New AV amp - what's happened in the last 14 years?!
Discussion
Thinking about a new AV amp, budget up to about £500.
Many years ago in my early 20s I got a Sony STRD930. It was the hero of its price point in the day, about 100wpc, a lovely spins, and infinitely adjustable with what seem like some good DSP programmes. Times have changed but I'm out of my depth and I know there's probably features I'd like but I'm unaware of!
Will be using in 5.1 config, a mix of music and film, must be at least as powerful as what I have. It sits in a cupboard with a IR repeater and will be hooked up to a sky box, tv, ATV2 . Ideally I'd like it to have integrated airplay and be controlled by a decent iOS app (I assume this works on rf/wifi and works through walls?!) anything else I must have/know before I brave the hifi shops?
Many years ago in my early 20s I got a Sony STRD930. It was the hero of its price point in the day, about 100wpc, a lovely spins, and infinitely adjustable with what seem like some good DSP programmes. Times have changed but I'm out of my depth and I know there's probably features I'd like but I'm unaware of!
Will be using in 5.1 config, a mix of music and film, must be at least as powerful as what I have. It sits in a cupboard with a IR repeater and will be hooked up to a sky box, tv, ATV2 . Ideally I'd like it to have integrated airplay and be controlled by a decent iOS app (I assume this works on rf/wifi and works through walls?!) anything else I must have/know before I brave the hifi shops?
First place to start.... http://www.whathifi.com/
I bought Marantz Amp and CD Player last year based on the reviews and awards from What Hi-fi. Never regretted it.
There's onfo on there for AV Recievers.
I bought Marantz Amp and CD Player last year based on the reviews and awards from What Hi-fi. Never regretted it.
There's onfo on there for AV Recievers.
It sounds like the Sony STRDN 1040 will tick all your boxes. I don't know much about airplay though so check that side of things.
From my limited experience, the AV receiver makes a minor difference in terms of absolute sound quality but it's still worth auditioning it against a Yamaha, although a Yamaha with all the features you want will be more then your budget.
Quoted power on amps doesn't mean much unless the two amps are measured in the same way. How many channels driven? Into what load? At what level of distortion? At what frequency? Sony tend to massage these variables to get a more impressive figure, IIRC the 1040 gives 75w into 8ohms with 5 channels driven.
Main important things on modern amps over your old one are auto calibration and EQ, HDMI (and support for lossless blu ray audio) and networking features.
richersounds sell them cheap and will let you demo it.
http://www.soundandvision.com/content/sony-str-dn1...
review with power measurement.
From my limited experience, the AV receiver makes a minor difference in terms of absolute sound quality but it's still worth auditioning it against a Yamaha, although a Yamaha with all the features you want will be more then your budget.
Quoted power on amps doesn't mean much unless the two amps are measured in the same way. How many channels driven? Into what load? At what level of distortion? At what frequency? Sony tend to massage these variables to get a more impressive figure, IIRC the 1040 gives 75w into 8ohms with 5 channels driven.
Main important things on modern amps over your old one are auto calibration and EQ, HDMI (and support for lossless blu ray audio) and networking features.
richersounds sell them cheap and will let you demo it.
http://www.soundandvision.com/content/sony-str-dn1...
review with power measurement.
Edited by varsas on Sunday 2nd February 10:13
The main things that have happened since the '930 are Blue-Ray and HDMI.
These days most sources will connect via HDMI (Blue-Ray/DVD/games consoles) or digital (CD players).
The speaker side is unchanged with 5.1 and 7.1 outputs being typical.
Our Denon AVR-3802 is still going strong and when eventually dies we'll have a big job replacing it as all our kit is connected via SCART with extra digital leads for the DVD player and phonos for the TiVo. Our TV is a 32" Sony CRT!
We like the look of the Sony 1040, it's been well reviewed and our ex BBC sound engineer loves hers.
These days most sources will connect via HDMI (Blue-Ray/DVD/games consoles) or digital (CD players).
The speaker side is unchanged with 5.1 and 7.1 outputs being typical.
