AV amp for 5.1 and stereo hi-fi

[Neil A]

I'll soon be in a position to put a half decent AV system for the lounge as I'll be moving house which will mean a lot more space. Hi-fi wise I have a Marantz set-up which is probably about 11 years old composing of the following:

Tuner: ST4000

CD: CD5000

Amp: PM4000

Speakers: Monitor Audio Bronze B2 on Atacama stands

I'd like if possible integrate the stero speakers and stands into the AV set up as the front pair, buy an AV amp and potentially use some Monitor Audio Vectors for the centre, rear and sub.

So my questions are:

> Will the sound 'work' as I'm aware the drive units in the B2s are far larger than than those found in the Vectors?

> Is there an AV amp that can do 5.1 and stereo? Maybe something which can bypass all the processing guff to give a cleaner sound when in stereo mode and just driving the B2s?

I was looking at this potentially? http://www.cambridgeaudio.com/products/azur-351r-av-receiver ...

...although something a little cheaper would be great.

Any ideas or experiences welcome...

 

[bretty]

Hey,

If you're willing to consider second-hand, then the SONY STR-DA1200ES would completely fit the bill and come in well under budget for you. I bought one from E-bay last month, and they sell from between £70 - £150. I bought mine for movies, which it's great at, but i've been playing a lot of music through it this week, and it's very very good. it's got a great texture and realism to the sound that I haven't heard through an AV amp before. It switches to stereo automatically when a surround signal isnt being passed through it.

Hope this helps, mate.

 

[rendu]

My recommendation would be to look for an AV receiver that has all the functionality that you need and pre-outs. Then, connect the AV and you Marantz via the pre-outs, this will ensure good performance both movies and music.

Not too long ago I purchased a quite high level AVR (originally 1600Eur) and I still miss the old good stereo sound from a stereo amp. If I could take some steps back I would have followed the route that I am suggesting to you. Cheap AVR with lots of functionality + good stereo via pre-out.

Your speaker mix will be fine. You only need to set up the BR2 as big and the vectors as small. Then, later on, if you add a sub, you will need to change the BR2 to small and set the crossover to 80Hz (more or less).

 

[Neil A]

Thanks very much for the help guys, there seems to be an undercurrent in lots of commentary of buying an older higher end unit may sacrifice some bells and whisltes at the expense of better sonic performance.