Totally enveloping soundfield, music and movies alike. Very good ergonimics and stable build-quality. DD, DTS and THX sound wonderful, with DTS having a tad bit better imaging overall. Love the fact that AV32R is not clampered with in-puts and out-puts - its minimal, its enough, its great ! Also no silly DSP surround modes - just strait stereo or digital moviesound, except for TagSurround which is good for some 2-channel music.

Keep it simple, but with absolute highest standards.

My unit is the latter version, without THX EX/DTS ES. But the unit can easily be upgraded. The new version was not avalibul at purchase.

Also makes irritating "clicking" at times, but you get used to it. As I understand it, this is neccesary for the high sound quality, as explained by TagMclaren´s helpdesk.

Was recommended to me by the salesman, over all other (much more expensive) units from Lexicon, EAD, Proceed, Meridian. This unit will, if not beat all, come very close to definitive hi-end in Home Cinema and music. I wonder if the difference in performance between Tag and Lexicon justifes the price ?

Buying this processor was the best thing I´ve done so far in investment to my setup ! Im very pleased. I think anyone looking for a processor of this higth quality will be happy with the sound it makes. Highly recommended !

A visit to TagMclarens homepage is also recommended. Its almost unbeliveable how great the service is from the folks at Tag ! They are great. And its clear that they are all audio-enthusiasts, just like me.

Current setup:
TagMclaren AV32R
Rotel RMB1095
Atlantic Tech THX 450 System
Harmonic Technology cables
Sony 7700 DVD/CD player
Sony 16:9 front-projector 200" screen

Clean, Accurate, Truthful

None

After spending months searching for a processor to replace my aging ADCOM, I settled on the AV32r after carefull consideration of many of the top of the line processors on the market. Not only was I impressed by every review about the AV32r, it was the only processor that out of the list reviewed above that I did not hear before my purchase. Of all the processors, I reviewed, the AV32r was the only one that was repeatedly quoted as performing excellent with music, and home theater. After purchasing the AV32r, I am fully convinced that to get a better processor, you will have to triple the price and you may still not attain the excellent performance across all types of music or home theater. Now the only problem that I have experienced since my purchase is that the majority of CDs that I listen to sound terrible and unless you have excellent media then stay away from this processor. However, if you are truly an audiophile and value excellent equipment, then you truly have to hear this gem. Just remember that it is totally neutral and will feed through as untouched as possible any signal passed from yours source. Typically, it will not be the source hardware that is the problem, the junk we feed it. Boy, I hope SACD becomes one the new standards. Check out their WEB Site because everyone is saying the same thing about this processor. Excellent 5+.

Tag Mclaren AV32r
Bryston 9B ST THX
B&W Nautilus 804 (Front)
B&W Nautilus HTM (Center)
B&W Nautilus 602 (Rears)
ADCOM GCD-700 (Transport only)
Sony SVP-7700 (DVD/CD Transport)
Monster Cable HTS1000 Power Center
Synergistic Research AC Master Coupler (Processor)
Harmonic Technology AC11 Power Cord (AMP)
Harmonic Technology Pro 9 Biwire Speaker Cables
Harmonic Technololy Cyber-Link Platinum (Digital Cable)
Kimber Cable DV30 (Digital Cable)
Pure Silver Sound Quartet Interconnects
Transparent Music Wave Plus Biwire (Center)

Similar Products Used:

Meridian 565, ADCOM GCP-600, Proceed, Sony, Classe SSP-25, Theta, Krell standard, Lexicon, etc.

Clean, Accurate, Truthful

None

After spending months searching for a processor to replace my aging ADCOM, I settled on the AV32r after carefull consideration of many of the top of the line processors on the market. Not only was I impressed by every review about the AV32r, it was the only processor that out of the list reviewed above that I did not hear before my purchase. Of all the processors, I reviewed, the AV32r was the only one that was repeatedly quoted as performing excellent with music, and home theater. After purchasing the AV32r, I am fully convinced that to get a better processor, you will have to triple the price and you may still not attain the excellent performance across all types of music or home theater. Now the only problem that I have experienced since my purchase is that the majority of CDs that I listen to sound terrible and unless you have excellent media then stay away from this processor. However, if you are truly an audiophile and value excellent equipment, then you truly have to hear this gem. Just remember that it is totally neutral and will feed through as untouched as possible any signal passed from yours source. Typically, it will not be the source hardware that is the problem, the junk we feed it. Boy, I hope SACD becomes one the new standards. Check out their WEB Site because everyone is saying the same thing about this processor. Excellent 5+.

