Quality Pre/pro? aka Parasound C2 vs...

Trunkmonkee

I'm looking at primarily the audio quality. I want optical i/o, 7.1, and at least 5.1 multi-in, but I don't care about hdmi. I prefer used, because it's cheaper (e.g. I saw a Parasound C1 ($6000) go for $600). So old models are OK. What kind of contenders do you think I should consider? And which do you think is better?

So far, I've got...
Parasound C2
Anthem AVM 20
Rotel 1098

Any thoughts?

dafirst

haven't tried Anthem nor the Rotel 1098 before. I had the 1068 and Parasound outshines it in all ways. I read lots about the Anthem which is very "tweakable" but doesn't perform. I recently bought a Lexicon MC12 and I'm returning it to get the Parasound I once let go or try to get hold of Classe. Anyway I believe many inputs will be poured and then you can make a choice. Good luck

littlewoodboats

I believe @gp4jesus had the Rotel you mention and felt his Outlaw Audio beat it for sq. Maybe he will comment

Emlyn

I had a Parasound C2 pre-pro. While a great sounding unit for analog audio sound, for movies it falls way short of a high quality recent model receiver that effectively deploys room correction in auto setup. Given the current pricing though, I would recommend a used C2 for a budget 2 channel analog system that does home theater as a secondary duty. The C2 was a big step up from a Rotel 1068 I had for a while, but it should have been. If I remember right, the MSRP on the C2 was initially $4K.

I would also recommend taking a look at used Marantz pre-pros that handle HDMI and do some room correction in auto setup. A Marantz unit I had was better in every way than the C2. I eventually switched over to Pioneer Elite receivers in a system that is solely for home theater.