Hello Zimm, there are draw backs for the Mark Levinson at 35000 bucks. No HDMI v1.3 only v1.1, but i still would love that prepro just for the audio. but i need the 35,000 dollars for disney world next year with the kids...
Anthem is supposed to release the D2v2 with the upgrade from HDMI v1.1 to 1.3 but it's not available yet.
as for the nad it doesn't offer enough for 3000.00. just the fact that it only has 2 hdmi in and one out...makes it over priced and i heard it didn't have dolbyTrueHD nor DTS HD MA..so that one is out.
Sorry, forgot the cute little smiley face next to that Levinson. Come on, $35K should not stop a man from getting the sound he needs! Actually, the Levinson and the NAD bring me to my real point, IMHO, it is not a good time to buy a prepro in your price range. To be clear, this is only my opinion. The HDMI 1.3, Dolby HT, and video processing swing has put many of the trusted mfg a step behind. I get the impression they are holding back waiting to see if demand requires that they pay for licenses and development of all these new products, every year.
Your best bets, to me, are the pre-pros from the mass market guys, like Denon, Onkyo, Integra, etc., that have the economies of scale to add all the toys, but still make a reliable product. My problem with those products is the price seems way out of whack in comparison to the their AVRs. That is why so many people are waiting for the Emotiva and Outlaw prepros. Otherwise, Denons and Integra, etc, my suggestion.
