You are spot on Dan ! It's a real shame there's not more out there in such a guise...
Naim's AV2 was the perfect example of this - pure audio only approach with all the typical Naim attributes applied to AV audio. Visual sources don't even go anywhere near it. It was a processor I was more than happy to build my whole system around, which I am slowly indeed doing. However, with the advent of the HD codecs and HDMI, it's looking slightly dated, especially at the price point. It does have a 7 channel analogue input, so is just about keeping it's head above water by allowing decoded BD sources to be input, but then that's leaving the decoding to the source player and for me somewhat defeats the point of such a high quality pre/pro....With a touch of irony, not to mention frustration, I've held off from purchasing the very piece of kit that has got me into the whole Naim line...!
Naim have goneÿcompletelyÿsilent on the possibility of a AV3 (as they have their AV in general) and I don't think they are the only ones...I'm just not sure they can compete and afford the constant R&D that seems to go along with being a AVÿmanufacturer....Sure, they bring fantastic products to the table that are head and shoulders above the majority, but they are often very late (even outdated) and to the average buyer very expensive - think DVD5.
Arcam seem to be still striding forward with AV and they still have that audio slant. The AV600 seems to be very well received....I'm awaiting the first reviews of the processor version, 888, before I make any final decisions with all of this, but my gut feeling is this may be the answer for me personally in light of the tumbleweeds rolling through the AV department at Naim HQ....
Steveÿ