The 8000AP is surprisingly heavy in the hands, owing to a large and highly visible toroidal power supply that peaks out underneath the cooling vents on the top. A critical requirement for any pre/pro is ensuring that the various DSPs and other ICs have lots of clean power on-hand so that the resulting signal is as free from noise as is possible, and that typically means a fair bit of copper in the power supply, which means a fair bit of weight in the unit.

The front panel also includes a small, dimmable VFD to provide more dynamic information about what’s currently happening “under the hood”. If you choose to bypass using the on-screen display, then this will be what you will be looking at to configure the unit. While not the most informative of displays, the unit gives comparable amounts of text when compared to other receivers and preamps I have had over the years, though it does so using a bit smaller of a font. Do not think that this will be something you read from across the room, especially if you have less-than-perfect vision. However, the purpose of setting the unit up is to get it set-up, and then to largely leave it alone!

Specifications :

• Design: Solid-State Home Theater Preamplifier/Processor
• Codecs: Dolby Digital, Dolby Digital EX, Dolby Pro Logic IIx, DTS, DTS ES Matrix; DTS ES Discrete, DTS 96/24, DTS NEO:6; PCM (Stereo 24bit/192kHz, Multi-Channel 24-bit/96kHz); HDCD; 5.1 Analog Bypass
• Inputs: 2 HDMI (v1.2); 4 optical digital audio, 3 coaxial digital audio; 5 stereo RCA analog (audio), 5.1 channel RCA analog (audio bypass); RS232 (system control/updating)
• Outputs: 1 HDMI (v1.2), 1 optical digital audio (TOSLink), 1 stereo RCA (tape monitor), 1 composite video (OSD), 7.1 channel RCA (main audio)
• MFR: 10 Hz - 20 kHz, ± 0.2 dB,
• THD + Noise: <0.002% (Digital), <0.003% (Analog)
• Maximum Analog Output: 3.5V RMS
• Dimensions: 2.9" H x 17.5" W x 13.3"Weight: 13 Pounds
• Colors: Silver and Black