AV Amps - mid/high end or low end but with power amp

[heisthegaffer]

All

Contemplating the kit I'm planning on buying in the future so whilst undecided of exact model (big Yamaha fan though) I've been pondering the choice of say a £1k amp or a lower spec, possibly run out model at £300- £400 and a separate power amp for the front speakers. After all, the lower end amps now offer 4k pass through/upscaling (I think) plus network streaming etc albeit the DACs may not be as good.

Has anyone done this and if so, are the pre-out capabilities of the lower end amp good enough? Are they even any different to that of a higher end model?

[Some Gump]

By a mile, power amps on lesser processor.

Me, I'd get 2nd hand / last generation processor and beasty power amps. With all the gubbins in modern day AV kit, even at the 1k integrated level there's a lot less budget available per channel for the power side.
Would also consider whether just doing PA to front 2 is right or not - arguably the centre is the most important so unless you're going "proper speakers with token gesture for centre and surround", then IMO you should go "proper front 3 and reasonable surround". All depends on what you;re driving though - big difference between e.g. B+W 600 series and KEF eggs!

[anonymous-user]

I have a Sony STR-DN1040 sitting in the bottom of my wardrobe. It's an award winning amp in the £500 category but I never really liked it with music. Always sounded like something was missing so after 12 months I replaced it with a Yamaha RXA-1050 Aventage amp for £900. The difference is astounding as music and film is much more detailed which I put down to better quality components in the Yamaha.

So in answer to your question, you get what you pay for, not just in the amplification but room correction and. DAC quality. You also need to consider that not all AVs at the lower end have pre outs for a power amp.

The Yamaha is a very good amp in my opinion and you won't regret buying one. I'm considering adding a high end power amp to mine but I'm worried I'll make it sound worse, it's that good.

Edited by anonymous-user on Saturday 16th July 08:50

[heisthegaffer]

wormus said:

I have a Sony STR-DN1040 sitting in the bottom of my wardrobe. It's an award winning amp in the £500 category but I never really liked it with music. Always sounded like something was missing so after 12 months I replaced it with a Yamaha RXA-1050 Aventage amp for £900. The difference is astounding as music and film is much more detailed which I put down to better quality components in the Yamaha.

So in answer to your question, you get what you pay for, not just in the amplification but room correction and. DAC quality. You also need to consider that not all AVs at the lower end have pre outs for a power amp.

The Yamaha is a very good amp in my opinion and you won't regret buying one. I'm considering adding a high end power amp to mine but I'm worried I'll make it sound worse, it's that good.

Edited by wormus on Saturday 16th July 08:50

Thanks for the replies gents. Coincidentally I flogged a Yahama 2067 to my brother who for reasons unkown has never used it so I may buy that back off him. I remember that compared to my previous amp, a Yamaha 750SE (which is still a fantastic amp in my opinion despite it's age) it was far more powerful, especially when Biamping (was very surprised with the greater detail that brought) and better specced as you'd imagine.

I may go down that route initially buy a power amp at a later date if I really feel I need one. I was thinking about going 4k as well but will probably wait a few years until the format is more established.

Thanks guys - if and when I do my Home Cinema room, I'll be sure to start a thread!

[karma mechanic]

I can say that having separate power amps is definitely the way to go, but unfortunately the AV amps with pre-outs tend to be near the top of the range in terms of cost.