outs. In fact my OmniMic cannot tell the difference either when recording frequency response. Seems like the technology today is darn good at all levels, at least to my ears and frequently published lab reviews. I am sure there are subtle differences in a properly tuned system and room but I don’t think I could hear them.

Bob

I'm guessing same type of amplifier? Have you tried andy of the new digital amps or the B&O ICE amps? I haven't had the chance to play with the digital, but I do have a d-sonic ICE amp and I can definitely tell the difference between that and my GFA-7707. Perhaps some A/B amps have reached their peak in performance at all levels.

I think my next DIY project, after I finish the 2 I'm currently working on, will be to build a class d amp with a switching power supply. I've read great things about them, but not sure if they're for me. I