[Alphonse]

I have been looking for a used sp1.7 or sp2.0 processor. What improvements were made from 1.7 to 2.0? Will the sp1.7 do stereo and multichannel analogue bypass as good as the sp2.0 or were there improvements in both the digital and analogue section in the sp2.0?

Will either one work better if you want to do a 3.0 channel setup or 3.1 to start and possibly add rear surround later?

Thanks,  Al 

[Phil A]

I believe all the differences were on the digital side with better processing.  No differences in 2-channel or multi-channel bypass

[Phil A]

If you do a search, you can verify there are no differences in bypass mode (James had posted when the SP2 came out).  There probably are not differences in the interface.  The SP2 got a new LED display that was a bit easier to read.

[James Tanner]

Yes the main difference in the SP2 from the SP1.7 is the processor - it is about 7 times more powerful.

james

[Alphonse]

OK, thanks. My interpretation of that is if you use it in bypass mode and let your blu ray player decode the HD audio codecs then there is no advantage to getting the SP2. I have a Pioneer 09FD blu ray player which by design has a beefed up analogue output section and currently does sound great in stereo thru my BP6 preamp.
I would like to venture into multi channel Without spending major $s. The SP1.7s have much lower asking prices.

But, I do have an Apple TV3 which I would connect optical to SP and use the digital section. Would the extra processing power of SP2 have value here?

Al

[Phil A]

OK, thanks. My interpretation of that is if you use it in bypass mode and let your blu ray player decode the HD audio codecs then there is no advantage to getting the SP2. I have a Pioneer 09FD blu ray player which by design has a beefed up analogue output section and currently does sound great in stereo thru my BP6 preamp.
I would like to venture into multi channel Without spending major $s. The SP1.7s have much lower asking prices.

But, I do have an Apple TV3 which I would connect optical to SP and use the digital section. Would the extra processing power of SP2 have value here?

Al

When I had the SP1.7, I used the analog outs with a Blu-Ray player and it sounded great.  The SP1.7 is not a current model so it will sell for less.  I've not directly compared the two, but I remember James posting that there was not a night and day difference on movies and that it (SP2) had bit better sense of envelopment.  I am not sure if there was a change in the DAC section (don't believe so but could be wrong), and if not, I doubt there would be differences in two channel digital.

[Alphonse]

Thanks, I would love to get an SP3 and a 6BSST squared for LCR and use my 2 PP300 mono blocks for the rear channels, but damn it, the $s add up fast.

In addition to a few blu ray music discs, I have about 25 DVD-Audio discs and 25 SACDs that are sitting idle right now. Trying to justify or rationalize going multi channel I guess.

Al