Hi, i'm hoping some experienced audiophiles will see this post and grace me with their knowledge.
It is frequently stated that an AVR does not sound as good as a straightforward stereo amp. I am using a Denon x4200 and it sounds great to my ears, especially when I apply room tuning, of which only a few stereo machines seem capable.
But, there are 'direct' and 'pure direct' modes, which cut the subwoofer and Audyssey out i.e. does not digitally fiddle with the input signal.
It recently occurred to me to wonder if, when I feed an analog signal into the Denon (e.g from a CD player), whether or not the analog signal is processed all the way through as an analog signal or if it first goes through AD conversion before being converted again into an analog signal for the power amps. In other words, does the 'pure direct' mode stay in the analog domain from input to output. If it does, then I don't get why people say a stereo amp is inherently better than an AVR amp.
It is frequently stated that an AVR does not sound as good as a straightforward stereo amp. I am using a Denon x4200 and it sounds great to my ears, especially when I apply room tuning, of which only a few stereo machines seem capable.
But, there are 'direct' and 'pure direct' modes, which cut the subwoofer and Audyssey out i.e. does not digitally fiddle with the input signal.
It recently occurred to me to wonder if, when I feed an analog signal into the Denon (e.g from a CD player), whether or not the analog signal is processed all the way through as an analog signal or if it first goes through AD conversion before being converted again into an analog signal for the power amps. In other words, does the 'pure direct' mode stay in the analog domain from input to output. If it does, then I don't get why people say a stereo amp is inherently better than an AVR amp.
