My Harman-Kardon 7550HD died on my, so I picked up a Denon AVR 4308CI instead. _x000D_
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I am using my amp from three sources, using only optical cables; two computers and a Blu-Ray (TM) player._x000D_
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The HK worked fine with cheap optical cables, but the Denon exhibited harshness and distortion with the same cables. Well, the HK picked up 600W, as opposed to the 960W for the Denon, so the Denon had more space for "subtleties." _x000D_
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The harshness of the trebles has disappeared and now, through the SVS cables, the Denon is producing balanced sound that is not irritating my ears. The sound balance equals the one on my expensive USB headphone pre-amp_x000D_
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Not sure why the specs only go up to 48kHz with the SVS, but frankly, I don't care; the sound is good, and my sound cards can produce stable sound only at 48kHz (DVD quality)._x000D_
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There might be better-sounding products out there, but you will have to spend an arm and a leg on them and gain next-to-nothing, unless you have top-of-the-notch hearing that only 1-2% of people do. I go for the sound balance and the upper upper harmonics (that resonate at each octave, following the source), but the latter couldn't be heard on most compressed sources, anyway._x000D_
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I know, good cables are not cheap, but about 30-60 percent of listeners can hear the difference in sound in blind tests. I'm sorry, if you are not one of those... SVS loves developing good products at prices that would cost substantially more from "audiophile" manufacturers (they cannot beat physics, either).
