# Used Preamps/Processors worth it?



## yosturm (Apr 10, 2011)

Greetings all,

I have been watching ebay and there seem to be a lot of used preamp, processors, and amps for sale in the $100-$200 range. Most of these items are of reputable companies such as Adcom GTP-350/400/500's, Rotel RSP 1066/1068/1069's, and even a Bob Carver Sunfire Grand Theater Preamp.

My concern is that because these items are old, they will not have HDMI and therefore will not be compatible with future digital items, such as Blu-ray players which only have HDMI out (in which case I would have to use the digital or analog audio out from the TV and that may affect the sound). I am not big into surround sound so most likely I would be using these for stereo sound. 


What do you guys think?


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## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

Hello,
Welcome to HTS. Provided that you are solely interested in 2 Channel, any of these would work well and are a fantastic value. While HDMI will be required for all things Video in the near future, Analog Audio Outputs are permitted under the HDMI Analog Sunset so you would be fine with any of these. You just cannot use them for Video Switching.
Cheers,
JJ


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## yosturm (Apr 10, 2011)

But would that be a waste because then you are relying on the TV's DAC for the analog outputs? 

Or does that just mean that I should not look at stereo Integrated Amps/Preamps since the ones that I have seen only have RCA audio in, and I should focus on surround processors because at least those have digital inputs. I don't know if Blu-ray players will digital audio out on coax or toslink if you are using HDMI?


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## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

yosturm said:


> But would that be a waste because then you are relying on the TV's DAC for the analog outputs?
> 
> Or does that just mean that I should not look at stereo Integrated Amps/Preamps since the ones that I have seen only have RCA audio in, and I should focus on surround processors because at least those have digital inputs. I don't know if Blu-ray players will digital audio out on coax or toslink if you are using HDMI?


Hello,
Some BDP's will allow HDMI for Video only while at the same time permitting Coaxial, Optical, and or RCA to handle Audio. Most actually do this.

A pre HDMI SSP would allow for more flexibility for using Digital Outputs and you will also get Bass Management if using a Subwoofer along with 2 Speakers. The prices for these SSP's have utterly plummeted since HDMI has come along. 

Even pre HDMI 1.3 SSP's can be had for huge discounts. The nice thing here is you can get the new Lossless Codecs from Blu Rays decoded by the BDP and then sent via HDMI to the SSP as PCM with in theory zero loss in performance. If SACD is important, an HDMI 1.2 SSP would be advantageous as the spec allows for SACD over HDMI.

And finally your Source Components would be providing the DAC's even if connected directly to the TV provided you hooked up the components RCA or Digital Connection to the Preamp or SSP.
Cheers,
JJ


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