Tag Mclaren AV32r
Bryston 9B ST THX
B&W Nautilus 804 (Front)
B&W Nautilus HTM (Center)
B&W Nautilus 602 (Rears)
ADCOM GCD-700 (Transport only)
Sony SVP-7700 (DVD/CD Transport)
Monster Cable HTS1000 Power Center
Synergistic Research AC Master Coupler (Processor)
Harmonic Technology AC11 Power Cord (AMP)
Harmonic Technology Pro 9 Biwire Speaker Cables
Harmonic Technololy Cyber-Link Platinum (Digital Cable)
Kimber Cable DV30 (Digital Cable)
Pure Silver Sound Quartet Interconnects
Transparent Music Wave Plus Biwire (Center)

Similar Products Used:

Meridian 565, ADCOM GCP-600, Proceed, Sony, Classe SSP-25, Theta, Krell standard, Lexicon, etc.

Clean, Accurate, Truthful

None

After spending months searching for a processor to replace my aging ADCOM, I settled on the AV32r after carefull consideration of many of the top of the line processors on the market. Not only was I impressed by every review about the AV32r, it was the only processor that out of the list reviewed above that I did not hear before my purchase. Of all the processors, I reviewed, the AV32r was the only one that was repeatedly quoted as performing excellent with music, and home theater. After purchasing the AV32r, I am fully convinced that to get a better processor, you will have to triple the price and you may still not attain the excellent performance across all types of music or home theater. Now the only problem that I have experienced since my purchase is that the majority of CDs that I listen to sound terrible and unless you have excellent media then stay away from this processor. However, if you are truly an audiophile and value excellent equipment, then you truly have to hear this gem. Just remember that it is totally neutral and will feed through as untouched as possible any signal passed from yours source. Typically, it will not be the source hardware that is the problem, the junk we feed it. Boy, I hope SACD becomes one the new standards. Check out their WEB Site because everyone is saying the same thing about this processor. Excellent 5+.

Tag Mclaren AV32r
Bryston 9B ST THX
B&W Nautilus 804 (Front)
B&W Nautilus HTM (Center)
B&W Nautilus 602 (Rears)
ADCOM GCD-700 (Transport only)
Sony SVP-7700 (DVD/CD Transport)
Monster Cable HTS1000 Power Center
Synergistic Research AC Master Coupler (Processor)
Harmonic Technology AC11 Power Cord (AMP)
Harmonic Technology Pro 9 Biwire Speaker Cables
Harmonic Technololy Cyber-Link Platinum (Digital Cable)
Kimber Cable DV30 (Digital Cable)
Pure Silver Sound Quartet Interconnects
Transparent Music Wave Plus Biwire (Center)

Similar Products Used:

Meridian 565, ADCOM GCP-600, Proceed, Sony, Classe SSP-25, Theta, Krell standard, Lexicon, etc.

I heard this last week connected to the Sony 9000ES 5channel amp (see my and other's reviews), and was totally and utterly impressed - I came out of the dem room with a huge smile on my face. I have never been impressed by a piece of audio equipment so much (and I've heard the Lexicon DC-1, which is twice the price in the UK).
The dealer told me that sales of the Tag preamp and DAC have dropped off, because this combined unit is cheaper, yet so much better. The blurb on Tag's webpage states that they learn with each product and I believe them.

Listening to some CDs using the DAC of the AV32R, the quality was sublime. Fantastic imaging, amazing spaciousness. It sounded as if there had to be processing done on the music, it was soe precise.

Surround was just as good, with the waves of the river washing away the bridge in Dante's Peak crashing around the room. The opening sequence of Lost In Space was just as good, with fighter's flying front-to-back and back again.

The build quality also appears to be good, and the unit looks very attractive with its beuatiful display.

Although it sounded fantastic with the (relatively) cheap Sony amp, it will be interesting to hear it coupled with the matching Tag 5 channel amp when that is ready.

Software-based - can be upgraded by the Tag McLaren homepage. Sound, looks, ergonomics, buildquality and price. Tag McLaren service is not to be forgotten, this company really do care about all their customers.

Perhaps not quite up to the soundquality of the EAD Ovation or Theta when it comes to 2-channel music. Moviesound (DD/DTS) are though equal. Ofcourse the Tag Mclaren is only half the price of these puppets !

Talk about a real feeling of expensive quality from Tag MacLaren. It all begins with the packing - beautiful and slick colorful carton and exlusive pins and printed materials inside. And ofcourse the AV32R itself.

The setup is very intuitive, the wizard on the AV32R helps you all the way. My only wish is the processor had a mic with auto calibration like the EAD.

Great sound and a great product. Deserved star-status !

Not to be missed, for shure.

Similar Products Used:

EAD Ovation and Theta Casa Nova

Sound quality, user interface, supports Dolby Prologic 2 now, customer support, user upgradable firmware

No 5.1 SACD/DVD-Audio Analog Bypass
No component video inputs or outputs

I bought the Tag McLaren AV32R after trying out a number of other expensive processors, including E.A.D. Encore, Proceed AVP, B&K Ref 30, and Krell HTS.

I was looking for four things in a pre-amp/processor:
1. Excellent sonics
2. Easy to use interface (for day-to-day) use
3. Support of all existing decoding standards and easy upgrade-ability to newer formats.
4. Good customer support

The Tag unit has excellent sound (though the E.A.D. Ovation may sound better). The sound is very clear, precise, and not harsh. The subwoofer cross-over can be set to 50 Hz, 80 Hz, or 120 Hz. I would have liked more cross-over freq. options.

