Recently Reviewed A/V Processors

A good quality and feature-rich USB DAC is an important device if you plan to use external speakers for your Mac, Windows PC or Linux laptop of desktop computer. Enter the Meridian Explorer USB DAC.

Cary Audio is a well-known name in the high-end audio industry, but fewer people have heard of their direct to consumer brand, Audio Electronics. They showed off four new products at CES 2013.

Cary Audio partnered with Tannoy at CES to show off three new products, the DAC-100, DAC-100t, and DMC-600. Each are targeted at the two-channel enthusiast who has also embraced the digital world.

Bryston had a huge array of products on display at CES this year but of particular interest to us were the new BDP-2, BDA-2, and BP17 because this was the first time they were on display.

Pass Labs introduced their new Xs Preamp at CES yesterday. The Xs Preamp is entirely new and designed to complement the ultimate performance standards of Pass Labs’ Xs-300 and Xs-150 Amplifiers.

Balanced Music Concept (B.M.C.) Audio introduced the PureDAC Digital-to-Analog Converter, with a build-in headphone amplifier. The PureDAC is the first entry in a new PureLine Series of components.

Review: The Emotiva UMC-200 AV preamp/processor offers benchmark performance. For under $600, you get the latest HD audio format support, analog audio path for purists and fast HDMI switching.

As at home in an office as it would be in a two-channel listening room, the Emotiva XDA-2 has just about everything you'd want out of a digital preamp. At $350, it should make a popular X-mas gift.

Marantz is beefing up their lineup with the release of two new flagship products, the AV8801 11.2ch preamp and MM8077 7ch amp.

If you are looking for automatic room correction with tons of user control with a focus on high-quality audio, the $599 Emotiva UMC-200 will be for you.

With a $549 price tag, the Outlaw Audio Model 975 is practically an impulse buy. If the unit works as well as it looks on paper, it could be the entry-level processor for the masses.

Instead of bringing balance to the Force, Emotiva has brought balance to a stereo preamp. With a two year development time, the XSP-1 has everything the discerning audiophile expects in a preamp.

I connected the D1 DAC from AudioEngine and no longer wondered why the clarity and top end of the A5+'s seemed a bit lacking, when I had previously found them to be pretty darn good.

The new Sherbourn PT-7030 7.1 Channel Preamp/Processor targets custom installers with full control, upconversion to HDMI and downcoversion to component video plus a focus on audio and video quality.

Preview: Emotiva XMC-1 AV Processor is state of the art with Ultra HD HDMI capability, Dirac room correction, Dolby TrueHD/DTS HD audio decoding, high end analog preamp and a future upgrade path.

The Mark Levinson No. 52 Reference Dual-Monaural Preamplifier has just about every available technology to ensure an uncorrupted sonic experience.

The Integra DHC-80.3 has just about everything you might want in a processor - 9.2 channels, Audyssey MultEQ XT32, XLR outputs, ISFccc calibration options, DTS Neo:X processing...the list goes on.

The Lexicon MP-20 sports the Sigma Designs VXP GF9452 chipset for 1080p upscaling and will have Lexicon's new QLS 3D processing which adds three height/width channels up front and two in the rear.

Can you get a $2000 processor for just $700? Emotiva is betting you can. The new Emotiva UMC-1 7.1 processor combines some advanced A/V processing into a package that's hard to beat.

The Crestron PSPHD PROCISE Surround Processor is just what it says it is - a surround processor. The price tag is definitely high but that is to be expected with this sort of product.

Marantz has released a solid feature packed product with their new Networking AV7005 A/V Processor. It has top notch audio & video performance and is very reasonably priced.

The Emotiva PMC-1 Media Processor/Controller has seven HDMI 1.4 inputs (with Audio Return Channel) and two outputs, RCA and balanced outputs for 7.2 channels, 7.1 channel analogue inputs, and more.

As we'd expect from Onkyo, they've managed to shoehorn just about everything into their new PR-SC5508 pre/pro. It has THX-Ultra 2 Plus certification, is network-capable, and supports 9.2 channels.

The Maestro M3 AV Processor is the latest offering from AudioControl. This "no-holds-barred" $5999 entry isn't just about connections and looks - it has some impressive technology to back it up.

The Marantz AV7005 Pre/Pro has all of the features and processing power of the SR7005 receiver (sans the amps) plus balanced outputs. At $1500 this appears to be the A/V pre/pro to beat.

It's been almost 5 years since the debut of the PT-7010A pre-processor from Sherbourn Technologies. Now they are back with the PT-7020A, an updated platform that updates the company's CE channel.

Anthem showed the Audio/Video Master 50v preamplifier/home theater processor with a built in tuner and independent source selection for recording.

Pass Laboratories exhibited its high-end XP-10 and XP-20 2-channel preamplifiers which feature Pass Labs signature beveled billet aluminum front panels.