TAG McLaren Audio AV32RBP192
A/V Preamp/Processor
 I have a confession to
make. When I received the TAG McLaren AV32R, I didn't even notice which model the company
had sent me. I was so excited by my tour of the factory last
September that I just installed it and started using it immediately -- and thanks to its
marvelous setup wizard, I never even had to read the manual.
After using it for a fairly prolonged audition, I had a
question about it and contacted TMA. When asked which model I had been using, I didn't
even bother to look at the unit's front panel; I reflected on my experiences with the
device and automatically assumed it was the company's top-of-the-line AV192. Imagine my
surprise when I was informed that the component I actually had in my possession was
the nearly three-year-old AV32R instead.
I was left wondering what the deluxe model could
possibly be like, and TMA was undoubtedly left wondering what sort of fool was about to
review their preamp/processor. Both are valid questions.
Still, you can understand my confusion. The AV32R is
pretty deluxe -- and it should be at $5495. Even though it's been on the market since
1999, that doesn't mean it's getting long in the tooth, thanks to TMA's system of
continuous upgrades. Since its release the unit has had a dozen software or function
upgrades -- original owners have been able to partake of six software upgrades and even
add on goodies such as HDCD processing, Dolby Pro Logic II, THX Surround EX, DTS-ES
Matrix, DTS-ES Discrete, DTS Neo:6, and 192kHz/24-bit digital decoding (hence the 192
superscript). Oh yeah, for folks like me who still value top-notch analog two-channel
performance, the unit now also offers a bypass function (hence the BP suffix) so that,
say, an SACD player's analog output doesn't have to go through an unnecessary A-to-D-to-A
conversion.
How many three-year-old products can claim that?
Top of the world, Ma!
The AV32R sure looks like a high-end component. It is sleek
and clad in subdued black livery with titanium-colored, machined buttons, volume knob, and
power button. Its 17.5"W x 3"H x 12"D chassis sports a softly backlit
alphanumeric vacuum florescent display (VFD) and an assortment of control buttons divided
into groups: input, mode, balance, and status. Pressing any of them causes the VFD to
sequentially scroll through the control options. The inputs can be labeled any way the
user desires -- you can even label them with brand names if you want.
The back panel is stuffed with input and output options --
but some hardcore users may need even more. There are four composite and four S-video
inputs and a single video-recording outlet for each type of connection. There are only
single S-video and composite monitor outputs, which will leave some users short. There are
four coaxial and two TosLink inputs and two coaxial digital outputs. And only a single analog
tape output -- or it’s the VCR audio output. You have to choose. There are eight main
outputs for driving power amps (LF, C, RF, two backs, and subwoofer) and six 5.1 bypass
inputs (ditto) -- all signal-carrying analog inputs and outputs are single-ended RCA
jacks.
The rear panel also has two RJ45 jacks for TAG's control
bus, which allows the AV32R to interface seamlessly with other TAG components, as well as
an RS232 port for re-programming the unit's flash RAM with your PC or laptop.
In all fairness to TMA, there's no wasted space on the rear
panel. The company made some guesses as to the features the likely AV32R customer would
need and outfitted the unit with them. If you're an avid recordist or you insist on
component-video inputs and outputs, you should look at the AV192, which is more complex,
more flexible, more expensive -- and even mo' better, hard as that might be to believe.
You're the top
The AV32R's innards are amazingly well designed. The unit
utilizes gold-plated multi-layer PCBs that are laid out to control the signal paths, eddy
currents, and ground planes from all of its different circuit blocks. This allows TAG's
engineers greater control over circuit impedance and ground noise. Further, the
multi-layer boards allow the techies to combine surface-mount and conventional components
in phenomenally densely packed boards. That results in extremely short signal
paths, which minimizes noise, hash, and external interference -- not inconsequential
considerations in a unit that employs high switching speeds.
TAG's software-driven architecture doesn't use stock Dolby
Digital or DTS decoding chips. Instead, it employs a processor loaded with custom
programs. An Analogue Devices 60MHz 32-bit floating-point processor (type ADSP-21065L)
using SHARC (Super Harvard Architecture Computer) technology drives the system. (TAG used
this chip in its F1 automotive control electronics.) This chipset has processing power out
the wazoo -- more than enough to cope with all of the current digital surround formats,
and with enough left over to deal with any that crop up in the future, thanks to its
built-in upgradability. Control functions are handled by a 16-bit Siemens C161R1
microprocessor. (TAG used this chip in its F1 automotive control circuits.)
