AV amps for listening to music

[pugwash4x4]

haven't really been into my Hi-Fi for a good 7-8 years- currently run mission 773s with a NAD amp and a couple of other bits and bobs.

Am veyr happy with the setup- nice and controlled, with great tones and good bass. Currently thinking of installing a 5.1 syste, into the living room to replace the hi-fi setup.

Have AV amps come on far enough to produce great Hi-Fi sound when using semi budget componenets (ie spending £350 on the amp and buying some mission rear speakers and a centre speaker to math my floor standers?)

don't want 2 amps and 2 sets of speakers if i can help it (and don't want to spend the money on a totally brand new system either).

any specific recommendations for amps would be mucho appreciated

[telecat]

If you stay with good stereo Makers like ARCAM or Meridian you should be OK. They are pricey than the equivalent Far East Maker but the sound quality is prioritised.

[DavidY]

pugwash

If you don't need or want the latest HD audio codecs then you can buy something decent secondhand. At a budget Aracm is the brand to go for, something like an AVR250/AVR300, if funds allow then Meridian or similar is a good choice.

I run a Meridian processor based system and the 2 channel playback is superb, but it comes at a price.

[theboss]

You may be better off keeping the two systems seperated if you're on a budget as IMO it costs a lot of money to get the best of both worlds quality-wise combined in a single system. Also even a budget purpose-build AV system will provide support for the latest HD formats and offer great AV performance, whereas yesterdays hifi gear will be technologically out-of-date despite offering improved stereo performance.

An example I can recommend would be a Linn AV5103 which was a £5k AV processor in its day and a very highly rated stereo pre-amp in its own right, they go for around the £500-600 mark and you'll need power amps on top of that. If you do look at one make sure its got the blue (not green) LCD screen and DTS support which makes it a later model. They also have a good DAC onboard which may offer an improvement on the one inside your CD player.