Dear Wayne,
Let's see if I can make this concise. Two years ago I bought the Panny XR-45 with the intention of having it modified by you. Then I got distracted by a heart attack. Now, fully recovered I am glad to say, I still have the Panny and the need for mods. I should also mention that though I survived, my sole-proprietorship did not and, consequently, I am on a much tighter budget than was the case two years ago. Regardless, the $700ish mod(s) you then offered are something I can manage. However, I don't know if you still offer them, so that is question number one. Question two is, do I still want them? The reason I ask is that I recall from the several long threads then on AudioCircle that you mentioned something to the effect that as far as Multi-channel reproduction goes, the Panny was good for 5.1 reproduction of DVD soundtracks, but was ill-suited for multi-channel SACD reproduction. (This was/is due to the fact that the SACD output is only available as an analog signal -- though I have the impression that this may soon no longer be the case.) I find it "convenient" that the Panny allows for home theatre playback of DVDs, but audio quality -- within a budget -- is my first concern. I had thought that the Panny would allow me to have my cake and eat it too, meaning that with your mods I could enjoy quality stereo playback and get the HT capability as a fringe benefit. Now the issue is that I have decided that I want the ability to have multi-channel SACD playback. I listen primarily to orchestral music and SACD multi-channel playback seems very well suited for this.
So, do I still want to continue with the XR-45, or go an entirely different route? I need to draw on your expertise, Wayne, to figure this out. I have only been "shopping" for the past week, and remember, I have been out of the loop for almost two years due to my "medical distractions." What I have so far considered, in terms of replacing the Panny but still staying in the realm of receivers so as to keep within by budget, are the Denon AVR 3805 ($1200) or the Arcam DiVA AVR 300 ($2000, or $1600 in B stock). Both these receivers take me back to analog amplification. This really is not the direction I want to go. I'd much prefer to keep the entire audio process in the digital realm, as is the case with the XR-45. Can this even be done? Will the XR-45, with your mods (if still available), allow me to go where I want to? I suspect the answer would be 'yes,' but only if I did not want multi-channel SACD playback. Then, other than the two named receivers, are there other routes you could suggest to me, preferably routes that would allow the signal path to remain fully digital, thus avoiding signal conversions both to and from analog? I should note that I have a passing familiarity with the Nuforce Reference 8 monoblocs. It certainly seems to me that these would do the trick, but 5 of them @ $800 ea., not to mention a pre/pro, is not within my means. My speakers are MTM configured two-ways using ScanSpeak 8545 drivers resulting in a 4 ohm load and a sensitivity of 86 dBs. These speakers require some power to perform.
Thanks for you attention, Wayne. FWIW, in that I am trolling for opinions, input from others besides Wayne is welcome and invited.