The user-interface is excellent, though the buttons are quite small. I would have preferred a rotary knob to select the inputs (like my previous A/V receiver - the Yamaha RX-V995). The volume knob is nice and heavy and is used to turn on the unit when in standby (a very nice touch!).

My only small complaint is that you need a TV and a video input to properly setup the unit, as all the initial set-up can only be done by following the menus on the TV. If you don't have a video input, the Tag unit may think your TV is of type PAL and will output a non-synchronized image on your NTSC TV (because Tag supports both PAL and NTSC television standards). When the Tag senses a NTSC video input, it switches to the NTSC mode and everything works fine. I would have also liked component video inputs, as I don't normally use my S-Video inputs and outputs with my HDTV.

The AV32R supports all the current decoding formats including DTS, Dolby Digital 5.1, Dolby Prologic 2, etc.
DTS ES is being developed. Upgrading to the newest decoding format requires downloading the latest firmware over the internet. This is far better then having to send your unit in to the manufacturer, as with most dealers.

Dolby Prologic 2 is the latest Dolby decoding process , which is used to enhance the sound of older movies, which were recorded in standard Dolby format. It makes the older movies approach the sound of Dolby Digital 5.1

Tag does not currently have a 5.1 pass-through for SACD or DVD-Audio but the upgrade is in the works. This would be nice to have because all current analog inputs go through an A/D Converter.

Tag McLaren has an excellent web-site at www.tagmclarenaudio.com and Dr. Udo (CEO of Tag) frequently answers customer's questions. Try getting any other audio maker's CEO to answer your questions!

The AV32R has a lot of neat features, like auto-dimming the display, selecting which type of surround sound mode to associate with what kind of input, etc. It's very, very nice.

Similar Products Used:

E.A.D. Encore, Yamaha RX-V995, B&K Ref 30, Proceed AVP

Ability to manipulate sound to match the rig to the room and preferences

I bought my AV32R pre-loved through the second-hand column on the Tag McLaren web site. It’s the heart of my system and I just love it. The set-up wizard was intuitive (but you really do need an SPL meter – IMHO) and the tweaks it allows are ones I’d not even thought necessary until I explored their use.

The top quality performance is something you just expect and get with Tag McLaren but the features are an unexpected bonus. I wanted the ability to set lip synchronisation as a permanent channel attribute because I’m using a video processor. The software of the processor was a few versions old so I simply downloaded the install wizard and latest software from the web site, plugged the processor to the PC and bingo – upgraded to the latest version in minutes. I discovered also that this version provided enough space to hold my address and phone number in the message that appears when the system is woken up (I don’t want to lose this little beast – I can trade it in at a very favourable rate when the new AV192 arrives in a few months). I also checked for gremlins reported in earlier reviews on this site – didn’t find any of them.

Switching is extensive enough to power on all units via the remote – useful for my amp which has no remote controller. From an engineering point of view, you just have to marvel at the way Tag McLaren do things – just so sensible. I’ve had this machine for a few months now and I am still playing about with it and getting to enjoy what it does.

Support is first class. They know their product well and they have a lot of knowledge of home cinema. This proved very useful when I was troubleshooting a snag during the initial setup. I wished I’d contacted them sooner. Over a public holiday, I actually got a support response from the Managing Director – who probably acts as mentor to the support team.

These might not be the best reasons for selecting one processor over another but I think at the top end, all the products sound great. When I buy a product that is so much less expensive that the others, I expect to be missing out somewhere. After a lot of digging and comparing, truly, I haven’t found it yet.

Other kit includes:
Toshiba SD900e DVD player
Bryston 9B PRO amp
M&K 150 series speakers all round with MX350 sub
DWIN Transvision Projector
Stewart Visionary VE100 Greyhawk screen
BetterCables Silver Serpent cables

Similar Products Used:

I've not used any others long enough to fairly comment on them.

Powerful, amazing sound in both stereo and home theater. Great buildquality and flexibility.

None

This is one amazing processor. Every time I sit down to enjoy music or home theater I am amazed at how perfect the sound is. Everything "sounds right", the "way it sould".

I have have quite a few integrated amps (all good) but nothing can compare to this. Not even the top amps from Denon or Onkyo.

One of the best features is its ability to be upgraded via the internet (new sound-decoding and new features). I have just now downloaded Pro Logic II (sounds great!).

Compact, easy to use, much information and upgradable

no CAST technology (yet?), not allways working well with other products

I own a CAL 20, and was really disappointed with the total reluctance of this company about upgradability and scalability. Then reviews of the Tag range made me curious. I use the CAL only as a CD without D/A conversion. The conversion for CD in stereo is at least as good as the one with the "warmer sounding" burr-browns from the California Audio Labs CAL-20.

Similar Products Used:

onky 939 for preamp