The AV32R uses three separate stereo DACs and a separate
A-to-D converter rather than the more conventional solution of a codec containing
everything on a single chip.
The unit handles Dolby Pro Logic, Dolby Digital, DTS, and
MPEG-2 decoding, as well as THX Post Processing capabilities for Pro-Logic, Dolby Digital,
and DTS surround modes. If you have lots of mono and stereo recordings, it also offers
minimal -- and minimally invasive -- DSP to add a soupcon of reverberation by
engaging the center-channel to reinforce the left and right channels, while the surrounds
add a very small amount of delay. (This sounds so much better than any of the 40-odd DSP
choices most A/V processors offer that it's an option even I can imagine using.)
The AV32R also offers a DTS mode that's a TAG creation: DTS
Cinema, a change rung on conventional DTS by adding an LF filter with 10dB more gain --
about twice the volume of regular DTS bass. Not my cuppa tea, but it's there if it's
yours. Direct+Sub mode directs low-frequency information to the subwoofer for good ol'
stereo -- again, not always the most musically accurate choice, but sometimes an
amazingly satisfactory one. There's also a mode called "Stereo," which creates
an on-the-fly stereo mixdown of the digital multichannel input. Last but not least is
"Mono," which combines the left and right channels to create a single summed
channel. This is a tad controversial, since it doesn't equalize the signal at all in an
attempt to reduce noise on older recordings. I personally like TAG's approach, but you
might not.
Given all of its built-in customizable functionality, you
might get the impression that the AV32R is complex to use. Emphatically not true --
primarily due to its way-too-cool setup wizard, which guides you through the first-time
setup. Once you're done with that -- it takes less than half an hour -- almost everything
else happens automatically.
You start by adjusting the time alignment by entering the
distance from your listening chair to the speakers, and then you calibrate the speaker
level. At each stage of the process, the wizard explains what you're doing and makes
suggestions that are logical and practical.
You can label each input with up to 16 characters and set
input sensitivity for the analog sources. You can also assign a specific surround mode to
each input -- you can even pair audio and video inputs to one another. You can designate
which part of the screen your on-screen display will occupy.
You would sound me from my lowest note to the top of my
compass
Once I had the AV32R configured as I wanted it, it was
extremely simple to use; all I had to do was choose an input and the TAG took care of
everything else. I did run into a small glitch, however. When I watched my DirecTV/TiVo
receiver, the video image would go wild whenever bright and dark colors strobed rapidly --
something that seems to happen in just about every commercial.
I checked the video cable and even dressed it so it was
nowhere near the SIM2's AC cord. I checked all the connections. In frustration, I finally
unplugged the input from the AV32R and went straight into the projector -- which is when
the problem disappeared.
I spoke with TAG HQ and discovered it was a known problem
-- one they'd already fixed (but not in my demo unit, apparently). DirecTV set-top boxes
have a tendency to output DC, so TAG has now protected its satellite input with a 75R
shunt termination. You shouldn't have the same problem I did -- and if you do, your dealer
will have the unit brought up to current spec.
That was the only bump in the road; everything else was
smooth driving -- except that I had to keep lifting my jaw from my lap, as I was amazed
over and over by how good my A/V system sounded.
Of course, consisting, as it did, of the TAG AV32R, five Musical Fidelity M250s, and a
complete Magnepan surround-sound speaker system (MG3.6/Rs, MGCC2, and MGC1s), it ought
to sound impressive. And it did -- but I never got used to being that impressed.
Take straight stereo reproduction, for instance. More
specifically, the superb concert video Roger Waters -- In the Flesh. I'd watched
the disc over at John Atkinson's house, where the playing and overall sound quality had
knocked me out. John, however, is not a home-theater kind of a guy, so he had hooked up
the computer monitor from his engineering suite between his speakers and we were watching
(sort of) a 17" CRT from about 20' away.
So when I scored my own copy of the disc, I initially
listened to that two-channel mix on my rig -- and it riveted me to my seat. The bass was
tight, deep, and impeccably solid; the twin guitars of Snowy White and Doyle Bramhall II
were tonally distinct from each other and had lots of over-cranked tone and sustain; and
the drumming (by Graham Broad) was awesomely full of thunder and deep slam.
The picture was amazing -- whatever problems the
satellite input was having with my STB, there was no sign of it with the video from the Kenwood Sovereign DV-5700. It
felt as though I had been catapulted from the arena's cheap seats to front row center.
