Would I benefit from a newer AV amp?

Nick1881 said:
You guys are putting me off changing, I am pretty happy with this Sony amp.

My Dad has a newer Onyko, pretty low spec and my Sony blows it away, mostly noticeable in music.
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I know very little about HDMI switching accessories and connectivity adaptors etc. in modern HiFi, but...is there any way you can accomplish your connectivity requirements with a separate HDMI switcher unit and an HDMI --> RGB + optical converter?
 
Not sure I would gain anything from a separate switch. Currently my TV has all 3 devices connected to it, I just usually have to get up to switch the amp cos the remote sucks.

If I spot a bargain amp I'll go for it. Is THX worth having?
 
its a good means of guaranteeing a minimum level of performance but beyond that it doesnt really tell you much. THX on the output side is all about the ability to provide a certain amount of current at a certain output impedance. this increases from thx select through to thx ultraII+. if you are looking for an amp purely for movies and games than its very useful (imo). music...doesnt tell you anything about the musicality of an amp.
 
Yeah, you can set up various macros so it will do that and set the tv to the right input etc.

Only thing you need to be careful of is not using other remotes aswell as it then doesnt know whats turned on or turned off. I always ended up turning my tv off!
 
Marvt74 said:
Yeah, you can set up various macros so it will do that and set the tv to the right input etc.

Only thing you need to be careful of is not using other remotes aswell as it then doesnt know whats turned on or turned off. I always ended up turning my tv off!
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Even that's not too much of a problem. You just press help and it sorts itself out :). I have a 525 and it's great.
 
I bought the 600 a few months ago,, a great control and yeh when I press tv on button(watch tv) it turns tv and amp on, and it also turns them off again with 1 button. Ive set mine up so the control alters the volume using the amp and not the tv.
 
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Phil2008 said:
I was looking at this 1 thats going for £80 atm. I was thinking of buying this 1 even, as its the same as mine accept it has a DAB tuner, but people say it would be a slight down grade to what I have now.

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/YAMAHA-RX-V559DAB-HOME-CINEMA-AV-RECEIVER-AMPLIFIER_W0QQitemZ250779148184QQcategoryZ72406QQcmdZViewItemQQ_trksidZp5197.m7QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DLVI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D5%26po%3DLVI%26ps%3D63%26clkid%3D7432058994568792319
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It doesn't have HDMI so no good for me. Looks nice though.
 
My current amp dont have any hdmi ether, but thats fine as I dont require any atm. All my stuff is either scart or component connections. Its best if poss to run all video directly to the tv, so Ive been told, and thats what Im doing with all audio directly connected to the amp.
 
I have just bought a Yamaha 667 but was originally looking for a Onkyo 608.

What I found out that may be of interest is that over here (Singapore) the Onkyo 608 is being phased out and replaced with the 609. Unfortunately there is no more stock of the Onkyo 608 in Singapore now so I went with the Yamaha (the Onkyo 609 is not yet available here).

Point being that I would have thought it would be a global change of the 608 to the 609 so you may be able to pick up a cheap stock clearance priced 608 now/soon.

RB
 
RimBlock said:
I have just bought a Yamaha 667 but was originally looking for a Onkyo 608.

What I found out that may be of interest is that over here (Singapore) the Onkyo 608 is being phased out and replaced with the 609. Unfortunately there is no more stock of the Onkyo 608 in Singapore now so I went with the Yamaha (the Onkyo 609 is not yet available here).

Point being that I would have thought it would be a global change of the 608 to the 609 so you may be able to pick up a cheap stock clearance priced 608 now/soon.

RB
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Good to know cheers :D
 
Just to update this, I took the 667, RS said I can return it in 14 days if I'm not happy, I will be taking it back.

For movies it maybe has a slight edge over my Sony, Avatar Blu Ray sounded fantastic, but for music it is a big let down.

It has a very crisp sound, treble is great but it lacks mid range punch and over all sounds very life-less, Some classical music sounds very good but with some dance music its a big let down, it doesn't make me want to listen to music at all.

I considered the Yamaha 1065 but now I'm thinking I should avoid Yamaha altogether, maybe go with Sony? Or just avoid Japanese makes?

I'm going to have one final test tonight using an old Technics stereo amp to power the front speakers.
 
You might have some joy powering the fronts separately a good stereo amp from 10-20 years ago isn't going to be inferior to a good one today. It's not so much the make (although Yamaha seem to be more at the cheaper end) but the price bracket, the Yamaha is 7.1, and what, £300? It's a bit of a generalisation, but you're paying about £40-something per channel with the Yamaha, while a £200 stereo amp would be giving you £100 per channel. The latter is far more likely to sound better.

If I were getting an AV amp with stereo sound being a priority as well, I'd probably be looking at ones that were £1K+ (including 2nd hand).
 
Yea I realise that now, something by Arcam would do the job but they cost lots.

I was warned earlier in this thread, though they said I'd need a £600 amp, when it's more like £1k+ as you said.

How do they get away with putting 100 watts per channel etc when these amps clearly don't have that much. The old Technics amp is 30 watts or something, later I will prove how much better it is.
 
At least you're not trying to amp floorstanders! I dunno if you can bi-amp with the Yamaha (if you're only using 5 out of the 7 channels) or if it'd make much/any difference.

I think the thing with modern AV amps is, most people buy cheap style speakers and won't notice/need anything fancy. It's only if you're splashing out on decent speakers that your source components need to be of a similar quality. Expensive hobby, A/V!
 
Lucky you got the 667 tbh, Its supposed to be the most musical of the AV amps in its price range i.e Yamaha Onkyo and Panasonic. I think most people would agree that a mid/low end stereo amp will generally sound better than an AV amp several times the price with music. If you really want the best of both get a speaker switch and use the stereo amp for music otherwise you will spend a lot of money to move up to a really musical AV amp and paying for a lot of other features you don't care about.
 
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Nick1881 said:
Just to update this, I took the 667, RS said I can return it in 14 days if I'm not happy, I will be taking it back.

For movies it maybe has a slight edge over my Sony, Avatar Blu Ray sounded fantastic, but for music it is a big let down.

It has a very crisp sound, treble is great but it lacks mid range punch and over all sounds very life-less, Some classical music sounds very good but with some dance music its a big let down, it doesn't make me want to listen to music at all.

I considered the Yamaha 1065 but now I'm thinking I should avoid Yamaha altogether, maybe go with Sony? Or just avoid Japanese makes?

I'm going to have one final test tonight using an old Technics stereo amp to power the front speakers.
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I am not aware if the B&W 601 S2s have dual binding posts but if they do then you can try bi-amping with the 667. The rear effects channels can be reassigned via the menus to act as a second set of front L/R. Might be worth a try before completely writing off the amp.

Sounds like you are looking for this level ++ though so a dedicated stereo amp to add on to your current AV amp may be more what you are looking for.

RB
 
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