Our Denon AVR-3802 is still going strong and when eventually dies we'll have a big job replacing it as all our kit is connected via SCART with extra digital leads for the DVD player and phonos for the TiVo. Our TV is a 32" Sony CRT!
We like the look of the Sony 1040, it's been well reviewed and our ex BBC sound engineer loves hers.
I bought an STR DN1040 just before Christmas and I'm very pleased with it, easy to setup and with a few tweaks to suit your preferences it sounds great. I have a pair of Tannoy DC6T-SE's as my main stereo pair with an HTS101 pack for surround duties including a couple of Subs for the full 7.2 wallop 
Tuner has an outdoor fm aerial plugged in but is nothing fantastic compared to my previous separate Pioneer tuner. Other bits plugged in include Sony BD player, Cyrus CD, PS3, Skybox and my VT50 which all work very well.
Tuner has an outdoor fm aerial plugged in but is nothing fantastic compared to my previous separate Pioneer tuner. Other bits plugged in include Sony BD player, Cyrus CD, PS3, Skybox and my VT50 which all work very well.
There is a lot that has happened to AV receivers in the last few years, mostly features and technology rather than sound quality - HDMI, 3D, 4K, ARC, Airplay, Networked, Remote Apps, Internet radio etc
I was in the same boat last month, and I was initial going to buy the Sony based upon the reviews, but after much research I bought one of these:
http://www.superfi.co.uk/p-14118-yamaha-rxv1073-ne...
I'm really really pleased with it, both sound and features wise. It's a £1000 amp, virtually identical to the Avantage RX-A1020 for £500. it has a great app (Android/IOS) and Airplay and Internet radio work great, lots of DSP modes I don't use, multi zone, 8 HDMI in 2 out, 2 zones etc. Most importantly it delivers 5.1 much clearer than my trusty old Onkyo 705.
There is a good thread about this Amp on AVFORUMS here: http://www.avforums.com/threads/any-yamaha-rx-v107...
They are last years model so don't think there will be around for long at this price.
I was in the same boat last month, and I was initial going to buy the Sony based upon the reviews, but after much research I bought one of these:
http://www.superfi.co.uk/p-14118-yamaha-rxv1073-ne...
I'm really really pleased with it, both sound and features wise. It's a £1000 amp, virtually identical to the Avantage RX-A1020 for £500. it has a great app (Android/IOS) and Airplay and Internet radio work great, lots of DSP modes I don't use, multi zone, 8 HDMI in 2 out, 2 zones etc. Most importantly it delivers 5.1 much clearer than my trusty old Onkyo 705.
There is a good thread about this Amp on AVFORUMS here: http://www.avforums.com/threads/any-yamaha-rx-v107...
They are last years model so don't think there will be around for long at this price.
That does look good. Could you answer a slightly odd question for me?
Can you use an android phone to playback files from a USB stick plugged into the amp? I want to be able to put a load of music onto a USB pen drive, then use my phone to control the playback, however I don't want to use airplay/bluetooth or anything else like that, I don't want to send the file from my phone, I want to control the amp using it. The contents of the pen drive need to be displayed on my phone, and then for me to choose which files I want played back. Is that possible?
I think I can use DLNA to provide the same functionality but a direct control app. would seem to be easier.
Can you use an android phone to playback files from a USB stick plugged into the amp? I want to be able to put a load of music onto a USB pen drive, then use my phone to control the playback, however I don't want to use airplay/bluetooth or anything else like that, I don't want to send the file from my phone, I want to control the amp using it. The contents of the pen drive need to be displayed on my phone, and then for me to choose which files I want played back. Is that possible?
I think I can use DLNA to provide the same functionality but a direct control app. would seem to be easier.
varsas said:
That does look good. Could you answer a slightly odd question for me?
Can you use an android phone to playback files from a USB stick plugged into the amp? I want to be able to put a load of music onto a USB pen drive, then use my phone to control the playback, however I don't want to use airplay/bluetooth or anything else like that, I don't want to send the file from my phone, I want to control the amp using it. The contents of the pen drive need to be displayed on my phone, and then for me to choose which files I want played back. Is that possible?
