Had my first AV Amp Audition today

Conanius

Conanius

Conanius

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Joined
18 Oct 2002
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Hi everyone,

I had some spare time this afternoon so nipped into an AV place and tried out some kit. Specifically:

Sony 1050 Amp & Yamaha 677 Amp, and then the BX2 Bronze Front Speakers and a centre.

Please excuse my use of language to explain the sounds, I'm out of depth and need some guidance :)

Did the opening scene of The Dark Knight on both for a movie part of the audition, and I really liked them both. The Sony was up first, and I was absolutely loving how great the speakers sounded. If he hadn't told me, I wouldn't have believed there was no dedicated bass speaker. They had amazing range, and for under £250, they sound incredible in my mind. The Yamaha was up next, and there was not much to go between the two of them really in this aspect.

Now, this is where it gets complicated. I then did a musical audition. I chose a song you might think I was mad to do, Skrillex - Summit (Feat Ellie Goulding). Theres plenty of 'build up', detail, and punchy bass to consider.

The Sony was first again, and I actually really liked it, but it sounded a bit... sharp. The high notes were very bright, and I'd imagine if I played a full album my ears would be sore. However.

I then played the same song through the Yamaha unit. Now. I'm sure anyone who knows their salt would be dancing at how much better it was. And my ears could say 'hey, this sounds nicer, theres a wall of sound coming at me, and its all delicately put together'. but my head said 'I don't like the way this sounds, it sounds... too soft. There was no... power, in the delivery.

Now. This could just me being stupid, but it leaves me in an odd position, what should I try next. So far the Sony with regards on screen menu's is a league ahead. It just looked a lot more polished, but I can't deny to a 'purist' they'd say the Yamaha sounded better.

Can anyone recommend other amps to consider? £500 is my absolute limit on an Amp, and ideally, I'd be spending less.
 
I have been very happy with my Onkyo av receiver.
Mines a few years old now so doesn't have all the latest bells and whistles but its been reliable.
They have a couple round about your price range.
 
If the amp sounds harsh and fatiguing after a few minutes, then your ears are telling you "No". It's far easier to live with an amp that you have to turn up a bit than one that makes you want to turn it down.
 
Thanks for the replies, appreciated.

The guy doing the demo said regarding Denon and Onkyo

Denon - If you like the detail of the Bass on the others, you won't like the Denon as that is 'harsher' and 'smudges' them together

Onkyo - If you thought the Sony was sharp, you'll be bleeding listening to this.

I obviously need to do the demo myself, think I'll try and book some in over the weekend :)

Any particular model recommendations?
 
Anthems are very good. IMO they have the most effective room correction software of any brand I've used with the exception of perhaps the top-of-the-range £2500 Onkyo processor. If you're swayed though by jazzy OSDs then you'll find Anthem spartan by comparison. Not that you spend time listening to the OSD, of course, but Anthem is really an audio enthusiasts brand. It's for people who are more interested in listening to movies and music rather than playing with a receiver's apps and gadgets.

Marantz and Denon come from the same stable but they focus on different things. Whereas Denon offers a range from £200 up and focusses on a broad range of features, Marantz doesn't bother with entry-level products and it is biased towards sound quality first.

If there were such a thing as a scale for the tonal characteristics of AV receivers, then Marantz would be at the warmer end whereas Sony would be at the sharper end. However, the sounds do change depending on product pricing.

The current entry-level Marantz is the 5009 @ £749. However, there are some of the previous range clearing through the channel. The 5008 can be had for under £400 with the optional Bluetooth module. The 6008 is available at £550. That's probably where you need to be looking.
 
I used to have a lovely Marantz av amp (still have it but it keeps.cutting out) and would agree with Lucid, it's rich warm sound which, when I auditioned loads of amps (going back a fair few years now), was by far the nicest and most impressive and I could instantly tell I would be able to listen to it for hours!
 
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