If I were in the market for a pre/processor today, I don’t think that I would look much further than the Anthem AVM 50 or its more refined brother, the Anthem Statement D2. The AVM 50 is basically the same machine as the D2, except that the quality of its AD converters and such isn’t quite as good. So for the ultimate in smooth sound, go for the D2. (Or if you just like its better looks.) But if your ears aren’t as golden anymore, the AVM 50 should do you just fine, and Sound And Vision Magazine has a small review of it and the matching MCA 50 amplifier from Anthem.

The cool thing about this pre/pro is that it can take any composite, s-video, or component signal, and convert it to HDMI. Not only that, it will deinterlace and upscale it as well. And to 1080p video at that! Amazing. The AVM50 has the highly-regarded Gennum VXP chip inside, doing all that video processing magic.

How about sound quality? While it may not measure up to the Statement D2, it is still a great sounding processor. The reviewer at Sound and Vision was quite pleased with it.

Add to that some extremely flexible surround modes, some great connectivity options, and the Anthem brand name backing it all up, and you’ve got a pre/pro that hardly anyone can beat for the price. Which is $4,699.

Anthem AVM 50 Preamp/Processor and MCA 50 Amplifier