SSPs and the 'high end'

rblnr

Member Sponsor & WBF Founding Member
May 3, 2010
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Have been looking the last couple of years to upgrade from my Onkyo 9.8. Waited and waited for more choices out there, had a Theta CBIII to be upgraded, waited and waited ... so

Why is it that there are so few high end processors out there? Used to be a whole lot more choices pre-HDMI and the new codecs. Parasound has thrown up their hands. Lexicon, who was a leader w/SSPs is quiet. Theta has taken years and still has no product. Bryston, delayed. Cary -- lots of problems I gather. Outlaw, scrapped. Etc. Some reasons, many related, but want to hear your take:

- Most of the high-end companies don't have the software background required. They have to outsource that to companies like MDS -- both expensive and slow as they're small fish in the pond. Meridian is a notable exception

- HDMI licensing is expensive for small manufacturers

- HDMI itself is simply a mess and beyond the resources of small companies to deal with

- The resultant product would be too expensive for today's market

- They don't feel they can add much value to soundtrack processing

- Most high end companies are worse off than they were five years ago

Or put another way, the companies that have produced and SSP, is it simply that they're a bit bigger than some other possibilities?
 

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