Amp for music and AV equipment ?

ferret face

ferret face

ferret face

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Hi Guys,

I am about to plunge into the world of HDTV and am going to need an AMP that will power my AV stuff such as PS3. HTPC but will also be needed for stereo music froma cd player.

My question is...are there any good AMPs for both music and AV equipment?

I will probably only need a 2.1 speaker setup for my movie watching for the mo, with a centre speaker and 2 side speakers..

Cheers Ferret
 
A lot of people will be telling you, AV is great for movies and such, but generally not so hot on stereo.

If music is critical to you then get stereo amp in addition to an AV amp.

You have not mentioned budget which is needed to suggest relevant equipment.

But onkyo make good reasonably priced AV amps.
 
Hi there, I have an Arcam AVR 200 im thinking of replacing. Let me know if you interested. It is great with both movies and music!
 
Have you considered just getting a decent stereo system? You'd get a lot more quality for your cash as you'd be buying fewer components. I ditched my surround a while ago and I've not really looked back. For mixed listening I just couldn't really justify having surround, however I'm probably 80:20 music:video on my system.

With a good stereo setup you'll still get good sound placement if you set it up right, and you'll definitely not need a centre speaker if it's done correctly. Sure, it'll all be in analogue, but frankly from a good CD player that's the way it should be. From the computer and PS3, noise might be more obvious, however with a good sound card for your PC you should be very happy with the results. If you're really concerned, pick up a standalone DAC.

How big is your room and what is your budget?
 
Cheers Tom,

I am thinking I will just get stereo equipment for now and hook up my pc, tv and cd player to it..tv/films will still sound good no?

My room is about 5m X 5m and my budget for the amp and speakers is < £800.

Cheers Ferret

:)
 
That is a fair bit of cash to play with, you could get a really good stereo setup for that. Films will still sound really good in stereo, especially with good kit.

I don't know how you feel about second hand kit, but youre starting to get into the realms of premium hi-fi brands if you hunt around.

Are you looking to get a CD player too? If you've got more than 20 CDs I'd seriously think about it.
 
yes I think I will get a cd player and I also want to hook up my pc to it for playing videos/movies.

Do you know if I need an expensive audio card to get good sound from pc to stereo equipment. I currently have a soundblaster XFI extreme music

Cheers

Ferret
 
You'll probably get a good result with your current soundcard via an analogue connector. If you want to be more adventurous (and perhaps not get a CD player) you could go for a separate DAC and run a digital cable from your PC to eliminate all analogue noise from your PC. You could then effectively use your PC as a CD transport. It's something I'm going to consider once I'm earning some cash, but it probably wouldn't replace my CD player as I'm happy with it. It would be more for my movies and mp3 files... it would save carting loads of CDs around the country next year.
 
tom_nieto said:
You'll probably get a good result with your current soundcard via an analogue connector. If you want to be more adventurous (and perhaps not get a CD player) you could go for a separate DAC and run a digital cable from your PC to eliminate all analogue noise from your PC. You could then effectively use your PC as a CD transport. It's something I'm going to consider once I'm earning some cash, but it probably wouldn't replace my CD player as I'm happy with it. It would be more for my movies and mp3 files... it would save carting loads of CDs around the country next year.
Click to expand...

I'd like to echo this. Been playing with my setup and the analogue route, with the right card, is pretty much identicle to the DAC solution. Im hard pressed to tell any difference between my EMU analogue output and its digital thru a DAC.

However my audigy 2 is a different matter and that certainly affects the quality and general tone of the sound. Ive read this is because it doesn't do bit for bit decoding and actually changes the sound. The Emu is more 'pure'. I am not sure whether the XFI does do bit for bit or not. Either way the xfi card might suit your taste better evenif it does turn out its not an accurate reproduction.
 
Lil old me said:
I'd like to echo this. Been playing with my setup and the analogue route, with the right card, is pretty much identicle to the DAC solution. Im hard pressed to tell any difference between my EMU analogue output and its digital thru a DAC.

However my audigy 2 is a different matter and that certainly affects the quality and general tone of the sound. Ive read this is because it doesn't do bit for bit decoding and actually changes the sound. The Emu is more 'pure'. I am not sure whether the XFI does do bit for bit or not. Either way the xfi card might suit your taste better evenif it does turn out its not an accurate reproduction.
Click to expand...

THe EMU has a decent DAC so it will match most lowend outboard ones, the Audigy is just crap. Unless you're using ASIO then any audio is messed with by Windows a bit (particually if the volume is <100%) but with the Audigy's it's the actual hardware that forces resampling quite poorly. The X-Fi has a mode where the sound is unmolested, although unless you mod it heavily or get a Prelude sound quality isn't up to much.
 
For what you're suggesting, going with a DAC, stereo amp and speakers would seem like a good move.
Choose a DAC with multiple inputs, and it will be able to deal with your PC, PS3 and freeview box if you have one with a digital output. A well priced example with sufficient inputs would be something like the Beresford 7510. Not the most amazing sounding DAC, but it's well specced, has lots of inputs and sounds good for not much wonga (around £100).
That would leave you sufficient funds for something like say a s/h Naim Nait 3 or similar. What you really need to do is go have a listen to variety of kit. Different manufacturers tend to have a house "sound" or style of presentation. There simply isn't a "best", just whatever suits your own needs. For example, Naim kit tends to be bouncy, fun, but can be wearing on the wrong types of music and isn't the most tonally accurate. Arcam can often be a bit warm and cuddly, but will sound good with a wide variety of recordings and if you use say the 7510, is likely to be a good match.
Speakers really haven't improved anything like as much as the press like to make out. Some older speakers still sound ace, yet can cost peanuts. If you don't mind the looks, some of the older stand mounts are great value. The problem is that speakers are probably the most personal element and really need to be matched to you room.
Again, I can't give you a "best" recommendation, you need to have a listen and see what you like.
 
ok guys I'm back with another question, if you don't mind...

if i buy a motherboard with optical out (such as this Gigabyte GA-MA78GM) then i can connect a DAC via optical it will sound as good as any top end sound card because it is a digital signal...right?

or am i completely wrong?

Cheers

Ferret
 
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