Price Paid:  $3000.00 from audio difference

Summary:
I bought this unit and I am quite pleased with it and testing against other models in the past . lexicon,krell,marantz I found were very tough to sort out because of the fine feature that inexpensive unit did not have as upgradeablity and download software into the unit. I found the sound is awesome if you put the right cable like Synergistic research for alpha sterling series just does it wonders very detailed and depth is realistic not faded.THe subwoofer has omproved 10x over than old unit I had. I bought a rotel 5 channel amp 100watt per channel does it good but does not have XLR input that I really want to open the soundstage and better detailing in sound effects .I would like to buy proceed HPA-3 amp & HPA-2 for my pav-psd units then I could bow myself away by the fanastic quality of sound. I wish when they say digital cable the would put in connector that a 36 pin not single ended or j45 phone line crap.

Strengths:
control the woofer and sound quality

Weaknesses:
j45 cable

Similar Products Used:
lexicon,krell,marantz

Price Paid:  $7000.00 from Carefree Audio Video

Summary:
I purchased my PSV/DSD about two years ago with the guarantee that it was state-of-the art and would remain that way for the forseeable future. I was shocked when I e-mailed Madrigal to find out when all the fantastic upgrades
now becoming available for the AVP would be available for the PAV. I was told that no more upgrades would be available to the PAV/DSD platform after the latest software upgrade, to enable a link between the PMDT and the PAV, was released in the near future. Sorry, it's too old and costly to continue upgrading. This isn't what I was told when I was shopping for a new system. I was told it was "FUTURE-PROOF", along with a lot of other promises of longevity. How could this be. If they could upgrade the AVP, which was supposed to be less upgradeable due to hardware restraints, (the PAV has removable hardware drawers designed to make hardware upgrades simple, the AVP does not)I do not understand why they can't upgrade the PAV/DSD, which is also supposed to have much more and better quality processing. I would have bought the AVP for thousands less if I had known that then. I had already traded one expensive Dolby Digital reciever that was only a year old for the latest model because of the new formats that seemed to be endless. Within a year, I found there were more exciting formats available and decided to invest in the "Future-Proof" idea. The Pav/DSD seemed to be the perfect answer to my deams (aside from the price). Up until yesterday (1/14/02) I was quite pleased with my decision and very proud of my Pav.I can't complain about it's quality and above-all sound,it's still quite a fantastic piece of equipment, It's hard for me to talk negatively about it. I am having a difficult time dealing with the fact that the main reason I bought the system in the first place was because of the advertised upgradeability well into the future. With all the new formats becoming available, I had been looking forward to new and better things on the horizon.I had hoped the future would have lasted more than two years.

Strengths:
Absolutely fantastic sound and functionality/ build quality

Weaknesses:
upgrades have been abandoned

Similar Products Used:
nothing of this calibre

Summary:
The PAV/PDSD is an incredible setup for home theater. I have not heard many of the other processors out there, so I cannot really say it is the best. However, have a few concerns about the design of this package. I understand why the PAV was analog, and why the PDSD was designed to work with the PAV as one unit. Although I think there should have been a stand alone PDSD that had all the capability of the PAV. It seems in efficient to have two units. Especially when you consider that an entire set of interconnects must be purchased to connect the analog pas through. Also using two boxes to hold the electronics obviously costs more than if it was integrated into one box. As well as the fact the PAV is many years older then the PDSD. Don't get me wrong, in a no holds bared system this is probably the way to go. I bet out of the other processors this on will have the best Dolby pro logic recording as well as the best analog stereo pre amp. Another reason the PDSD access in my mind is that it has balanced outputs for all channels. None of the lexicon decoders seem to have this. It also has a balanced digital input. With the proceed DVD player this option is provides a digital connection better then any that the lexicon processors provide. The PAV/PDSD is phast compatible. The same goes for most proceed, and mark levinson hardware. As far as I can tell none of the lexicons are phast compatible. As I see it the krell processor is the only other pre-amp that has these options. The lack of information on krell product both on the krell site, and the Internet as a hole has precluded me from making a full comparison. It seems to me the PAV/PDSD could be more competitive if they had made a single unit. The PDSD should have been made in its current form so that PAV owners have a path to upgrade. I still think this is the best processor/pre-amp available. One option I am not clear about is the ability to add a second set of surround channels. With a 5.1 channel source are they just duplicate surround channel outputs, or are there synthesized 6 and 7th channels? I would like to hear what owners have to say about what I have posted. I can be E-Mailed at spacewars@yahoo.com.

Summary:
I don't understand the complaints of the last poster (Paul). Harmon International actually bought the majority of stock in Madrigal in 1993 and purchased the rest in 1995...This occured before you even bought your PAV. The PAV has never been billed as an expansion (Card cage) based product. They always said that a digital piece would be available that would interface with the PAV (PDSD). The PAV is a completely analog, in order to keep the PAV's strong analog properties, they always planned on adding an outboard digital box. I don't know what your problem is with H/K, but they owned this company well in advance of your purchase. It sounds like you should've done a little more investigation before you made your purchase. Either buy the PDSD...which is further upgradeable, or sell the PAV and get the AVP, which has great atrributes of both at a reasonable price. Madrigal never made any claims that the PAV would be upgradeable in a modular fashion.

Strengths:
Great combination of analog and digital components. A great musical piece that has the ability for future expansion.

Weaknesses:
Expensive

Similar Products Used:
Proceed AVP, Citation 7.0. Lexicon.

Summary:
I have had my PAV for 4 years and have loved the flexibility and versatility that it has provided.

The value to me has been very high and I rated it at a "5" until Harmon Kardon bought them out and ruined a 4 year love affair with my PAV.

I was told that the unit could be upgraded with add-on cards (ie. a computer) thereby allowing me to upgrade to new technology (digital standards). Each of the upgrade cards was estimated to be in the hundreds of dollars range... well now I sit here with a different story.

Harmon Kardon purchased the company and now their solution for me is to pay another $4000.00 dollars to add digital processing to the PAV. The $4k price does not include the KY jelly... by the way! No way in hell am I going to do this even though I truly love the PAV. I now am involved in a painfull search to find a replacement for the PAV.

I will not keep this unit nor will I ever purchase another thing from Harmon Kardon again. (I even traded a HK citation 21 amp out of my son's Stereo as not to own it)

I find it difficult to find a system that is both great HT and "musical". You can find each individually, but a mixed system is truly tough.

Strengths:
Excellent system when you need both a high quality audio system and HT

Weaknesses:
Upgrading is a joke (see below)

Similar Products Used:
Onkyo, Yamaha, Rotel