I think I can use DLNA to provide the same functionality but a direct control app. would seem to be easier.
Assuming that was aimed at my post, I don't know but will check when i can and let you know.Can you use an android phone to playback files from a USB stick plugged into the amp? I want to be able to put a load of music onto a USB pen drive, then use my phone to control the playback, however I don't want to use airplay/bluetooth or anything else like that, I don't want to send the file from my phone, I want to control the amp using it. The contents of the pen drive need to be displayed on my phone, and then for me to choose which files I want played back. Is that possible?
I think I can use DLNA to provide the same functionality but a direct control app. would seem to be easier.
You can play any music on your Android phone via the App, but I know that's not what you want to do.
EDIT - Decided to check straight away, and yes you can do exactly what you asked on the 1073. In fact it's very good, I might load up a USB stick and leave it plugged in!
Edited by garreth64 on Wednesday 5th February 21:15
garreth64 said:
Assuming that was aimed at my post, I don't know but will check when i can and let you know.
You can play any music on your Android phone via the App, but I know that's not what you want to do.
EDIT - Decided to check straight away, and yes you can do exactly what you asked on the 1073. In fact it's very good, I might load up a USB stick and leave it plugged in!
Great, thanks!You can play any music on your Android phone via the App, but I know that's not what you want to do.
EDIT - Decided to check straight away, and yes you can do exactly what you asked on the 1073. In fact it's very good, I might load up a USB stick and leave it plugged in!
Edited by garreth64 on Wednesday 5th February 21:15
Nice info so far, thanks. Have read some negativity about the sony app, anyone have much real world experience?
The Yamaha looks really nice but I gather it's Ethernet only out of the box? What's the best/cheapest way of making it wifi?
I have all my music in mp3 on a NAS fed to a virgin media hub. Will these AVRs control the music sitting on the NAS or does it need to be fed via some kind of iTunes server etc?
The Yamaha looks really nice but I gather it's Ethernet only out of the box? What's the best/cheapest way of making it wifi?
I have all my music in mp3 on a NAS fed to a virgin media hub. Will these AVRs control the music sitting on the NAS or does it need to be fed via some kind of iTunes server etc?
To make the Yamaha wireless you need one of these:
http://www.superfi.co.uk/p-10972-yamaha-ywa10-wire...
To be honest, I originally wanted wireless but I relocated my router next to my AV rack so no need for wireless and a better connection, but that is not always possible.
I think you should be able to stream from your NAS via a DLNA server though I haven't has the need to try it.
http://www.superfi.co.uk/p-10972-yamaha-ywa10-wire...
To be honest, I originally wanted wireless but I relocated my router next to my AV rack so no need for wireless and a better connection, but that is not always possible.
I think you should be able to stream from your NAS via a DLNA server though I haven't has the need to try it.
rix said:
Will these AVRs control the music sitting on the NAS or does it need to be fed via some kind of iTunes server etc?
I believe the 1040 is DLNA compliant. If it were me, I'd download a UPnP app for my phone (I have an android, so bubble would do) and then select the NAS server as the source library, the 1040 as the destination player, and you can use the phone to control track selection and playback. That should work, although I'm not sure how/if it can be done with an iPhone. The main problem with using the AVR as the control is that you then need your TV on for the user interface. Doesn't airplay (which, again, the 1040 supports) do the same thing? Edited by varsas on Thursday 6th February 22:26
I'm not really with some of the terminology tbh! I like airplay, it generally works ok and is straightforward, however the NAS is effectively a iTunes server and needs a computer on with iTunes running for the nas to be controllable via the iPhone!
I'm sure there are other ways but my techy abilities are lacking!
Anyway, richersounds have a tremendous deal on the Sony 840 @£200. How's this likely to compare to my relic amp which retailed at £500 at the time?
https://www.richersounds.com/product/av-receivers/...
I'm sure there are other ways but my techy abilities are lacking!
Anyway, richersounds have a tremendous deal on the Sony 840 @£200. How's this likely to compare to my relic amp which retailed at £500 at the time?
https://www.richersounds.com/product/av-receivers/...
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