Sorry to be the lone hi-fi heretic yet again, buuuuuttt.....

I have no problem with the way the AVM-20 handles a SACD/DVD-A signal. If you want an analog bypass with volume control, you can have it. (And when they say bypass, they mean bypass; no crossovers or anything in the signal path.) If you want to do stuff to the signal, it is easier to do those things in the digital domain. The AVM-20 allows you to do that too.

It's a tough choice for most people because each solution has compromises. You just have to figure out which compromise you're comfortable with (that is, until we get a hi-res digital interface).

Personally, I prefer to digitize the signal. Yes, I know that another A/D & D/A step will cause a slight loss of resolution but, to me, the degredation is negligible. I mean we're talking about a very robust signal going through 96/24 ADCs and DACs; it's not like you end up with muffled sound from this extra step.

The advantages, however, are anything but negligible. Once in the digital domain, I can do much more than just bass management. If I feel the need, I can time align my speakers, apply post-processing, DSP modes, tone controls, etc. And even if you just do time alignment and bass management, keep in mind that digital bass management almost always allows more flexibility than analog bass management (especially for those of you who don't use an 80Hz crossover, like me).

These features allow me to have a much more coherent presentation compared to analog bypass. I've tried it both ways and I've found that these advantages outweigh the slight resolution loss the signal may suffer. As always, YMMV.

Best,
Sanjay