I am in the market for a new preamp processor/processor. Does anyone use an Anthem, Proceed or Classe unit? What do you think of it? I've been reading up on the new Anthem 20 which has 7.1 and Dolby EX. Is anyone familiar with this unit? Thanks for your assistance.

I was always very impressed with the Proceed series. I am not familiar with the other ones you mentioned. I would suggest checking their websites and see if there are any dealers near you.

I'm waiting for this baby to come out.

http://www.outlawaudio.com/products/950_gallery.html

Combine this with Model 750 power amp and all $2000+ receivers will instantly seem like a waste of money.

I should have mentioned that retaining stereo audio is the utmost importance to me(balanced inputs, outputs, analog stereo bypass etc.). Yes, I have checked out the Proceed, since I have a Levinson amp, but it seems the Proceed is a little outdated compared to current standards. Thank you.

I've never been a fan of Sonic Frontier's Anthem line of two channel preamps---they're just too sterile for my taste. However, a while back, I had the opportunity to listen to the Anthem up stream of a full compliment of Paradigm Active 20's. I was quite impressed with the DD presentation; channel separation was excellent with no noticeable harshness. If I were looking for a pre/processor I would certainly put the Anthem on my audition list.

I didn't listen to any 2-channel sources though this setup, so no comments WRT stereo sound on this specific model.