(Speaking of how clean and clear the image was, I became
transfixed by the clothes worn by the guitarists and guest Andy Fairweather-Low; is there
a special store where rock stars buy their clothes -- one where all the shirts have their
first buttonhole at navel level?)
Then I listened to the concert again, using the 5.1 mix.
Oh my!
I guess I assumed that all surround-sound processors were
more or less the same. I should have known better -- now I do.
With stereo, I was still watching the film -- with
surround, I was immersed in the sound. Surrounded by it (d'oh!), massaged by it,
actually a part of it. And -- here's the goosebump part -- it had so much detail and sweat
and funk, it didn't sound like any other A/V system I'd ever heard. It sounded like (gasp!)
being there.
And how is that different from a regular 5.1 experience?
Detail, clarity, and precision -- some of that undoubtedly the result of the amp/speaker
combo, but I've heard other processors driving those players and the TAG still managed to
drop my jaw into my lap.
And the effect was just as impressive with films. Spider-Man
played to the comic book fanboy in me, and it has several striking (as opposed to
realistic, which is only appropriate given the storyline) foley effects in it.
One that nearly had me clinging to the ceiling was
the way all five channels reproduced the clang of the bell in the wrestling scene
(chapter 10). If reality had been the point, the sound would have come from the front
channels -- but director Raimi was looking for a way to heighten the tension. And boy, did
he succeed.
Later in the film, Raimi uses the sound of rainfall to
create a totally believable world, lulling us into a comfortable mood just prior to
unleashing all Hades in chapter 23's epic fight to the finish -- which puts the viewer
solidly (and I mean solidly) in the middle of all the chaos of battle.
Did I mention the bass? I should have -- it was very, um, impressive,
even without the 10dB boost. I'm not so sure my downstairs neighbors are as fond of the
AV32R as I am.
On a more subtle note, the Japanese anime classic Grave
of the Fireflies uses the sounds of nature and long static shots (and silences) to
create a totally believable world in which to anchor its tragic story. Set in Japan during
the final days of WWII, it might have stressed the sounds of warfare, of the bombing raids
its characters endure, and of a world shattering. Instead, we hear the sound of wind, of
waves washing up on a beach, of a stream flowing swiftly by its banks -- and of the frogs
that serenade the film's protagonists. These sounds don't impress the viewer the way the
spectacular effects in Spider-Man do, but they are even more important in anchoring
the neorealist animated film solidly in a believable and compelling world.
Perhaps this is an even more difficult task. I can't say.
But it is certainly an instance where any sonic murkiness -- any false note, any loss of
sonic focus -- would have throbbed like a sore tooth. The TAG never let the side down.
I could go on and on elucidating the AV32R's features, but
in each case the chorus remains the same: It did all the thinking. All I did was marvel at
how well it worked and how phenomenally clear it sounded. The fact is, once you've set it
up, you'll probably never think about what it does again -- whatever you ask it to do, all
you'll have to do is sit back and enjoy it.
There is always room at the top
TAG McLaren has produced a winner in the AV32RBP192.
It's costly, but its performance places it at a fairly exalted level, and if the price
sticker doesn't put it out of your reach (or your consideration), I can't imagine you'll
ever regret having purchased it.
Its performance is, quite simply, the best I've ever
encountered in my own system. Every day I used it, I enjoyed. It is packed with features
and functions, but it is stone simple to use and it offers a clear upgrade path for future
improvements (it even has a few empty slots on its circuit boards for future concepts) --
and at 12 upgrades and counting, TAG has certainly kept faith with the folks who purchased
the '32R back in 1999.
As for me, I still have to wonder: If the AV32RBP192
is all that -- what on earth can TAG's top-of-the-line AV192 be like?
...Wes Phillips
wes@onhometheater.com
TAG McLaren AV32RBP192
Price: $5495 USD.
Warranty: Five years parts and labor.
TAG McLaren Audio
The Summit
Latham Road
Huntingdon, Cambs
PE29 6ZU
United Kingdom
Phone: +44 (0) 1480 415600 or 0800 783 8007 (free in UK)
Fax: +44 (0)1480 52159
E-mail: helpdesk@tagmclaren.com
Website: www.tagmclaren.com
North American distributor:
TAG McLaren Audio
1506 Providence Highway -- Unit 25
Norwood, MA 02062
Phone: (781) 769-6611 or (888) 293-9929 (toll free)
Fax: (781) 769-6615
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