Which AV Amp????

photoshop

photoshop

photoshop

Soldato
Joined
7 Nov 2006
Posts
5,677
Location
Stockton on Tees
Im after an AV Amp which is capable of:

- 24hz playback
- 1080p
- Audio and Video over HDMI
- At least 2x HDMI IN

Hardware that will be plugged in to it:

- PS3 (HDMI)
- HTPC (HDMI)
- Panny 50" PZ80

Budget £300-400

What do you guys recommend?
 
needmorespeed said:
Yamaha DSP-AX763 its a great amp and can be had for £293 :)
Click to expand...

Just checked the dimensions of that and its tooooo big and wont fit on my Av rack :confused:

Otherwise it looks good.

Are there any amps which have a minimalist front to them like the Arcams?
And whats the Sony 820 amp like?
 
Hi,
just upgraded my old pioneer receiver to the new sony 820.
i'm really impressed by it- It was a doddle to set up and the sound is really clear.
i have the ps3 connected via hdmi and will eventually connect up the dvd player etc as there's enough connections there for everything!
just my opinion but i dont think you'll be disappointed with the sony.
 
photoshop said:
My friend has the 606 and to be honest with you it sounds rather flat. Hes feeding his PS3 via HDMI in to it. Im not impressed by it
Click to expand...

PS3 Doesnt support bitstream HD audio via HDMI so the PS3 would have been doing the encoding.

My mate has the 606 a while, numerous phone calls to tech support and has taken it back twice and had it swopped over,

I vote for the Denon AVR 1909 looks 10 times better than the onkyo and very reliable, i cant fault mine.

AVR1909_Front_G.gif
 
in the 250-400 price range sound quality doesn't really vary much, the sony dg820 is hard to beat unless you plan to move up another level price wise.
 
why are these amp so damn big and so fussy on the front. Its like a control dock from a nasa space ship. I wouldnt mind something that looks clean and minimilistic
 
I think im going to pop into richer sounds tomorrow and get the SONY STR-DG820 Amp. They have got it on for £229.99.

Could some one check the image below to see if i have got the cabling right?
Im a noob at AV amps.



Seeing as this amp can do DTS-HD Audio - what settings do i need to use on my PS3 to make use of it?
I want the amp to do all the decoding and not the PS3.

AND can this amp do 24fps?

AND will i notice an improvement over my NAD C325BEE stereo amp?

My setup only includes 2 front speakers - no surround sound
 
Last edited:
photoshop said:
I think im going to pop into richer sounds tomorrow and get the SONY STR-DG820 Amp. They have got it on for £229.99.

Could some one check the image below to see if i have got the cabling right?
Im a noob at AV amps

Yes thats right

Seeing as this amp can do DTS-HD Audio - what settings do i need to use on my PS3 to make use of it?
I want the amp to do all the decoding and not the PS3.

The only way a PS3 can output HD audio is via setting the sound output to PCM, as far as I know they still haven't sorted it so that it can pass the pure en encoded signal out via HDMI yet. so your PS3 will be doing the decoding and you wont get the lights coming on you amp telling you its HD, you will just get the PCM logo.

AND can this amp do 24fps?

AND will i notice an improvement over my NAD C325BEE stereo amp?

Again you might be a little disappointed, for movies it will be a huge improvement, for stereo music, probably not. although it may be nearly as good or on a par if your lucky. AV amps under 1k just don't tend to do music very well im afraid.

My setup only includes 2 front speakers - no surround sound
Click to expand...

Im a little confused as to why you have even bought an AV amp if you only have 2 speakers. Stereo performance will be no better, maybe even worse. if you decide to go to 5.1 then its worth it.[/COLOR]
 
Last edited:
So im better off keeping my Nad stereo amp rather than getting the sony av amp?

I dont listen to much music (hardly any), the av amp will be purely for watching tv, ps3, htpc, sky and virgin.

At the moment my PS3, Sky, Virgin, HTPC all connect to the TV (via HDMI or SCART). Then the TV connects to my amp via phono.

So i will not see any improvement with the Av amp?
 
Ive got the 606 coming on xmas day. I considered the 820 and would have gone for it if it weren't for the lack of 5.1 inputs for surround from the pc. Other than that omission the sony does seem to be best.

I do have to echo the sentiments from kidloco though, unless you are planning to add surrounds and/or an amp there really is very little point getting an av receiver.

edit: haha you replied as i was writing my post.

I currently use a rotel ra 01 with my tv/sky/xbox at uni and the sound from it is comparable to the av amp I have at my other house. The only real difference you are getting with an av amp is the option of more channels and speakers and hdmi switching.

edit edit:

Just seen your setup in the pictures thread. Looks amazing...get the amp and get some surround sound involved at a later date :)
 
Last edited:
photoshop said:
So im better off keeping my Nad stereo amp rather than getting the sony av amp?

I dont listen to much music (hardly any), the av amp will be purely for watching tv, ps3, htpc, sky and virgin.

At the moment my PS3, Sky, Virgin, HTPC all connect to the TV (via HDMI or SCART). Then the TV connects to my amp via phono.

So i will not see any improvement with the Av amp?
Click to expand...

No mate, if you have no intention of going the 5.1 route then save your cash. I hooked my now sold £500 Yamaha AV to my stereo speakers over the weekend and was pretty shocked by how poor it sounding. its fantastic with 5.1 but in stereo it was just lifeless.
 
what if i decide to add a subwoofer or/and a centre speaker?

To be honest with you at the moment, because the sound goes out from tv into the amp i notice hiss, a lot of it. It gets worse if i turn it up. Very noticeable on my HTPC. Is this because the sound the TV is outputting to the amp is bad?

I was hoping because the AV amp has HDMI inputs, i could bypass the tv and plug my devices into the amp which would produce clearer sound...?
 
Last edited:
photoshop said:
I've always thought about it but wiring the 2 rear speakers would be a nightmare as i have laminate flooring :(
Click to expand...

Got skirting boards?
run it around the top and staple it in.

Or with laminating there should be a gap under the skirting board to allow the laminating to expand, maybe able to fit it in there.
 
i dont know if this will be of any use but the sony can be set up so to use only the two front speakers, there is also a2ch/A.direct option on the remote which according to the manual "standard 2 channel stereo sources completely bypass the sound field processing and multi channel formats are downmixed to 2 channels except lfe signals"
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom